"How much for this watermelon?"

"Good eye, ma'am! That watermelon is of the best quality you'll find in all of Minstia. And only for 3 Vels," I answered with a smile. I spread my hands to the other cart in front of me. "You might want to know our apples are 1 Vel each," I continued, lowering my voice, "but if you buy both, I'll give you a discount."

The middle-aged customer's eyes twinkled, as many grocery shoppers do when facing an unexpected discount. Similarly lowering her voice, she leaned towards me. "How much?"

"Mm, I'll take 1 Win off per apple. But only if you buy that watermelon too."

"Only 1 Win?" she challenged, raising a single eyebrow.

I grinned. "Fine, 2 Wins off. You'll only pay 3 Wins per apple.¹1 Velawin = $5 dollars, 1 Vel = $2.50, and 1 Win = $0.50. Fruits are expensive for commoners here." I slapped my knee. "Deal?"

She chuckled. "Deal. Young lady, you know how to do business."

I did a mock bow and helped her pack up. She bought the watermelon and four apples, which she put into her rolling cart and went away with an air of satisfaction. When I returned to my spot at the stand, Gramps was looking at me with an unreadable expression.

"What's up, Gramps?"

After a suspicious beat, he said. "The apples are 4 Wins each."

"I know," I replied, winking. "But it got a watermelon sold, didn't it?"

He shook his head and turned away, but not before I saw a grudging smile on his face. I smiled as well.

"Excuse me, how much for an apple?"

"Our very well-grown apples? They'll be 1 Vel each, but here's a deal: if you buy a watermelon..."

Days turned into weeks, and when I finally gained the energy enough to stay awake when I wasn't working, two weeks had passed. As I walked back from the morning market, I rolled my head around on my shoulders and groaned at the cracks that sounded. "We need a better bed," I half-sighed, half-mumbled to myself. 

I blinked really hard a few times, trying to get the dryness of my eyes out. It wasn't very effective, unfortunately. I brought my hands to my eyes and held them there as I walked on, taking brief refuge in the darkness that came with it. I was too busy focusing on bringing more warmth to my eyes that I failed to notice the quick footsteps that ran towards me.

By the time I took my hands off of my face, someone was coming right up to me, running at full sprint. He was too busy looking backwards to notice me. "Ack!" I squeaked, jumping out the way. 

Too late. My reflexes were too slow. Tired body and mind did things to your reflexes, apparently, which I really wished I didn't need to find out through a collision like this. I managed to get my upper body leaned out of the way, but my feet remained, and the sprinting man full-on tripped on my feet. I fell on my knees as well.

"Oww," I whimpered, dusting off my hands and sitting up. "My knees." 

The man who'd tripped on my feet had rolled a few times, and he lay on the floor face-down, looking very disoriented.

While we were both regaining our senses, another set of thudding footsteps reached us. The man who'd tripped looked up in alarm, then scrambled up to begin running again.

"Stop!" yelled the second man, chasing the first. He whizzed past me so quickly that I barely saw his face, but his receding figure told me that this was Dan, the one who'd offered me the free bread two weeks ago. I hadn't seen him since, but I'd also had no time to go to the bakery. I'd been too busy sleeping in my spare time.

I sighed and stood up, inspecting my reddened knees. Why were there so many chases around me these days? Did this happen to everyone else, too? Was this the true normal of life? I squeezed my eyes shut to retain whatever moisture I had left in my eyes. If this is the true normal of life, I thought, I'd rather be weird, thank you very much.

When I heard another person running at full speed towards me, I immediately looked around and flattened myself against the wall. No more collisions for this girl, I thought, determined and grim. I stuck close to the wall as more and more people ran past me, followed by even more people. The more people I saw, the more bewildered I became. What was happening?

When I saw the usually calm and sophisticated Claire passing by with a roller in her hand and flour on her face, I grabbed her and pulled her aside. "What are you--"

"Thieves!" she cried, glancing at me only once before she tore away and resumed sprinting. "Give me back my rent money!" she yelled.

So Dan must have been chasing her thief. Then what was everyone else doing running alongside them? I rubbed my eyes and waited for the mass to pass. Once the running crowd petered out, I peeled myself off the wall and began walking again. I wasn't sure what was happening, but I probably wouldn't be of great help. It would rather be better to take a nap.

I climbed up the stairs to our room, pausing when I reached our floor. Why did something feel... off? Tilting my head a bit, I cautiously entered our room. Mom was by the window, and she turned towards me the moment she heard the door open. 

"Hi, mom."

She rushed to me in a flash. "Filian, thieves--"

"I heard, they ran past me," I nodded. I held her hand as I went to drop my bag on the bed. "Were they in here?"

She shook her head. "No, but I heard them talking, right outside this window."

"About what?"

Mom bit her lips. "About Rosa."

"Rosa? But she's not here."

"No, about Rosa's family. Since she's the Chesterfield daughter, they'd find a lot to loot at--"

"At their house," I whispered, dread pooling at my stomach. "Oh no. The little ones! I'll-- okay, mom, I'll be right back. If I'm late, tell Cook I'll be there soon, okay?"

I was out the door before I could check if she had answered. I dashed out the door and sprinted in the direction I had just come from, then veered off-course into the side street where Rosa's family lived. Breathless, I spotted the house and exhaled in relief when I saw the little ones in the front. They were still safe, then.

I was about to approach them when a hand shot out from the corner of a house and pulled me in, so quickly I couldn't even make a sound. Heart beating erratically, I looked up, opening my mouth to yell.

"Shh," said the government official, a serious look in his eyes. His black hair framed his boyish face, and his almost-signature newsboy cap was pressed on to his head.

He let me catch my breath for a few minutes while I stared at him, so many questions on the tip of my tongue. He checked our surroundings before he turned back to me. "Don't go to them," he whispered, his voice urgent. "Thieves in their house."

"What?" I huffed, still a bit out of breath.

"Thieves," he repeated. "In your friend's house."

"Rosa's?" Was that why the little ones were outside? Were the thieves inside looting, and they were placed outside? Panic resurfaced in me as possible scenarios popped up in my head. I bolted up. "Then I have to--"

He grabbed me and shook his head, not letting me go until I stopped struggling.

I slumped down, leaning against the wall. I dropped my head in my hands. "Then what am I supposed to do?" I said, my voice wobbly. As usual, tears were backing up my throat. I sighed to myself. Sometimes I hated how easily emotional I could become. 

The government official didn't respond for a little while, opting instead to peek around the corner to spy at the little ones. When I calmed down enough to wipe away any tears that made it out, he turned back. "We surprise them," he said simply.

"How?"

"Ambush."

I sighed, eyeing him warily. He wasn't very thin, but neither was he very bulky, and he was just a little taller than me. Seeing as how I was pretty short, that made him pretty short, too. "Do you even know how to fight?"

He actually looked offended as he nodded.

I weighed my options. I could either rush in there myself with my two knives and make some chaos, possibly get hurt, possibly see the little ones get hurt, or I could team up with a young-ish looking man I didn't know except for his drinking preferences. The answer was quite obvious.

I crouched down on the wall. "Okay, then, let's make it quick. What's the plan?"

A/N: Rejoice! Male lead is comin' in!