It was so cold, living on the streets of New Ravka. Everything I touched was cold, the air, my younger sisters hand, the loaf of bread that had lost its warmth five minutes after I had stolen it.

Cold so cold.

My sister, Natalia, stumbled a little.

"Come on. Not to much further." I said with a painfully light voice.

Mother said once, before the Darkling went crazy, that her family lived in a manner, as big as the palace itself.

When society crumbled, her father was killed by a young cocky noble. Which in return had his throat slit while he was sleeping.

My mother was cast onto the streets. My father died when I was eight. It didn't matter, he had left my mother when I was born then came crawling back six years later with two stab wounds from a fight.

It's then the bastard ran off again when he found out my whore of a mother was knocked up again.

It's a good thing my mother searched his clothes for money while he was sleeping. At least she knows well enough that what she does can really hurt her.

Rule one of the streets: take everything you can get.

The bastard came back again when I was eight. My mother turned him away when she saw how sick he was. He never came back.

Good riddance.

I didn't mean to call my mom a whore, but it was how she earned her money. She kept me and my sister alive. Now, old and lost of vitality, she's dying slowly of some terminal illness. I don't want to live like that.

My hair fell into my eyes as I brushed it away. I couldn't do anything with my hair. It was a mud brown that was to wild to do anything with. Like a weed that had died but got tangled up in a swamp.

My mother says I have my grandfathers hair. Yeah I wish I could shave my head like he could.

Nat tripped again.

"Come on. Moms waiting for us."

She grunted an apology. My sister had been mute since birth. But still she had inherited my mothers beauty. Straight chestnut colored hair. Covered in 12 years worth of dirt and grime you couldn't see it, but even so, she was too innocent, to perfect to have to live in this world like this.

I heard muffled shouting from the hole in the abandoned building we lived in. I stopped and handed the loaf of bread to Nat.

"Hide."

Her eyes widened and she ran off to hide.

I heard crying from the building and I took a deep breath and stepped into the building.

I saw a group of men and women of different races and nationalities. One was wearing a torn ragged jacket that looked like it was once very expensive. It was a royal blue with silver lining. To fancy and expensive for street trash.

My mom gasped as she saw me walk in and one of the men slapped her.

"Do you 'ave any money or not."

I cringed at the mans voice. It was like sand paper on a tightly stretched cloth. My mother whimpered in pain and looked him straight in the eye.

"Go to hell." The man kicked her in the gut, and one of the men turned around to light a cigarette when he saw me.

"Well look, we've got 'ere. Hey Rat, check this girl out." He grinned while looking me up and down I went stif with fear. The person who was wearing the fancy jacket turned and I saw it was a woman.

"Huh, a ragged no name girl. Search 'er." The man that had seen me started to walk towards me and another turned to watch.

"D-don't touch me...."

He stalked closer.

"Don' worry miss," he grinned nastily. "Jus' gonna shake ya up a bit."

He reached for me and I reacted on instinct. Slicing my hand through the air, and for a second I was blinded by a very bright light.

The next thing I knew the man slumped and his head and shoulder fell off of him, tumbling to the ground, the rest of his body slowly following. Where they had been separated from each other was charred like it had been burnt. Those who hadn't been watching me were now starring at me in awe and horror.

The cold that had been everywhere was now, was replaced with a warm thrumming trough my body. It was ecstasy.

Chaos broke loose. My sister started to cry out and someone grabbed her. Someone started screaming- probably my mother-then I heard a gun shot. I turned my head to see my sisters body slump over, and fall limp. Her sobs were replaced with a ringing in my ears. What was happening.

Then I heard laughing. Muffled at first, but still audible. First it seemed happy, then it turned mad, and it came from the woman.

"Now looky 'ere. The girls a sun summoner. You'd fetch me a mighty sum." She grinned manically. "Tie 'er up."

I panicked. There were to many of them, and I could barely hear anything but the blood pumping through my veins and my own breath. I do anything. Why her.

I was struggling, my animal instinct of living on the streets bubbling up.

Then a blunt object hit me and I was out.