"Is this your card?" Emilio said for the third time that day. He had lost count how many times he had said it over the last few years. He was sure the true number would drive him to suicide. But he was a very important part of Lamm's Little Lambs now. Lamm's favorite but the Lambs' least. He was the distraction now, the one that drew the eyes of the crowd while his associate's pocketed all the shiny baubles they could find. A child that could do magic tricks? How could people not stop and stare. In some cases the magic was legitimate, enough to make even the most skeptical in the crowd ponder the act. Which was the point.
Once Lamm discovered Emilio could use real magic, he told him to start doing magic tricks. He didn't say how the boy was supposed to do this, just when and where to do it. That meant Emilio had to work fast and learn quick. He had to recall the minor parlor tricks his father performed and watch street performers to make a good show. His first attempts were less than stellar, and he paid for them. By the time he got it, he was almost as spotted as a Dalmatian. But when people finally started to stop and watch, things changed. Now he was Lamm's favorite, his golden goose. With real magic, Emilio could out perform all the other corner magicians. That meant Lamm was getting more money from his little Lamb's that were sifting through the audience, cutting purses and picking pockets.
Unfortunately, this also separated him from all the other's like him under Lamm's rule. He was Gaedren's favorite. He was treated differently, better. They didn't like that. And they showed him how much they didn't more than once. Things escalated slowly. First it was shunning. No one talked to him like they used to. Then they completely ignored him, giving him mean looks. He tried to share the extra stuff, food and blankets and such, that he was getting, but it didn't help. It eventually devolved into mean pranks, tripping, shoving, itching powder. And then outright violence. More than once Lamm had to step in to protect his investment.
They never realized the pressure he was under to perform, to meet expectations, or meet Lamm's foot. If he wasn't getting it from the orphan's he was getting it from Lamm. Its no wonder he snapped one day. He'd had enough. He pulled a knife on one of the other children, one of the bigger and meaner ones, right out on the streets. The guard took it from there. Gaedren went to clear him out but he wasn't in the cell. All they found was the key ring, which usually hung several feet away, in the lock of his open cell.
Emilio planned the escape. He knew his magic could reach the keys and intentionally got himself arrested. Once free, he disappeared into the shadows of Korvosa. For a short time he tried to find legitimate work, but thievery was too hard wired into him at this point and he was untrusting of everyone. Eventually he fell in with the only group he could count on to be anything but trustworthy, the Cerulean Society. They were largest band of rogues and cutthroats in the city. They could offer protection but only if he could offer something equal. For once, Lamm's teaching actually aided him here. He was a more than capable thief and smarter than most of them too. He also found he had an invaluable knack for spellcraft. Sure, he was in almost the same situation he was in with Lamm, but at least he was free to choose it this time. And that made all the difference.
