Snippet #2384623

Kip was surprised, even startled, when the fish-seller did not accept her offer of the bread. She thought for a moment that he was going to turn her in. But then he smiled and reassured her of his intentions. I won't tell, he said. Relief rushed like water over the tension in Kip's body. She really was being too quick to make ill assumptions about the people in this city. Though, she wasn't sure what acting out of accordance with the law said about this man's character. In his situation, would Kip herself have done the same? Perhaps not, at least after this experience.

Though Kip was grateful to the young man, she needed to use the chance he had given her to escape. It was about the only thing she could do right now. Staying in this hiding spot was too risky, as evidenced by the speed at which she had been discovered. And, as his actions gave away, there was someone else approaching. Kip peered out from the opposite side of the crate, surveying her escape route. There were still plenty of people around to disappear into.

Kip ducked out from behind the crate, emerging as nonchalantly as she could into a surge of people passing by. Her mind screamed at her to run as she spotted the baker, though he wasn't looking her way, but all signs of her guilt were once more wrapped in her skirt and she forced herself to keep pace with those around her. She did dare, for a short moment, to glance back at the fish-seller. She wasn't sure that he'd seen her leave. Then she turned down an adjacent road, out of the stench, out of the sun, and out of sight.

Even this far from the center of the city, the streets were lined with stone. The buildings stood straight and tall, if a little crowded, with neat, clean corners. In fact, everything was quite clean. It was as if, with the harnessing of magic and the rise of esoteric technology, the city had been swept into order. There were few living in obvious poverty; everybody smiled and laughed as though their lives were heading in the right direction. The sun seemed to shine even when the sky was cloudy. It was all very different from the stories Kip had heard as a child.

Kip found a darker place along a quieter street to crouch down and finally eat. The flesh of the bread had cooled off and dried out a little, and the malodor of that horrible harbor still seemed to linger within her nose. It was also the best meal Kip had ever eaten in her life. She caught the crumbs on her lap, and then picked those up and ate them as well. She even licked off her fingers for good measure.

A few people passed by now and again, the foreign girl crouched just far enough out of sight to be of no concern. Kip leaned back against a building, finally free from the burn of hunger. The Capital was not always such a rough place.