Esmé didn't know her parents and grew up at the orphanage. She fell ill easily and spent little time outside with the other children, preferring instead to sit in the infirmary and play with a small rat and they soon developed a fast friendship. She left the orphanage at 16, although she had little prospects. Instead, her latent magical abilities manifested and she found herself feared and reviled in equal measure.
Several days ago, a letter somehow managed to find her at the hovel she was squatting in. Her beloved matron was being accused of murder! As one of the only people she trusted in the world, Esmé was determined to clear her 'mother's' name and set off to return to the orphanage.
