Ash sat on the floor in one of the alleys, his back against the cold stone wall, counting the ants passing in front of him. He always did that when he was hungry; it helped him forget he was poorer than most. The ants carried what they could and moved on. He thought as if he were one; to him, they both did the same to survive.
He would have rather spent time with his sister or played with his younger brother, but he had to be there; if not, they would not eat today.
He was a thief, and a good one, though he never liked it. Neither did his sister. She always told him, 'Don't ruin yourself because of a talent you have, especially a bad one,' and he would always giggle. She was smarter than most he knew. He thought that if she had been born into the right family, she would have gotten far, but she was born in the slums to his family, to parents he barely remembered.
He lifted his head to look at the sky, the sun already high up, but something felt different. The sky was too clear, and it was too hot. "Ah, this is weird, why is it so hot all of a sudden?" he mumbled to himself. He was skinny; you could see the ribs under his skin. Cold was something that made his bones shiver, and he felt it all the time, but hot was something he didn't expect to feel, not that he complained.
He sighed as he lifted himself up and brushed dirt from his pants. "I guess it is time. I hope no one messes up this time. I need to feed my brother and sister."
Then a loud boom came from the streets near a jewelry shop. Ash's job was to sneak inside the shop and steal a few diamonds and one ruby necklace—an easy job that would get him enough coin to feed his family for a whole month. He sneaked through the crowd that had just filled the place to see what had happened. Of course, for Ash, it was easy; he was smaller than most, and people barely noticed him. He got to the shop and sneaked inside. "Cinder's man made quite the distraction; it sure made my life much easier."
He picked what he could and placed it inside the small bag he always carried with him. Then he went to the necklace, glancing back, searching for officers that he would have to sneak past. Weirdly, there were none. "That explosion must have been strong if there isn't even a single one," he mumbled again. Then he looked back at the necklace; it was surrounded by glass, the most protected jewelry in here, and most would have left it, but Cinder told him to bring the necklace no matter what.
Ash tried to lift it first with no luck. Left with no choice, he glanced back again. This time, he saw one of Cinder's men. He signaled him to make something loud again. The man nodded and walked into the crowd. Ash waited for the sound, but it never came. "Where is he?" he paused for a second. His time was running out. "Damn it… I'll do it like this; I have no time." He grabbed his bag and slammed it onto the glass, breaking it. The loud sound lingered in his ear, but outside, no one noticed.
He didn't have time to think about it. He grabbed the necklace and ran out. As he ran back to the alley, he saw the ominous flames taking over the streets. His eyes widened. He thought the men would make a sound, but they did something much worse. Ash's guts twisted, but he couldn't afford to stop now. He continued to run. As he saw the end of the alley, a wave of relief washed over him. "I want to eat meat this time," he mumbled. As he got closer to the exit, that wave changed immediately as he saw the officer standing there. At first, Ash looked around, searching, thinking maybe the officer wasn't there for him, but he was there alone. There was no doubt that he was there for Ash.
He took a deep breath and slowed down. The officer was tall, but Ash couldn't see more than that; the sun was too bright. "Hello, Officer…" He waved his hand. The officer didn't say a word, just waited. He was too big to fit in the alley. The thought to run to the other side crossed Ash's mind, but turning around was not an option.
"Ash…" the officer said. Not many knew Ash, even among the slums and especially not the guard, so as the rough voice spoke to him, he knew who it was. "Cinder… what are you doing here?"
"Well, came to check on you, kid," Ash sighed. He didn't expect his boss to be there, especially in an officer's outfit, but he finally breathed. Cinder smiled a little, though Ash still couldn't see it, but he could smell the smoke. "I guess everything went well," Cinder said as he turned around. Then he held his hand close to his back, signaling Ash to stop.
He could hear mumbles but couldn't make out a full word, except one: "Thief." His body tensed again. He didn't know what to think. Were the officers onto him, or were they chasing after someone else who had caused the explosion, giving him an opportunity? He started to sweat. He looked up; the sun felt hotter now, like it was burning his skin. As he looked back, Cinder was gone. Then he realized maybe one of his men got caught. He could only hope Cinder wouldn't rat him out. Then again, why would he? The prize was in Ash's bag.
He tried to take a deep breath, but his throat burned as the hot air got inside. It felt like someone scraped his throat. He coughed till blood spilled from his mouth. "What the…" his voice barely got out. "Relax, Ash, you just need to relax." His chest slowly started to move at a steady pace. He started to walk towards the alley exit, each step carrying more fear.
Before he could step out of the alley, he saw the man he had seen earlier running, with an officer after him. He saw three officers before Cinder, weapon in hand. He glanced at Ash before signaling to him to go with his free hand.
Ash sighed. "All these mood changes will make my heart burst out of my chest," he mumbled. He stuffed the necklace in his bag and held it close to his heart. He walked out of the alley, still looking to see if there were more officers. He walked straight but slowly, one leg after the other, like a Stone guard following orders. It made him seem weird. The Stone guards are noble guards under the great king of the land. Ash could never be one, even if he wanted to.
"Look at him," he strained to hear mumbles from the people he passed. At first, he didn't mind them; he was more afraid an officer would catch him. "Why is he walking like this?" More comments came. Only then did he notice how he walked, but by then everyone was looking at him. Laughter sounded all around as he stopped. Before he could run, one guard stepped in front of him.
"Kid…" the guard said. He was a tall young man; he stood straight and broad, nose up even when he was looking down. He wore the usual brown and green outfit, sleeves tucked up, and a peaked cap that sat straight with honor. "You want to tell me what you're doing." His voice was rough but sturdy.
"Walking…" Ash said after a moment. The man was more than twice his size. He held his bag close and shifted his gaze all over the man, just not meeting his eyes. "I am sorry, sir, I mean no disrespect." He glanced at the man's belt; it was made out of fine leather, and on the left side rested the guard's sword, and on the right, leather handcuffs.
The guard looked at Ash, his face twisted into a small smile. "Why are you holding this bag of yours so tight?" He held the hilt of his sword tight. Ash's spine shivered. He placed one foot behind the other and searched for a way to run from the officer. "Kid... give me the bag." Ash didn't listen. His heart raced, eyes widened. "Don't do something you will regret, kid. Give me the bag." Ash shook his head, refusing again. His breathing became heavier.
"Colonel," a voice came from behind the guard, but he didn't take his eyes off Ash immediately. "Colonel, you need to come and take a look. It's like the others; the plants are dying." He finally turned. Ash took the opportunity to run as fast as he could, and he did look back. His chest started to burn, his breath became heavier, but he did not stop. He could hear the Colonel and his subordinates after him and catching up, and more guards coming in front of him. Then he saw a tight alley to his left. He didn't think and ran into it, managing to enter before the guards caught him. It was too tight for them; even Ash felt uncomfortable in it, but he could move.
He escaped to the ruins outside the city. In an abandoned hangar where Cinder and his men usually sat around, this time it was empty—no sound, no boozy smell, just a loud silence. Ash picked up a cup and poured himself ale from the barrel next to the makeshift bar on the far side of the hangar. "Cinder," he shouted, but there was no answer. He walked around the hangar, drinking the ale. Usually, this place was filled with scums, but this time, nothing. Ash finished the ale before he went to the upper floor where Cinder's room was. The door was half-open, so he could see a figure inside. He just looked at the wall on the opposite side of the room. "Cinder… where is everyone? I got the goods."
"So you have my necklace, kid," the figure said as he turned around. Ash turned pale as he saw the man who sat on the chair was not Cinder, but the colonel from before. He took a step back, but something stopped him; it was the guard behind him. "Don't worry, Ash Riven, I was the one who hired you."