Once, there was a girl. She was mistreated by her caretakers, told to work for the barest of scraps. It was a low and miserable life. She fooled people for a living, and stole from travelers what they had to offer at the beck and whim of those who held her life in their hands and punished her when she didn't steal enough. She did these things in order to eke out the most pathetic of survivals in a city that paid no attention to the things in its shadows.

One evening, she met another traveler. They seemed better dressed than the average, a little better equipped, but she did the same as she always had, thinking perhaps with this mark, her caretakers would be more lenient with her for a while. She tricked them into following her into the shadows, where no one would see anything go astray. They seemed just like any other foolish traveler, she remarked to herself when she was done, only to find herself suddenly unable to move.

It was the traveler who had fooled her, and now held her life in their hands... then let her go free. They vanished immediately after, and the girl was left to wonder.

Days later, as if by a stroke of luck, she glimpsed the traveler again. She decided she had to know why she was spared. But the traveler vanished just as quickly into the crowd, and so she set herself to trying to find them again. More time passed before she received her chance, only for the traveler to speak up before she could: "That's enough. You have been following me. Why?"

"I was curious..." started the girl, before she stopped. "No. I want to ask for help. I don't want to be forced to live this life. Please, if you free me, I'll give you all that I have."