"She's thirteen, I doubt she would... or could do this. Give the lass a break."
From the outside of the door, Devaki could hear the exchange between the two men. Watchers, in a sort. The girl ground her top teeth with her bottom which began to shave off small bits of her teeth at a time. It was a nervous habit, it always had been for her. When the two men emerged from the room, the bulky one looked down to Devaki. With tears in her eyes and the streaks from hours before still painted on her cheeks, she looked up.
"Will you tell us what happened?" The large one asked as he squatted down.
There was nothing that the girl could say. At least, nothing to make the head of their group able to believe her. The scrawny, tall one, the leader; he had known her dad. Her father put on a mask in public, so he was considered kind and sociable. He was, however, much different at home. Devaki and her mother knew. With a sigh, the large one nodded and returned to his standing position.
"We will keep you under watch for a good month or two-" He looked to the other, "-or perhaps more..."
The tiny girl simply gave a nod of her head. There was no better plan in her head. Perhaps she could run away to a farm and start somewhere new, or maybe hide away in an abandon building for a good portion of her life. Alas, these thoughts were never to happen. The scrawny one had a stern look on his face and never even gave a greeting or goobye to Devaki, however, the large one sat with her for a long while. There was too much running through her head to speak, so the male really did most of it.
"I doubt you would want to go back to that house, so you will be staying with a nice old woman in Beggar's Alley. Ain't the best house, but it'll keep ya' warm and dry. We've told her most everything and she's still kind enough to take a young girl in. Come with me, I'll take you there. It's gettin' dark anyway." The man said and offered a hand to Devaki, which she took to help herself up.
She was shaking in her shabby pants and torn shirt. Somewhere in the day, her shoes had fallen off. That was the least of her worries. The large man led her to a small house toward the very north of Beggar's Alley, where an old woman was standing at the top of the steps. Her eyes were practically shut on their own from old age and her hair had greyed. With a wave of her cane, she beckoned Devaki in.
"Come, come, Dee! This kind young man right here has told me all about you and your... situation. I understand it all and I hope to give you comfort for a few weeks!" She said as she opened her front door.
It took the bulky man a little nudge to make the girl step foward and up the steps into the house. There was no exchange of words between the old lady and the bulky man, she had shut her door just after Devaki.
"Allow me to introduce me old self. I'm Rose, but you can call me all sort of nicknames. Now, this is not the nicest house, but it's given me comfort for a good ten years! You'll be sleepin' in the back room here," The old woman said as she led Devaki down the hallway.
Even though the girl stood at only 4'9, the old woman was much shorter from bending over for so long. When she opened the door to where Devaki would be staying, they both looked it. There was a bed, a nightstand with a candle on it, and a dresser. It wasn't large by any means, but it was warm and quiet, just as the man said it would be.
"There's some clothes there in the dresser. I'll leave you for tonight. Rest well, dear," The woman smiled and shut the door softly.
Devaki looked around for a bit. Then she walked to the dresser and opened the top drawer, where a nightgown would be neatly folded for her. She took off her torn outfit and shoved the clothes in the corner before draping the large nightgown over her frame. It took her no time at all to get under the blanket, make herself comfortable, and blow out the dim flame of the candle. It was a long time before the girl could fall asleep that night with every thought racing through her head at a million miles.
