“I’m not the boss of anyone,” Nassen explained, fighting off a smile as Madelon giggled from across the room. Viru hushed her, which just made Madelon giggle more. “Just more organized than those two.”

  “Which makes you qualified to be our boss,” Madelon pointed out.

  “Madelon,” Viru complained.

  “Viru,” Madelon returned her name in a sing-song tone, smiling in utter contentness. Rue found herself staring again, allured by…Something about the woman. The spell was broken as Nassen spoke once more.

  “I understand that something happened with Viru’s last job, but neither of you are bleeding. That’s good.”

  Rue scowled. “She kicked me while I was on the ground. I’m not bleeding, but I’m bruised.” Without turning her head, she looked in Viru’s direction, who was pointedly not looking her way. One of her long ears twitched.

  “Alright,” Nassen said slowly. “That’s less good. But if you did ruin the job…” He gave a bit of a shrug, his smile coming apologetically. “...You probably had it coming. Tell me what happened.”

  Rue nodded agreeably. She had it coming, and wasn’t really that upset about being kicked while down. At this point, Rue was now sitting on a cushioned chair in the room, which felt far too big for her as one person, while the room felt far too small for everyone in it. This room was better than the pitch dark one downstairs, and while she could see evidence of it being homely for the trio, her skin still itched in a reminder that she did not belong within it. She felt like an imposter, though she did not know what she was impersonating.

  “I was running away, and then that lady jumped out of a window–”

  Nassen held up a hand, interrupting Rue promptly. “What were you running away from?”

  Rue frowned. That was all a bit more than she wanted to get into. “...Someone saw me, and I didn’t want ‘em to see me?” She offered, wincing. This got a raised brow from Nassen, who read that there was more behind it. Silence persisted long enough that Rue reluctantly added more. “I got in a fight with a friend. Just some personal stuff. Nothing against the law.”

  Nassen nodded faintly. He was relaxed back on the couch, sitting up now, his book off to the side. Rue had been a bit anxious about meeting him initially, as Viru claimed that he would be much more upset than she was about the ruined job. So far, though, Nassen had been more than polite. He looked to be around her age, and despite their living conditions, he was more well-groomed than either of the women Rue had come with, and spoke with a more formal education that reminded her of Thaddeus to a degree. Rue wanted to like him.

  “Continue,” Nassen said, and Rue was grateful he didn’t dwell on that part of the story.

  “Uh, so, I ran into Viru. Actually ran into her, I mean. She was hopping out of a window and I didn’t see her. The thing she was holding fell and broke, and then the man saw us–”

  “The man?” Nassen remained very patient looking as he pried for more answers.

  “Of the house,” Rue gestured in Viru’s direction. “That she stole from.”

  Nassen hummed softly and nodded. Rue spoke on.

  “He started yelling and we started running–”

  “I started running, you started chasing me,” Viru interjected.

  “I think we should let Rue speak without interrupting her so much,” Madelon offered gently. Both Viru and Nassen looked at her, the latter of which nodded.

  “You’re right. Sorry, Rue. We’ll stay quiet until you finish,” he said.

  “Not that there’s much left to tell,” Rue muttered. “I didn’t wanna be held for her crime, so yeah, I ran and followed her. I’m new to Whesirki. Not, uh, the kingdom, just the city,” she wafted her hand around, apparently in reference to the city. “Didn’t know what else to do. Then as I was chasing her, I kinda thought, maybe it was a chance to…You know, get to know some people who could help me?” Her face scrunched up as she disliked the words as they were spoken. “I mean, I gotta make up for ruining things. I can work. This kinda work. You know how hard it is to find a job in this city? I’ve spent days doing nothing but trying to find work. So I chased the bitch, nearly lost her, but I didn’t. It almost felt like some kinda– some kinda divine guidance that I didn’t. She beat me a bit, and now I’m here.”

  Rue found herself sounding emotional, and realized that she felt it. The endless repeat of searching and rejection had gotten to her more than she wanted it to, and while she was well aware of her draining drive to continue it, she felt her face heat up as if she might cry.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Nassen cocked his head to the side as he watched Rue. “What work do you think we do?”

  Rue blinked, and glanced Viru’s way momentarily. The sarka had changed her outfit in the time Rue was talking and she hadn’t even noticed it, now wearing casual clothing, rather light given the heat of the room. To Nassen, she said, “Am I supposed to think anything but thieving?”

  “No, I suppose not. It’s appropriate enough.” He folded his hands together, fingers interlocking. “You said it was a divine guidance? Something like that spirit of the begger? I take it that you’re religious?”

  Rue shook her head. “No, not really. Wasn’t raised like that. But something just felt…Weird about it.” She shivered slightly despite the heat. Rue had no intention of telling this stranger about the crow. In fact, she wanted nothing more than to tell Thaddeus, but facing him was an impossible task for another day. “Feels like I was meant to end up here. I’m not turning away from that.” She took a breath. “What’s that, uh– the spirit of a beggar?”

  “A lot of the people here–” he gestured to himself, Viru, Madelon, “--the less fortunate under the King, don’t favor the temples or churches. It can be easy to lose your way when times are tough, which can be…For life, for a lot of folks.” He smiled, and it was a sad one. Rue found it interesting that he had so many different smiles, and didn’t know how one could convey each different thing with one expression. “Keeping community is a strong reminder to not lose morality towards one another. If a man begs and receives a kindness, he must pass it on. Sometimes, when morality is low or hurting, one of our ancestors has to step in and offer guidance. The spirit of the beggar.”

  Rue listened intently and seriously. “Is that true? The spirits of those living here can do that?”

  Nassen chuckled. Rue realized that the other two were listening as well, sitting on the other side of the room on a mess of sleeping bags and blankets, with Madelon leaning into Viru’s side and head on her shoulder.

  “Not everyone believes in it literally. Some do. The biggest point is that it’s there to remind us not let someone else suffer and starve if you have the chance to help some.”

  “Do you believe it literally?”

  Nassen thought about it. “I believe in the idea. I think it’s interesting that you feel like it was something divine. There might be something to it.”

  “Is there a temple I can go to? Somewhere I can ask more about it?” Rue leaned forward as she asked.

  “There’s no temple,” Nassen answered, giving her an odd look. “The only official temples are Aukinok’s. You have to keep personal shrines for any of the others, but the spirit of the beggar doesn’t work like that. There’s no rituals or prayers.”

  “Then how am I supposed to know it was divine guidance?” Rue stressed.

  Nassen strummed his fingers on his lap. “I don’t think I can help you with figuring out that part, Rue. I think the reason you’re here is so that we, all of us, can decide if you should work with us for a while. So that you can make up for Viru’s job, and so that we can help you get on your feet. I think that’s our portion of it. Do you agree?”

  Rue nodded, reluctant to abandon the topic of the beggar. He was right, however.

  “Yeah. I agree.”

  Nassen smiled. This smile offered happiness at her agreeability.

  “Alright. Good. I do have a job you can help Viru with tomorrow, as it turns out.”

  “...Can I do a job with you? Or Madelon, maybe?” Rue asked hopefully. Viru scoffed from across the room and Madelon murmured to her in a hushed voice.

  “My job is organizing the jobs,” Nassen explained. “And Madelon handles social jobs. Viru is the hands-on part of things. She needs more help out of the two.”

  Rue almost argued that she could handle the social jobs with Madelon, but the image of herself flashed in her mind, in front of the mirror. She looked more distorted than ever, gnarled features and inhuman proportions. She slammed the image out of mind, forcing herself to remain impassive in front of Nassen and the others.

  “Alright,” she said, voice stiff. The other two interpreted it as disappointment, but it was not that.

  “Do you have somewhere to stay?” He asked then. It was not said with the cautious, pitying concern that the last person to ask her had given. It was just a simple question.

  Rue shook her head ‘no’.

  “You can stay here,” Nassen supplied. To the side, she heard the rushed whispers between Viru and Madelon begin again, and did not dare to look their way. Instead, she nodded once.

  “Alright,” repeated, as stiff as before.

  “Those two sleep on their nest over there. I usually take the couch. You can have that chair, the floor, or wherever. They can lend a blanket if you need one.”

  “I’ve, uh…Got one. Just not with me. I’ll get it tomorrow, it’s fine,” Rue mumbled. Nassen nodded in his agreement to the terms, and Rue settled on the couch.

  He went over to his other two companions, sitting down with them to discuss in hushed tones. They were loud enough that she’d be able to hear if she focused, but she chose to not. She stared at the burning furnace, watching the flames flicker within, contained and safe. Every now and then there were small pops of wood within. The warmth inside was a constant, and she had a feeling they had kept the fire burning for a long while without letting it die. After Nassen finished speaking with Viru and Madelon, he made a stop by the fire, gently feeding it some additional fuel. He saw Rue watching and offered a soft smile, before he moved to the couch. He lay down to read, and on the other side of the room, the two women occupied themselves with a game overtop a board, with several pieces.

  There was peace here.

  The sense of being an imposter crawled beneath her skin.