Chapter Text
The Archer and the Thief moved swiftly and silently through the streets of Emon, clinging to the corners and walls that allowed them to traverse the expanse via shadows. Never seen, never heard.
They stalked their prey, menacingly, silently. Their movements were purposeful, delicate, swift and calculated.
Their survival depended on it.
The Archer and Thief moved as one, their motion complementing one another, completely in tune, in step. A familiar way. It demonstrated that they were as close to being one person as two people could be. Some twins seemed to have that, and the Archer and the Thief were the prime example.
They followed their mark, ensuring the Crown Guard did not see them as they melded into the crowd, faces and weapons hidden and distorted by heavy cloaks. Cloaks they had stolen. They would never be able to blend into the Cloudtop District in their own clothes, which were too shabby and road worn.
Finally, a quiet, dark alley in which to strike. The Thief, dagger in hand, stepped ahead of the Archer, silently dashing behind the man. The Archer provided cover for if the operation didn't progress as expected. The thief held his breath and extended his hand, a thumb sweeping the cloak aside as the fingers deftly liberated the man of his hefty coin purse. Before the man could turn around, the Archer had moved positions to fire off a decoy arrow, allowing the Thief to blend back into the shadows and retreat from the alleyway.
"Well, brother, how did we do?" The Archer asked a short while later.
"Not bad," he replied, counting the coin, "looks like there's 20 gold here. I think that means a night at the inn near the Port of Emon, see what work we can scrounge up in the morning."
The Archer looked at the now empty coin purse of the noble with a raised eyebrow.
"I mean honest work". The Thief replied.
The pair retreated from the Cloudtop District before removing the hoods of their cloaks, revealing, to anyone who had been looking, two teenage half-elves with incredibly similar features. Dark hair, slightly tan skin, sharp cheekbones and hazel eyes. If anyone had been paying them any attention, they would have noted that the teens wore clothes beneath their stolen cloaks that would have, once upon a time, be classed as very presentable, fitting of nobility, except for the fact that they were now torn in places and covered in dirt.
The twins reached the inn, in companionable silence, and the Archer bartered for a room with the innkeeper. She had to lie about their ages, but deception came easily to her. She could be quite charming. They entered their assigned room, the Thief choosing the bed closest to the door, leaving the bed closest to the window for his sister.
"Home sweet home, for one night." The Archer commented, scrunching up her nose at the surroundings. The room was filled with only the necessities of two beds, curtains, a chair and a basin. It was basic, but clean.
"Well, at least it's something, Vex'ahlia. Better than we have been able to afford in a long while." The Thief replied.
"I know, Vax'ildan," she replied, "but you know I would feel more comfortable out of the city."
It was true, Vax knew that Vex preferred the wilderness and using her survival skills, rather than her social skills, to provide for them. She had found solace in nature as a young girl, and that had only grown exponentially during their time in Syngorn. Vex knew that Vax preferred cities, blending in with the throngs of crowds to get around and get what he needed, and she knew that he knew she wasn't complaining about the inn or the fact that he had wanted to stay at one for a night, rather than on the road. Vex knew that Vax was aware that it was more to do with her discontent of being in the city for a prolonged period of time than anything else.
Their time in Syngorn had made both of them hardened to socialising in certain ways, saying what they needed to and ensuring they said it properly, just to get by.
"Vex," Vax said as his eyes softened, "we don't have to stay here long, maybe only a couple of nights at most, but we need to clean up. We're filthy, our clothes need to be cleaned and repaired. We need to gather supplies. I can steal everything we need, but we have to be cautious. Staying in the city for a couple days to earn an honest coin or two would be the best option at the moment."
Vex sighed in resignation. "Yes, you're right. Cities just make me uneasy. It is easier for us to be spotted, by anyone, for anything. We can move in the shadows and keep to ourselves, but one wrong move and we could be found. We could be found stealing, or worse - we could be found by the Verdant Guard and dragged back to Syngorn."
Vax huffed out a derisive laugh. "You really think Syldor would have sent his guard to look for us? He probably threw a party when he realised we had left. He wouldn't kick us out for appearance's sake, and now we have done him a favour. We have left him and that's the way he will frame it. I'm sure he will tell people the Verdant Guard have been sent to find us, but I think we both know that to him, that would be a waste of resources. We're all happier this way."
Vax's face hardened as he thought about how much truth his words held. Their father had clearly regretted bringing them to Syngorn from the moment they stepped into the city's boundaries. They never lived up to his expectations, regardless of what they did. They could excel in their classes, both practical and theoretical, do everything perfectly, act as he wanted, and it would never be enough. They were Othlir, pretty much vermin to him. While Vax had learned he would never make his father happy and had come to terms with it, Vex had not had the same epiphany. She still tried to win her father's approval and affections, she was constantly fighting a losing battle, and it broke her repeatedly. Vax didn't care that his father didn't want him, but seeing him break Vex over and over, broke Vax in turn.
So here they were, having fled Syngorn after reaching a breaking point that neither could ignore. The easiest way to escape was to sneak into a travelling caravan bound for Emon. Sure, the caravan took them further away from Byroden, but after they had gathered enough money from either pickpocketing in Emon, or earning an honest wage, they could pay to make the journey to Byroden, instead of having to make the journey entirely on foot, and have a larger risk of being caught by the Verdant Guard. It would also have been the first place Syldor would have sent someone to find the twins, had he been so inclined.
The twin's optimism of seeing their mother again had kept them going. They had already sent a letter to inform her that they were making their way home. They expected to receive a reply from her, telling them to return to Syngorn where she believed they had a better life. She didn't know, couldn't possibly know, the hellish existence they had with Syldor. Their mother was loving and caring, seeing being a parent as the highest duty one could hold once they had committed to having and raising children. While Syldor had left her alone to raise the twins, she likely assumed he had also grown to develop the same sense of duty once he had discussed the desire to have the twins live in Syngorn to receive an education. She had no idea how Syldor really saw the twins.
There had been no response, yet. The twins knew that mail from smaller towns could take a while, and this was one of the reasons that Vax was so eager to stay in Emon, rather than just dipping in and out for coin and resources. Here, they could wait and receive a reply, it would have more chance of reaching them rather than if they were on the road or out on the water, however, each day in Emon was one more day away from their mother, and that was difficult for the twins to stomach.
They took it in turns to clean themselves and their clothes. One would go to eat downstairs in the tavern while the other busied themselves making their items presentable and taking stock of the possessions they still had.
With a full belly and clean clothes, the twins finally found rest for the night.