Shadow was barely surviving in this wretched city. It was said to hold a cure that could help her brother, but after days of raiding the marble castle, she had yet to find any miracle potion.

She and her brother, Raven, had barely survived the attack. Their dad, Farlight, had made enemies when he served the White City’s army, and that had caught up to him. An evil madman had attacked their home, bombing it and causing a devastating wildfire that took the lives of hundreds. Both the madman and Farlight had perished in the fire, and Raven had been severely burned, unable to move or eat by himself. Shadow had carried her brother out of the fire and fled into a river, and they had both watched in shock as the fire burned everything in its path. 

Now, her brother was dying from an unknown cause, and Shadow didn’t think he would last much longer. She had to find the cure, or she would lose her brother, like she had lost everything else she loved from that wildfire.

She had to pay attention, though. If she got distracted, she would be caught. And thieves of the White Castle were punished with death. Even her father serving in their army wouldn’t help.

She crouched in the shadows, her black fur making her near invisible, as a guard came into view, whistling a cheerful tune and swishing his tortoiseshell tail. The guard strolled past inches away from Shadow’s whiskers, unaware of the criminal in his midst. 

After the guard rounded a corner and was out of sight, Shadow continued on, crouched on all fours, completely silent. She had been training in the army as a spy, and those skills now came in handy now for her thefts.

As she was about to turn a corner, she heard someone screech, “The princess is missing! The heir has disappeared!”

‘Crap,’ Shadow thought. ‘I need to get out of here NOW!’

If she was caught on the day the heir to the throne, Princess Snowfall, disappeared, the castle guards might think Shadow had something to do with the disappearance! 

Shadow scrambled to one of the hallway’s many windows and perched on the ledge, staring down. The ground was several stories below, and a fall might be deadly.

But then she heard a guard shout, “There! In the window!” And Shadow knew she had been caught. She had no choice now. 

Without hesitation, Shadow flung herself out of the window.

For a moment, all she heard was the whooshing of air. Then the ground was underneath her, and she rolled, softening her landing and allowing her to spring to her paws instantly. She looked up to see a gray-tabby guard peering out the window in utmost confusion, but then an orange tabby guard looked out and slapped the gray tabby. “Don’t just stand there, you idiot, alert the city guards that there is a catnapper in the city!”

Shadow dashed through the city’s alleyways until she reached her hiding spot. It looked like a dead end at first glance, but Shadow’s thin figure slipped through the large crack in the wall and she entered the abandoned building she now called home.

Two makeshift beds were set up in the room. One was empty, but the other held a heap of sleeping black fur.

Shadow walked up to her brother quietly, hoping not to wake him. She checked his ragged breathing, and then his infected burn wounds. Raven’s breathing was unsteady, and his angry red burns were worse than ever. 

Her brother stirred, perhaps sensing Shadow was nearby, and opened his topaz eyes. “Has the burns gotten any better?” He asked, voice ripe with pain.

“No, the burns haven’t” Shadow said, unwilling to tell her brother how bad the burns really were.

“Sister…” Raven said, the words a struggle, “I don’t think I’m going to last much longer. You should just abandon me and save yourself.”

“No, I won’t.” Shadow said. “We are kin; we look out for each other. At the least I can try and make it less painful.”

Raven didn’t respond; he only closed his eyes and fell back asleep.