Upon Marie's arrival, arms laden with boxes of sweets, she happily agreed to Antonio's accompaniment, and the party of three headed out to find a nice outdoor park in which to have their afternoon tea. Alexandra had wanted to picnic for awhile, so that was what they were going to do. As they walked, Alex and Marie chatted happily together while Antonio trailed several steps behind them, looking every inch the imposing warrior he was. 

"...my lady, we have scones, and macarons too!"

"Oh my! I'm sure they will be delightful—"

Suddenly, Alex felt someone brush by her side, and a lack of weight in her bag, which held her coin purse. 

A pickpocket!

With reflexes honed by years of kendo training she quickly reached out and grabbed the perpetrator's arm, surprising both Marie and Antonio, the latter of which immediately reached for his sword.

"Let me go!"

Wait, what? Alexandra turned to look at the thief. That was the voice of...

"A child?"

Marie and Alexandra chorused. The little boy wore a long hooded cloak. His arms were thin and covered with grime. One of his hands clutched Alex's pocketbook, which she snatched and returned to her bag. He continued to thrash about.

"Lemme go! Lemme go!" he shouted.

Suddenly, the tip of a blade appeared at the edge of Alexandra's vision. She looked up to see Antonio, sword out and pointed at the now trembling child. 

"Who are you?" he stared coldly down at the boy. "Speak!"

The boy suddenly burst into tears.

***

"Thank you, miss!" The boy hungrily munched on a blueberry scone.

After the child began crying, Alexandra had quickly made Antonio put away his sword. Grip still tight on his arm, she began to question the boy, but didn't get too far until his stomach began to rumble audibly. 

"Hey kid," she smiled gently. "Want to have some tea with us?"

The little boy looked up at her with glimmering eyes.

They had quickly found the park after that, and begun having their tea. After being offered a couple of pastries, the boy didn't seem too inclined to run away, and so they all ate peacefully. Alexandra observed him as they ate. With his sparkling gray eyes and jet-black hair, he looked like any other innocent child.  

"What's your name, kid?" 

"M'name's Jack," he mumbled through a mouthful of pastry. 

"Jack?" she asked to clarify.

He nodded enthusiastically, and continued inhaling his food.

"Hello Jack," she smiled. "My name is Alexandra, it's nice to meet you."

"Ish nice to meet you too," he crammed a macaroon into his mouth. "Ack!" he choked a little on the pastry.

Alex laughed. "Slow down, there's plenty more where that came from!" she passed him a cup of tea, which he downed quickly.

"Jack, I just have a couple of questions that I want you to answer honestly, okay?"

He stopped eating and looked at her warily. "What questions?"

"I'm not mad about what happened before," she reassured him. "I just want to know why you thought you needed to try and take money from people."

The little boy swallowed his food and frowned. 

"I'm not sorry I did it," he shook his head stubbornly. "I know it's wrong to steal, but I need the money."

"Why do you need it?" Alex asked softly.

He turned to look at her, eyes wet with unshed tears.

"Because my mama— my mama will die without it."

***

The alleyway was dark and grimy. Marie quivered in fear, and Antonio kept a hand on his sword as they walked.  Alexandra recalled the story Jack had told them.

"My mama has been very sick for a month now. She's too weak to get up and keeps throwing up her food. Last week, we got kicked out of our home because we don't have money. We have to buy medicine for her, but it's hard just to find food to eat. So I tried to steal the money to make her better. Without it, my mama will die. It's just me, her, and my baby sister, so I have to be the one to do it," he said sadly.

Alexandra put a hand on his shoulder. "Jack, will you take us to see your mama? Maybe we can help."

 It was a testament to how desperate he was that the boy even agreed to take them. They were complete strangers, and Jack seemed scared of Antonio. Still, he showed them the way. 

"We're here," Jack said quietly. They had arrived at a small corner in the alleyway. A tarp laid propped up by beams of assorted wood. Underneath, two forms, a large one and a small one laid underneath a blanket. Next to them, a rock smoldered. 

"What's that?" Alex asked, pointing to the rock. 

Jack stiffened. "It's a magic crystal," he muttered. "I found it after someone had finished using it and I thought that if I put my own magic inside, Mama and Collette could use it to keep warm while I went to look for food."

Alexandra was surprised. She had never heard of someone trying to put their own magic inside a used crystal before. This boy was very innovative! If given the chance, he could really become someone great.

"Okay, let's have a look at what's going on," she crouched down in front of the sleeping pair under the blankets. The bigger form was a black-haired woman. Her breaths were coming out in shallow gasps, and she seemed to be having trouble resting. She was clutching a small blonde girl, who slept peacefully. 

"Trouble breathing, vomiting, and physical weakness," she murmured. Suddenly she had an idea. She put a hand to her own forehead and the other to the woman's forehead.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Jack hissed. "You'll wake her up!"

"I'm just checking for something," she whispered back. Then, she felt it. The woman's head was much warmer than her own.

Alexandra quickly stood. "Your mother has the flu, I'm sure of it," she said to a surprised Jack. "She needs to be treated soon, or the fever will be really damaging."

"Since when do you know medicine?" Antonio asked. Alex shot him a deadpan stare. 

"Is this really the best time to ask that question? We need to get this woman treated now! I need you to help me move her."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Jack panicked. "Where are you taking my mama?!"

"You're coming with us too. Carry your sister. We're going back to my house."