The crow shook to get rid of the water from last night, spraying in all directions. The water droplets were little diamonds in the morning sunlight. The rain spared none; not aviators nor man.

She was getting comfy there, but for the hand that suddenly gripped the rail; then she had to fly away.

The hand was small but bruised. Slender And delicate fingers indicated that's a girl's hand. Soon a faced popped up from behind the wall. Dirty but fair skin, short black hair, large black eyes, like a serene lake, holding great mysteries.

However, the expression on her face at the moment was not a very mysterious one. It was the strain from hoisting herself up.

But it was soon replaced by satisfaction as she succeeded to sit on the wall. She was wearing a blue dress that was worn out to almost black. The sleeves and edges were ripped in places.

She looked down at the boy sleeping on the pile of leaves , snoring peacefully. He was wearing a shirt that was now rolled up to show his belly. His arms and legs spread in a way that resembled backstroke swimming. Drool fell by the side of his mouth in a glistening path.

"Oi", she issued.

The boy didn't move.

"Oi," she said again, with no more result than the last.

She sighed. One swift movement brought her down.

She walked from the sunlight into the tin shed, the ground splotching under her feet. Standing by the boy, she kicked his feet. The boy groaned. Feeling motivated, she kicked again. The boy's eyes fluttered open.

Russell was relieved to see Vivi standing by him when he woke up. But he did a good job at hiding that under his morning scowl. Well the scowl was to be expected.

The previous night had been a rush. Rain came and Russell barely found this tin shed before getting soaked. It was an odd place, though, for a tin shed to be.

"Get up sleepyhead! The kids are gonna take em all."

By them, Vivi meant mangoes: Russell understood instinctively.

It was summer and most of the branches of the large mango tree at the center of the town were so full of fruit that they were practically brushing the ground. And after a night of storm, the ground beneath the tree shined golden. It's the street bum's treat of the year.

The craving for it's rich, juicy, meaty sweetness burned away the last of Russell's sleep. He extended a hand up. Vivi grabbed it and pulled him straight up to a stand(with much protest from his bones.)

Russell pulled his shirt down, wiped his drool and tried to fix his hair. Failed at the last one.

Then he looked at Vivi and asked, "Where did you sleep last night?"

"Cuppers bakery had it's shed up last night. I squeezed in with a bunch of others. Thank you for abandoning me." Vivi huffed.

"Hey, I looked for you," Russell stretched his neck.

"Where? In an abandoned old house?"

Russell had nothing to say. The rain came so suddenly. Everyone was running and so was he. Vivi seemed to take a slight satisfaction from his quiet and grinned.

"Okay, let's get going." Vivi said after a little while.

Russell picked up his pouch from the ground. He fished something out of his left pocket after he did.

It was small black disk. Like an old coin, a little sharp near the edges. But instead of the tally found in old coins, there was a weird carving on it. Details couldn't be made out, but it looked like a weird star shape. Russell had picked it up last night, from the hay he snuggled in.

It was interesting.

Anything he could sell was interesting.

He'd ask Gloir about it. Gloir knew a lot.

Vivi had left her bag on the wall. She picked it up from there.

Coming to the town center, they were met with a sight to behold.

Russell figured almost half of the mango was already taken. But the warm yellow glow from the mangoes still lit up the tree from underneath. The ground was under a yellow carpet.

Children and grown ups alike came to pick the sweetest fruit in the kingdom. Other ten or twelve years old could be seen nearby. They are usually the first in the scene.

A few soldiers could also be spotted at a corner, putting the best mangoes in a basket. Probably for the Royal families, Russell thought.

Russell also thought that sparing a moment for another thought would be a waste of time.

They both broke for it.

The mangoes on the ground looked okay but a lot of them were smashed. Some eaten by Birds and rodents. The sweet smell of riping-and rotting- food was in the air. And so were the bees, filling human ears with their buzzing. One bumped against Russell's cheek, but flew away; too busy to sting.

Vivi just dropped to her knees when she reached the edge of the gold. She frantically checked mangoes for damage, discarding ones that looked inedible, putting all edible ones in bag.

Russell, however, ran around looking at the ground. The ground was slippery but Russell was no wobbly runner. He searched for a wide area for the best mangoes available. Only the perfect were to be bagged. He didn't have Vivi's indestructible digestive system.

Vivi finished first. Her bag was half filled anyways by the time Russell picked his first fruit. She took her bag and helped Russell look for more of them. Soon the pouch was full too. Now to eat them.

"Let's go to the shed I found," Russell said. It was desolate, it was quiet and nobody would say anything if they threw inedible ones around.

The proposal got a shrug from Vivi. A shrug means yes. It also means lead the way.

Vivi ended up leading the way herself. The streets were now fragrant with ripe fruit. The shops were still unopened. They'll open after everyone has finished eating. Can't have mango juice spilled all over the place.

Russell threw both of their packs to the other side of the wall. They landed with a wet thud.

Vivi tried to cross the wall like last time. By the time she got a firm grip on the wall, Russell was brushing off dirt from his shirt on the other side.

Short people problems.

Once up it's easy to come down.
The mangoes were dropped on the ground. Vivi sat right down. Picked up one.

She placed a finger on the root and pressed. Rich yellow juice spilled as her finger dug into the skin. Once you dig your finger in, peeling a ripe mango is easy.

Russell didn't go into any of the dramatics. He just pulled it from both sides and the fruit was peeled.

Sweet juice spilled on their clothes as they dug into the meaty interior.

Russell finished first. Compared to how much food Vivi hoarded, she was a very slow eater. Russell was halfway through the second one by the time Vivi finished her first.

"Hey, Viv, I know, for food, it's the more the merrier. But how exactly do you plan to finish all those mangoes" Russell asked, while watching Vivi's pace, "It's not like you can eat them tomorrow. They'll rot by tonight."

Vivi stopped eating and looked at him for a while.

"You did not just forget!"

"Forget what?"

"Jerk!" Vivi threw a mango at him.

Russell skillfully caught it off the air, "Well, I won't remember if you don't calm down and tell me!"

Vivi sighed and said, "The infantry is returning to capital today. Arlo should be there. The extra ones are for him."

Oh, Russell thought. He really had forgotten.

Eight years older than both of them, Vivi's older brother Arlo was less a sibling than a father.

At the time when they were orphaned, Arlo was twelve and Vivi was four. He had taken her in his arms and ran. The capital has a way of swallowing people, hiding them from the world. It swallowed the little girl and her big brother in the same way.

They caught Russell two years after settling in. He was trying to steal some bread when Vivi jumped on him. He passed out. After he woke up, they let him walk away. Russell just walked out to the street and stood there.

He didn't have a place to go back to.

So they took him in.

A lot had happened since then. They lost their home when the near palace areas were renovated. A new king with bigger ambition came to throne. Last two years of Forthfire kingdom had seen war with most of the neighboring kingdoms. And it had seen victory.

They were giving the veteran families free accommodation. You had to be at least twenty years old to be a soldiers . So Arlo went to join a year ago.

And two weeks ago a wyvern came to the palace with the message that they are coming in two weeks and a list of their soldiers who had died. Arlo wasn't on that list.

Vivi and Russell had been counting since that day.

Forgetting it was really dumb.

Russell took it easy on the mangoes, leaving the best. Vivi spared most of her stock. The remaining mangoes were too much for any one person, but who said it'll have to be eaten by a single person? They hid them in the pile of leaves.

Russell stood up. Since the king and his troops were coming that day, the offices and shops would be closed. So no work for him or Vivi.

He had no way of knowing when the soldiers would reach the capital. So he wondered what he'd do till then. How can they prepare for Arlo?

The answer came in the form of distant drumrolls.

The armies are already here.

Wow, that was fast, Russell thought.

Vivi was already on her feet. She ran to the wall. Just before hitting the wall face front, she jumped and Russell was there, boosting her upwards.

She landed softly on her feet as Russell jumped as well. The both ran along the empty path beside the Wall before joining in with the large stream of people on the street.

Everyone was crowding near the gate. The boys are about to enter. Everyone was pumped up to see their hero's faces. The guards pushed and shoved to get people off the parading grounds.

Russell and Vivi pushed and squeezed and slithered through the crowd. Russell lost Vivi for a moment, but instantly found her and went ahead to hold her hand.

Oh no, not abandoning you this time.

He thought that, but it was far too easier for Vivi to squeeze through than Russell. He had to push a whole bunch of people to keep up.

Vivi stopped after a while. Russell came next to her and saw that they were in the front row .

The gates were opening.

The crowd applauded as the infantry came in first. They were all wearing helmets and cones, so Arlo couldn't be spotted. Their stride was strong. Their line completely straight. Nobody looked in any other direction than front.

Military discipline looked harsh. Russell looked at Vivi. He Couldn't tell if she was thinking the same.

The applause doubled when the king's chariot came through the gate. Embroidered metal on red wood. There was a gold lion up front, gaping mouth Frozen in the middle of a roar at the citizens. The wheels turned without a squeal. The Ares pulled on tirelessly.

The king was followed by the archers. All of them crossbows each with a quiver of arrows on their backs. Sharp eyes scanned the crowds as they passed by. Then was the cavalry. Oddly enough, these horses did not look worn either. However, the riders looked.... less than alive.

At last rode in the artillery, horses dragging their mortars. They were black cauldrons, wide enough for two to sit in and tall as a house. Russell caught the strong smell of lime as they passed.

The army walked grandly through the opening in the crowd, making it's way towards the center. Vivi and Russell followed with the crowd. They tried to keep up with the infantry. That is where Arlo is.

But it was impossible to move forward past the people. But children, somehow or other, always managed to do that. Russell held Vivi's hand tightly through it all.

Both of them were picking up pace when They bumped into someone.

The people in front stood very still. Watching something. The applause soon died down.

There was silence. For a moment, the world was still. Still as a dead goat's eye.

Then someone screamed and that world shattered to pieces.

People were running everywhere, especially back. Russell was also gonna move but Vivi suddenly gripped his hand and pulled him forward, Against the current.

Russell thought of revolting but ended up following Vivi anyway.

They came there fast, because the crowd had almost cleared from in front of them. As Vivi and Russell stood behind people running away from there, the scene came together before them.

The queen lay on the floor, Blood pouring out of a grosteque wound in her chest. She was wheezing for air without avail. Life poured out of her face as her essence from her wound. But what caught the most attention wasn't the queen.

It was the king, wearing his iron and gold armor. More particularly, it was his sword, burning like a silver torch, now smeared with blood.