The town was waking. Men and women uncovered signs, moved chairs and set out their wares. The sent of freshly baked bread wafted down the street where a young boy hurried with a basket of eggs.

She craved Ve-Ka. Leyla pictured holding a cup of the hot black liquid that had kept her going through long security shifts at the Jade Palace, then buried the memory. Rather than making her feel better, thinking of the dreamlike time in Asch left her with an odd sense of loss. It was a place she would never see again. A place that was only real to her and Michael.

"Young lady, fancy a bun?" A toothless old woman called to her in Greenlandic. Leyla smiled, glad that she had been mistaken for a local. It was a good thing she had worn the red dress after all. At first she had wanted to throw the blasted thing away, but the Healers outfit was just too uncomfortable to wear for a second day in a row. Now, soft red silk billowed behind her as she moved with ease towards the old woman's stall.

"These look delicious," she replied in Greenlandic. Then taking a coin from the small silver and white pouch Michael had given her back in the Giant Forest, she held out her hand to the woman.

"With that, you can buy all of my buns and my husband too!" the old woman cackled, her stringy hair shaking wildly.

"Then I'll take three buns," Leyla smiled, "And your good wishes."

Suddenly somber, the old woman gathered three buns in a small bag and patted Leyla's hand. "I heard you were seeking audience with our King my dear." She looked left and right then lowered her voice. "Don't give your trust easily."

So much for looking like a local. "You know I am a visitor?"

"Old Sosostris knows everything," she winked, covering her smile with her gnarled hands like a shy girl.

Leyla shook her head with amusement, then held the coin out to her once more, but Old Sosostris refused.

"I wouldn't dare. It's bad luck to accept payment from the first customer of the day." She cackled until her face turned pink, then began searching the street behind Leyla. "Where is that man of yours? The tall one that could melt ice with a look if he had a mind to?"

"He is not my man! And I'm not sure where he is." The King's Town gossip mills were really something to be reckoned with, Leyla thought.

"Not your man?" The old woman slapped her knees as if she had never heard a funnier joke. "You don't understand men at all, do you my dear?"

Leyla frowned, remembering numerous instances where Michael had said the same thing. Maybe it was true, maybe she didn't understand men. She certainly did not understand Alec. One minute he was cold, one minute he looked at her like she was special... Ah, it didn't matter because there was one certainty amongst all the confusion: Alec was going to marry Princess Mira.

"Go on now, if you're playing hard to get, you have to keep moving." Old Sosostris winked and pushed at her to get her going.

Hard to get, what did that mean? Leyla took a few steps away from the stall, then stopped. The old woman seemed to have her ear to the ground, and was sharp too, could she know anything about a relationship between a Greenlander and a female Warrior from seventeen years ago? It was a long shot, but just maybe? Having decided to give it a try, Leyla turned back to the stall, but Old Sosostris was nowhere to be seen.

"Was a silly notion anyway," Leyla mumbled to herself as she continued her walk. She wondered aimlessly for a while, glancing this way and that as stall keepers put out their wares. Nothing in particular drew her fancy, but she continued moving telling herself she was getting some air. Ah, heck, who was she kidding? She had left Happy Time before anyone else left their rooms for the same reason she did not want to return; she was avoiding Alec.

Turning down a street they hadn't walked the evening before, Leyla slowed her steps. Instead of stalls, this street was lined with speciality stores and businesses and despite the earliness of the hour there was quite a crowd. Couples purchasing sheets, women haggling over colourful plates, a finely dressed gentleman looking into the window of a tea shop...Leyla watched the hustle bustle until a couple of kids sitting with their backs to a turquoise store-wall caught her eye.

The girl looked about five years-old, while the boy with his gangly arms and stick-legs might have been a seven or eight. Unlike everyone else she had seen in the town, their clothes were torn and their faces carried the sunken look that came from intense hunger.

Remembering her bag of buns, Leyla took a step towards the kids when a shout rose from within the store.

"My necklace!" An angry shopkeeper stormed onto the street, his eyes searching until he spotted the young boy. "Thief!" People stopped to look as the short man pointed a stubby finger. "You, boy! You were in my shop and now my precious necklace is gone! Someone call the guards!"

Driven by anger, Leyla pushed through the gathering crowd and knelt beside the frightened looking children. "Lower your voice, man! Can't you see how scared they are?"

The little girl looked up at her with tearful eyes, but the boy stepped away from Leyla with a defiant look. "I'm not scared! Why should I be, I haven't done anything!"

"Lying thief!" The shopkeeper hissed moving closer. Seeing him raise his arm, Leyla sprung to her feet and grabbed his arm.

"Where do you get off, slapping someone else's child?" She flung the mans limb away, disgusted for having touched him.

"Whose child? Those brats are orphans!" the Shopkeeper spat the word as if it were a curse. Leyla saw the eyes of many onlookers harden with distaste and heard several mutter about 'thieving orphans'. Her back stiffened, her fingers curling in fury. Did Greenlanders mistreat their orphans then? For all that she had suffered as a child, Leyla knew that none of the bias had been because she was parentless. In the Warrior Kingdom, dying was not a sin you could pass down to your children; treachery was.

"So that is why you accused this child, because he is an orphan and has no one to stand up for him?" Leyla narrowed her eyes at the half-dozen bystanders, "And you all are happy to believe these kids are thieves because they have no parents?"

Her audience went mute, but no one looked ashamed. Not that Leyla expected shame from a society that allowed children to starve.

"Get out of here! You may be dressed like one of us, but you're no Greenlander!" The Shopkeeper stormed.

Leyla smiled grimly, "Instead of worrying about me, why don't you present your proof? Explain why a child who supposedly stole from your shop, would be sitting right next to it. Or do thieves sit and wait to be caught in the Greenlands instead of running away like they do everywhere else?"

At this their audience began to look more uncertain, some sending frowns in the direction of the shopkeeper who had turned decidedly pink.

"Oh, I see!" he said with a sudden glint in his eye. "You are working with them! Using the orphans to steal for you, what else can we expect from an outsider?!" He turned to the people around him, his eyes sparkling as he raised his voice: "Doesn't the King always tell us to be weary of foreigners? She could be a No Lander for all we know! How did you get into our town? Did you think we Greenlanders would fall for your tricks?"

"She's an outsider!"

"She used the children!"

"How vicious!"

Leyla couldn't believe the man's audacity. He was playing the crowd, pushing at their fears of the foreign. "Don't be ridiculous" she began, but two guards showed up at that very moment and the Shopkeeper jumped at the opportunity.

"Arrest her! She stole from my shop!" He used his most commanding voice, prompting several others to support his demand. Seeing the crowds temper, the guards moved towards her.

The little girl grabbed onto Leyla's skirts in fear while the boy stepped in front of her, "Leave her alone, she didn't do anything!"

Leyla saw one of the guards put his hand on the hilt of his sword and pulled the boy behind her. The kids both started crying.

"You're coming with us," the guard smirked. He reached for her wrist, but before he could touch her, Leyla gave a short jab to his shoulder sending him staggering back. The second guard blinked in surprise, before gathering his wits enough to reach for his sword.

"I will come with you," Leyla said, stalling his action.

Leyla could take them both down in less than ten seconds. Diya, she could take the whole street out without breaking a sweat, but doing so would gain her no points in the Green King's eyes. She wouldn't start a fight. Not unless they hurt the children.

"Just give me a moment, and I will give you no trouble." Not waiting for a response, she turned to the orphans and handed them the bag of buns. "Do not worry, everything will be alright. If you get hungry again before I clear this up, go to Old Sosostris and tell her that the foreign woman will pay for anything you eat." The girl's lips still trembled, but she had managed to stop crying. The boy looked at the bag of food in his hands, then he stared hard at the ground. Leyla could imagine his feelings.

Putting a hand on his shoulder, she lowered her voice: "You are her protector. That duty comes before pride. You will make sure she does not go hungry, won't you?"

The boy's eyes were still glued to the floor, but he gave a small nod. Satisfied that they would find Sosostris if needs be, Leyla gave the Shopkeeper one last scathing glance, then took a step towards the guards.

"Hands out front." The one she had hit commanded. In a moment they had bound her wrists together with a particularly itchy rope.

As she got dragged off, Leyla wondered if she had somehow brought this upon herself. After all, hadn't she been the one who wanted to be on her own so badly? Now she would definitely be on her own...in a jail cell.