Daybreak was a symbol of calm and renewed life at Agapura. The russet framed magnifying glass nestled in the turret of Paheri Nok welcomed the sun, patiently awaiting the heat to pass through it. It was a well-known ritual of the land, to light the first flame of a home after the offering placed at the turret would catch fire from the sun’s light. Dried wood from the kitchen’s fresh stock, leaves fallen during the previous night, and an oil-soaked cloth woven by the lady of the tower - it was symbol of gratitude, surrender, and diligence. There wasn’t a child or guest who wouldn’t know to follow the custom. 

Saakhi struck her sword against the rock pillar and bent low, catching the feeble spark against her rolled up parchment. Eyeing the low burning piece, she pinched her mouth before blowing lightly to make it burn better. Satisfied when the orange end began glowing, she straightened to take a puff and squinted up at the quiet turret. 

“Shame,” she exhaled a ring of smoke and tipped the blade back into its sheath with one hand, “I was really hoping to taste a poached fish today. Do you think they’ll light that thing up before lunch?”

“I was hoping to not get chased by royal guards today but looks like that’s not happening either,” Imay dug into his cloth pouch, tightening the maroon waistband as he frowned down, “Did you finish all the peanuts? When did you take it?”

“Sometime when I thought I’d get to eat poached fish thanks to my new job,” Saakhi replied and Imay chucked the last two nuts he had at his sister’s face, “What?”

“First, they don’t have poached fish here. Agapura has lamb, I think it’s marinated,” he moved his face away when the next puff of smoke threatened to mask him, “Second, the chief died. It hasn’t even been two nights yet. It’s not the guy’s fault that your job was linked to him staying alive.”

“Doesn’t mean I’ve got to starve,” Saakhi caught sight of the changing guard of the place and stared back at him when he glared at her hand. He finally looked away and she took one last puff before throwing the burnt out roll to the ground, turning to her brother as she crushed it under her boot. 

“We could wait and see if we got hold of the son?” Imay suggested, smiling at the guard Saakhi had just displeased, glancing at her with a shrug, “Or the General?”

Saakhi raised a brow at him and he nodded with a look at the handle of his satchel. They weren’t the most reputable lot, and the only reason they had come to Agapura was because of the personal invite from the Aga Angara. People approached nomadic knights rarely for more than singular missions, the distrust of an unaligned individual too high to place against personal value. It was even tougher for them, the orphaned siblings with nothing worthier than their skills and wits about them, and the price of offered jobs was often too high. Saakhi had been knighted by a zealous passing king after she had saved his life at their hometown, and Imay had honed his navigation skills to stay on his toes. They had been far too much of a burden on their father’s relatives and far too much of a sorrowful reminder to their mother’s. It hadn’t been much of a choice to fend for themselves and they were both experienced on what to look out for at new areas by now. 

Paher Mahir had given Saakhi his word but a word meant nothing if the tongue spoke no more. They had nothing concrete to offer as proof and Imay had heard enough disbelieving allegations in the past to know when to not pursue. Agapura was prosperous, the fawn and gold flag fluttering proud at its Chief’s tower, and the grace of the people differed from those of an uncouth knight or her brother in a sullied skirt. 

“Right,” he tapped at Saakhi’s arm, turning towards the horses they had tied to a flagpole, “We better get going if you want any lunch. There might be some fried lotus stem at the shop we passed by on the way here. You’re buying.”

“I told you I didn’t have my pouch on me yesterday,” Saakhi tugged her waistcoat’s edges closer as she followed Imay, tossing the nuts she had caught earlier at her horse, “Don’t give me that look, I gave you my sole apple last night.”

Sahas gave an unimpressed grunt and happily accepted Imay’s scratches under the chin, blowing into his face when the right spot was hit. The brown stallion was never an outright fan of his mistress’ bizarreness but was downright affectionate with the younger Por, sharing the same excitement as Imay’s mare Raina. It was probably linked to Sahas having been technically stolen from his previous master, but Saakhi maintained that the gamble was fair and a price was a price. Imay was among the few smart ones who knew better than to bet against her. 

“You! Stop!”

“It wasn’t even a flame -,” Imay began as they turned around but noticed that the yell was not directed at them. Saakhi stepped forward and it was only when she began running that Imay noticed the girl being chased by the guards across the courtyard. The girl, a kid really, didn’t look hurt but didn’t look like she was part of the tower’s staff either. From his place Imay could see that the guards were gaining vantage, their trained legs more than match for the teenager’s stumbling feet, but the girl kept running without halt. From his calculation, she was either at too much risk if she could caught or too desperate to take whatever she had clutched in the haphazardly tied up cloth bag hanging from her arms. He wasn’t personally bothered by petty thieves but the rich were and Imay watched the girl almost run into the pillar at the turning of the courtyard before Saakhi reached in time to grab her by the arm. 

“Stop right - how dare you!” the shorter guard huffed as they came to a halt, glaring at the panicked culprit over Saakhi’s shoulder before giving Saakhi a short look, “Who are you?”

“Someone with quicker legs, does it matter?” she subtly held the kid behind her and pulled out a polite grin that Imay had seen before, “She stole something important, I presume.”

“Hand her over,” the guard ordered, shifting his armour-robe back to place, “Stealing from Paheri Nok is a crime worth punishment. What does it matter what she stole?”

“But aren’t you here for what she has?” Saakhi asked, her voice calm but carrying over the space with ease, “It’s a bad time all-around, sir, isn’t everybody mad with grief already? In the midst of all the chaos, do you really have to waste your time over punishing a petty thief? Here, let me help.”

Saakhi held out a hand and turned around half-way when the bag wasn’t given, shooting the girl a pointed look. The kid looked between Saakhi and the guards with a mutinous expression for a minute before handing the bag over, thrusting it with a frustrated huff into her saviour’s hand. Saakhi smoothly turned back to the guards and tossed it to them, tugging the kid by the arm as she moved away. 

“Don’t worry, I’m a knight. I’ll handle this thief for you,” she assured them as she began walking without pause, “Good day, gentlemen and -uh - my condolences.”

Imay bit back a laugh at the awkwardness of the tone but took the cue and led their horses out, knowing that his sister would meet him where the guards wouldn’t persist. The arched gateway of the tower’s entrance passed as he kept walking, glancing at the cleaners who had just come in to sweep the mourning household. As far as he knew, the Queen was particular about the appearance of her home and it was fairly popular gossip that the royal floors were polished more than the mirrors on their walls. He idly thought about himself living in a home like that, being conscious of where his footprints marked and where his fingerprints marred. He’d probably manage it, he decided, with a good incentive of a warmer bed and a luxurious bath. 

Saakhi would jump out the window on the first night. 

His runaway sister found him at the first street of the market, tossing a seal of some kind in her palm while the rescued teenager marched with more determined steps beside her. 

“That doesn’t look like the expression of a grateful person,” Imay commented as he took in the kid’s annoyed face before tossing Sahas’ reins to Saakhi, “Are we sure she’s not going to bite you?”

“Your girlfriend is a thief,” the kid informed him and Saakhi caught the sealed object with a choked out laugh, glancing at Imay with glee at his exasperated disgust. 

“I almost wish you had bitten her instead,” Imay pointed at Saakhi and then at himself, “Do we look like that to you? Why must you insult people like this?”

“He’s my brother,” Saakhi commented and then nodded at the kid, “She’s Nami. Nami graciously gave me this compass for saving her life.”

“I didn’t give you anything and you didn’t save my life,” Nami shot back, looking over at Imay, “I was just taking whatever was thrown out the window. That’s not stealing and I could have proved that.”

“Funny way of saying thank you,” Imay shot Saakhi an amused look before grinning at Nami’s outraged expression, “Kid, she’s taken gold for less and those guards weren’t going to give you a chair to listen to you patiently. Besides, I notice that you’ve still got that hand mirror tucked in safely, so it’s a fair deal.”

Nami pushed the mirror back under the waist-cloth and huffed, shooting Saakhi one last glare before noticing the horses. 

“Where are you guys going?”

“Some place without nosy kids,” Saakhi quipped but Nami was a quick learner and pretended to ignore her, eyeing Imay with a curious expression instead. 

“We don’t know,” he answered, looking at the open stretch of the slowly awakening market crowd, “But Saakhi here owes me some lunch, so first that and then a plan. Do you know some good place?”

“There’s a shop by the lake that has the best fried-lotus stem,” she replied immediately and Imay pointed his finger at her. 

“That’s where I was thinking too! Have you ever tasted it? How’s it?”

“The grandpa at the shop gives me special servings,” Nami said proudly, moving one step closer to Imay, “I could get you a discount there!”

“We don’t do stowaways,” Saakhi interrupted, frowning slightly when both of them looked at her before resuming their conversation, “Hey! I’m the one who did all the work here!”

“You’ve already taken my compass, you can pay for lunch,” Nami declared, making Imay laugh at the surprised expression on his sister’s face. 

“Finally some smart company,” he chuckled and tugged Raina forward to start walking beside the confidently skipping teen, “Come on, show us your special discount skills.”

 Saakhi grumbled for a whole minute before trudging along and the three made their way out of the sun-bright roads with the prospect of ill-got food.