Tempting Fate

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Elflady

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The market square was crowded as usual, the same chaos repeated every morning as people bought food for the day or other trinkets they might be needing. No one took much notice of the scrawny girl that slipped easily through the crowd. An occasional villager might snap an insult at her to move away as she passed but she didn't even seem to notice it, she just kept on going. Gathering much less attention than one might think judging by her dirty and torn clothes that had seen far better days.

Calling her a girl was a bit misleading though, young woman might be a better word even if her short stature and thin body might urge people to think her younger than she really is. In her conflicted mind Ren greatly disliked being taken for a child and spoken down to but it was hard to deny that the younger people thought she was the easier it got for her to get by. Contrary to her relaxed and inconspicious behaviour Ren was on full alert, grey eyes sweeping the crowd for victims just waiting to be relieved of their belongings. Or for a booth owner to drop their guard so she could swipe something to eat.

Passing by a fruit stand with the middleaged owner busy with a customer Ren swiped two pears and was far away from the area by the time the customer was gone and the man keeping an eye on the stock again. The pears were soon gone, seed house and all, she had already eaten breakfast, a freshly baked piece of bread that someone let out of their sight but this was a nice dessert. Licking the fruit juice of her fingers Ren left the bustling market behind her and entered the main road that passed through the main part of Chamanu, the ground here was rougher against her bare feet but she was so used to it by now that she barely felt the uneven ground or the occasional sharp pebble.

Her mind was occupied with something more important. The whole village had heard about it by now, the wizard that had arrived just a few days ago. It was a rare moment, Chamanu was not a small village, in fact it was rather large, but it was located far from any bigger town or city and nothing exciting ever happened. A wizard passing through was big news and the talk of the village.

Ren had had this reckless idea in her head ever since hearing about the wizard, she was tired of being the low life in this place, she was not the only homeless orphan but she was one of the few, if not only to have gypsie blood in her. At least that was what people said, she herself had no idea if it was actually true or not, but what mattered was that because of it her life was branded a failure before it even started and she wanted to change that.

Sure she had done little to that end so far and thoughts of rising up from the streets she lived in was not often on her mind. She was more busy with just surviving. But now there was an easy way for her to at least make people acknowledge her in some way, if she could steal something from the wizard then people would have to see her skills even if they didn't approve of stealing.

As if to show that fate was on her side today her eyes fell on said wizard right there on the street, she had not seen him in person before but there was enough gossip around for her to pick him out on the street. Pushing back her dirty brown hair with a calloused hand she slipped through the crowd and made her way towards the man, her body tense and ready to run away at any sign of danger but Ren was proud of her thieving skills and in her arrogance didn't really see herself failing.

Like her usual routine she blended into the background and didn't seem to pay the man she stalked any attention. Her chance came after just a few minutes, a commotion broke out as two men argued over a toppled cart, it's contents spread out over the dirt road. In the chaos as people shuffled to either get a closer look or to find a way around the mess Ren slipped close to the wizard and in a moments notice had found her price that know rested in her tightly closed fist.

Heart racing and with her instincts yelling at her to run like hell Ren restrained herself and instead made a more collected escape. Her sight set on an alleyway that would lead to the maze of small roads and alleys that made up the city center, from there she could make her way to a safe place.
 
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