[i]"And this one?" Came the stout man's voice over the din of children. He'd come here for one purpose, and he was going to fulfill it. The matron turned to look at the young girl the man had pointed at. A sullen, waif of a thing with dark hair and dark eyes. She didn't play with the other orphans, nor did she seem to care that the couple were talking about her as if she weren't there. 

"She's a recent addition to our family. Doesn't speak much, but also doesn't raise a fuss. May I ask what you do for work, Mr...." The Matron trailed off as the man's gaze wandered around the broken down, bare room. 

"Bolero, Mr. Bolero." The man commented sharply, "I'm sure you've heard of my tailor shop, down in the Mage Quarter."

The matron seemed to straighten slightly, suddenly recognizing the important merchant. "Of course Mr. Bolero! Now, if you'd like, her name is Isabella, she's about 12 years old..."[/i]

~~~~~

From that day on, Bela belonged to the Bolero's. From sunrise to sunset she worked in their tailoring shop. She would clean, take care of customers and even sew orders well into the night. Years passed this way, and Bela knew there had to be more out there for her. She'd made a good show at being obedient, doing as Mr. Bolero and his son bid her to do. But at night, when the house was asleep, she'd slip away.

She'd never tried to escape the city, because where would she go? Besides, most of the guards knew her by now, and there was no way she would be able to get out of Stormwind without being spotted. 

As she did on most nights, Bela tucked her hair back into the hood of her cloak and stepped out onto the ledge of her window. With a quick shimmy down the drainpipe, she landed on the soft grass silently. 

She did many things at night on her adventures, but her favorite thing was to visit the library in Stormwind Keep. Open to everyone, Bela couldn't understand why more people didn't visit it. She especially loved it around this time of night, there was hardly ever anyone there.

With a smile, Bela headed for the cobbled streets. Only a few guards and thieves roamed this late, and it afforded Bela the opportunity to find hidden treasures on the street. She nearly tripped over a basket of half over-ripe apples, but with a smile scooped them up and continued on her journey. She munched happily as she entered the keep, tipping her head to the royal guards stationed at the entrance.

It wasn't long before Bela was curled up in one of the alcoves outside of the library, a pile of books beside her as she enjoyed her apples and looked over the sleeping city of Stormwind.