In the window of the lady's dressmaker, there is a beautiful blue gown displayed. It has a floral pattern embroidered into the skirt, with a dark blue thread. The dress is surrounded by beautiful fabrics in different shades of the rainbow. These things are displayed to convince people with money to go in there. I am not such people.

There is only one place I would ever be able to wear that kind of dress, and that is in my dreams. "There you are, Lorelei." My friend Narin says, pulling me out of the dream of the dress and back to the reality of the dirty street I'm standing on.

Narin looks judging at me, his narrow eyes sending me a disapproving glare. His twin sister Neary stands beside him, she has some black hair strands stuck to her bronze-coloured cheek. Both of them are wearing the same kind of brown hood and cape as I am. It hides our faces from anybody who may recognise us.

"Why are you wasting time looking at that material garbage?" Narin sneered. He doesn't care for pretty things, and neither do I, most of the time. But dresses are an exception. I annoyed told him "It is not like it costs money to look. Besides, I wouldn't look good in this kind of dress anyway?"

Narin crosses his arms, "Of course, you would look good. I just don't understand why you even want to wear that kind of clothes." He looks up at me, still with that disapproving glare.

Our height disparity is practically laughable. They are very short and I am very tall, so tall in fact I tower over the majority of folks. 

Wanting to change the subject, I asked if he was able to get any Anointing Oil. He groans while holding up a little bottle. "I got it, but they wanted a lot for it.-" We expected that, which was why we had brought it ourselves, but it had mysteriously disappeared, probably by the hands of a pickpocket. 

"Now we need more money if we do not wanna sleep on the street, I thought maybe you could..." I don't let him finish, I already know what he is gonna ask. "No, the risk of getting caught is too big," I whisper. 

"We are at greater risk of getting discovered if we do not hide in an inn, and a riskier option would be to steal the money, do you not agree, Neary?" Narin looks at his sister. She crosses her arms and sends me a glare. Neary won't answer because she can't, she was born without the ability to talk. But still, I know what her glare means, that Narin is right.

Neary is standing in front of the door to the shop. Just as I am about to tell her to move, the door goes up and hits her behind. Neary turns around and pushes the person who opened the door. It is a young dark-skinned woman in a red ruffled dress, "What did you do that for?" The woman shouted.

"She did it because you pushed the door into her," I defend Neary. "She shouldn't be standing in front of it then," the woman argues. A man who looks much like her takes the young lady's arm and pulls her away while muttering, "Come, let's go, we do not want trouble."

"Self-obsessed rich people," I mutter, seeing them walk away. But something was off, they seemed familiar. I'm almost certain I've seen her before. But I can't place them.

"Please Lorelei, we need the money, your singing always earns a lot." He is right about that, but I still ain't too comfortable with doing it here. But it is our best option.

"Fine, but you better have my back, "I say. "When do we not?" Narin replies. We walk to the middle of the market square by a well. A lot of people are around, trading goods and coins for what they need. Here we set up and I make the decision to sing Of a Rose Synge We. Taking a deep breath, I start the first verse.

This rose is railed on a rys
He hath bought the prince of prys,
And in this tyme sothhit ys,
Viri sine semine.

This rose is reed of colour bryght,
Throw whom oure joye gan alyght,
Uppon a Cristys masse nyght,

As my voice rang out through the street, people stopped to listen. A crowd started to form around us. Already, a few coins were being thrown our way. This was always how it went, my singing always brought in money. Some would call my voice a gift or a talent. No matter what, it has been helpful. We have many times needed to rely on my singing to get necessities. I finish the song and start to sing another. It's I Have a Yong Suster.

I have a yong sister
Fer biyonde the see
Manye be the druries
That she sente me.

She sente me the cherye
Withouten any stoon,
And so she dide the dove
Withouten any boon.

The songs I sing, I have learned from churches or taverns. While singing, I begin visually inspecting the crowd, looking for any sign of trouble. Luckily, no royal guards are in sight. In the crowd, I spot the rude girl in her red ruffled dress. The man she is with, gives me a look of admiration. He looks so familiar, where do I know him from?

The coins people throw our way aren't worth much. Cities tend to rely on certificates for goods instead of coins, so many never have any. As I fear what there has been pulled in may not be enough, and since there are no guards in sight, I decided to sing one last song. God Speed the Plow.

The merthe of alle this blonde
Maketh the gode husbonde,
With erynge of his plowe.
I-blessyd be Cristes sonde,
That hath us sent in honde
Merthe & ioye y-nowe.

The plowe goth mony a gate,
Bothe erly & eke late,
In wynter in the clay.
Aboute barly and whete,
That maketh men to swete,
God spede the plowe al day!

Finishing the last line of the last verse, I bow to indicate there will be no more. There is a decent bit of applause from the listeners. But the trance is over and people start to walk away, to disperse and resume the previous activities. Narin and Neary have collected the money and our other items."Let us get out of here," I hastily say. Uncomfortable with the amount of attention we have gotten.