Pandemonium. A skinny girl with a mask over her face was being pursued by half a dozen men ten times her size.

"Don't let her escape!" One beefy man yelled, as he tried hard to catch up with the rest, "that's the third time this week she stole bread!"

The girl ducked as a woman abandoned her stall and tried to corner her. Someone threw a stick at her, another some garbage.

A carriage clattered across. The pursuers jumped out of the way in time. The girl was too late.

WHAMM! The girl staggered to her feet mere seconds later, just as the carriage clattered to a halt.

A noble lady stepped out in haste, flanked by a young maid. The pursuers jumped forward and started clamoring.

"My lady, leave this girl to us. She's a stupid thief," the shop owner started to say.

"Quiet!" The lady retorted in a sharp but soft manner, crouching down, "are you all right?"

The little thief shook her head.

"Poor thing. Do you think she wants to steal? She's hungry! You, take this gold-- the money for whatever she stole. Girl, you're coming with me,"

The girl shook her head stubbornly.

"No." She said, "no. Just let me go,"

"You're not safe out on the streets. I'll take you to my house. I'll take care of you,"

The crowds were dispersing after the shop owner had got his gold back. The girl glanced around her furtively.

"I can't follow you," she looked up at the lady through her mask.

"Fine. If anything happens to you, come and look for me at the Tarnn manor. I'm Lady Tarnn, alright?"

"Lady Tarnn," the girl muttered, "got it,"

"What is your name?" The lady seemed reluctant to let her go.

"Iria. Iria Drek."

She returned to the shack which they called home, where they derived comfort by snuggling into one another, until late at night when it was safe to cast a warming chant, or even to conjure up much more comfortable quarters.

The problem was the baby. She and her younger sister could muddle along fine, but the baby needed to be nursed. It was extremely risky, casting nursing mothers into an haze long enough for the gluttonous little thing to be satisfied, while her sister kept the coast clear. Once or twice the haze had broken, and they'd had to race full speed out of there.

But she would never ever complain. He was her brother, her flesh and blood, left in her care along with her sister. Her parents would have expected her to take care of them as much as her twelve year old self could....

Neiman was cuddling the baby and singing to it. It was screaming.

"Hush!" Iria snapped, and the baby went into an haze.

"Don't do that," her sister scolded, "it's not Rudolph's fault. He's hungry. Let's take him out,"

"Can't," Iria pulled off her mask, "the stupid shopkeeper nearly caught me today and you know I couldn't use magic to escape. They were suspicious, though. Lady Tarnn's carriage hit me and I used magic to heal myself. They're probably wondering--"

"Lady Tarnn?" Nei said with disgust, "the prime minister's wife?"

Iria nodded.

"She wanted me to go with her,"

Nei scoffed. But a painful expression was forming on her face.

"Her husband ordered--"

"I know, all right!" Iria snapped, "we can't do anything now. We're hardly surviving. We need to find a place where they don't mind twelve year old workers,"

"The brothel," a drunken man passing hiccoughed. Iria picked up a stone and threw it at him.

"Go to hell!"