"C'mon, Pap! We have quite a day ahead of us!" Alex said, rushing his pet dog out of his comforting sleep.

The two were headed to the outdoor market that came every Saturday on 17th Street. It was about 11 am which was the perfect time for a quick grab. Crowds would rush in and nobody would notice the mischievous street rat and his playful beagle.

Alex hurried and threw on a dull, tattered long sleeved black shirt that was torn at the sleeves along with a faded purple vest. He pulled on a pair of jeans with a patch over the right knee and slipped into a pair of black and white high tops that were about to fall apart. He ran his fingers through his shaggy, black hair. Meanwhile, his dog lazily stretched from his night's sleep.

As they made their way out the door, Alex wrapped a makeshift collar around Pap, grabbed an old picnic basket he had found in a dumpster, and they stepped out into the cool, morning air of New York City.

The companions lived in an old, abandoned building that had a perfect view of the SITFEL building towering over New York City. Alex loved looking out at the building and imagined that one day he would be just as rich as the people who owned the conpany.

As they made their way toward the market, they made sure to dodge some of the people from last Saturday. They had caused a ruckus when they stole a heap of hot dogs off of a hot dog stand just as the owner turned his back.

Once they arrived, the market was already in full swing and there were swarms of people lined up at each vendor.

"Okay, Pap. What do we want to eat today?" Alex says to his happy pet. No matter how many times they had been to the market, the excitement of it all always seemed to overtake them.

Alex casually made his way to a fruit stand and conversed cordially with the man who ran the stand.

"What a beautiful Saturday. This is probably the best Saturday we have seen in a while." He said trying to distract the man as Pap used his snout to swipe a couple apples into their basket. The lid immediately closed as the apples landed in the basket.

Alex continued his smile and amicable speaking for a little while longer until Pap reminded him that they had more stops at other vendors.

"Pap, we're fine. As long as we don't run into the Donut Crew, it will be smooth sailing." Alex assures as they weaved in and out of the large crowd.

They did the same procedure at a purveyor's cheese stand. Talk, swipe, and gone.

Next stop was Cathy's Bakery.

The aroma of freshly baked bread filled the congested streets, and it seemed like Alex and Pap were basically floating to the stand.

"Time to work your magic, Pap." Alex said to his dog while rubbing behind his floppy ears.

When they reached the stand, Pap walked over to Cathy, the owner of the stand, and began to tug at her capris with his mouth.

"Aww! What a pretty puppy? You're a pretty pup, yes you are, yes you are!" Cathy said.

Pap jumped up and down joyfully, but soon calmed down and began giving Cathy puppy eyes. Cathy couldn't resist and turned all of her attention to the dog.

While this happened, Alex slyly grabbed a loaf of bread and began to slide it into the basket. He thought they were in the clear when someone shouted, "You're trying to steal some of Cathy's bread!"

"C'mon, Pap!" Alex shouts as Cathy turned to see who the thief was. They began running through the crowds.

"Get them!!" Cathy screamed to some nearby policemen on guard.

And the chase was on.

Alex grabbed Pap into his arms as they made their way towards the entrance. He jumped over carts and tried not to shove too many people out of the way. He knew he could outrun the Donut Eaters of America but still kept an extra safe distance.

He quickly rounded a corner, but saw a policeman coming that way. He turned on his heels and ran the other way to be met by another policeman. All around him there were cops.

"We've got him now, boys." One of the cops said as they began slowly enclosing around Alex and Pap.

Then, Pap jumped out of Alex's hands and bounded toward one of the cops.

A loud screech could be heard throughout the whole market.

Pap had did their last resort plan which was to bite.

The cops rushed to the policeman's aid and Alex and Pap ran away from the market while hearing comments like: "Where are your parents?" or "That dog should be in the pound!"

They soon were out of reach to hear the nasty comments and settled down in an alley to eat their food.

"High five, buddy!" Alex says as his hand collided with Pap's paw.

This was their everyday routine. Each day they caused trouble at a different market. They had gradually come to love living this lifestyle.

They began digging in but ceased when they saw two kids digging through a dumpster for food.

"Hey!" Alex says getting their attention. "We have plenty to share."

As they feasted on fruit, cheese, and bread, Alex noticed a group of paparazzi gathering on the steps of the SITFEL building from across the street. They all stood silently until an expensive sports car came speeding from down the street and halted abruptly in front of the reporters and journalists.

The driver looked just as good as the car when he stepped out into the coming afternoon's sun. He had tamed black hair and a perfectly tan skin tone. He wore a nice black and white suit and showed two straight, white rows of teeth. He walked around the car into the wave of paparazzi.

The street soon erupted in an uproar of questions.

"Do you think the CEO's daughter will marry you?!" One reported said shoving a tape recorder in the man's face.

Alex couldn't make out any more questions because of all of the commotion.

Then, the kids he had met ran across the street to shake hands with the man and he shoved them away like they were stray cats.

"Hey! All they wanted was a hand shake!" Alex said running after them.

"And all I want is for them to get their pesky hands away from me." The man replied.

"You don't have to be a jerk! You don't know how it feels to be in their position." Alex retorted. The crowd watched in awe.

"Well, at least I have values and I know high authority when I see it. And it seems to me that all you are is a no good street rat." The man said and continued walking into building.

Pap let out a whine and Alex sighed. They began walking home as the paparazzi disassembled.

"One day, Pap, we will be rich. We'll ride in sports cars and we will never have to steal from that market again." Alex says to his best friend.

It was just them. Nobody knew how it felt. Poverty was real.

When they reached their building, Alex took off Pap's collar and he ran to his bed that was actually a pillow that Alex found. Alex settled out on the fire escape and looked out at the SITFEL building.

He shook his head and headed back inside to rest.

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Meanwhile at the SITFEL building....

"I am done with your daughter and her demon cat!" Maxwell Bennett said when he stormed into CEO Carson's office.

He appeared to have scratches on his face and he was hot with fury.

"What happened?" Carson asked.

"I don't want to talk about it!" Bennet yelled and stormed out of the room.

"Bennett, wait!" Carson called after him but he was already gone.

Carson got up from his desk and walked towards the elevators to the rooftop.

When he arrived on the rooftop, his daughter, Dahlia, was standing near the railings with her pet cat, Princess. The SITFEL building overlooked most of New York City. She had always sat up here wondering what life was like down there. Her and her father had lived in the penthouse on the very top floor of the building for all of her life. Her father never let her out of the building because he was scared of what the city would do to her.

"Dahlia, sooner or later, you will have to get married." Carson said to his daughter.

"I know, Dad. Why can't I just pick my own? I'm almost twenty-two and I feel like I'm still a child." Dahlia replied.

"We've been through this. You have to marry a businessman because I just don't want to hand over my company to some random person." Carson explained. "And also tormenting the men I pick is not acceptable."

"Oh, Princess was just playing." Dahlia chuckled and Princess gave a silent purr.

"Sure." He said sarcastically. "Don't stay up here for too long."

Carson began toward the elevator and Dahlia spoke to her cat.

"Why does he treat me like this, Princess?" She asked with a sigh. "I just want to live my life the way I want to live it."

-------------

Winston Jones and his assistant, Neville, were walking down the corridor toward his office when they ran into CEO Carson.

"What am I going to do with that girl! Dahlia has ran away another potential husband. I give up! She will never marry and my company will be left in ruins." He said in an exhausted tone.

"It'll be fine. She will find someone eventually." Winston said.

"Hopefully. Oh, Neville, I didn't see you there." Carson said and handed him a toffee bar. He continued walking down the corridor.

"Why can't I get this through his thick skull?! I'm vegan! I eat tofu not toffee!" Neville complained in an irritated voice after Carson was gone.

Winston chuckled silently to himself.

"If his darling daughter doesn't find a husband, then I can take over the company." Winston said. His voice was raspy and he had a crooked smile on his face.

His appearance was always a sharp, black and red suit. He kept his shoulder length hair slicked back and his beard was well tamed. He had a tan complexion unlike his assistant.

Neville may have been small and puny but there was a reason you could pull the word evil from his name. He had a short temper and he wasn't as calm and collected as Winston. He was pale and had brown hair. He also was the same age as Dahlia and secretly had a crush on her.

"He's just not going to give it to you. You may be president but he insists on his daughter marrying and taking over the company. He wants her to have truckloads of money." Neville replied as they reached Winston's office.

"She keeps turning the men down though." Winston said.

"She's also an obedient child. If he makes her marry a guy, she'll try to defy but eventually do as her father says."

"The only chance of that happening is if we find a man worthy enough for Carson to even consider." Winston said slowly turning his head toward Neville.

"What?!" Neville said nervously.

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Word count: 1917

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. You may already know but I am entering into the #OnceUponNow Target contest. The prompt is for you to create a story that alludes or includes concepts from a fairy tale or myth. So this is the first part of my story and I hope you guys enjoyed.