Snow fell over the streets.

The wind slipped through every crack in the ruined warehouse where he sat, carrying with it the bitter cold of winter.

His hands and feet hurt, but most of all, he was hungry.

The sack in his lap was empty.

It shouldn’t have been.

Inside should have been half a loaf of bread, two potatoes, and a piece of dried fish. Not much, but enough to survive another week.

He had hidden it carefully beneath a loose board.

Nobody knew.

Except…

His eyes slowly lifted.

Across the warehouse sat another boy about his age. He was thin enough that his cheeks were hollow, and he refused to meet Mud’s eyes.

Silence filled the warehouse.

Finally, Mud spoke.

“…You took it.”

The boy flinched.

“I was hungry.”

Mud said nothing.

“I didn’t mean to eat it all.”

His voice shook.

“I only wanted a little. I was going to leave some for you, I swear.”

He lowered his head.

“But…”

The empty sack crinkled in Mud’s hands.

He had spent weeks gathering that food.

And now it was gone.

“You were my friend.”

The boy looked up.

“Mud…”

“I trusted you!”

The shout echoed through the warehouse.

“Mud, I—”

He was already moving.

The empty sack slipped from his fingers as he lunged.

The other boy barely had time to react before they crashed into each other.

A fist struck someone’s cheek.

Another hit a shoulder.

“Give me my food!”

“I- I’m sorry!”

“Sorry doesn’t bring it back!”

Mud threw himself forward again.

They were both starving.

Both weak.

The fight didn’t last long.

The other boy finally pushed him one last time and scrambled toward the door.

“If I see you again, I’ll kill you!”

A gust of snow blew into the warehouse as Mud lay flat on his back.

Mud listened to his footsteps disappear.

The empty sack lay beside him.

For a long time, he simply stared above. He could see the grey sky through the broken ceiling.

Snow continued to fall.

He pulled his knees to his chest and closed his eyes.

The warehouse felt colder than before. 

He knew then that he wouldn’t survive this winter.

Not long after, his fingers went numb, his body turned cold, and his eyes barely stayed open.

I don’t want to die.

Then—

“…Mud?”

He tore his gaze away from the memory.

Cherry was staring at him.

“Why are you making that face?”

The snow was gone.

So was the warehouse.

Instead, he stood in an alley surrounded by children.

One of the boys frowned.

“Why’d we bring him along?”

“Why not?”

Cherry grinned.

“You can’t just bring home every weird kid you find.”

"You're not the boss of me, Nico."

“Sighhh Rowan’s gonna get mad~”

Cherry ignored him completely and she grabbed Yuan’s hand.

“Come on, Mud.”

Before he could answer, she was already dragging him through the streets.

The five of them slipped through narrow alleys and abandoned courtyards until they reached a crooked house with boarded windows and a roof patched together with mismatched planks. Smoke seeped through a hole in the chimney.

One of the boys pushed the door open.

“We’re home!”

The children hurried inside.

Yuan followed.

Then stopped.

There were more children inside. Six of them, all younger than the ones who had brought him here. The youngest looked only three or four years old.

The youngest immediately ran up and hugged the leg of the boy named Nico. 

“Welcome back!”

“Did you get food?”

“We did.”

The tallest boy grinned and pulled out a long piece of bread.

The shortest boy proudly held up two apples.

The food was quickly divided by Nico.

Bread was torn apart. The apples were cut into pieces, and even the dried meat was divided.

One of the younger boys hugged his piece of bread to his chest while another immediately bit into an apple, juice running down his chin.

Yuan couldn’t understand.

Nobody hid anything or tried to take more.

Nobody fought.

“Why are you giving it away?”

He whispered, not expecting an answer.

Cherry, who stood the closest to Yuan, was the only one who heard.

Then she laughed.

“What do you mean? We’re family.”

“…Family?”

“That’s right! As the oldest, it’s our job to protect them and make sure they eat.”

Another boy nodded.

“They’re our little brothers and sisters.”

Yuan frowned.

Protect them? Feed them?

The idea sounded ridiculous.

He looked at the oldest. Cherry was thin, and the three boys beside her looked no different. Their clothes hung loosely from their bodies, and their cheeks were hollow.

They were hungry too.

Yet they were smiling.

Something twisted in his chest.

They were idiots.

Completely stupid.

Cherry was tearing her own piece of bread in half so Maple could have more.

Food was precious. Winter was cruel. People stole from one another, lied to one another, and left one another behind.

Nobody shared like this.

Nobody.

A frown formed between Yuan’s eyebrows.

Cherry looked at him for a moment before her expression softened.

“Oh, I get it.”

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small piece of bread.

“You’re hungry. Right? Eat this!”

She placed it in his hands.

The bread was hard and cold.

Only a few hours ago, he had eaten warm pastries and soup in the palace.

Yet he couldn't look away from the small piece in his hand.

Beside him, Cherry looked strangely pleased with herself.

“Go on.”

Yuan looked from the bread to her face.

Before he could say something, the door opened.

Every child faced the door.

A young man stepped inside carrying a sack over one shoulder. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, with short chestnut-brown hair, ordinary clothes, and dark shadows beneath tired eyes.

A long dagger hung at his waist.

Yuan's shoulders stiffened.

Men with weapons had never come bearing good news.

The moment the young man saw the food in front of the children, he frowned.

“You stole again?”

The younger children shrank back and stared at the floor.

“You promised me you wouldn’t.”

The youngest started to cry and the young man let out a sigh. The hard line of his mouth softened.

“…Come here, Maple.”

The little girl ran to him.

He patted her head to calm her down before setting the sack on the floor and opening it.

Inside were several loaves of bread, a few vegetables, and cheese.

There was enough food to make several of the children gasp.

“This time,” he said firmly, “the older ones eat first.”

Cherry blinked.

“You spent the whole morning running around. You must be hungry too.”

Nico and the others looked at one another before nodding. Only after they had taken their share did he divide the rest among the younger children.

Yuan watched silently. His eyes were focused on the young man.

If I had met someone like him…

Maybe things would have been different.

The young man turned his head, noticing eyes on him.

“…Hm?”

Cherry stood up nervously.

“I-I brought him. He’s my friend, Mud!”

“Cherry, you can’t bring strange kids here.”

“He’s not strange… he almost got into trouble because of us.”

His gaze settled on Yuan. 

It made Yuan nervous, as though the young man could see straight through him.

“Welcome, Mud.”

He looked at Cherry.

“Take good care of your new friend.”

“I will!”

Cherry nodded seriously.

The young man watched her for a moment before shaking his head with a faint smile. Then he turned toward the older boys.

“Nico. Toby. Patch.”

Nico's shoulders sank while Patch looked everywhere except at Rowan.

Yuan glanced at them.

The young man looked at them one by one.

“You know what happens if you’re caught stealing from the wrong person.”

Nico lowered his head.

“We were careful.”

“That doesn’t answer me.”

“…I’m sorry...”

The young man rubbed his forehead and sighed.

“Don’t do it again... I'll drop off food more often.”

After the food was divided, the young man stepped outside. He leaned against the wall beside the entrance and pulled a thin roll of paper from his pocket.

Yuan watched him through the half-open door, then he followed him out.

The young man glanced down as Yuan stepped outside, and quickly flicked away the hand-rolled cigarette. He waved away any remaining smoke coming out from his mouth.

“You need something?”

Yuan nodded. His head hurt from the fatigue but he didn’t let it show on his face.

“Do you know how I can get out of this kingdom?”

“...Through the front gates?”

“I need a way to leave unnoticed.”

“Hm…”

Rowan’s eyes sharpened. 

Before Yuan could react, his hat was snatched off his head.

“!”

Yuan took a few steps back, his eyes wavering. 

His mind was on the alley behind him.

It would take him straight back into the busy streets, where he could blend in among the people.

“You don’t have to be so tense. I was just curious why a kid like you might need to run away in secret.”

His eyes scanned the tips of Yuan’s hair which glistened under the moonlight. He nodded as if he understood.

Rowan's eyes lingered on the silver strands peeking from beneath the hat.

"...Silver hair."

He looked at Yuan again.

"You're noble."

He folded his arms.

"Ran away from home?"

“...”

"...Ah. Something worse than that."

Rowan took Yuan’s silence as confirmation.

“It’s not impossible to escape this kingdom unnoticed, but it’s gonna cost money.”

He made a circle with his thumb and index finger.

Yuan rummaged through the pillow case tied around his shoulder. He pulled out the golden brooch.

“Is this enough?”

Rowan closely examined the gold brooch and whistled.

“You must’ve been quite the rich young master. This is made out of solid gold… It should be enough to smuggle one little kid out of the kingdom.”

He carefully stored the gold brooch inside his jacket.

Yuan didn't like placing his future in a stranger's hands, but the guards could begin searching for him at any moment.

“It’s going to take me a few days to find out. In the meantime…”

He studied Yuan for a long moment.

“You can sleep at the hideout.”

“Thank you…”

That night, Yuan passed out on the floor with 10 other kids.

The floor was hard and cold, nothing like the feather bed waiting for him in the palace.

Someone snored softly beside him. Another child mumbled in their sleep.

Surrounded by the breathing of ten other children, it was the safest he had felt in a very long time.

Earlier that day, in the main palace, Lady Elara sat in front of the king with tea in between them.

The tea between them had long gone cold.

Neither of them touched it.

The two sat in silence for what felt like eternity until Elara spoke.

“How could you do this to Yuan? I kept my promise to stay away from the main palace as long as you kept your promise to protect him. But you almost had him taken away! Did all those years apart make you forget that he’s your son?!”

The king looked down at the table. He remembered the day his youngest son was born 6 years ago. The tiny boy wrapped in white blankets, looking at him with wide purple eyes—just like his own. He didn’t let out a single cry, nor a single sound. He simply looked at him. 

Nonetheless, the king loved him.

“El. You know I would never hurt Yuan. I…I had no choice. I didn’t expect the royal mage to make such an announcement that day.”

“...You ordered the knight to drag him away!”

“I thought the only way to save him was by sending him far away from this kingdom.”

Elara studied the king’s face, trying to read his true intentions.

The king carefully placed a hand over hers.

“But I couldn’t do it in the end… so I sent the guards to protect you two. The queen won’t let Yuan live anymore now that the prophecy has given her a reason.”

Elara pulled her hand away. 

“None of the knights can be trusted! Can you be sure they aren’t the queen’s people? Yuan almost died yesterday from an assassination attempt by a maid. A maid!”

“I know. I heard from Ashford. You remember him, right? The young kid has already grown up to be as tall as me. Even if you can’t trust the others…you can trust him.”

Elara leaned back against the chair. 

Her poor son had enemies on all sides, and not enough to protect him. 

She felt frustrated that the king couldn’t do more.

That she couldn’t do more.

“That's not all, is it??”

“What do you mean?”

“The reason why you avoided your son all these years. It’s not just because of the queen.”

“...”

“Theron. You may be a good king, but you failed your son as a father.”

Elara's voice didn't rise.

Somehow, that made the words hurt even more.

Elara didn’t wait for the king to respond.

Her poor son.

She wanted to return quickly and see him.