Somewhere, in the mess of houses and shacks that huddled around the palace,  a woman cooked breakfast. She hummed to herself as she stirred the cauldron slowly. The brown slush bubbled inside the rim. The woman stopped suddenly, holding a finger to her head. A thought hit her, and she turned to weave her way through the bodies that littered the floor, heaving breaths and releasing snores. She walked over them on her tiptoes, dodging fingers and toes. She looked up, seeing the rooster through the holes in the ceiling. It reared back and let out a call to wake up, wake up, wake up. 

Yet no one in the shack moved. Seviral bodies groaned and rolled over, only to fall asleep again. Most ignored the sound of the bird. The woman went back to her bowl, singing a little louder now that she knew they were already semi-awake. 

In the corner, two bodies lay curled up under the same blanket. They faced one another, foreheads touching. The man moved and rubbed his eyes. He moved just enough to wake up the girl, who promptly rolled over and closed her eyes tight. 

"Daryn, wake up," the man said to his sister, "Today's the day we go apply for the knight positions." Two days prior, their boss had asked them to become spies for the rebellion. They were more than happy to serve, but this task was different. By become knights, they would be the inside source the rebellion. Daelyn didn't doubt the two of them would be selected, but it was still itching in his mind. 

"We will get in. Why get up with the rooster?" The girl asked, wiping at her own eyes. 

"We won't be the only people wanting this job," he reminded her, and that got her up. They both took a bowl of brown mush from the cook, she smiled with no teeth left in her mouth.