She pulled on her outfit, and wandered around the cabin, looking for food. All she could find was a mouldy piece of bread and some dried up fruit, so she hastily grabbed her bag and cloak and heading to the Plaza.

Wandering around the stalls, Esme realised that she was running out of money and that meant no food. She was going to have to find a solution soon, and fast. She had nothing to sell, she couldn't take a job, in case the knights came back, so she glanced over her shoulder and when the merchant's back was turned, tucked away a loaf of bread under her cloak. She felt terrible but there was no other option at this point.

Esme knew that if she randomly took one thing from a couple of different stalls, they were far less likely to notice what she was doing. So, she gathered vegetables, beans and some oats in her bag to go with what she had and hurried back home.

As she was exiting the Plaza, a crowd was forming,

Act normal, she thought, and quitely tried to weave herself in and out of the people.

'I'm so excited, I can't believe it's come around again,' she heard someone say.

'I'm definitely competing this year', someone else replied.

She pushed herself through the crowd and felt a jostle on her shoulder.

'Hey, Esme, have you seen this?'

It was her new friend Colin,

'Not yet, what's going on?'

'Only the biggest event of the year, and lucky for you you got here just in time for it.'

He pointed above them.

Esme looked up and saw a huge banner above her head reading Bellicosus' Annual Competition, sharpen your swords and compete for glory. Prize money of 1,000 Dalasi.

1,000 Delasi would pay for all the food Esme needed for a year, she had to win it.

'Wow, that's a lot of prize money.' She responded.

'The money is great, but the glory is better. If you win this, you'll be top of the leaderboard for weeks, you'll be like Mayor Atlas' level of fame in the kingdom, well, maybe not, but you'd be living the high life for sure. I haven't seen you compete yet, it'd be great to see you there this weekend.'

'I'm still trying to settle in here and I'm just rusty right now, but I'll definitely be there to support you though.'

As soon as the crowd dispersed, she scribbled on the list 'Countess Raven' and made herself scarce. This alter-ego was supposed to be a one-time thing, but food was more important than her morals at this point.

Taking a deep breath, she turned around and walked back to her cabin, it was settled. Countess Raven would appear again.

Word spread fast that Countess Raven would be competing at the Annual Competition. Colin had even visited Esme's cabin to tell her about it. Telling her she had to see it, and this would be a huge deal in the kingdom, he'd never seen anything like it.

'Mayor Atlas is going to be fuming, though. Man, I cannot wait to see how this all plays out.'