First meeting

Elaine sat on the railings of a low wooden bridge. She swung her legs back and forth. It was an early summer morning, and the air was still chilly. The main street was full of people trying to buy the freshest fruits, vegetables, and bread from the vendors. The crowd only grew as time went by.

A giggling couple got on the bridge and was passing by her. Their attention was diverted to her and their happy faces turned to that with disgust.

"Ugh, what is this filthy child doing here?" said the man as he pinched his nose. "It just ruined the mood."

"Let's just go somewhere else, darling." Said the woman with pity in her eyes. She pulled her man away by grabbing his arms.

She watched them leave to the other side of the bridge. She looked at herself. A body so thin, you could see the bones and clothes she tried to salvage by clumsily covering the holes with dirty rags. Then she looked at her hands, first the palms and then the back. There were dirt in between her nails. Her hair was overgrown and all tangled up. She put up her feet to look at them. She had no shoes and had to walk barefoot ever since some other kid stole them as she slept.

I guess I am quite dirty, was what she was most likely thinking.

She noticed an old man from afar who was sticking out from the rest. He wore clothes that only a wealthy man could wear, and he held a wooden crane in his right hand. Two men who were clearly knights accompanied him. The townspeople kept their distance from him, afraid to anger yet another noble man.

Not far behind the old man was a boy much older than her. He pushed through the crowd, and by the way he nervously looked around, one could tell he was up to no good. He lowered his cap and was headed towards the old man. She watched him, wondering if he was really planning on stealing something from him. He would be stupid to do so. Everyone knows what horrid things they could do if they catch you.

Nevertheless, he continued to make his way towards the old man. All of a sudden, he started to run. He bumped into the old man and dropped to the ground. Everyone in the surrounding area grew silent. She heard some people behind her say, 'poor boy'. For sure, he was in trouble. The knights had their hands on the hilt of their swords, ready to take it out if necessary.

She could see the boy tremble in fear even from that distance. But alas, she saw him succeed in stealing something from the old man's pockets. All the boy had to do now was get away, but the question was how. Luckily, the knights didn't notice him stealing. She shook her head. She believed knights were sharper than this. She looked at the old man to see how he would react to this.

To everyone's surprise, he knelt down and held out his hand to the boy. She couldn't hear what he was saying, but one could tell by the flustered looks of everyone around, including the boy, that he must have said something no one expected. With how gentle and warm his smile was, she guessed he was offering to help the boy get up. He was the first noble man she'd ever seen who didn't assert to violence right away.

He really let the kid off the hook, and she couldn't understand why. He didn't even have a hint of disgust on his face. She'd seen so many beating people up until they died or even blinding people just for looking at them in a way they disliked.

The boy scurried away towards her direction, hoping to escape before they realised anything. She watched as the knights made a fuss about it, but the old man just laughed it off. He dusted off some sand that had gotten onto his clothes when he knelt down. Only then did he realise that he was missing something. Surprised, he looked around him on the ground, wondering if he had dropped it. She felt sorry for him. He looked so desperate to find it.

She searched for the boy in the crowd and found him just about below her. She didn't know what made her do it, but she jumped down on impulse, falling right on top of the boy. Maybe it was because she took a liking to the old man, or maybe it was because her mother always told her to be kind to those who are kind. Anyways, they both fell to the ground with a thud. It wasn't that high, so not much harm was done. She quickly grabbed the stolen object back and hid it in her pocket as the boy scrambled to get back up. He pushed her off of him, causing her to fall hard on her bum. She winced with the sharp pain.

He looked behind her, and he turned pale. He ran off as fast as he could without looking back. She stood back up and brushed off the dirt on her shorts. She turned around to make her way towards the old man, only to bump into a person who was right behind her. She looked up to see the old man in front of her, making her take a step back.

"Are you alright?" asked the old man.

Slowly, she nodded her head. Now that she faced him, she became nervous. She didn't think this thoroughly enough. She didn't even know what she was supposed to say. Then she remembered she had something of his in her pocket. She grabbed the object. It felt round and cold.

"Y-You dropped this...g-good sir," she stuttered. He held out his hand, and she placed it on top. Both knights gasped.

"Thief!" shouted one of the knights.

"He stole it, your Grace!" shouted the other.

She shook her head desperately as she waved her hands in front of her. She was trembling with fear. This time, she was the poor child for the spectators. She heard them whispering amongst themselves.

"Let's get out of here before we get tangled up in the situation."

The old man raised his left hand, and both of the knights went quiet along with the dispersing crowd surrounding them. Few people stayed to watch. He crouched down to meet her eye to eye.

"Did you steal this?" He asked as he held out his hand with the object on it.

"No, sir." She looked at the man in the eyes, hoping he would believe her. She was on the verge of tears. She didn't want any trouble. Why did she think it'll be ok to help?

"Lies!" said one knight as he grabbed his sword to unsheathe it. But before he could, the old man raised his voice.

"Silence!"

She closed her eyes and flinched along with the knights. She opened her eyes slowly. The knights looked troubled, but the old man had gentle eyes.

"How did you get this, child?" He asked. Relieved he was giving her a chance to explain, she opened her mouth to speak.

"The boy who..."

She stopped midway and averted her eyes away from him. If she tells them it was the boy that stole it, then what would they do to the boy? Would they punish him badly? She bit her lips and fiddled with her fingers. She didn't want the boy to get hurt.

"I-I found it on the ground, sir..." she said quietly. She didn't hear any response, so she looked up only to find him smiling widely. She was confused.

"Do you know what this is?" He asked her. She looked at the shiny object and shook her head. He then pressed on something, and the object opened up, surprising her. She looked closely, and she found two small pictures inside. On the right side was a picture of a beautiful woman with green turquoise eyes and light golden-brown hair. On the other side were two young boys, one clearly older than the other. She guessed it was his family.

"This is the only picture I have left of my wife, so I thank you deeply for returning something so precious to me." He patted her on the head. "Allow me to give you something in return. Is there something specific you wish for?"

She tilted her head to think a bit and shouted the first thing that came into mind.

"Bread!" she said with a bright smile on her face. She hasn't had any proper food for the last few weeks now. She had to manage with scraps and leftovers from the trash bins, and she was craving for some freshly baked bread. The bread bits she salvaged were always so hard and dry.

The man burst out laughing, even throwing his head back. She frowned in confusion. Noticing this, he quickly apologised if she had been offended. He stopped laughing and he looked up, raising his eyebrows for a short moment as if remembering something.

"Where are your parents, child?" He asked, full of anticipation.

"My parents are gone," she said as she shook her head. They have been for a year now, she realised. But to her, it felt like they were gone for longer than that.

"I see..." He looked at her with sad eyes and was silent for a few seconds. Then he asked, "what is your name, child?"

"Elaine. But my parents used to call me El." The knights were flabbergasted. Who would have known that the child was a girl.

"What a beautiful name you have, Elaine." The old man said as he stood up. "Your parents must have loved you very much."

She blushed and nodded. No one has called her by her name for a long time, so it felt weird to hear her own name again.

"Come, child. I shall take you to the finest bakery in town." He said as he held out his hand.

She looked at his hand and hesitated. She knew he wanted her to hold his hand. She put her hands out to look at them and they were full of dirt and scratches.

"I'm dirty, sir." She said. But he just smiled and took her hand in his. He started walking and she followed behind. She could tell he was walking slower for her sake. He was a really nice grandpa. He had such warm hands. She looked up at him again and he smiled at her. She shyly looked down at the ground.

"Ah, I forgot to introduce myself." The old man said. "My name is Zyair Akil Elsher, also known as Duke Elsher."

"Duke?" She looked up at him and tilted her head. He chuckled as he found her quite adorable.

"Ah, you must have not learned about these things." He noticed how she seemed to be waiting for an explanation with the way she looked at him. He chuckled yet again. "It's alright. You don't need to know about it yet."

And so, they made their way to the bakery.