Chapter One.

Everyday Credence Barebone stood on the crowded streets of New York. Everyday he handed out leaflets on the horrors of the witches, just as he was told to. And everyday he waited for the smile of the girl with the peculiar flowers.

Credence did not know who she was, where she was going, or why, without fail, she met his gaze each morning with her soft brown eyes, and granted him a smile that made him feel much more than any beating from his "mother" ever could.

Credence lived for that smile, and she lived to give it.