The boy was too pretty, too clean, while the child hadn’t bathed in weeks. Dirt stained the boy’s palms, so dark it might never come off. He didn’t seem to notice as he held both hands up where the child could see them. “Were you hurt?” he asked, scanning the child for injuries.
They shook their head frantically, hoping that once he confirmed they were fine, he would leave.
The boy sighed in relief and smiled. Two of his teeth were missing, one on the top and one on the bottom.
The child stared in wonder. Until now, they’d thought losing teeth was a sign of being poor and sick, but the boy looked like neither. The child tentatively smiled back, showing off their own two missing front teeth.
Seeing that smile, the boy’s smile widened, until they were competing to see who could smile wider, who had more gaps to show off. The boy stuck his tongue out and waggled it, accompanying the silly expression with sillier noises.
The child giggled and tried to mimic him, but suddenly their stomach cramped, and their expression pinched with pain.
The boy’s eyes widened in dismay. “Youwerehurt!”
The child shook their head. Licking their lips, they rasped, “Hungry.”
“Oh!” The boy sighed in relief, then stuck his hand into his jacket. He pulled out a small paper bag and a wax covered package. “I have a sandwich,” he said, holding out the wax package, “and some candy.” He offered the bag next.
The child watched them with hungry eyes but didn’t dare take either. Last time they’d accepted a stranger’s offering, the person had smacked their hands away and laughed cruelly.
“Go ahead,” the boy said. When the child still didn’t take either of them, he set the wax covered package on the ground and carefully stepped back.
The child inched closer to the package, never taking their eyes off the boy. When he made no sudden or threatening moves, the child snatched up their prize and bit straight into it.
“No!”
The child flinched and dropped the package onto the ground.
The boy bent to pick it up and dusted the dirt off the wax. “You have to unwrap it first,” he said in exasperation. “You can’t eat paper!” Then he carefully opened the package.
As the wax paper was peeled back, the smell of meat, bread, and cheese wafted toward the child. Drool filled their mouth. When the boy handed the sandwich back to them, they gobbled it down in three bites. When was the last time they’d had meat? Cheese? Bread that was soft instead of hard and crusty?
The boy grinned at first, but as he watched, his smile slipped into a frown. “Why are you so hungry? Don’t your parents feed you?”
The child shook their head. “No parents.” The closest they’d ever had were the ‘administrators.’
“None?” the boy exclaimed in shock. “No father? No mother? A nanny? A tutor?” Each time the child shook their head, the boy’s expression became more terrified. “Who takes care of you?”
“I do,” the child said, tapping their chest.
The boy examined them again and although he didn’t comment, his expression said loud and clear: “Not very well.”
“Treasure! There you are!” The man in black had returned. He stomped down the alley, eyes blazing with fury as he glared at the boy.
“Father!” Treasure called and ran toward him. He tugged on the man’s black cloak. “Father, they don’t have anyone to take care of them.”
The man looked between the two children, his lip curling in disgust. “Obviously.”
“We could take care of them,” Treasure said.
“Evil mages do not perform charity,” the man sneered. His eyes fell onto the crumpled wax paper. “Though it appears you’ve forgotten that lesson.”
“But Father—”
“How many times must I tell you? Call me Master.”
Treasure’s expression became mulish. When he spoke again, he didn’t offer the man any address at all. “Don’t evil mages need an apprentice?”
“When I take an apprentice, it will be someone skilled, not a filthy street urchin who accepts handouts.” The man looked pointedly at the wax paper again. “Now, come along, we have somewhere to be.” He turned on his heel, the cloak swirling around him, and strode down the alley.
