Of Maturity and Youth

I stared at the boy's open palm. It looked large compared to mine. Yet, I had no doubt both of us were simply tiny compared to everyone else in the Black Cave.

"... You want me to pay?" I asked him, just in case. Who knows what specific gestures meant in a different nation? But, he only nodded enthusiastically with a huge smile. I now had no doubt that the boy was no noble. Which educated child would even ask for money in exchange for helping out a poor damsel in distress? I asked him with a suspicious face, "How much?"

I stared at him while he touched his chin with a thoughtful pose. I took this chance to observe him properly without all the adrenaline from running around. He had smooth, brown skin and thick, dark hair much like mine. However, while my hair was frizzy and often bounced out into an uncooperative mess, the few strands I could see from underneath his hood were curled up loosely. His eyes were a gentle chestnut color that grew darker in certain light. His lips were full and charming, while his cheeks held a boyish roundness. He was skinny though, and probably tall for his age. He's almost as tall as the shortest adults. Frankly, my five-year-old body barely reached his chest. I stopped staring when he caught my gaze.

He leaned in closer to me yet again so I couldn't look away. "20 pences!"

At first, I was confused about what he meant. But, then I remembered what we were talking about. "Oh! Then, deal! You guide me out of this place and have me safely returned to the Lunaris City market, and the 20 pences are yours."

He was laughing amiably as we shook on it.

Of course, I was totally broke, but I didn't tell him that. Anyway, I'll make sure to pay him back the moment I meet up with Miss Hestia.

"Alright then!" he announced with his hands on his waist. "But I hope you have just a little bit more time to spare? I've gotta find some of the things I came here to buy."

"You mean, you sneaked out to buy," I mumbled, but I agreed nevertheless. After all, I had no right to suddenly just barge in on a simple commoner during his chores, no matter how unofficial those chores were.

"What are you buying?" I asked in curiosity as we started walking into some narrow side streets away from the center.

"Oh, just these and that." He looked forward with a lackadaisical smile. I could only stare at him with suspicion plastered on my face. I mean, what kind of items would a prepubescent child even buy at a Dark Market?

We were now in a dreary street filtered with a few dozen looming stalactites above us. The stalls were more spaced apart and actual shops surrounded us in both sides.

I saw a few weird names.

'Mischievous Mallock's Maladies'

'Stormquil's Sordonic Concoctions'

'Sad Adventurer's Must-Die-To-Haves'

Although I was getting quite nervous the deeper we went down the streets, and even more nervous after seeing how there were more suspicious-looking lots appearing in this area, I still somewhat trusted the boy walking in front of me, whistling carelessly away.

The tune he was whistling was oddly familiar...

Before I could place a memory on the tune, there was a sudden commotion in the dark street.

"Please, sir, let me go!" A woman, not even dressed adequately, was pulled out by the arm from a shabby shop by a pair of men. "I promise to pay my brother's debts by next week!"

The larger man, wearing quite obnoxious and flashy clothes, sighed a stage-like sigh. "Woman, don't you know you said just that yesterday, and the day before that?"

The woman's face was tear-filled and full of anguish. She hastily tried to cover her bare arms with her shawl. "Have mercy, sirs! My brother just came from the continental wars, and he's injured and sick!"

"Hah!" the other man, in plainer clothes, laughed. "Then should we bow down to the dying lad and thank him for his service? A debt is a debt! If you can't pay 'em, you can just pay 'em with your body!"

Watching the two men drag the crying woman into another street, I found myself frozen with my plump hands crumpled in shaking fists. I could do nothing. In my infantile body, I could only stare as a fellow woman was mistreated in front of me yet again.

I felt a hand on my stiff shoulder. I broke out from my frozen state and saw the boy's worried gaze. "Are you okay?"

At that moment, I remembered how mature this boy was in the short time I was with him. He was aware of minority groups and already knew about rhetorical questions. So, I couldn't help but ask.

"Boy, didn't you say the youth are discriminated upon?" I asked him seriously, to which he nodded at slowly. "Then what do you think of the women?"

I watched his expression as it turned into confusion. "... Women?"

I nodded. "Yes, women. I will soon grow to become one. What do you think about the scene we just saw?"

He scrunched up his brows in thought. "I mean, based on their conversation, she owed them money, so she has to pay."

I shook my head. "No. Her brother owed them money. But, she was the one who had to pay with her body."

The boy still only continued to look confused. "Well, isn't it only right for the woman to help her brother? She will only lend her body for a little while, right?"

I was too shocked to even comprehend him at first. However, seeing his boyish face, I knew he still wasn't aware of the dark things a man could do to a woman's body. "... Never you mind, then."

I walked on ahead of him. My thoughts were in a jumble. I chided myself for expecting too much from a young boy. After seeing him show such maturity a few moments before, I had unwittingly thought of him as an ally. But... men will be men, even little boys.

However, my hand was suddenly grabbed from behind. The boy had caught up to me in a run and I stared at his panting form. I hadn't noticed I had gone so far after walking with my ill thoughts guiding me.

"What do you mean? Why do you look so sad?" he asked me loudly, with wide eyes and flushed out cheeks.

Then, I could almost see his brain working as it clicked. He looked as though he had realized something. "Then... Were those men bad men? Were they going to hurt the woman?"

My mind couldn't help but remember my past life, where bad men clothed in the purest white had gone and done bad things to my own helpless body...

I couldn't help the tears that started forming in my eyes. The boy panicked.

"Yes," I told him firmly. Before I could stop myself, my mouth had already started moving quickly. "Those were very bad men. Why should the sister shoulder the debts of her still living brother with her own body? It isn't right! She can work hard for the money, but she probably wasn't even given enough time. Why? Why should the women be treated so badly?!"

I cried and cried so loudly I knew that my cover was already blown. People were already gathering around us, finally noticing how there were two children roaming around the adult-filled streets.

I saw the brown-haired boy glancing around anxiously. Then, when there was already too big a crowd, he shouted a hasty "I'm sorry!" and proceeded to grab me by my waist, carrying me away from the gathering people.

My face was covered with snot and salty tears by the time he had set me down in what looked like an abandoned storage room. I don't even remember how we got here...

The boy slid down the wall and sat on the ground. He sighed heavily.

Now that I had blown our cover and the adults and slave dealers will probably be looking for two lost children, I knew I had caused a lot of problems for the boy.

"I'm sorry..." I muttered, now finally registering just what I had done.

He sighed yet again, bringing up a hand to wipe at his face, removing the hood from his head in the process, revealing his youthful face.

"I'll... I'll pay you twice, no, three times the agreed payment!" I told him pitifully while I tried to wipe of the snot from my face. He looked so serious, as though thinking about something deeply.

He suddenly looked at me fiercely. "What's your name?"

Taken aback, I actually told him the truth. "Elle."

He nodded after hearing my nickname. "Okay, Elle. Just call me... the Sneak."

I couldn't help but smile weakly at that.

"I have to thank you." He looked at me with such serious eyes that I became a bit more nervous.

I was about to ask why he was even grateful when he continued, "You made me realize something important. Something I hadn't realized before..."

I could only nod at that, even though I was still completely confused.

After a few minutes of hiding inside the storage room, the boy named Sneak had led me straight out of the Black Cave and back into the Lunaris City's market, bathed finally in bright sunlight.

Unlike my fantastical expectations, he had only brought me into a normal set of stairs leading straight up into a dark street, and just a few steps on, I had found myself in the central market area.

The market was just as I first saw it: crowded, busy, and organized. It might just be a great coincidence, but I immediately found my nanny.

"Miss Hestia!" I shouted, now finding our sweet reunions worriedly consistent.

We had hugged and laughed together before I turned around, saying, "Oh, right! Your 20 pences..."

But the boy was already gone. He didn't even wait for his payment. I didn't even know his real name.