The frantic shouts and desperate pleas grew clearer as the commotion, with the children and the enraged vendor at its center, hurtled directly towards Kilian and Elara.
It became evident that the two figures from a far were a boy and a girl, both appearing to be around the same height as Kilian's younger twin siblings.
Yet, their small frames were noticeably thinner, almost skeletal, and their clothes were not merely old, but truly tattered, patched in multiple places, and stained with the grime of the streets.
Their faces, smudged with dirt, bore the hollow-eyed look of perpetual hunger, and their exposed skin was rough and unkempt.
As they drew closer still, Kilian's eyes picked out some interesting details.
Both children possessed animalistic features that stood out even amidst their dishevelment.
Perched atop their heads were distinct, pointed cat ears, perfectly matching the color of their hair.
A long, slender tail, equally matching their hair color, swished subtly behind each of them, visible even through the worn fabric of their clothing.
The boy had shaggy, ash-grey hair that fell across his grimy forehead, his cat ears and tail a matching shade of charcoal.
The girl, however, had tangled, snow-white hair, her delicate cat ears twitching atop her head, and a fluffy white tail that swished with her hurried movements.
*Illustration
Their eyes, though wide with fear, held a wild, untamed glint that hinted at a life lived on the fringes.
As the boy dragged his sister through the dense crowd, his voice, strained with exertion and fear, cut through the crowd.
"Please, sir! We didn't steal it!" he panted, glancing back at the enraged vendor hot on their heels.
He gestured to the half-eaten loaf clutched in his sister's hand.
"She only picked it up because it fell on the dirt.
"If no one will eat it now, please, just give it to her!"
"We haven't eaten anything yet today, or even last night, please!"
The vendor, however, was deaf to his pleas.
His face wears a mask of furious indignation, his shouts echoing through the market.
"Don't lie to me, you scoundrel!"
"You definitely knocked it off my stall and acted like you wanted it for free just because it fell on the dirt!"
"You think I'm going to let you scam me?!"
The girl, her white cat ears flattened against her head, was on the verge of tears, her small body trembling.
"I'm sorry," she whimpered, her voice barely audible, a desperate whisper meant only for her brother.
"I shouldn't have picked it up, brother. It's my fault."
The boy tightened his grip on her hand, his eyes softening for a fleeting moment as he looked at her.
"Don't say that!" he insisted, his voice fierce despite his exhaustion.
"It's not your fault, or no one's fault!"
Then, with a desperate surge of energy, he lifted his voice, shouting out to the uncaring faces of the crowd, his plea ringing with raw desperation.
"Please! Can anyone help us?! We just need food! Please, help us!"
Elara watched the chaotic scene unfold, her heart clenching with a desperate need to help the children.
The distance between them and the commotion rapidly diminished, and she felt a surge of helplessness.
She wanted to intervene, to shield them from the furious vendor, but she couldn't.
She was outside the castle walls, dressed in plain clothes, explicitly trying to blend in.
Acting on her own, without her young master's permission, was unthinkable.
But to her surprised, without a single word, without so much as a glance in her direction that would have allowed her to call out to him, Kilian suddenly moved.
His stride was purposeful, cutting directly through the bustling crowd.
He didn't hesitate, didn't falter.
He simply walked past Elara, then slipped between the two terrified children and the enraged vendor, effectively putting himself directly in the path of the pursuer.
"Young Master, what are you doing?"
Elara gasped, her voice sharp with surprise and concern, watching his sudden, unexpected intervention.
Kilian, however, did not answer her question, nor did he even look back.
Instead, his voice, clear and firm, reached her over the noise.
"Watch over the kids for a second!" he ordered.
Suddenly, the two children, who had been scrambling desperately to escape, skidded to a halt.
Their eyes, wide with confusion and fear, fixated on the sight of the furious vendor, who had abruptly stopped dead in his tracks.
Now staring in astonishment at the man who had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, standing calmly between him and his fleeing targets.
At hearing his words, Elara immediately walked next to the kids.
She gently reached out to hold them, but the children flinched, their small bodies recoiling and stepping back from the unexpected stranger.
Seeing their wary reactions, Elara quickly withdrew her hands and softened her expression, trying to exude reassurance.
"It's fine," she said, her voice soothing.
"Don't worry, you are safe now."
Kilian turned his head briefly to look at Elara, now standing calmly next to the children, and offered a faint smile.
Then, his gaze hardened slightly as he turned back to face the still-fuming vendor.
"How much?" Kilian asked, his voice even.
The vendor, still bewildered by Kilian's sudden appearance, blinked.
"Huh? Who are you?" he stammered, his anger momentarily forgotten in his confusion.
"I don't understand what you're saying."
Kilian sighed almost imperceptibly.
"The bread," he answered, taking a step forward.
"How much for—"
He cut himself off mid-sentence, seemingly deciding against a lengthy explanation.
Instead, he simply walked directly towards the vendor.
"You know what, here."
He reached into his pouch, pulling out a single, gleaming gold coin, and extended his hand, dropping it into the vendor's palm.
The vendor's eyes, previously narrowed in anger, widened to saucers as he stared at the heavy, golden coin.
His expression shifted instantly from furious indignation to utter shock, then to disbelief.
Before he could even begin to formulate a reply, Kilian spoke again, his voice firm.
"Keep the change," Kilian stated, glancing pointedly at the children.
"It's for the trouble the two kids caused you. So, are we good?"
The vendor's entire demeanor transformed.
His jaw, which had been slack with surprise, now stretched into a wide, beaming smile.
His eyes gleamed with pure satisfaction.
"All good, sir!" he practically chirped, bowing slightly, his previous rage completely evaporated.
While watching the vendor's fleeting figure disappear back into the crowd, Kilian thought to himself.
"If this had happened to someone else, they would have probably thought it was a scam and wouldn't have helped those kids."
That's probably why no one stepped in, despite the huge number of people in the market.
But he knew more than them.
That gold coin was only a cheap price to pay, because with years of playing this game, he knew exactly how important it was to meet these two kids right here.
Before the murmuring crowd could figure out who the mysterious man was that had just stopped the commotion from getting worse and involve the knights.
Kilian approached Elara and the two bewildered children.
"It's better if we go to a less crowded place," he said, his voice calm, but with an underlying urgency.
Kilian led them away from the marketplace, choosing a less-trafficked alleyway that offered a temporary peace from the bustling crowds.
The sounds of chatter faded into a dull murmur, replaced by the quiet echo of their footsteps against the worn cobblestones.
It was a narrow space between two tall buildings, relatively clean, with patches of sunlight filtering down from above.
Once they were far enough, Kilian approached the two children, who were still clinging tightly to Elara's sides, their small hands gripping her tunic as if she were a lifeline.
He knelt down, bringing himself to their eye level, his gaze soft and reassuring.
"Are you two alright?" he asked gently, his voice calm.
"Where are your parents?"
The boy, still a bit shaky but with a spark of defiance in his grey eyes, spoke first.
"Thank you, mister," he said, his voice raspy from running, though his tone was genuine.
He then looked at Elara, offering a small, grateful nod.
"And thank you too, miss, for helping us."
"If we were caught, the worst that could happen is that we might become slaves and never go home."
The last words were laced with a tremor of lingering fear.
Hearing this, Kilian's expression remained calm, but a subtle tension flickered in his eyes.
He reached out and gently touched both of the children's heads, his fingers brushing their soft cat ears.
"So, you do have a home," he said, his voice thoughtful.
"Then why are you outside alone?"
It was the young girl who answered, her voice barely a whisper, soft as a rustle of leaves.
"We were trying to earn money," she mumbled, her white tail giving a small, disheartened flick.
"By selling flowers."
Her words seemed to trigger a memory in the boy.
His eyes widened, and he looked down at their empty hands.
Their flowers, their sole means of earning money, had fallen during their desperate escape from the vendor.
They had nothing left to sell.
Both children's faces crumpled, on the verge of tears, their eyes welling up with fresh despair.
But before any tears could fall, a loud, undeniable sound filled the sudden silence of the alleyway, a two distinct, rumbling growls emanating from their small stomachs.
Grrrrumble...!!
The sound was loud enough for both Kilian and Elara to clearly hear.
The kids looked at each other with embarrassment but with a hint of sadness in their faces.
Because of that, Kilian looked at Elara, a knowing smile spreading across his face.
"Elara," he asked, his eyes twinkling, "could you bring out the packed food now?"
Elara, understanding immediately, nodded.
She quickly unlatched the satchel she carried and opened the small, carefully wrapped box.
The moment the lid lifted, the rich, savory aroma of freshly baked pastries and warm bread wafted into the air.
Both feline children, their heightened senses already attuned to the world around them, visibly stiffened.
Their noses twitched, their cat ears swiveled, and their eyes, previously filled with despair, now fixed with intense focus on the source of the delicious scent.
And then, as if on cue, their stomachs responded, rumbling even louder than before, a cacophony of desperate hunger.
Grrrrumble...!
***
/I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If its alright, please drop a comment or a powerstone to help me keep making this world bigger!