THE SKY WAS still dark when Valaena slipped through the secret passageway behind her bed, a heavy sack pressed tightly to her side as her boots echoed against the worn stone. She knew each turn by heart, ducking beneath the low arch and swinging under the crooked plank jutting from the wall. By the time she emerged into the cool morning air, her braid was a wild mess and her arms ached from the weight of the peaches.

Still, a smile tugged at her lips as she stepped onto the quiet road, the chill biting at her skin as she tugged her cloak around her tighter. She reached up, pulling the hood down from her face to let the crisp morning air brush against her cheeks.

Flea Bottom was quiet, with a few littering the streets as they began their day. The foul stench of smoke and rot clung to the crooked alleys, but she didn't mind. 

The folks on the streets paid her little mind as she passed, casting side glances at her small frame and the oversized sack clutched in her hands. She preferred it that way. It was one of the few times she was thankful for her dark hair as she walked the streets undetected by anyone.

Valaena reached the broken fountain first, where three children kicked a ball around made of rags and string. Their laughter echoed faintly through the mist, an unfamiliar sound in Flea Bottom that made her heart ache. 

One of the children, a girl no older than five with light curls, darted after the ball and slipped on the loose cobblestone. She fell hard onto her knees, a sharp cry escaping her lips as her laughter turned to tears.

Valaena dropped the heavy sack at her feet and hurried forward without thinking. 

"Hey, hey, it's alright," she murmured gently, crouching beside the girl.

The child clutched her knee, now scraped and bleeding, her lip trembling as she looked up at Valaena with wary eyes. Without hesitation, Valaena reached for the hem of her cloak and tore a strip from the lining with ease.

"You're tougher than you look," Valaena told the girl as she gently dabbed the scrape clean. 

The girl sniffled but nodded, watching her hands with wide, cautious eyes. Valaena understood, remembering the paranoia and distrust she had when living in Flea Bottom. Help rarely came without a cost. As Valaena tied the knot, she reached behind her as she pulled a peach from the sack. 

"Here," she said as she offered it to the girl. "For being so brave."

The girl hesitated, clearly unsure, before slowly taking the fruit in both hands as if it were the most precious thing she'd ever held. Valaena guessed it probably was. She took a tentative bite, and her eyes lit up with a shy smile at the taste.

The other children, who had scattered to the edge of the alley at her sudden appearance, slowly crept back toward the fountain. Valaena stood and brushed off her knees before turning to them with a small smile.

"Anyone else hungry?" she asked softly, being careful not to spook them.

The other children didn't need to be asked twice, darting forward as she handed out peaches to them. More children had arrived, drawn by the sound of laughter and the sweet scent that had drifted through the street. The ball was kicked around again as children finished their peach and joined in on playing with the others. By the time Valaena glanced up again, nearly a dozen children had gathered near the broken fountain, their eyes fixed on the sack at her feet like a chest of gold. 

It wasn't long before the sack was emptied, every last peach taken. She dropped it beside her with a soft thud, then glanced over her shoulder to ensure they had not attracted too much attention. When she was certain the streets were still quiet in the early morning, she turned back to her satchel and reached deep inside.

Valaena knelt down and slowly laid out its contents in the dirt. Rings. A pin. A delicate chain with a dragon-shaped clasp. Nothing she would miss.

The children began to notice what she was doing. The ball lay forgotten as they wandered back toward her, their curiosity pulling them closer with every step.

"Take what you need," she told the children gently. "Sell it. Trade it. Just don't tell anyone where you got it."

Small, dirt-smudged hands darted forward, grabbing the trinkets with wide eyes and breathless thank-yous before the children took off down the alley. It was as if they feared she might change her mind, clutching their prizes tight as they vanished into the winding streets.

Valaena was caught off guard when two small arms suddenly wrapped around her legs. She looked down to find the little girl she had helped earlier, her curls even wilder in the breeze.

"Thank you," the girl whispered into her tunic, then let go and dashed off after the others.

Valaena watched her go, releasing a small sigh as she turned to leave. 

"You're not from here," a voice caught her off-guard as her gaze snapped up. 

An older woman leaned against the alley, her eyes suspicious but not unkind as she stared at Valaena. Her wrinkled fingers held a necklace with a dragon sigil dangling from its chain.

"No," Valaena told her with a shake of her head, allowing herself to relax when she realized the woman was not a threat. "Not anymore."

The old woman squinted at her, studying her face with a curious tilt of her head. After a moment, she seemed to find what she was looking for as she nodded, pushing herself off the wall with a grunt. 

That's when Valaena noticed it. Her bare feet against the sharp and dirty stones that made up Flea Bottom. They were cracked and bruised, as though the woman had never worn shoes her entire life.

Without thinking, she crouched down and unfastened the laces of her boots. The old woman's eyes widened as she realized what Valaena was doing.

"Child, don't," she said with a shake of her head, reaching down to stop her as she pulled the boots off her feet. "You'll ruin your feet walkin' these streets without boots."

"No, please, I insist," Valaena urged, rising up as she held the boots out. "They'll do you more good than me."

The old woman looked at her, stunned into silence. Her gaze drifted from the boots to Valaena's feet, already chilled by the damp stones.

"They'll be too big," she muttered, almost to herself.

"They'll be warm," Valaena told her with a reassuring smile. "And I want you to have them."

The woman stared at her for a long moment before her expression softened. Slowly, she reached out and took the boots with trembling hands.

"You've got a kind heart," the woman said quietly, her voice cracking as she spoke. "Not many like that left here."

Valaena dipped her head, unsure what to say as she turned to leave.

"Wait," the old woman called after her, stopping Valaena in her steps as she glanced back.

The woman smiled faintly, one corner of her mouth tugging upward as she leaned on the wall behind her. 

"You have pretty eyes," the woman said, making Valaena blink. Her hand instinctively lifted, brushing her hair behind her ear as if that might somehow hide the truth.

"If anyone asks," she said gently, nodding to the boots now clutched in her arms. "You found them."

The old woman's lips twitched as she lowered her head in quiet acknowledgment. By the time she looked up again, Valaena was gone. She had vanished as swiftly as she'd come, just as the sun began to rise above the clouds. The only thing that remained was a pair of boots and the children's laughter that still echoed through the alley. Proof that, for a fleeting moment, something good had passed through Flea Bottom.