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Because I'm useless at coming up with some. Here's part two of ___! Hope you like it. :D Also, here's part one, for those who haven't read it.

Tom’s jaw dropped. He stared at the girl, who smiled at him.

                “I haven’t been to Father’s palace in a long time, though. Some men came to take me to visit my cousin’s palace, but we never arrived. I’m surprised my father let me go, but he will be mad I haven’t returned. Something strange happened on the road there and they gave me to these awful people.” Alisha shrugged and sat on the edge of another stand, legs swinging. She was completely unaware, Tom realized. She had been kidnapped and she didn’t even know it.

                Tom flinched from the stares they were receiving. “Come here,” he pleaded quietly.

                Alisha smiled and hopped down. “Where? Is it nice? Pretty? Father always takes me site seeing in his carriage.” She beamed.

                Tom pursed his lips and gently grabbed her arm, pulling Alisha along. She was so innocent, Tom thought with slight confusion. How? Her father must keep her locked in that room of hers. He still couldn’t believe he was in the presence of a princess. Tom, the thief and slave, talking to a princess! It was nigh impossible. It explained a lot though. Her inability to grasp the place of a slave, her beauty, her simple mindedness.

                When they reached a fairly secluded alley, Tom stopped. Alisha made a face. “It isn’t exactly pretty…”

                Tom buried his head in his hands. “Listen to me, you can’t tell anyone you are a princess. No one, ever.”

                Alisha laughed. “Oh, Tom, why not? What are you afraid of?”

                “That someone might take advantage of you. Listen, you were kidnapped by those men. They weren’t ever going to take you to see your cousin, and your father never let you go. They lied and wanted to sell you for money,” he explained as simply as possible.

                Alisha simply laughed again, angering Tom. Then she frowned. “Wait, you mean they weren’t trying to be nice? Tom, that’s awful!” She cupped her face in horror.

Tom pursed his lips and nodded. “So don’t tell anyone else who you are or they will try to do the same.”

Alisha’s eyes filled with tears and she suddenly ran into his arms. “Tom!” she cried. Tom stuttered, watching her with confusion. “Oh, Tom!” she continued. “My father must be so worried! What’s going to happen, Tom?”

Tom felt a strong sense of impending doom as the princess began to look like she was relying on him. She was a horrible judge of character, which had been proved many times already. Tom felt like he should say something as the one way hug continued. “It’s- it’s okay. I will help you.” He instantly wished he could take his words back. How could he help? It wasn’t even like he wanted to. He had way too much to accomplish without dragging a useless airhead around. Not like it was really her fault for living so protected, but Tom really couldn’t deal with her. She was too fragile and insecure, and Tom was…Tom was Tom and had lived Tom’s life. He couldn’t change himself now.

Alisha was, of course, blissfully ignorant of Tom’s worries and doubts. She hugged him tighter. “Thank you, Tom! Oh, thank you!”

Tom nodded and pushed her away. He stared at her. She certainly looked about his age, but was it possible? She was so innocent. So innocent Tom began to wonder if he would prefer to have had her life, never lifting a finger, but never knowing anything about the outside world, over Tom’s life, working every moment of the day to stay alive and out of jail, but being knowledgeable in the ways of the world. Tom scowled, hand straying habitually to the dagger hidden in the folds of his clothes. A little too knowledgeable. But he still didn’t know which one he would choose.

“So, now what?” Alisha grinned at him. She bounced up and down.

Tom stalled. “Um…well…it would be best if you didn’t return to the woman’s house. I- I don’t think it would be too safe.” By all the idols in Surnim, Tom was actually going to help her! He scowled to himself and at his weakness. “I will find you a place to stay; I promise.”

While Tom was trying to figure out how he was going to do this, a wicked thought entered his mind. He could sell Alisha for ransom. She wouldn’t even know he was doing it, and Tom wouldn’t have to be a slave anymore. He could live the rest of his life off that money, and it would be a thousand times easier than any other way his life would go.

“It’s okay, Tom. I trust you,” The girl smiled at him.

He laughed scornfully. “Don’t.”

Alisha tilted her head. “Why not? You aren’t going to hurt me, are you?”

Tom began walking again, only to pause soon after. “I promise…I promise on both my parents’ grave I will let no harm come to you.” He had everything in common with the men who kidnapped her, but Tom would not be those men.

Alisha was surprisingly silent for a while, hurriedly following him. “Your parents died?”

While he had half a mind to ignore the question completely, he still spoke. “Yes. I was two.”

“That’s so young. Some of my slaves’ parents died, but most of them are older than us.”

Tom swallowed. She knew nothing. “How old are you?” He kept walking, trying to find a good hiding spot for her. It had to be abandoned and large. She would be easily distracted, so somewhere she would not want to leave or having difficulty leaving.

“Fourteen.” Tom shook his head in disbelief. “Tom, are we going much further? I’m tired. We should get a carriage to take us there.”

Tom sighed. “We can’t afford one.”

“Why not? Usually if they see who I am, they will let me for free.” Alisha stared up at him.

“Remember! People can’t know who you are, and your father is not here to pay,” Tom said. Was she more trouble than she was worth?

The girl simply nodded. Suddenly, she gasped and grabbed at Tom. “Look!” she said in fright. Tom frowned and followed her gaze.

“What?”

“That man…” she whispered with horror. Tom finally saw who she was talking about. There was a man a little ways down the alley, lying on a mat. He was covered in filth and he had fallen asleep. There was a small tin beside him, obviously for coins. Tom couldn’t figure out why a man like him couldn’t find a job, even with the slavers, until Tom spotted the man’s arms. He had no hands. Everything past the bone that stuck out in the wrist was gone. Tom paled. Soon enough, that man would be Tom. A caught thief either escaped, was killed, or had his hands cut off. Tom glanced at his hands, one of which Alisha had grabbed. He had been very lucky.

“It’s okay,” Tom reassured both of them, gently leading her away. Father wouldn’t have let her see that…

“Why was he on the street, Tom?” she said quietly, in fear.

Tom took deep breaths. Did he really have to be the one to tell the girl how life worked? “He was a thief. For that, his hands were taken. Without his hands, he cannot work. Not even the slavers want him. Since he cannot work, he cannot make money. No money means no food, no house, no friends.” Tom said. Was that his doom? It seemed like it.

“Oh…” Alisha said, looking downcast.

Tom kicked open a beat up door. “Here,” he said with a smile. It was a very small, one room house in the outskirts of Qirmizi. The place wasn’t very clean, but it was secluded and no one wanted it. Tom’s stomach was doing flips. The outskirts of Qirmizi meant that the Red Walls were looming right over them constantly. He took a deep breath. He wished he could rub or hide his hands, but Alisha was stubbornly clinging onto his right one.

She paused in the doorway. “Where is here?”

“Where you will be staying,” Tom said. He was quite satisfied he did find a place, for he wasn’t sure if he would be able to. Luckily, the neighborhood was full of empty houses. The only fallback was who would populate the area at night… The girl nodded, but did not move from where she was. “You want to go in?” he asked.

Alisha smiled. “Of course! I was just going to wait until after you cleaned it,” she explained.

Tom scowled. “What? I’m not your slave! I don’t even want to be a slave at all! I should have left you to get kidnapped again…” As soon as Tom looked back at her, he regretted his words. No, he regretted saying them to her.

She cried into her hands. “To-om! You said you wouldn’t let anything happen to me!”

Tom frowned and put a hand lightly on her shoulder. “I know. I still won’t. I didn’t mean what I said, Alisha.”

Alisha stared at him and shook her head. “You said you wanted me kidnapped!”

“I didn’t mean it!” He yelled.

She shrunk again. Tom couldn’t think that anyone had raised their voice at her, no matter how many times she did to them. Tom frowned and kept his arm on her shoulder ever so lightly, and she turned her face away from him. The frown deepened. What could he do? He knew nothing about comforting. He had known this was a bad idea. She was too fragile.

His hand fell off her shoulder and Tom walked away, not looking back. He wandered into the other abandoned houses, searching. He finally found what he wanted and returned, pushing past Alisha into the house. She had just stood there, confused and frightened. Tom felt a lump in his throat grow, and he intently stared at the broom in his hands he had gotten before sweeping. Tom gently moved Alisha out of the way and swept the dirt out. He moved Alisha inside a bit before leaving again. This time, he came back with a half filled sack of straw for sleeping. He laid it in a corner and turned to look at her.

“I’ll get some candles later, Miss Alisha,” he mumbled. She was a princess. How could he forget his manners? He was a slave and she was royalty. If he forget the distance, her father would have his head.

Alisha smiled softly and walked over to him. “Tom, please do not call me that.”

Tom examined her face and sat that she was observing tact and not mentioning how bad she thought the house was. He grimaced. He had no money for a room at an inn and they could not be known by any for Alisha’s sake. He shook his head. “I am a slave, Miss Alisha.”

A frown. “But you are also my friend, Tom. My father always reminds me my slaves are not my friends, but you are.”

Tom shook his head again, persistently. “I am simply helping you because you are my better.”

“Tom!” Alisha stomped her foot. “Fine. But without you, I have no friends, Tom. You were going to be my first.”

He blushed and bowed his head, guilt filling him. “I am sorry, Miss.”

Alisha crossed her arms and sat on the edge of the sack bed. “Apparently not! Now leave me!” she said.

It was an impulse for both of them, for Alisha to think she wanted to be alone, and for Tom to gladly get out of a ‘master’s’ sight, but as soon as Alisha saw him go, and as soon as Tom stepped through the door way, they were on edge and full of worry.