An Abandoned Child

Her heart leapt into her throat when she heard another round of kick and before she knew it, she was already running toward the door and opening it stealthily. The creak of the rusty door alerted the men in.

They looked above with a hint of annoyance when she scanned the room. There were two of them. One was leaning on the window and smoking while the other was beating the child who was lying on the ground with blood dripping from her mouth.

"Hey, who are you and what are you doing in here?'' The man frowned with annoyance but she ran and delivered a quick kick to his groin before he could shoot again and alert others.

The other guard's eyes squinted at her actions.

"You bitch, what do you think you are doing? Huh?" Before his raised hand could touch her skin, she delivered another brow to him. Her daggers slitting his throat at once making his voice dead like him.

"You.." the first one started to stand up but she was not among those who left witnesses. She took the bloodied dagger unceremoniously and reached for his chest.

The man's eyes widened and his hands splayed to attack her but falling before it could touch her. Her actions were fluid, faster and practiced.

"There was a time when I had cowered in fear but that Elara had died long ago." she whispered to the dead being as her eyes filled with raw hatred. Her desire to cut the body into pieces heightened and she was relieved when the child coughed.

Or she would have given in to her desires and wasted time.

"Oh dear, you need a physician." she mumbled as she took the child in her arms. The child trembled in fear but when he did not get another hit, his exhausted body started to relax in her arms and he leaned for warmth.

She took a second to notice the child. He had a long sharp nose, angled jaw and fair face with red and plumb cheeks. His clothes were expensive and luxurious. Even his cufflinks were sapphires and she wonders why they have not taken them out yet.

The child was money and she was sure her idea of not getting caught for weeks would be jeopardized the moment she would take this child out from this room.

But the decision was taken when she had raised her blade on those two losers. She held the child tightly, luckily he was unconscious. So she did not need to worry about him making a sound. But those guards had already shouted and she could hear the steps approaching.

"Who are you and what did you do to them?"

The shout came from the door, where she could see a decent-sized watchman headed her way, beady eyes trained on her.

His eyes widened not for the death of his companions but the child in her arms.

"Let the child go!" he warned, taking out a dagger and walking closer. Afraid that he might kill the child, he aimed for his legs but his eyes had already given away his thoughts.

She was already inches away when he threw the dagger and threw hers before he could touch her.

"What is happening up there?" Elara did not wait. She held the child tightly and flew down the hallway away from the other guard. But someone must have checked the room for she heard the alarm bells soon.

She knew this bell, this voice. It showed danger and that… she might lose her life today.

"There is an intruder! The knights had come to save young lord." young lord? Her eyes widened and went to stare at the child again.

She knew he was a noble, she loathed so much. But she had never thought, he was a lord that knights would come to save him in this dark place.

She flew down the stairs to the first floor of the warehouse, calculating that she had less than a minute to get herself lost in the shadows. If she could get herself to the far end of the building, where the large door stood open to the fast-darkening street, she might be able to disappear.

Except she wasn't alone. She could not run as fast as she could and go unannounced like before with a child in her hands.

With an irritated sigh, Adelaide checked behind her as they exited the stairwell, their original pursuer halfway down the stairs from above, and three others coming up from below. Biting back a curse, she headed down a long row of stacked crates, as far as she dared before tucking herself behind one.

She placed the child on the ground and waited for them to look somewhere else. To think that they had lost her so that she could find another way to leave this area but her luck was going down every passing second.

She heard the commotion from the other side.

"There are more knights coming this way." she heard them shouting and her heart stilled for a second.

She had the child wanted by the knights and the criminals at once and she was part of the crossfire now. No matter who caught her, they would kill her as their enemy.

She held the child tightly thinking about her options when the child blinked. Because of pain or fear, the child looked scared and trembled when he opened his eyes.

He was just about to shout hard when she covered his lips with her palm and shook her head.

"I am here to save you. I will not harm you but you have to stay silent or they will find us. Do you understand?" she whispered slowly into his ears when his eyes widened and he kept staring at her.

She waited patiently, trying to smile but failed miserably. She had no idea if the child trusted her or she even looked like a normal person. With her gray cap covering most of her face and her dusty clothes, she looked like one of them. But to her relief, the child slowly nodded when she had given up any expectations.

"Good boy, now we will help each other, okay?"