"Money. None of us possess even a single bronze coin. How in the world do you think these jerks are going to let us go without paying them a penny?"

A tedious huff was released from Lena's mouth, as she once again wrecked her brain, being anxious over certain things. Although it was quite natural for her to be concerned over the fact that the only shelter they had managed to receive was on the verge of being taken away. And worse, on terrible costs. The inn owner and his wife could actually murder them this time, behind everyone's eyes. And thus, Lena could not understand how in the world were the three beings in front of her spending their time leisurely. In fact, they were sitting in proximity to the inn owner's desk, since they were all at the moment, in the bar. The four of them were not fond of alcohol (they never had one), hence, it could be said that they were there to stuff their faces with evening snacks. Except for Lena, who was occupied with biting her nails and pondering over trivial matters.

"You do not want to bleed now, do you?" Lucian commented while he swatted Lena's fingers from her teeth, "Stop overthinking."

"I am petrified, Lucian! This whole thing is not a matter of jest. This...this is freaking serious!" Lena whisper yelled at the relaxed boy, who seemed too at ease for someone who had been beaten up brutally one day ago.

"We will figure out a way, so do not worry Lena," Alana reassured the girl as she took a bite of her sandwich, "In fact, we have the basic structure of our plan ready."

"What is it?" Lena leaned forward, eager to dilute her constant anxiousness.

"Leon did have money with him," Alana began, pointing at the Dragonesian who was lost in his own world at the moment and paid no heed to the three eighteen year olds' conversation, "And a lot of money."

"Where is it now?" Lena asked, her eyes growing wider with desperation to know the final ending of the plan.

"He well," glancing over at the crimson eyed Dragonesian,

Alana replied, "Let's say, gave the money away for a good cause."

A sudden and loud bang made Leon flinch and resulted in his daydreams to unravel. He looked over at the hunched back figure of the whitish-haired blonde girl, while grunts and groans left her mouth. She glanced at Leon, a scowl evident on her face, and pointed accusingly at him.

"It is good to be kind but not too kind that you may fall in grave danger."

"What—" Leon looked over to Alana for a little context, who only waved the matter off.

"It's not that deep, chill out," Lucian remarked, rolling his eyes.

"Do you all need anything else?"

The sweet voice of a certain sixteen-year-old, brought the four's attention to the owner of the voice. Cynthia, who was on duty and had a white apron around her waist, stood beside their table, with a tray full of glasses consisting of beer.

"Oh it is alright," Lucian said returning the smile, "None of us favour alcohol."

"I was not referring to the beer," Cynthia chuckled when she realized that they were citing about the beer glasses, "I was inquiring if you were in need of something else. Perhaps another plate of chicken nuggets?"

"Yes please," Lucian grinned, as he remembered that his plate, which had nuggets previously, was almost empty.

Lena smiled reminiscing how Lucian used to steal mostly chicken nuggets from shops and restaurants and roadside inns back when the pair went around committing theft. It was coincidental that both Lena and Lucian were orphaned at a young age and met one another, as if finding a missing piece of their souls, one sudden day. Unlike other trainees, they were caught at a much older age, that is, fourteen. The duo, who had been residing together somehow, since the age of nine, by stealing money, food and clothes, were able to avoid the Dragonesian Guards. But in vain, they were captured at the end.

They had no wealth before being captured, but they had freedom.

The freedom of speech, the freedom of survival, the freedom of living their life the way they wanted.

The two had even saved money and decided to leave stealing, attend the public school and live an honest life. However, that never happened as they were already caught.

And chicken nuggets had been Lucian's favourite food. After being captured, he could not have his favourite nuggets. Witnessing his utmost happiness, could not stop the tears of joy from appearing in Lena's eyes.

Lena quickly wiped away the tears when her eyes met with Leon's.

"I will be back," with that being said, Cynthia turned on her heels to leave for the kitchen.

Not until a man yelled for her. And it was not a yell of call, it was a yell full of vexation.

"Hey you black cow. You call this piece of garbage, broth?"

"I am sorry Sir, but I am not responsible for making the broth." Cynthia halted and answered with a steady gaze.

"Oh shut the fuck up! Your entire existence has been bothering me ever since I walked through the doors of this inn," the man went on, hurling vulgarities and curses at the young lady.

"I can't help you with that, unfortunately," Cynthia, with her newly discovered confidence, shot back.

The man grew even more furious as he walked towards the girl with aggravating steps, "You have some nerves to speak to an older man, and that also, being just a little girl. Do you even know who I am? Women come below my feet. Who the hell do you think you are?"

Leon clenched his jaws and proceeded to rise up, Lucian following suit, but not when they sensed Cynthia's refusal to relinquish her position. The girl answered back.

"Women are not useless objects. They deserve respect, and so do I."

The man only cackled along with his companions before scoffing at the girl. "Did you look at your skin colour? You want me to respect you? What was that slur used in ancient times? Right, you want me to respect a nigger like you? What a pathetic joke."

Cynthia's breath hitched at the grown man's choice of words. She had heard from her parents that back in ancient times, often, the majority of the people looked down upon the people of dark complexion and termed them as nigger, a contemptuous way of addressing black people.

The word itself was able to make the boldness vanish away from within Cynthia, like a puff of air. Unconsciously, she stepped back. The man on the other hand, could not help but put on a triumphant smile.

The smile was enough to nark Alana, who could not sit still anymore, seeing a young girl like Cynthia being publicly humiliated once again. It was the fear of her identity being revealed that she had refused her own self from standing beside the girl before, but not now.

Fear was just a phase.

"You do not have any right to call me that," with a wavering voice, Cynthia managed to speak, "I am human too. My skin colour is a part of me, and it is beautiful."

"Unrefined girls like you," the man licked his lips, grazing his hideous vision over the timid girl's body, "Who happen to be black, are nothing like humans. Have you seen any monsters in books or pictures expressed as white? Black has always been associated with bad and negative things. Black magic, black demons, voodoo, blackmail, and what not. Every single bad thing has black in it.

And you still want me to see you as a human, even after being born as a black person? You are nothing but a curse to this world."

"Are you sure black represents just bad?"

A third voice, which seemed to be coming from a certain, infuriated girl brought the man's attention to her. A scowl immediately appeared on his face when he realized that Cynthia was not alone. And there was someone who was supporting her. Someone who was not black, yet was supporting a black girl. This was nothing but an event of ridiculous travesty to the man.

"I don't have time—"

Ignoring the man, Alana continued while stepping forward slowly towards him, like a predator ready to capture its prey. "Black represents intelligence, sophistication, authority, elegance, formality, prestige and..." A smirk formed on Alana's lips when the man in front of him appeared to be intimidated by the girl.

"Power. Black signifies power."

"Sir," Lena, who had been observing everything unfold in front of her all this time, came and stood close to Cynthia. The polite tone with an underlying disgust laced to it did not go unnoticed by anyone present in the room, "I am white. You are white. Cynthia is black. Alana is brown. So what? That is it. Is your mind still in the ancient times that you are so fond of judging people through their skin colours? Sir, with all due respect, you appear to be almost in your late fifties. Now isn't this whole situation a bit embarrassing for you? You know, how you are being taught basic morals by a few young people?"

"Bravo!" Lucian whistled as he and Leon applauded and clapped their hands from the table they were sat at, while throwing sneers and taunts at the jerk.

The applaud became another reason for the man's self-respect and ego to face an obstruction.

"Let's just leave," one of the companions of the man murmured to him, "People are watching."

It was no wonder that the man was the village's leader. He had a reputed position among the villagers and an image which could not be questioned by anyone and everyone. However, a group of few young folks did it. That was more than a huge blow to his arrogance that he was not very aware of.

A pained gasp left Lena's mouth when the man abruptly slapped her, resulting in aspirations and mutters of appreciation to spread amongst the people in the inn.

"Know your place little girl," the man spat, "Girls like you deserve to rot every single day at home and tend to their husbands and sons—"

Another set of gasps erupted in the entire inn. And this was louder.

Alana Thornheart did not hesitate before slapping the man, hard. So hard, that he collapsed on the floor, while blood dripped down his lips.

The inn owner's wife, who was ready to protest against the girls, stepped back when she witnessed Alana's audacity.

"And men like you should be slapped every single day, so that you think a million times before raising your hand or disrespecting another person."

Alana turned around to leave, and Lena did not let the slap affect her. She rather went ahead and spat at the groaning man, while Cynthia showed a middle finger to all the people present in the inn.

And the three girls left the silent bar, Leon and Lucian behind them.

Alana had become their source and inspiration of strength.