I sat through the rest of my classes, not taking notes, not listening. Miss Cera didn’t complain about me. Fortunately, Thursday and Friday were less packed with classes than the other days of the week, so I was free around lunchtime. It was dangerous for orphans to visit the town’s center at this time of the day, since that was when the streets were most crowded. People would normally treat me like thin air, similar to the pharmacist a few days ago, or make disparaging comments...or spit at me. However, I still remember a girl returning from an errand with Mister Wilsom, her eyes both beaten blue. Apparently, she had just stumbled into someone who believed that touching a ‘black-blood’ would stain his own. That happened years ago and today I couldn’t care less, I just wanted to get out of this place which seemed more oppressive than ever. The main entrance was locked, but the door leading to the small courtyard and the gym in the back wasn’t. I made sure no one was watching, left the main building and took a turn to the left. The patchy grass in the courtyard had taken on a deep green colour after the recent rain, opposed to the pale yellow elsewhen. The small court was surrounded by a black metal fence with sharp spikes. I climbed up the cold black bars and pressed my feet against the horizontal ones, then pulled up while my legs pushed from below. My hips swung over the fence and all that was left to do was to twist my body to the side so that the spikes would miss me. I landed on the field road, my front facing the fence.

The streets were busy with ox-beasts, traders and other foot traffic. I decided to make a little detour to the market. Countless colourful booths covered a wide place in front of the five-storied city hall, which was the highest building in the entire town. People were shouting in between the stands - some were yelling for deals, others searching for their children that had run off by themselves. The air was filled with the smell of fresh vegetables, spices and meals sold by the many market workers. My eyes shifted to a guy in a corner who tried to make some extra money by singing, although his talent could have been considered lacking since his voice basically cracked on every second note. A kid not much older than me helped himself and grabbed some coins out of the man's wooden bowl in a composed manner, before running away from his outraged victim. I watched the scenery, until a bunch of loud cheers caught my attention. A rather large crowd of people had formed at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the city hall. They all looked up, captivated by what happened in front of them. A man with auburn hair who was dressed in a navy blue suit held his fist in front of his mouth. Sparkles began to fly out of his closed hand before he opened it, just so that a large fiery dragon of blue and red shades could rise into the sky before dissipating into colourful smoke soon after. The audience broke into thunderous cheers once again - and I was fascinated.

I had heard a few tales about sorcerers - how many of them became central warriors for their respective provinces. Or how the lineage of your blood had a significant impact on your abilities as a magician. Of course, these were just old myths and fables, Miss Cera hadn’t actually taught us anything about magic so I was basically clueless. This was the first time I had seen some in real life though. Could I achieve something like this? I asked myself. 

“Uh, see this kid?” a woman behind me whispered to another one by her side.

“Woah no way! These clothes and the pin. Is he really…”

“An orphan. A black-blooded.”

“Better don’t get too close to him. Imagine how low your blood has to be to not even get a foster family.”

“Disgusting, I've heard contact with them can taint your own.”

I stood still, my eyes still gazing at the sky while their words poured down on me. Right, I was an orphan. Looked down upon and laughed at by society. I had no memories of my parents, nor any other family members, nor of my childhood. 

More and more people walked past me, observing me with disgusted faces while chattering about how sickening children like me were. The sorcerer had finished collecting the coins from the crowd as I left the market. I crossed the familiar street, turned into the familiar alley and climbed up the familiar stairs of the watchtower. Much to my relief, no one was there. No one - not even Lory. I leaned over the railing and rested my head on my forearms as once again, tears found their way out of my eyes. I blocked out everything around me.

I don’t know how much time had passed, but there were probably only a few hours left until sunset. I should go back now, maybe Miss Cera hasn't even noticed yet, I thought. I was already close to the main road again when I got intercepted by two, no three people.