Riches to Rags

Anne rushed to the source of the noise, finding one of the locked doors. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get it open. She looked at the door. Where once there was pristine paint, there now was a scratch identical to the other door. Anne was on the streets before she became aware again. She ran, and ran, until she had to stop for breath. Five seconds later, she started back again.

Looking up, She realized that she didn’t recognize where she was anymore. She was lost.

The neighborhood Anne found herself in was not a good one. The building were derept and decayed, with who-knows-what going on in the dark alleys that were more common than any alley should be. It was like they had been designed with the sole purpose of enabling criminals. She felt a yawn fight it’s way out of her mouth. She was more tired than she thought.

She settled down next to the wall. She would just close her eyes, and move on. Just that….

Anne woke up to the sound of fists hitting flesh, dull thuds resonating in her skull like someone banging a gong. She opened her eyes warily. What was going on?

The best way she could think of to describe what she saw was gang fight. Two ragged groups of boys and girls duking it out- and she was smack dab in the middle of it. Shoot.

She didn’t dare move, for fear of getting hit. Getting hit more, that is. She lost count of how many elbows and fists connected with her face. As the minutes ticked by, she started to wonder how long she was going to be there. Just as she gave up on getting out, she felt a tug on her arm. “Psst! Over here!” A boy’s voice whispered. She happily obliged. “Thank you, Mr….”

The boy looked at her, his green eyes sparkling amusedly. “Jax. I suppose you aren’t from around here.”

“Yes?” I answered, my response coming out more like a question.

“ No local would be stupid enough to fall asleep in that alley. The Dragon gang has been fighting the Cupid gang for possession of it for months now.”

“Oh.” Well, she felt like an idiot.

“Tell me, how did you end up here, in our fine slump?”

“What’s it to you?” Anne said brazenly.

“No one comes here unless it’s their last option. So, what’s your story?”

“What’s yours?”

“ Me? I was born here. Nowadays, I run the Cricket gang. We may not be the mightiest of groups, but we put food on the table. Now, stop evading.”

“My name is Annebeth Windwood, and I’m alone.” Anne told him everything that had happened, carefully evading the matter of her bent or the necklace she wore.”

“Huh.” Jax said, grunting. “ You’ve got a lot of nerve, keeping your surname like that. I like it. Come with me.”

I followed him through the maze of streets as he pointed out places we passed by. He said things like, “That bakery leaves its leftover loaves on the street.” or “My buddy Phil had his last stand right there. A real good guy, he was.” Disturbingly, what he said tended to be from the same vein as the latter. She tried not to think about it too much.

After a few minutes, they arrived at their destination. Someone had dug an alcove underneath one of the buildings. The small space was filled to the brim with children. The oldest looked to be around her age, while the youngest seemed around five. Their world-weary faces provided a sharp contrast to Jax’s lively aura. She blinked. “H-h-hi?” She greeted.

You could have heard a quill drop. Finally, someone spoke up. “Another stray? Really?”

Suddenly, as if a switch had been flipped, everyone started talking. The noise grew louder and louder until…

“EVERYONE SHUT UP!” Jax yelled, His voice cutting through the others. He waited for the murmurs to stop before continuing. “This is Princess. She’ll be joining the gang.”

“Princess?!?” Anne squacked indignantly. Of all the things to call her, he choose Princess !

“Yeah. You went from riches to rags. Would you rather Snowflake?” He wiggled his eyebrows.

“No, Princess is good.”

“That’s what I thought.” He looked smug. “It’s time you learned how things work around here.” And learn she did.

The town was called Shallar; a pretty name for a not so pretty place. Because of the lack of nobles, it had been overrun by gangs for years. The children and adults rarely interact. Most gangs were deadlocked in a never ending battle for territory. The Cricket gang, however, had a different tactic. They make their own. Jax seemed rather proud of himself for coming up with it.

They called their home the Cricket Haunt. It actually expanded far beyond where they had entered. A surly looking eight-year old was assigned to give her a tour. She could barely fit through the tight tunnels they had carved out. There were several dozen rooms of varying sizes, from a med bay that could hold fifteen to quarters that could hold five. Other than the medbay, most all were empty. They had all gathered in the front to greet Jax, her guide informed her. He usually brings home supplies.

Oh. That would explain why they were so unhappy with her. Which would you rather: Food, or a useless girl? Besides, it wasn’t like they could get rid of her. Jax and his gang took in everyone who didn’t fit in with the others.

Anne didn’t know whether she was grateful for his policies, or offended by being branded a misfit. Well, a voice whispered in the back of her head, he’s not wrong. She gritted her teeth.

She was shown a room to sleep in, with five others. Something about it irritated her guide. He murmured under his breath about favoritism. She frowned, confused. All of the rooms were the same. Right?

That night, she figured out why. “Hey, Princess! You’re dorming with me.” Jax called, leaning against the entrance.

“What? Don’t you have your own room?”

“Nope.” He said, popping the p. “I’m a member of this gang, just like anyone else. It creates a sense of unity. We sleep together, eat together, and steal together.”

“I don’t know- wait, steal?” Jax smirked. She wanted to go straight over there and smack that grin right off his face. “How else would you have us survive?”

“Get a job.” She retorted.

“Who would hire us? Also, not enough to support us. Next?” She scrambled, trying to find something to say.

“ Dig through trash? Beg for it?”

“ We do that. Not enough. Next?” She blanked. She couldn’t think of anything . And by the look on his face, Jax knew it too. “Fine. But you guys don’t just steal from anyone, right?” All humor, had vanished from his face, making him seem rather cold.

“If we can. That’s not always an option, though.”

“Oh.” She gulped. “ I see.”

“Good.” With that, they both laid down on their hay bales(Anne refused to call them beds), and went to sleep. Well, Jax did. The scratchiness of the hay kept her up long after Jax and her other four roommates ( who seemed to have entered without her noticing) fell asleep. Eventually, her exhaustion overcame her discomfort. She fell into a restless sleep, Mr. Long’s screams still reverberating through her skull.

The next day, it was time for her first raid. “But… I got here yesterday!”, She protested weakly.

“There’s no time like the present!” Jax responded cheekly.

“I don’t know how to do it?”

“You can learn on the job.” She could swear that there was something sadistic in his expression. “It’ll be fun!” Yep. Sadism.

They formed a group of five. Jax (of course) was leading. He did all solo runs, too.That must have been what he was doing yesterday.

Their target took about thirty minutes to get to, using a slow jog. After ten, they had left the slum far behind.

It was a high-end restaurant, the type that Anne would have been to with her mom. She clutched her necklace involuntarily. After all this time, she had managed to keep it hidden. Jax signaled them, and they creeped in.

Anne could see what they were after the moment they went in. An all-you-can-eat buffet. “Blend in.” Jax whispered, mainly for my benefit. We slowly walk towards it. Jax walked with an air of confidence, like he was saying, “ I belong here. I am doing nothing wrong, so I have nothing to fear.”

SHe did her best to mimic him. She wasn’t sure how well she did. She carefully piled food on her plate, trying not to attract attention. As she walked away, it felt as if everyone’s eyes were on her. They would smile at her, sometimes trying to make small talk. Only her years of experience with dealing with nobles kept her from breaking down.

As they slipped out, she felt torn between sighing with relief and screaming joyously. In the end, she chose neither. They weren’t done yet.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t run, lest they drop their plates. When they got back, the food was distributed throughout the group. One pork bite would be shared by six. “How do you live like this?” Anne asked, incredulous.

“We don’t. We usually bring in about ten times this amount.” Jax responded.

“Why not today?”

“ I didn’t want to crowd you with too many people.After all, it was your first day.” A wave of guilt crashed over me. They were eating less because of me! “Don’t worry, Princess. We can handle it.” Jax reassured, as if he had sensed my distress. Somehow, it didn’t have the desired effect. Maybe they could manage. But was a little discomfort on her part worth their suffering? She thought not.

Soon, Anne was participating in all sorts of raids. Butchers, Bakeries, and markets alike were targeted. They would spit up into groups, each taking all they could before slipping away. She had long since left behind any feelings of guilt she once had. She became skilled in sleight of hand. She had her ‘clueless rich girl’ routine down cold. And to think that she used to be like that! Her laugh was full of bitterness.

Despite staying in the same room, she didn’t see Jax much anymore. He was out constantly, coming back long after she had fallen asleep. When she actually could get a hold on him, he said he was busy raiding. Yeah, and she was a chicken. He came back empty handed. Every. Single. Time. She had seen him in action. There was no way he had failed so miserably. Besides, they didn’t need extra raids. They had been getting along well for weeks, since that shop that left their doors unlocked at night.

It wasn’t like she could take direct action against him. He was their leader, after all. Maybe… an intervention was needed. She started planning right away.

“We need to talk.” Anne stated bluntly, barroling her way towards Jax.

“When, and what about?” he asked, grinning lazily.

“Now. Follow me.” she practically dragged him into the tunnels. She headed for the back, where no one would be coming for a while.

“So… why exactly have you dragged me here? Is there something you want to tell me?” He almost sounded carefree, crouching downwards. Almost.

“Quite the opposite, actually. You are going to tell me what you’re really doing on your raids.” It was like a veil had been lifted. He became rigid, his face suddenly devoid of humor.

“And why should I do that?”

“Because if you don’t, I will tell the entire gang about how you’re skipping out on your duties.”

“All right, all right, I suppose you’ve earned this.” he smiled grimly. “What I’m about to tell you goes nowhere. If a single soul hears about this…” He let the threat hang.

“I’ll be the judge of that.” He eased up, like he had finally figured something out. “How about a compromise?”

“That depends.”

“You learn to fight, and I tell you what I’m doing.” She blinked once, twice.

“I don’t get you.”

“The feeling’s mutual.” Anne held out her hand. Jax laughed. “Is this your way of saying yes?”

“Let’s go with that.” He grabbed her hand, and lifted himself up.

“Thanks. We’ll start tomorrow.” As she went to bed, she wondered what she had gotten herself into.