Bab 40: She Meets Dirk for the First Time
Robin had to give up on the earrings because the stall-keeper didn't have enough change. So, she decided to go have something to eat, instead. Along the way, a two story restaurant looked good. It had a nice view of the city and the streets as well. Of course, Robin didn't go there for the view. Instead, she was happy to sit in a table in the corner, with her back to the tables on the second store veranda.
But, just when she was about halfway finished with her food, another group came upstairs for dinner. While other groups had come and gone, this one was different in that Prince Christian was among them. Robin caught a glimpse of him through her hair fringe, but she didn't show any reactions. After all, her hair style was different, her clothes were different, even the way she carried herself was different. There was no way that Prince Christian could identify her.
As she surmised, Prince Christian did not recognize her at first. Instead, he took a seat out on the veranda, staring down at the passing crowds.
"You say that the guards affirmed that Robin didn't leave through the city gates?" He asked one of the other men accompanying him.
"Not only did the Hero not leave through the gates, the guard said that he left his horse behind as well." The man affirmed.
"It's a clue. The Hero didn't leave the capital, so he must be hiding somewhere." Another man said.
"But, how are we to find him, then!? The Capital is huge! We don't even know where to start looking!" Another one sighed.
"Not quite." Christian chuckled and grinned. "We know the Hero left the mare behind, so that means that we should concentrate upon the quarter of the city that is closest to the city gates. Since a person on foot can't go as far as a horse, he should be somewhere in the vicinity."
Robin was listening in on the conversation while calmly finishing her dinner, and sat back with a small sigh. 'Smart, Christian. Really smart. But, not smart enough.' She surmised, as she waved a waiter over to pay her bill. Now two large copper coins less, Robin headed for the stairs, completing her exit.
But, when the Prince looked down on the people in the street he noticed Robin's figure walking leisurely away from the restaurant towards the castle. His eyebrow twitched. The figure obviously looked nothing like Robin. After all, the clothing was different, and the hairstyle was also different...but somehow, Christian couldn't take his mind off of him.
He tapped his finger on the table, bothered. Then he decided. If it was going to bug him so much, then he was going to take a look at that young man's face. He stood up, and started walking towards the stairway.
"Prince!? But the food hasn't arrived yet?" One of them exclaimed.
"No worries. I just saw someone else that I recognized." The Prince assured them, as he tossed a whole silver in their direction. "You go ahead and eat without me. I won't be gone long." Then he disappeared down the stairway.
As soon as Robin had pulled a fair distance away, she ducked into a side street and observed the restaraunt. Sure enough, not a minute later, Prince Christian emerged, running off in the direction she had been heading, earlier, as he searched the faces in the crowds.
But, as soon as Robin glimpsed him, she had already pulled further back into the side street, and around a corner so that he couldn't see her from the entranceway. Christian ran right past the side street, but Robin wasn't going to take any chances. She continued ducking down alleyways, and around wooden crates. determined to get as far away as possible before Christian doubled back to that alleyway.
If he was sharp enough to catch her in a disguise, there's no way he wouldn't remember to have someone search the branching alleyways.
As an added measure, Robin even used parkour to climb over an alleyway wall, at a dead end, thus seemingly disappearing in thin air. She landed on the other side, in a heap of rags.
"Oy! Tha's my bed there! Ye can't jus land in et as ye'd like!" A young lad contested hotly.
"Ah, my apologies." Robin said, getting up out of the rag pile, and looking around. It looked like orphan lane. There were nests of rags here and there down the way, and young children could be found resting in most of them.
"Thas okey. Ye probly diden knows it was my bed." The lad nodded, reassuringly. "Yer being chased, aren't you?"
"Er...yes." Robin replied, still surprised by the amount of children in this back alley. "But, why are all of you living in an alleyway?"
"We're a motley group, we are." The lad puffed up his chest. "Many of us as those as 'aven't got enny family. Others 'ave family that's in illegal business or ran away without em. There are some that are the thrown away children of nobles with their lovers. And Billy over there, billy just lost his house and parents to the debt collectors."
"But, I don't understand. Isn't there anybody that takes care of you?" Robin asked. "Aren't there orphanages?"
The young lad snorted. " Orphanages? Man, we may have no family, but that don't mean we 'aven't enny pride. We don't need people to look at us with pity as if we're some sort of sub-human. We don't need the charety of hippo-crets that spend coins on us like we're some sort of charety fund, instead of 'uman beans, same as 'em.
We ken walk and talk same as 'em. We can work hard, same as 'em. We even 'ave a great deal 'o business jus' gathering gossip an' informations through the grapevines. There aren't many as ave our resourcefullness."
"I see..." Robin noted. "But, what about when one of you gets sick? Are you sure you can survive on your own?"
"Sure! Raven over there is a descendant of a healer clan, and can heal most sicknesses already. He's a right genius, he is. It's too bad that his noble father refuses to acknowlege him. An' Ellie over here knows cleaning magic, so the alley we live in isn't dirty at all."
Robin looked about. Sure enough, although the rags were worn, they were quite clean. And the cobblestoned ground didn't have any dirt or debris that one would expect in an alleyway. Robin took a long hard look as her eyes were opened.
Robin saw that she wasn't going to get anywhere antime soon with these kids. But, she did make a mental map, marking where these kids lived. She would definitely try to find a way to help these little ones without poking their pride. There were children even as young as two years old here, in the alley. While others were fine with leaving the little ones to their own devices, Robin's sense of ethics wouldn't allow her to just leave it be.
"So, like I said earliyer, yer being chased, right? I know somewhere's as no one can find you for a long time. It's a place that no one would ever suspect!" The young lad advertised.
"Ho? What's your name, lad?" Robin asked.
"Well, I've long forgotten my given name, but most as around here calls me Dirk." Dirk said, as he scratched his head. "Wot's your name, mister?"
Robin thought about it. "Maybe I shouldn't tell you." She replied.
"Why not!? I told ye mine fair'n square!" Dirk objected.
"But what if you're tempted by the rewards and decide to turn me in?" Robin asked helplessly. Actually, if it were these kids, she wouldn't mind being temporarily captured, just to help them earn an income.
"Wot! I told you we's got our own pride! Aint nobody here'd sell anyone out fer money. Unless ye did something horrible? Did you kill a bunch of people?" Dirk asked, backing away a bit.
Robin laughed. "Nothing of the sort. I'm just being chased at the moment by a very troublesome person that has a lot of authority at the moment."
"Did you do ennything wrong?"
"No, but he insists upon making himself a nuisance, so I can only run away...all right, I'll tell you, Dirk. But, you have to keep my name a secret, okay?" Robin chuckled.
Dirk nodded seriously. "Cross my heart. If I lie, may lightning strike me til I die."
"You don't need to go that far, just don't tell anyone else, okay?" Robin rolled her eyes. "My name is Robin, okay? And I just need to hide out for an hour or so, right now."
"Robin, like the Hero, huh? All right, follow me." Dirk said. "It's the last place anyone thinks to look for someone, for some reason. It should be perfect if'n ye just want ta hide out fer an 'our."
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone