Sacha awoke to Nancy roughly shaking his shoulder. Sacha groaned and winced as he opened his eyes, his eyes used to the dark world of sleep, not the bright light of morning sun. Sacha had found it increasingly difficult to get to sleep and craved amberlost, more strongly ever since that fateful night a few days ago, where he had given in and taken it. Luckily for Sacha Nancy hadn't noticed his incoherency and the nausea that had assailed him, elsewise she would have gone and murdered Dorian were he slept and cooked him in a stew to feed the ever-increasing amount of hungry mouths that she somehow managed to fill.

Nancy didn't usually wake him up without a good reason though; she knew about his bad sleeping habits and usually let him sleep until he woke up in the late morning. Sacha squinted up at Nancy's face, haloed with the glowing mid-morning sun.

"It's Alice." Said Nancy, as if that explained everything, "she's got a few gifts for you." Sacha groaned. This was the worst thing he could have been woken up for.

"Why does that stupid gang insist on rescuing anyone if they just dump them in the midden anyway?" Sacha complained, "They'd be better off leaving them to rot in the first place!" Nancy smiled; she knew his complaints were only for show. Sacha didn't mind collecting any cast offs, but he did think that Alice's gang was a waste of time and counter-productive. Alice glared at him as she waltzed through the doorway, her lips pursed. She was so easy to annoy, Sacha didn't even need to really try.

All those compassionate people were so uptight, they really needed to just relax and take a break. Just like you take your breaks now eh, Sacha? Asked the snide voice that resided at the back of his head. Sacha shook his head grumpily, in a vain attempt to ignore his better half.

"You're so selfish Sacha!" Alice cried, "You've never been on a slave ship, so how could you know what its like! No one deserves that treatment, and they deserve their freedom just like the rest of us." Alice continued vehemently.

"But what's the point in freeing them if the slavers can just walk down the road to Midden and round up a few more homeless." Sacha responded, with equal vehemence. "There's no point in freeing them Alice if they can easily replace the cargo they've just lost. All you do is provide a minor delay in their plans. They almost expect it now; I don't know how you idiots manage to keep getting inside their ships, when they come into port here!" Nancy stepped between them and stopped whatever Alice was going to say in reply.

"Now just calm down the both you," Nancy said her voice commanding their obedience. Sacha knew that tone of voice, Nancy used it whenever one of their younger charges got into an argument. "You have this argument every time, exactly the same. Let's just skip that part for once and get on with it." Sacha laughed.

"You're the boss Nancy," Sacha replied with a mock salute. "Fine, fine, what have you got for me Alice?" Sacha continued, turning his gaze to the bossy brunette. Alice glared at Sacha.

"They're people Sacha! It's not like I'm some stall vendor you're bartering with!" Alice said, still angry at Sacha's nonchalant indifference.

"Well, store vendors don't dump me with the goods they don't want or have no use for, and I'm much more subtle when I want things to go smoothly." Sacha grinned at the outrage that scrolled across Alice's face. Alice's cheeks began to flush red and she opened her mouth to reciprocate in kind, when she was interrupted with a small cough from Nancy. Alice turned her furious gaze on Nancy.

"You're going to let him get away with saying that too me?" Alice asked angrily. Nancy glared at her and Alice had the humility to look shamed at her behaviour.

"I was going to let him get away with it because he is a stupid and immature boy and incapable of saying how he feels." Nancy said firmly, "I was hoping you would ignore his foolish jibes and continue on with your business. I would also say that you do have no right to complain, because Sacha is doing you a great favour, and you know it."

"Oh, I am hurt by your cruel words Nancy, how could you betray me?" Sacha asked mock-hurt fluttering his eyes at Nancy. Nancy swatted at him as he approached her. Alice sighed and ran her hand through her luxuriously long hair.

"Sorry, Nancy," Alice said contritely, ignoring Sacha's look when she omitted him from the apologies. "Look, Sacha, it's been a long night and I'm sorry for snapping at you." Alice smiled at him and continued, "I've got 6 kids for you here, and they're the last on my list. Most of them were taken from these streets anyway, and are older than your usual charges. I'm sure you can find a guild willing to take them in and it's not too much trouble for you. There's a few who will need a little help, but it shouldn't be too much trouble for you."

"Alright," Sacha said, all business now, "but next time can you warn me before you're going to do a raid, I really need some warning before I get extra mouths, you know we struggle enough as it is." Alice nodded.

"If I know anything I'll be sure to let you know, but often I'm just woken up and told to find a place for them to stay. I really need to catch up on my sleep, so I'll let you get acquainted with your new kids." Sacha nodded and Alice turned to her wards.

"Now, pay attention to Sacha, he, unbelievably, knows what he's doing. He won't beat you and he'll try his best to get you at least one meal a day." Alice said sharply. She stared all of the frightened and confused children down until they submitted and gave her a curt nod. Alice smiled at them gently and marched out the door, presumably in search of a comfortable place to sleep.

Sacha looked at the timid and raggedly dressed children that huddled in the doorway. He'd seen worse that came from homes with families that were supposed to care for them. Sacha rubbed his head, trying to gather his thoughts while he glanced around the room, looking at the now empty piles of rugs, and occasional mat. He surmised that his charges must already have got up and gone to work for the day. Sacha shook his worried thoughts from his head. He knew Nancy would have looked after them and he would see them when they returned later in the cool of the evening.

NOTE:Just realised how short and dull my previous chapters are. I apologise profusely and beg your forgiveness, I promise they will grow longer and improve as I work on.