He roused awake. The high pitched screeching signaled the train coming to stop. Metal against metal. Theo sat up and stretched, well, stretched as much as he could manage in his cramped train car. He was sitting near the window, in a row where four were seated when there was really only room for two: him, a husky bearded man next to him, a petite blonde woman with dazzlingly blue eyes, and an infant in her lap whose eyes were just as vibrant. He shook his head and peaked out the window.

The sky was a gloomy brownish-gray, just as he'd been told it would be. Not much could be seen from within the train station, but a dirty stone platform and rusty light poles, emitting a yellow glow, illuminating the light drizzle dampening everything. The place was ominously deserted.

"The train has reached the London, England station. Will depart for the next stop in 30 minutes. Thank you for choosing the Intra European Railway." The conductor's tired voice came through the intercom. There was a low grumble as people shuffled around each other, searching for there luggage.

Theo was smart enough not to place his bag in the above storage shelves. He'd kept it under his feet the whole ride. It was worth not risking the chance of a thief taking a swipe at his bag on the way out of the train.

He pushed passed dirty bodies, mumbling his "excuse me's" and "pardon me's", frowning at his accent. He'd have to work on that if he was to fit in here. After a few minutes, he stepped out into the humid, polluted air of Great Britain.

"Keep your head down. Trust no one." Alto had told him handing him his satchel with the only belongings he'd be taking with him. "Don't think that just because you're in a different country, people will think twice about stealing everything you've got. And only english. The Brits don't take too kindly to foreigners these days. If it's not in english, keep that mouth shut."

The thought of Alto giving him advice was nearly laughable, but he could use all the help he could manage to get. A new beginning came with a price, and he knew he'd have to pay for it later. If there was one thing he's learned in this world it was that nothing was free, not even freedom.

Theo looked back at the old rickety train with it's chipped black paint as dark plumes of smoke from the coal engine pumped into the sky. He took a breath.

No going back now. Only forward. He walked across the pathway and through a dark corridor. The lights weren't working there for some reason and he almost tripped a couple of times, other people brushed past him in the dark, looking for the way out. Wooden doors squeaked open as the first few travellers filed out onto the city street, providing meager light. Theo finally made it out of the claustrophobic path and gaped.

Big Ben stood towering over everything, several stories high. Steel embedded with gold and silver, glittering in the light. The first clock ticked away with arms made of bronze, a bird with wings spread wide embedded on its face. Higher up, the second clock was of silver, a lion engraved on it's face. Last but not least, the highest clock gleamed bright gold, it's hands made of twisted bronze, silver, and gold. The famous three headed dragon carved into the clockface, the emblem of the royal family. It was more breathtaking than he'd thought it would be.

Around it, buildings of steel and stone rose high, but no structure was taller than Ben. The city was awake and at work in the dim early morning light. Men were rushing through the streets all in greys and browns, probably off to work on railways and in factories. Housewives could be seen, hurrying passed windows in their apartments, ready for the chores of the day. Children ran passed him in simple grey uniforms, going off to school. The few who could afford it travelled through the streets in horse drawn carriages, off to who knows where. Everyone seemed to have a place to be.

Theo was so struck by the life of the place that he didn't think to avoid someone running by him. The person bumped into him, so hard he almost toppled over.

"I'm so very sorry," the guy said. He had pale skin and hazel eyes, couldn't be older than 19. "I'm just in a hurry." He scurried away into the congested street. He righted himself and shrugged off his irritation, reaching to readjust the satchel on his shoulder. The satchel was no longer there.

"What...?" He looked around, searching for where he may have dropped it, then scanned the crowd. A figure in a hood was slipping in between people with a bag slung over his shoulder. Theo didn't hesitate, he ran towards the thief.

The thief nervously peeked over his shoulder to see he was being followed, he ran too.

"Wait!" Theo shouted. He ran faster, muttering sorries as he pushed passed people, struggling to catch up. The thief was a little more graceful, easily sliding through small gaps in the crowd, narrowly avoiding collisions. They ran passed the square and turned a corner down a narrow street lined with makeshift stands where people prepared to sell produce, clothes, trinkets, and anything else that would help them get by. The black hooded figure was careful with his footing on the rough, stone pathway. Whereas, Theo nearly slipped several times. He turned another corner.

The figure knew he'd made a mistake, and Theo knew it too. This street was empty of people during this time of day. Nothing to avoid. Theo took his chance, bursting into a full sprint. It didn't take long to catch up with the thief then. In a matter of seconds, he had him tackled.

"Give me back my bag!" He said as he struggled with him. The thief grunted.

"Get. Off. Of. Me!" He objected. Theo stopped short at the sound of the thief's voice, which was surprisingly high. He pulled his hood back.

Defiant eyes behind a pair of thin wire glasses stared up at him. Curly, knotted hair was pulled up into a makeshift bun.

"You're...a girl?" Theo said.

"And you're a bloody, frenchman." She spat back. He flinched, but didn't let her go. He pulled his bag off her shoulder.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"None of your business." She said struggling. "And if you knew what was good for you, you wouldn't care. Now get off!"

He let her up, but kept hold of her arm. For some reason, he wasn't mad. Just...curious.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"What's it to you?"

"I just want to know the name of the person who tried to rob me within seconds of my new life." She laughed.

"New life!" she mocked, but a shadow had passed over her expression. "If only..." She looked him in the eye. "It's Ivy. Now let me go." He did. Ivy rubbed her forearm, where he'd grabbed her. "You're a strange one, you know that?" He shrugged. "Do you have a name, frenchman?" He cleared his throat and tried to sound confident.

"Theo." he said simply. "Je suis trés heureuse de faire votre connaissance." He added, breaking Alto's rule. Ivy raised an eyebrow, slightly amused.

"Ivy!" They both turned, it was the guy from earlier, the one who'd bumped into Theo. He was already hurrying towards them.

"Everything's fine Kade." Ivy called. She nodded at Theo and looked around nervously. "Nice to meet you too." then she ran off towards Kade.

Theo stood there in the alley for a second, digesting what just happened before making his way back towards the square.

He had a name and an address, that's basically the only real lead he'd been given before boarding the train here and no thieves and their silly plans were going to change that. But his mind kept drifting to the two curious people who'd tried to steal his only belongings.

It wasn't until he'd finally found the place he'd been looking for when he realized that the girl had snatched his wallet before returning the satchel.