74 - Who Are You?

This man had visited the place every day since they opened shop. Annie realized she shouldn't consider the person a man as he was shorter than most adults. It may be a girl, like her. She had dressed in men's clothing again today, with her hair tied up in a short ponytail. The person she was following wore a long black cape that covered his clothes. The cape also had a hood that drooped over his face.

Annie never spoke to him. It was Poppy or the twins who spoke. They all said it was hard to see his features or the color of his hair and eyes. A black mask hid his face fully. Slowly following him was more out of curiosity. She told herself she was only making sure he left safely the first time.

The second time found her following further. The third went more but she lost him towards a dark alley. After that, she kept losing him every time. He went a different way each time. It made her perplexed and irritated. Today should be different. She was following him from the ease of the rooftops.

She wondered if he knew she followed him. He never looked back or around. He seemed confident in his stride, as if he knew where he was going. But when he turned a random corner, he would disappear. The rooftops should give her a better view of where he goes.

When she started tailing him, she realized how easy it was. She should have done it first. After a few streets, it got harder. Some paths were covered by the roofing and she scrambled to get a better view. Some roofing had loose tiling that could trip her if she wasn't careful.

Then... He stopped on a crossroad. She watched him turn into one of the dark alleys. These dark alleys were covered fully by roofing. Annie had to jump down and follow by foot. She debated about entering but decided to go through. She was confident in protecting herself.

Walking through, her hand touched the right wall. She could hear his footsteps in the distance. The cobblestone path was uneven under her feet. It was dark but there were some lighting from some windows of the buildings. Watching him turn a corner, she moved quickly to catch up.

Her shoes were cloth made. It was simple for the low class. His boots had a hard covering on the bottom. Each step he took, his heel clicked on the cobbled path. She wondered briefly if he was a noble. Only nobles and merchants can afford good shoes. After that thought, she no longer heard his footsteps.

Alarmed, she dashed forward. There was another intersection that he had turned into but she didn't know which direction he went. Cursing silently, she looked at the floor to see if there were any tracks. Crouching down, her bare fingers touched the cold stones. There was some mud clumped close.

It seemed he stopped briefly before moving to the left. She straightened and turned left. She looked to see where his mud prints went while rushing forward. Worried about losing her target, she didn't see what happened next. An arm snaked around her waist pulling her in to one of the buildings. A hand covered her mouth, preventing her from screaming.