110 - Annie

That night. That fateful night were he met Sparrow, and this whole adventure started.

Back when he was a lot weaker, a lot more afraid, a lost soul with no goal.

He looked around, at the shack that was only slightly dirtier than his own, at a person whose cheeks were hollow and clearly didn’t have enough to eat, at eyes ingrained with paranoia and always prepared for things to get worse.

The last year had been kind to him.

He couldn’t imagine that being the case for Annie.

A part of him wondered if he never met Sparrow that night, would he have just continued doing what he had done, until he ran out of goodwill or money and had to resort to things just like she had done?

“I quit the gang after that night. Well, it wasn’t much of a gang after The Dancing Wind drove the boss out of town, but I didn’t join another after that!” Annie puffed her chest up as much as she could, what little pride that was strewn about the dirt floor on display.

“Good job. Er, what have you been doing since?” Jenny smiled, trying to be friendly and not visibly put-off by their surroundings, but her tone still veered on the side of interrogation.

Annie hesitated, ears turning red. “I uh, you know the Smiling Lady?” Jenny looked at Annie with an intensity that made her sweat. Theo guessed that it was a protective instinct, but it didn’t look much like one.

“Not like – I-I didn’t work there doing…that. I’m just security. The girls feel more comfortable with protection that isn’t from the same people who they might need protecting from.” She quickly clarified, and Jenny’s stare turned much gentler than it was before her fury spiked.

The poor girl was clearly frightened, with an increasingly pale skin that was clammy in the moonlight.

“So what were you here for, again?” Annie asked Theo, trying to disengage from the landslide of emotions known as Jenny.

It was at this moment that Theo realised he didn’t actually know how to explain this. Francis was the only other person singled out by the Coins like this, and he was already roughly informed. Not to mention, he was looking for a sign and Theo gave it to him.

He cleared his throat, trying to stall for as much time as he could.

“These are the Coins of Unity.” His brain worked as fast as possible, while he explained everything he could. “They were created by the founders of Union City to one day help the City when it is in danger. They tell us where important things or people are located. And you are one of those people.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Annie furrowed her brows, then relaxed entirely as she laughed, doubling over. “Good one!” She wiped tears from her eyes.

“So, what’s the real reason?”

Their silence removed the levity from her face.

“You have been chosen, Annie.” Theo gently stated. She froze.

He needed to repeat that three more times before her brain caught up and her body began to function again, and her body caught up immediately.

He didn’t know how she managed to backpedal in a space with barely enough room to lie down, but backpedal she did. “What do you mean? Why me? There’s nothing special about me. I…what?”

Theo decided to be honest. “I can’t pretend that I understand how the Coins work; but I have trusted their judgement so far and it has not led me astray. So even though I don’t know why you have been chosen, that doesn’t detract from the fact that you are.”

“I’ve gone insane, and I’m not even creative enough to make it believable.” Annie muttered to herself, as she walked in very tight circles.

Eventually, she sat down, on what was probably her bed; a thin stained blanket on a bed of straw.

She pinched herself, waited a moment, then sighed.

“So, someone who the course of my life in a single night, does not remember the fight we were in and is here for a completely unrelated reason. And that reason is because some prophetic coins say I’m important?”

“…pretty much, yes.” Theo admitted.

Annie pinched herself again.

---

“So this is a chance for me to change my life again.”

“Yes.”

Annie deliberated for a moment. “Fuck it, I’ll take it. Not like I’ve got much to lose.”

“Wonderful. I’ll…” Theo realised that there was nothing he really needed to involve her in right now. “I’ll be in touch.” He finished lamely.

Jenny and Theo left the shack, Coins of Unity dormant once more, and one potential ally richer.

“I didn’t know things were like this. Over here.” Jenny commented, no nobody in particular.

“Hmm?”

“I knew this place wasn’t the…most prosperous, but this is a bit much.” She gestured with her hand, and Theo knew exactly what she was referring to.

“Don’t you mean, a bit little?” There was a bit more bite in that retort than he had intended. “Sorry. I know it’s not good, but it’s home, y’know?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry too. Didn’t mean to make it feel like an insult.” She rubbed her neck.

“If you ever had the chance, would you move out? You’re already a pretty strong fighter, not to mention your voice. You could probably earn enough to get somewhere in a nicer part of town.” Jenny asked, as politely and innocuously as possible.

“Every part of town is nicer compared to the Outskirts.” Theo deadpanned. “I don’t know, frankly. Like I said, it’s home. Plus, I can’t imagine myself living somewhere fancy. Can you imagine living a mansion near Rowena’s? I’d get lost in the entry.” They both chuckled at the imagery.

“It would be good for parties though.” Jenny remarked. The mood was shot out of the sky as both of them remembered the ball. They stayed silent for a few minutes as they wandered slowly through the Outskirts, making their way out.

“Maybe I could get a tour of your place? Get a better understanding of how things are.” She asked, innocently.

“…sure.” It took him a moment to realise what she was implying, by which time she made the implicit explicit.

“And I can get a better understanding of how you are, too.” Jenny almost purred that last sentence in his ear.

Theo blinked his way through his reddening face, and changed course to the fastest way home.