Persepolis sat for a moment, before reminiscing, "There was a time when I trusted someone. I was 13, young and naive. At that point I was a skilled traceuse and fighter. But I was still starving, fighting for every scrap." She paused, taking a breath, "There was this boy, my age, who would sneak me food from the kitchen. He was a cook. We'll call him John. He'd come find me, show me what he'd brought. When he gave me scrap he'd tell me that I was a great girl, smart, a good fighter. That I didn't deserve to be alone." She huffed, reprimanding her younger self, "I believed him, the fool that I was. Well, over time he convinced me to use my agility and hiding skills for bad. He trained me to steal for him, to pickpocket without getting caught. First it was a pair of socks, then a shirt, some pants, shoes and eventually bigger things like backpacks and knives. And a gun. Then one day he told me he needed some gear; he wanted the body armor and cloak that the leader's guards wore. He told me he'd be my partner in return. Lovedrunk, I did what he asked." She gritted her teeth, "I snuck past the crowds to the guards who watched over the vault with the gear. I knocked them out. Or, at least I thought I did. I got into the vault and stole the gear, putting it on myself to carry it better. I started to make my way along the wall, acting like I belonged there. Before I knew it the guards I thought I had knocked out had grabbed me. They drug me to the leader, to be tried. When asked if I was working alone I said 'no, I'm with John' . They left and returned with John. They asked him if he knew me and he said he didn't, but he had seen me taking food from the kitchen. He pulled out some photos to show the guard, they were of me eating the food he gave me, clearly the pictures were taken by someone else with a clear view. He had set me up." She let out a low growl, "The guards released him and I was charged with two counts of burglary. The only punishment I suffered was being a slave for two weeks. But my trust had been severely damaged." She stopped talking, letting her story sink in.
