A/N: This is my very first submission on literotica. This story will have romance and some light vanilla sexual interactions later. But it's mostly plot and development.
§ is a symbol that will be next to a word in my story that will be defined at the end of a chapter. This is a made up world, so there will be some strange words/and or languages as well as unfamiliar terms.
oOo
Dashe wasn't a bad person. She just didn't like people fucking with her. Since day one she had been thrown into a world of darkness and pain, so she wanted to make the best of the life she had now.
She wasn't too clear on the details of her past. She remembered light, and then she remembered the darkness of the night surrounding her, along with the warmth of a blanket. Mother Teresa had said her mother left her in a basket in front of the orphanage, and that she and the other 'Mothers'§ had taken her in because if they hadn't, she would have been found by an Imperial guard§ sooner or later.
Even then those damned intimidating Imperial 'soldiers' had been scaling the nights, making sure no unauthorized citizen or foreigner was out past the city curfew. If they had found her, she would have been a walking dead man- er, baby.
Things hadn't really increased in favor for Dashe after the Mothers took her in though. She had been only four at the time, but that was an early age to be exposed to such abuse and mistreatment. Not just from the Mothers, but the other children too.
Dashe had the dark bronze skin and curly mass of raven hair that only Nabrenians§ had, not to mention the large tattoo on her back that the Mothers had assumed was a birthmark. She was pretty much an outcast amongst her peers and the rest of the city. Which might not sound that bad if you didn't know the current state of affairs in the world of Navalice§.
Basically, she was a minority in her city. A minority whose originated ethnicity wasn't exactly held with pride. She wasn't a political person, but ever since running away from the orphanage with her two comrades, she had seen the affects of war and death firsthand.
The kingdoms of Nabren and Zavier were apparently at war with Genese, the current kingdom/city she resided in. She wasn't too familiar with why or how the war had started, but alot of the laws and restrictions had become more severe because of the war. Genese had already been an unethical place before, though the faults of the city were both hidden and generally unspoken of, but now the war had seemed to uncover the ugly inequality between noble and commoner.
Basically, taxes were rising sky high. Imperial soldiers had become more abusive of their power. Poverty wasn't that uncommon anymore, and Dashe had to struggle to keep her feet firmly set to the ground. For the last two years she had been free from the orphanage, and for the last two years she had been scraping by with her two friends; Kaime and Maire.
They had stuck together through thick and thin, and even though they all butted heads a bit, they would never abandon each other. Dashe considered them her family, and they knew it well despite her usual reserved personality .
Of course friendship wasn't going to pay the bills. For a while the three orphans had been homeless, and though Maire and Dashe weren't fond of stealing, they didn't reprimand Kaime as hard as they should have when he nabbed some wealthy democrats wallet. It put food in their mouths and clothes on their back, though the guilt was still there. Money never lasted however, and eventually they would have to skip a nights meal to work, work, work.
As it always was in the prestigious kingdom of Genese. The rich grew richer and the poor grew poorer. But she had a plan. Nevertheless if her pride would be intact by the end of said plan.
Yes, her pride had always been one of her most prized possessions. Though she had lived the majority of her life beaten and scorned by the orphanage Head Mother, and had also been under the scrutinizing of the entire Genesian race due to her darker skin and desertian attire, Dashe had always walked with her chin in the air and a sense of silent strength that no one could destroy.
Kaime and Maire had been the only two other orphans in her wretched former 'home' that Dashe had been close to. Kaime was a rowdy and too handsome for his own good thief who gave off the air that he only cared about himself. Yet he had always been protective of Dashe and Maire as if they were his sisters. It hadn't taken much consideration for him to dump his life in the slums of the orphanage to run off with his friends in the hopes of finding a better life.
Maire on the other hand, had been very reluctant to leave her old home. She liked to consider herself the more reasonable and down to earth of her friends. Despite her hate for the orphanage and the cruel money grubbers who ruled over it, Maire had been grateful for the roof over her head and the food, though meager, that was always present on her plate.
But even a roof over her head and food could never make Maire withstand the torture she had went through. Though she was the more respectably and obedient of the orphans she had scars etched along her back and arms as reminders of the abuse she had endured at the hands of the 'Mothers' of the orphanage. She had been the protector of the more smaller and weak children there and had payed the price for it. Eventually she had no choice but to run off with Dashe and Kaime.
It had been a rough road at first. They were orphans without a penny to their name after all. Kaime had resorted to thievery while Maire tried her game at singing in bars and cleaning houses. Dashe had become a waitress until her boss had no choice to fire her since so many of the tenants disliked a 'darkie' serving them.
Eventually they had gathered enough money to buy a small cabin like home on the inskirts of town. It was small and crowded, but it had a huge backyard and a large Airship Holder§ where the orphans usually found themselves sleeping in when the harsh cold winter hit. It didn't take long for the house to become a decent home for them, and despite Kaimes constant warnings that they would have to move eventually; they all grew fond of it.
And now they were about to lose it.
Dashe hadn't known what to do when she woke up to find an eviction notice hanging at the window of their front door. Due to the upcoming war many prices had risen in the kingdom of Genese, so now instead of having to pay 89 £ they had to pay 200 £. By the next sunrise no less.
Kaime and Maire didn't know. They had left the night before to get ready for another work filled day. So Dashe was the only one available to see this unpleasant surprise.
Maire would panic if she knew. And Dashe didn't even want to imagine how Kaime might react. He had never been on good terms with Sir Fringe, the landowner, and more than once Dashe had had to restrain Kaime from marching over to the mans mansion to give him a bloody eye. He wouldn't have stood a chance anyway. Sir Fringe was a paltry man but rather powerful, he could afford security. Not to mention his own daughter Stella, who Kaime had tried courting at one time to spite the man, was a powerful crystal mage in training.
They were screwed if they didn't find the money. She had to do something.
Quickly.
Dashe let out an inaudible sigh and pushed herself further into the shadows of the market roof. She had always been a stealthy person, and since the Market vendor had more than once ordered her to stay away from his shop, thanks to Kaimes rusty thievery skills no less, Dashe now had to be careful whenever she hid there.
