The night was cold, but not merciless. Lily, Liam, and Kyle huddled near the edge of the forest outside the city, shivering from the lingering chill. Their stomachs ached from the meager breakfast of stale bread they had scavenged, and their clothes were still damp from the slushy streets.
It had been days since they had stolen from the garden, days since the duke's abuse. Though their bodies ached and bruises burned, the memory of the power that had stirred inside them remained only as a faint, incomprehensible sensation. They did not yet know what it was, nor could they control it. For now, they were still children, powerless and cold, trying to survive.
As they trudged along the snow-dusted path, a deep voice called out.
"You three! What are you doing wandering out here?"
Lily, alert as always, crouched instinctively behind a tree, pulling the boys with her. A large figure approached—a beastman with brown fur, strong horns, and eyes sharp yet kind. He wore simple clothing and carried a satchel at his side.
"We… we were just…" Kyle began, but the words faltered under Lily's stern gaze.
The beastman crouched slightly, his eyes scanning their thin, shivering bodies. "No lies. You're starving." His voice was calm, not threatening. "Come with me. I don't want to hurt you."
Lily studied him. She saw no malice. Only strength, patience, and a sense of justice—something almost alien to her. Slowly, she nodded. The three of them followed him silently.
---
He led them to a small lodge at the edge of the forest. Smoke curled from the chimney, carrying the scent of cooked meat. Inside, the warmth was immediate, and Lily felt her frozen fingers begin to thaw. A small table had three bowls and spoons already prepared.
"Eat," the beastman said. "You'll need strength if you're going to survive. My name is Harkan. I work as a lumber supplier and occasional guard. I hire workers, and sometimes I help kids like you. Not because I owe anyone, but because someone has to."
The children ate ravenously, hunched over the bowls, silent except for the clatter of spoons and chewing. Hunger had made them animals, but here, at least, there was a pause—a brief moment of safety.
When they finished, Harkan sat across from them. "If you want to stay alive, you'll need more than scraps and hiding. You'll need work, discipline, and a plan." He handed Lily three small coins. "This is your first payment. Ten gold coins a day for helping me in my lumber yard. Don't waste it. It's yours, but it's earned."
Lily weighed the coins in her hand, feeling the cold metal. Ten gold coins a day—enough to live modestly, enough to buy necessities, enough to begin thinking about something more than survival. Her mind began turning, imagining the possibilities.
---
The next morning, Harkan led them to the lumber yard. Stacks of freshly cut trees lined the yard, the air thick with the scent of pine and sawdust. Workers carried logs, stacked planks, and organized timber, moving with efficient precision.
"This is where you'll be working," Harkan said. "You'll learn to carry, stack, measure, and eventually, sell. Work hard, follow instructions, and you'll earn your coins. Laziness or complaints get you nothing—and if you hurt anyone or damage the lumber, you leave."
Liam's shoulders slumped, and Kyle muttered under his breath. Lily placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "We can do this. One step at a time. We survive first, everything else comes after."
Harkan nodded approvingly. "Good. Now, start with the planks over there. Measure them carefully. Count each one. Accuracy matters."
The children began working, their small hands fumbling at first, but gradually adjusting to the weight and balance of the timber. By midday, they had earned their first ten gold coins officially for the day. It was hard, exhausting work, but unlike the streets or the duke's abuse, it was structured. There was fairness here.
---
When the day's labor ended, Lily gathered Liam and Kyle near the edge of the yard. She pulled out the coins from her pocket, counting them carefully. Thirty gold coins in total. The weight of the metal made their faces light up, though exhaustion was written in every line of their bodies.
"Listen," Lily whispered, crouching low so no one else could hear. "We've survived by luck, by hiding, by stealing. But we need a place to sleep. A place we can call ours, even if it's small. We need… a house."
Liam's eyes widened. "A house? That costs so much gold! Even one plank—"
"One plank is five gold coins," Lily interrupted, her voice calm, authoritative, precise. "We can buy six planks tomorrow if we work hard. Enough to make the first wall. Then another six the day after, and the day after that. Slowly. But by the end of the month, we'll have a proper small shelter. A place where we can eat, sleep, and be safe."
Kyle blinked, hesitant but curious. "You really think we can do it?"
"I don't think. We will," Lily said firmly. "We survive first, then we plan. That's all we can do for now."
She handed one coin to Liam and one to Kyle, keeping the rest herself. "Save it. Spend only if necessary. Each coin is a step toward safety. We can't waste it."
They huddled together as night fell, the first full night they had spent somewhere warmer than the streets. The snow outside was silent, but inside their hearts, determination was beginning to burn. Not yet power. Not yet strength. Just a quiet, steady ember of survival.
Lily lay awake longer than the others, staring at her silver horns catching the moonlight through the small window. She did not yet know the awakening that lay dormant within her blood, nor did Liam or Kyle sense the storm that slumbered in their veins. But for the first time since being abandoned in the snow, they had warmth, food, and the faint taste of hope.
Tomorrow, they would carry more planks, earn more coins, and start building their first walls. Slowly, painstakingly, they would carve out a place of their own in a world that had seen them as nothing.
And though they did not yet know it, the survival instinct Lily had planted in their hearts, the clarity she had forced into Liam and Kyle, and the quiet will to endure would prepare them for the day when the bloodline within would finally awaken.
Tonight, however, it was enough to be alive. Enough to dream. Enough to plan.