Brian McClellan - The Girl of Hrusch Avenue

She was whirled around only to find herself eye to eye with the headmistress.

Her light brown hair, normally straightened and tied back with a ribbon, was loose and blowing in the breeze. Her eyes were narrowed at Vlora, and the corners of her mouth turned down sharply, her cheeks red.

"You stupid girl," Amory snapped at her.

Vlora had never seen her so angry.

Amory still had her by the ear. She shook her, hard.

"That hurts," Vlora said.

"Too bad," Amory said. "It's not the worst of it. You're going to get the stick every night this week. You remember the last time you ran away? I told you I'd lock you in the cellar for a month, and I meant it."

Vlora tried to pull away, but Amory had a strong grip on her ear. "You're not going to lock me up. You're going to sell me."

"Sell you?" Amory said. "Wait, what's this?" She grabbed Vlora's hand and pried it open to reveal the twenty krana coin within.

"That's mine!"

"Not anymore," Amory said, tucking it in her pocket. "You probably stole it, you little brat. It's mine, now, for all the trouble you caused me. Now come along without a fuss."

"No."

"No? Don't make me beat you in the street! And don't even try to run," she said when Vlora tried to jerk away. "I know you've been sleeping at the Talien Square Abbey. You've got nowhere left to hide."

"You're going to sell me to an old man!"

"I'm not going to sell you." Amory looked toward the sky, as if beseeching Kresimir, then fixed her gaze over Vlora's shoulder.

She did that whenever she was lying.

Amory began to pull Vlora down the street. Vlora let herself sag, falling to the ground as a dead weight.

"I'll drag you the whole way home," Amory warned, and began to do just that.

Vlora jumped up suddenly and kicked Amory in the shin as hard as she could.

Amory squealed and let go of Vlora, clutching at her leg. "Brat! That's two months in the cellar!"

Vlora was already running. She had outrun the Bulldog Twins many times. She knew she could outrun Amory.

It wasn't until she was half way to the Talien Square Abbey that she remembered what Amory had said. The headmistress knew where Vlora had been sleeping. It would be the first place she'd look, and though the abbess didn't like Amory she would have no choice but to hand Vlora over to her.

Vlora had no place to go, and Amory had taken her money.

For the next four days, Vlora slept on the roof tops above Hrusch Avenue.

The days were pleasant but the nights were cold and Vlora knew that winter would come in just a few months. She would freeze to death without a place to go.

She loathed the idea of returning to Amory. She would rather die in the snow and ice.

She was hungry every day without the bread that she used to get from the abbey. She knew what it was like to go a day without food-Amory made her do it all the time-but her stomach tied in knots the second day, and the third day she was shaking and weak.

At the end of the third day an apple cart overturned on Hrusch Avenue, and Vlora was able to get there before the Bulldog Twins, snatch up several big, red apples and carry them in her skirts back to her hiding spot.

It was on the fifth day that she spotted Taniel in the street. He was strolling along, wearing his school uniform, and looking inside barrels and under carts as if he were trying to find something.

Vlora scanned the streets for the Bulldog Twins, but there was no sign of them. Just as she was about to call out to Taniel, someone else caught her eye, causing her to duck down.

It was the cold-eyed gentleman. The one who wanted to purchase her from Amory.

He stood beside the door of a gunsmith's shop, speaking quietly with the gunsmith. His hands were clasped, back straight, and unlike that day two weeks before he was now wearing a sharp, dark blue uniform with silver trim-the uniform of an Adran army officer-and he had a small sword at his side and a pistol tucked into his belt.

Vlora poked her head out of her hiding spot. Taniel was further down the street, and the gentleman's back was to her…. She waited a moment, and the gentleman suddenly nodded to the gunsmith and then began to head down the street, away from Vlora.

She waited until he'd entered shop further down the avenue before calling to Taniel.

Taniel looked around in confusion, then up to her. He waved.

Vlora shimmied down her drain pipe and stopped in the alley, suddenly conscious of her dirty state. Her uniform was torn and muddy, her face unwashed for these four days, and her hands shook a little from hunger.

She couldn't let Taniel see her like this! She'd told him that she wasn't a street girl….

It was too late. Taniel came into the alley and he grinned at her. "Hi Vlora."

"Hi." She found the grin funny on his normally serious face, and she realized that dirty clothes were something Taniel wouldn't care about. It made her happy. "Were you looking for someone?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah," Taniel said. "Bo is hiding somewhere. He said that if I find him before he's finished his fruit cake, he'll share it with me." Taniel seemed doubtful that he'd manage it. "He eats pretty fast, though."

"I could help," Vlora said.

"I'll give you some of the cake if you find him," Taniel said.

Vlora nodded, trying not to seem too eager.

They rushed into the street and began checking everywhere that a boy could conceal himself. Vlora knew all the best hiding spots-she'd used them to avoid the Bulldog Twins. She checked the old wine cask in the third alley, and under the wooden steps in front of Durn's Smithy. She even checked back up on the rooftops.

They both kept an eye out for the Bulldog Twins, and Vlora watched especially for the cold-eyed gentleman. She saw him once, but he was leaving Hrusch Avenue on foot and so she didn't worry too much.

Taniel finally sat down on the raised walk, his chin resting on one palm. "Bugger," he said. "I can normally find him. He probably cheated." He nodded at Vlora, as if it was decided. "Bo likes to cheat. He says that people who play fair always lose."

Vlora nodded back, but she was feeling sick. All the running around had reminded her how hungry she really was, and the promise of fruit cake had made her hopeful.

Her chest suddenly heaved, and she found herself fighting off tears. She knew she had to go back to Amory.

She'd have to take her punishment, locked in a dark cellar for two whole months. Amory might even sell her to the cold-eyed gentleman.

But at least Amory would feed her.

"Are you all right?" Taniel asked.

Vlora rubbed her nose on the back of her sleeve. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." She wasn't going to show Taniel her weakness. No one liked a weak child.

"Are you hungry?" Taniel asked.

Vlora wanted to jump up and scream 'yes,' but she just shrugged her shoulders. "A little."

"There's a meat pie vendor around the corner," Taniel said. "I could go get some money from my dad and then we could share one."

Vlora hugged herself, wondering if Taniel could see inside her head. How could he know she was so hungry? Was it that obvious?

They began to walk toward the end of Hrusch Avenue, but Taniel suddenly stopped, ducking to one side.

"The Bulldog Twins?" Vlora asked, joining him in a smithy doorway.

"No," Taniel said. "It's Baron Fendamere. See? That's his coach."

The one-horsed coach sat at the end of the avenue. It was black with gold trim, and had running boards along both sides and a driver cloaked in crimson sitting up on the coach box. Baron Fendamere's pack-marked face stuck out of one window, and a gunsmith brought out a long brown package, tied with white string, and began to lash it to the roof of the coach.

"Do you want to get him?" Taniel asked.