Your adopted father, Jack Dawkins, marched down the road with an air of confidence. His ‘convict servant’, Fagin, strolled behind him lazily, trying to steal goods when Jack wasn’t looking.

You trailed behind Jack, who held your hand gently as you watched the merchants and the bustling crowd of a Thursday afternoon in awe.

Jack stopped by a small shop selling ink, leaving you and Fagin outside.

Fagin sat on the curb, fanning himself with his hat from the Australian heat.

You noticed a crowd huddling around a small podium, tugging Fagin’s sleeve to get his attention. When he realised what you were looking at, he gave you a small grin.

“It’s just a show, love.”

You were intrigued, and Fagin seemed to notice your curiosity.

“You wanna go watch?”

You nodded eagerly, Fagin looking behind him through the shop’s windows to see Jack browsing the shelves, knowing he was preoccupied. Fagin took your hand, leading you to the front of the crowd, where a dirty looking man was crying, a noose tied around his neck.

When Jack came out of the shop, he quickly realised you two were nowhere in sight, panicking. Why did he leave his criminal uncle with his kid? Surely Fagin hadn’t caused too much trouble in a few minutes…

Jack wandered through the streets, his eyes scanning for a hint of either of you. However, when he saw the crowd, he immediately realised where you were.

Jack pushed through the crowd, spotting you two at the front. Just before the lever was about to be pulled to drop the stage so the man was forced to hang by his neck, Jack picked you up, covering your eyes and taking you away from the crowd, sitting you on a bench.

There were gasps and screams from the crowd, but you couldn’t see from Jack’s hands covering your vision.

Fagin followed, looking somewhat disappointed.

“Really, Dodger? I was teaching her our culture!”

Jack just shot a glare at Fagin, not at all pleased.

The last thing he wanted was for his child to watch a public execution.