Seven years later this Frail boy finally has a name for himself, no longer looking malnourished he looks like he has gotten himself some skin on his bones, but this is mostly due to him getting pretty good at stealing food for himself from the local merchants in the kingdoms streets. You might be wondering what name this not so young boy has earned himself, well the name he choose for himself was the name "Scissors". This name represented the duality of two beings and being sharp enough to pierce the heavens themselves in the language the locals spoke at least that's what he heard, a fitting name for the boy if I were to say so myself.
It was the early morning and the streets were as packed with as many people as ever, the venders were stacked with merchants haggling with each other to get the best prices possible while children are playing with cards and dice on the side, musicians busking filling the air with a sort of melody you would hear when at some special festival and the scent of street food lingering around just waiting for someone come up and order. As Scissors walked through the busy street he pick pocketed any individual who wasn't paying attention to their belongings, Scissors wasn't a bad guy at heart so he didn't take any valuables from anyone who looked like they needed it but he still had to steal as it was his only way of survival in this unfair world. Scissors walked passed a stand and took an apples swiftly and looked around if anyone saw then when he made sure no one noticed he took a bite and carried on walking passed the street until he reached a shop with a giant white sign in front that looked run down, the windows had cracks in them and it had a sort of unwelcoming atmosphere from the front which no business should have, especially a pawn shop but nevertheless Scissors entered the pawn shop.
As he entered there was a man with glasses and blond messy hair with some brown merchant attire reading a book in the front desk, the interior of the pawn shop was as boring as him, cobwebs filled each bookshelf while dust covered each crevice of any relic that was put on display, the floors probably older than the man at the desk, each step Scissors took a creek came right after, as Scissors looked at the man at the desk his eyes started to liven up and a bright smiled appeared while his hand started to raise in a waving position to greet him.
Scissors: "Hey Roals how you doing best bud?, fates Fortune!"
Roals looked up from his book with an annoyed expression on his faced when he recognised the voice he just heard and his attention was diverted to the ever approaching man that was inching closer by the second, as Roals opens his mouth he starts talking in a tired tone.
Roals: "What did you steal this time? also I'm not your 'bud', I would never snoop so low as to become 'buds' with some hoodlum"
Scissors grabbed his chest and said in a sarcastic tone while dramatically falling on the floor
Scissors: "Ouch my pride, it hurts so so much!"
Scissors then bursts into hysterical laughter then gets to the front desk where Roals is standing and places his bag on the desk.
Roals: "you've gotten a lot today huh"
Scissors gives Roals a slight smile then responds in a proud tone.
Scissors: "well today is the Kingdoms anniversary of peace of course there would be big fish swimming out there just oblivious of what us slum dwellers are capable of"
Roals shrugs with understanding and opens the bag revealing expensive watches and a few health and poison potions.
Scissors folds his hands together and closes his eyes with his ego higher than the clouds and asks
Scissors: "how much can you give me for this huge haul?"
Roals looks at the items on the desk and starts to calculate in his head while randomly blurting out numbers out load and adding and subtracting fingers from his hand until finally answering him
Roals: "best I can do is around maybe fourteen gold coins?"
Scissors expression turns disappointed after hearing those words then tries to bargain to get a little bit more out of Roals.
Scissors: " Come on Roals can you please just give me a bit more you know what I'm going to use the money for anyways so could you be so kind as to give a bit more to help?"
Roals looks up and grabs the bridge of his nose questioning if he should or should not help the kid out, He then sighs and responds in a uncertain tone
Roals: Fine fine I'll raise It up to seventeen, but that's only because the watches you got me were expensive you understand? that's it I'm not giving you any more than that."
Scissors eyes begin to bright up when a giant grin appeared on his face as he jolted forward and started shaking his hand
Scissors: "thank you Roals, you don't know how much this means to me!"
Roals looks away with an embarrassed expressed while scratching his head with his other hand
Roals: "Yea yea, don't go telling my boss that I gave you that much though or he'll surely fire me"
Scissors and Roals exchange items and before Scissors leaves the pawn shop he turns around and waves with a big smile sort of like a warm bittersweet goodbye you only have to give when seeing a loved for the very last time, Roals notices this and returns a smile back and just nods. Scissors closes the door and takes a big breath in while saying to himself that this is the day that'll change his life for the better. The streets have gotten quieter and more empty but it's usually like this at night, the only people outside were drunks and delinquents who were always up to no good but I supposed Scissors could be classified as one too if we were to just judge him by how he looked right now, his hair was scuffed up and his body still has bruises everywhere but at least now he has proper shoes and he also had clothes from the money he got from pawning all of his stolen goods, of course they were commoner clothes but still clothes without a doubt. as he continued to walk through the streets he eventually got to the back of the cathedral in the slums and he crawled through some passage to get to the dungeon he was sleeping in.
As he entered the dungeon under the cathedral the only thing illuminating the place were the very dim lanterns that were hanging off the wall, the chains were rusted and the floor was made of cold stone with the air so damp you yourself would wonder how a person could even survive down here, the other orphans there were far younger than Scissors but also with less hope in their eyes but he still loved all of them like they were his real family.
Once Scissors finally got to his cell he hopped on his lump of hay and tried to relax by closing his eyes, Scissors could not consider this place home yet he had nowhere else he could run off to, he was trapped by his own situation, this does make you wonder why fate has to be so cruel for neglecting the unfortunate.
With his eyes closed he heard tiny yet plentiful footsteps shuffling closer and closer
Like little mice scattering around house at night causing Scissors to open his eyes and looks over to see that the young orphans have gathered around Scissors and they sat on the cold floor as they wait for something. Scissors see's this and smiles while he starts to sit up to be able to see the children more clearly.
Starved Child: "Scissors, Scissors, can you tell us the story again pleeeaase?"
as the children kept begging for the story to be told in unison Scissors starts to laugh to himself while considering if he's too tired to tell them the story. After a bit of thinking he calms the children down while raising his palms up and down like he is fanning the air and starts to narrate the story while all the children sat in excitement like they are hearing the tale for the first time. Some leaned in closer while others laid on the cold stone floor for more comfort, as some of the candles in the dungeon die out only one is left still burning in all alone which put the spotlight all onto Scissors.
Scissors: "There once were children who were born into some unfortune situations, ones which caused them to lose their families one way or another so those children were forcibly put into an evil castle as an ogre guarded the castle, the ogre would tell to them that all of the children were just fodder to the giant dragon that owned the land and that he is only taking care of them because the dragon instructed him..."
as Scissors says this all the children start to become shaky and start to hide one another clearly showing how terrified of the ogre the children were through how tense they have gotten.
Deprived child: "Scissors.. please hurry up with the story I don't like the Ogre.."
as Scissors see's all the children starting to tear up he apologises profusely and quick as he starts to get a bit embarrassed and nervous of the situation like when a person says something out of line without reading the room.
Scissors: "Sorry, Sorry, I'll continue."
Scissors" Yet out of those unfortunate children was a prince who had seemed to have been lost. The Prince then told the children that it will be ok as once he escapes he will bring them all to his kingdom of far far away. The children put all of their hope into the Little Prince and helped him escape and after some time passed the Prince came back and defeated the Ogre in a battle and once he done that the prince then freed all the children and took them to his kingdom of far far away as they lived together as a family for the end of time.."
as Scissors ended the story he felt a bit of pride in it and smiled at all the children there.
The room was way quieter than before, yet you could still hear the rodents roaming around and water droplets dripping from the roads above into the dungeon but other than those it was finally quiet, Why you may ask? well of course due to the children being in awe, hope was a complete foreign concept to the orphans and to have a story where the protagonist gets a happy ending is unusual for the world that the children live in so for this very moment they were processing the story with admiration as little grins appear on the children's face some even whispering to themselves 'wow!' as though they have heard the most thrilling news one could get in the situation they are in. As Scissors starts to smile uncontrollably he motions the children away with his hands for the children to go to bed
Scissors: "go to sleep, all of you It's getting late now"
the children are then put out of their trance by those words and all groan unanimously as they all head to their cells without any protest for them to be able to see the next day. Scissors then lays on his heap of hay and just stares at the roof of the dungeon. The stone roof looked unstable which could collapse any minute which would crush the family of tiny spiders that have set up their homes in the corners of the roof, the air in his cell was still dense yet Scissors could never really tell why but it did not really matter as today was the day he was going to breath some fresh air.
after a few hours, as the last child fell asleep and the last candle being extinguished, Scissors realises that this was his one change to be able to run away. Scissors starts to get up and puts his hands inside the hay stack as he takes out a dagger and a coin pouch from it then he starts walking over to the gate of his cell really slowly that not even a bat would be able to hear him, as he starts leaving his cell he starts to look around to see all the orphans sound asleep, he feels a sort of pain in his chest looking at them yet he could not put his finger on why that might be yet he continued to carry on even after having the same feeling that he did when seeing Roals earlier today, Scissors finally gets to the secret entrance to the dungeon and is about to climb out when he feels a little hand holding onto his tunic which causes Scissors to look back in confusion.
Starved child: "Scissors are you leaving us.."
Scissors looks to the side with guilt as he starts to scratch his head with one hand and he replies in a unsure tone
Scissors: "no I'm going to go to my kingdom of far far away just like the Prince did.."
the little boys eyes start to widen in excitement and he starts to jump up and down.
Starved child: "WHAT REALLY DOES THAT MEAN YOU'LL TAKE US THERE TOO AND SAVE US FROM FATHER BENEDICT!?"
Scissors starts to tap his thumb on his index finger nervously as he says to the child in a reluctant and unsure tone while trying to give him a convincing smile.
Scissors: "Yea I promise I'll come back to save all of you and we can all live together in my kingdom of far far away"
The child opens his mouth in amazement and holds out his pinky finger as he is waiting for a response.
Starved child: "promise?"
Scissors holds out his pinky and they shake on the promise.
Scissors: "Promise.."
As Scissors watches the little boy go back to his cell and sleep Scissors proceeds to climb out of the hole and he looks up to see a giant moon glistening in the sky illuminating the entire street with its light like ballet dancers dancing away. Scissors takes a big breath in and savors every last bit of it, the air was so refreshing It also felt a bit cold, The streets were quiet and empty for once not like it was before with people who were up to no good being out to cause mischief but it was truly empty, like the city has finally gone to sleep with the clouds in the air acting as pillows for all the citizens to catch some sleep, the atmosphere was peaceful. Scissors glances at his coin pouch that he shoved in his pocket earlier and says to himself in a hopeful tone.
Scissors: "today is when my life truly begins"