Nielle didn't have time to take the day off. After visiting the commander of his Black Guard and finding that none of his brothers had left the palace in his absence, he had to clue who else would have reason to harm him.
Nielle didn't have a bad relationship with his brothers, but he didn't trust them. Although neither of them had ever done anything to him, although they both usually stood up for him...Nielle wasn't naive and didn't believe in brotherly love.
He give the man an order to find out who had left town around the same time as him yesterday, or returned today and went deal with Shane. On his way to Elyan, he discovered that the king had already ordered Louis to reduce the number of his soldiers. Therefore, he stopped by one of his messengers to give the soldiers in Alycante information on what to do until his arrival. Before he could visit Elyan, he was stopped by two more of his soldiers, whom he had no more energy for.
"Something urgent?" he asked.
"Yes, Your Highness, I have a report from the bank regarding the reduction of funding for your troops, the king-" he began, but Nielle didn't let him finish.
"I know, use the funds from the executioners's treasury," he said.
"Not business finance, sir?" he asked.
"No," he knew that the side money from the deals the king doesn't know about would be more useful in the near future than the money he knows about, "and you? Something urgent?" he looked at the other soldier next to him.
"Your Highness, unpleasant rumors are spreading about you in the court that-" he tried to say, but Nielle wouldn't let him.
"I'm not interested in gossip, the worse the better," he said and left.
The soldier looked at him in confusion, not sure if he should leave it as the prince wanted or try to inform him again, since this time it wasn't something mundane like usual. However, Prince Nielle knew what he was doing and he didn't like it if someone came to him with one thing twice. That's why he decided to let it be like that...which he shouldn't have.
However, at the moment, Nielle didn't want to deal with some gossip in the palace. He had a lot of other things to worry about. He went to Elyan, as he wasn't sure if his people had time to transfer Shane to the Red Torture chamber, where no one would be looking for him. He knocked and when Elyan let him in, he walked into the room where his Lacrisan used to lie.
"When did they take him?" he asked when he didn't see him.
"Recently, sit here." Elyan walked over to the table and took a bowl of water, bottles for disinfection and a few other tools.
"Recently" Nielle thought and walked out when Elyan stopped him.
"When you've come here, I'll treat you, sit down," he nodded to the bed.
Nielle looked at him uncomprehendingly,"No need," he said.
However, Brelle blocked the door, "Nielle...I heard that father had you whipped," he shook his head and wiped his wet hands with a piece of fabric.
"As you can see, I'm fine...I don't have time, move away," he tried to say, but Brelle stretched out his palm in front of him and gently grabbed him.
"Nielle, let Elyan treat you...don't be like a child," he added.
Nielle shook off his palm and sighed, "Brelle, I'm not in the mood, get out of my way, otherwise I'll have you whipped too...or I'll beat you myself...and you'll be the one who need treatment," he said.
"Prince Nielle…if you resort to violence in my house, I will be forced to inform the king." Elyan said.
Nielle laughed softly, "Elyan...if you continue to piss me off, even the king won't help you."
"Of course, of course," the doctor nodded to the bed, "sit down."
Nielle looked at him with considerable displeasure. He thought for a moment before saying, "If Brelle gets out, " he glared at his brother.
Brelle smiled softly, "Don't be shy."
"Prince Brelle, patient's wish." Elyan looked at him.
"It's the law, I know," he didn't object and walked away.
Nielle gave him a murderous look as he was just called a patient and sat down on the bed with a deep sigh, undressed and said, "It's nothing."
"Better than the last time," Elyan nodded and soaked several cloths in the disinfectant. He placed it lightly against Nielle's bleeding wound running across the prince's back and let it work before soaking a second cloth.
Nielle dug his nails into his knees as his back stung and angrily said, "You're so slow, I got a lot of work to do."
"Don't be ashamed, as a child you used to come here a lot... have you forgotten who nursed you when you had a fight with someone?" he smiled.
"You act like you were only treating me," Nielle didn't sound friendly.
"Of course not...but you were here most often. I don't recall Prince Louis needing treatment more than a few times a year...Prince Brelle only had falls from trees," he reminded, "you were my most frequent patient."
"Don't talk and work," Nielle said.
Elyan smiled softly and finished his work in no time. When he hid everything, he slapped Nielle's back harder which made the princ gasp painfully.
"Done." He said.
"You moron," Nielle got dressed in displeasure and stood up, "Didn't my Lacrisan wake up by any chance?" he asked.
"No...he can sleep for several days," Elyan knew.
Nielle nodded, "Thank you," he said and walked away.
"You're welcome, the next time you get hurt, less thinking about it and come right away," he said.
Nielle ignored him, looked at Brelle, who gave him a soft smile while Nielle walked away.
Nielle moved to the palace where he wanted to head to the red torture chamber where he had Shane transferred. However, since his black ring was burning him quite badly and Nielle could clearly feel how it keep filling with his bad luck, he ended up in his chamber.
He walked to the drawer from which he took out his gold compass, opened it, put his finger in and watched how his luck was at the moment.
It was impossible for him to have so much bad luck in one day. During sex with Shane yesterday, he didn't take much luck because he didn't want Shane to be completely drained during his fight with the soldiers. He was going to have fun with him when the show was over, but in the end he didn't get to do it.
He didn't expect that he wouldn't get a chance to replenish his luck in the next day, that's why the stone in the center of the compass was burgundy, that's why the arrow showing the direction of his luck was shaking, and that's why his black ring was filling up more than usual.
Nielle sighed in displeasure. The stone in the compass was something no Lacrisan had seen worse than red. The less lucky a person was, the darker the stone became...through yellow to orange to red...then sometimes through burgundy to brown to black. Nielle knew it was the time to get some luck, so he made his way out of the room.
But he didn't get to go out when Louis knocked on the door, "Nielle?"
Nielle didn't want to answer, but he remembered that he had something to say to Louis, so he sat on the bed and let him in.
"What is it, Lui?" he asked.
Leaving Iuwine wait outside, Louis walked to him and looked at the compass in his hand, "Are you okay?"
Nielle automatically hid the compass behind him and declared, "Our father is an idiot, nothing more."
Louis sighed and sat down on the bed next to him, which made Nielle pull away as he was too close, "I know he's harsh sometimes, but he means it in a good way...sometimes he has a bad temper, but-" he started, but Nielle didn't let him continue this bullshit.
"Lui, if you came here to defend him, get out." Louis was just irritating him.
"I didn't," Louis said, "I came to make sure how you were doing. I heard you were punished, so I was worried that you'll be sick...I brought you some herbal sweets." He gave him a pouch of candies that he knew Nielle liked.
"I'm fine," Nielle said, "you know my wounds are healing slowly, so I'm upset, but fine." he admitted.
"I know," Louis nodded, "I have excellent healing ointments from Equil, I brought them to you as well." he took it out and moved it to Nielle, waiting if he would take them.
Nielle wouldn't accept them, but currently he had to for future plans, "It won't help, but thanks," he said.
"They helped you last time," he recalled.
"The healing springs helped me last time," Nielle said, "I thought about going to it earlier, but I guess not." he started, although his back wasn't something which needed a healing bath.
Louis thought for a moment before saying, "That's a great idea."
"It's but the ones near the capital are being remodeled," he laughed, "so they're closed."
"Closed? Until when?" Louis didn't know.
"I've been asking, at least for a month," Nielle said.
"Strange."
"It's not...I'm just lucky," Nielle laughed.
Louis, who felt sorry for his younger brother, tried to find some solution to the situation, "I can bring you to different hor springs...it's definitely not only one near the city, " he tried, but Nielle wouldn't let him.
"No need...the king wouldn't let me go anywhere," he knew.
"Let me finish," Louis sighed, "there's a healing spring near the capital, a day's journey."
"Really?" Nielle blinked in surprise.
"Don't you remember? We used to go there as kids...it's in Alycante," he said.
"Oh, yes...I forgot," Nielle nodded.
"You can go there, you'll be fine in a week." Louis said.
Nielle, whose injuries would be healed by themselves during the week, rejected, "The king barely allowed me to shorten my stay in the prison," he laughed, "I don't think he let me go to Alycante to the springs. He said that I have to accept the punishment with everything." he said.
Louis was silent for a while before he remembered, "And if we all go?"
"Everyone? Why? "Nielle asked.
"A few days ago I got an invitation to the birthday of Zoye," he started, "I didn't plan to go, but I haven't answered yet ... I didn't even inform the king because he would force me to go...but if I go, all of us will. " he knew.
Nielle, who was aware what time in the year was , said, "Zoye will have a birthday...I forgot."
"Would you like to go?" Louis asked.
"I don't," Nielle sighed, "but I would go to the springs."
"If you agree, I will tell our father today that Zoye invited us all and awaits us in Alycante. Father will probably go too, but-" he started when Nielle interrupted him.
"I don't care, if the king agrees I will go." He said.
Louis smiled and gently touched him, "I'm glad you're fine." He nodded.
Nielle suppressed the desire to shake him of himself, and when Louis finally got up and left the room, Nielle lay down on the bed. He didn't expect it to go so smoothly, as the level of his luck was in low values, but eventually it worked out. His goal of going to Alycante in the near future, was developing beautifully, and since he had no doubt that king will fulfill Louis's wishes, he took it for granted.
All what he needed now was to visit his group of Lacrisans and make this disgusting day more pleasant.
***
It was quite pleasant in the cave. When they went a little deeper, it wasn't even that cold inside, which was quite unusual. This led Rue to the idea that there might be some kind of heat source in the center of the cave, so he was intrigued by the possibility of investigating it here more closely. Ylre warned him several times that it wasn't a good idea, and although Rue agreed, his desire to explore always got the better of him.
They walked through several corridors where Rue marked a path in the wall with other stones. They went to the part which top was no longer formed by a stone wall, but from which one could see outside. There was a storm in the forest, water flowed from a smaller opening through grooves in the rock into a smaller pond that seemed to be cleaner than the one they saw in the entrance area.
It was much cozier here, not so big and warmer. With a pleasant dimness as just touches and the moon shone here, the cave created a magical atmosphere that Rue immediately fell in love with.
That's why for a while the desire to walk deeper disappeared and instead he touched the crystal water, "It's not cold...it looks to be clear."
"Shall we go in?" the young man cheered happily and walked over to Rue, knelt down and dipped his palm in.
Rue nodded with a soft smile, "What's your name?"
When a single question was asked, the young man stood up and extended his hand to Rue to introduce himself, "Kaye...my name is Kaye."
"Kaye?" Ylre asked, "Strange name for Lacrisan." He knew Rue won't touch his hand.
The young man smiled softly, "And what's your name?"
"Ylre."
"Weird name for Lacrisan," he laughed.
Ylre laughed more murderously and when it looked like a conflict would arise Rue stepped in, "I'm Rue, nice to meet you," he smiled.
Kaye nodded contentedly, "Are we staying?"
"Yes," Rue nodded and looked at Ylre next to him, "Ylre, yesterday I went first, today you can go first, what do you say?"
"First?" the young man didn't understand, "Let's all go together," he said and started undressing, "it will be more fun," he smiled.
"Insolent," Ylre snarled and placed himself between the young man and Rue so he wouldn't have to look at him, "we can see what environment you came from."
Kaye blinked in confusion, "You have no idea...but I guess in some cave in the forest it doesn't matter where we come from," he laughed and undressed completely, "We want to get closer, don't we?" you climbed into the pond, "So good...."
"Get closer?" Ylre laughed at him.
"Calm down," Rue blushed softly and looked away, "Kaye's right...nothing's going on." he knew and gently removed his upper black and gold robe, revealing the white layer underneath, which although still completely covered him, was at least thinner.
However, Ylre still stood between them and glared furious at the young man.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Did I do something?" he didn't understand.
"You don't have to bathe with him...we'll wait until he comes out...or I'll kill him and you can go in now," Ylre offered to Rue, who didn't agree.
"Ylre, it's just a bath," he slowly went to the pond, "the world is changing." he deduced, with hesitation touching the water with his foot.
Ylre watched as the white-robed Rue slowly crawled into the pond before intense anger at the young man swimming by the side filled his insides. He watched for a moment as Rue dipped below the surface and leaned gently against one of the rocks before realizing he had to go in too. Since the young man didn't look like he was going to let Rue have his privacy, Ylre cleverly stripped down to just his underpants and waded into the water to join them.
He was standing between Ruo and Kaye who looked like he wanted to talk to Ruo in inappropriate proximity.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
"Are you shy?" Kaye asked when he saw that Rue was wearing a white outfit and clearly couldn't feel comfortable in it.
Rue just smiled softly and shook his head, "I don't think it's appropriate to bathe with strangers naked, try to think about it in the future, child," he wasn't shy, it was just that his way of thinking was different.
"Child?" Kaye blinked.
Rue realized as soon as he lost control and shook his head, "Accept the customs of others, Kaye…as I accept yours."
"Hmm..." Kaye looked at him when Ylre blocked his view again.
"If you want to have fun with someone…I'm available." Ylre pierced him with a look that clearly said that when he got any closer, today's experience with the guys he saved him from would be his fondest memory.
"Okay, okay," Kaye grumbled unhappily and swam a little to the side, "you're weird."
Ylre ignored him as he heard Rue's almost horrified voice.
"Ylre," he began, "who did this to you?" Rue stared blankly at Ylre's whipped back. The long, deep wounds stretching across his entire width were no longer bleeding, but they still looked relatively fresh. The water didn't open them up, they didn't look inflamed, but they clearly had to still be sore and Rue suddenly didn't know if he really had them all along.
Ylre didn't understand what he was asking for a moment before turning to him and coming to his senses, "Ah..." he thought, "my...superior...I made a mistake at work."
"Superior?" Rue blinked, "What mistake cost you such a harsh punishment? What kind of superior would do this to someone?" He was quite angry.
"Mine is very self-centered," Ylre laughed, "He thinks he owns the world...which is true for the time being." he added.
"No one owns the world...only Luck," Rue knew very well.
Ylre knew he was right, but since the King of the Infey was the main messenger and guardian of Luck, basically neither of them were wrong.
"There's no point in arguing with him," Ylre sighed.
"And what mistake did you make?" Rue asked.
"He thinks I lost someone I was supposed to be guarding," he knew.
"He thinks?" he didn't understand, "So you haven't lost him?"
Ylre shook his head, "I always know where he is."
"Then why did he punish you?" he didn't understand.
"Because he's stupid," he laughed, "but that's good. I never wanted to be a prison guard."
"You said you were one for a long time," Rue recalled.
"I have been...for a very long time," he sighed, "but I won't be anymore."
"Did he fire you?" he asked.
"No...but he gave me a task that I don't intend to fulfill...meaning I don't plan to come back," he explained.
"Does your superior know?" Rue didn't want him to have a problem.
"He doesn't know...if he knew, he would tried to kill me before I went anywhere," he laughed.
"And when he finds you?" he asked.
Ylre smiled lightly and gently approached Rue, "We'll figure something out." He locked his blue gaze with him, lost in his golden irises for a moment before pulling back.
Rue smiled softly, how nice it was to have someone believe in him after a long time, "I'll be happy to help you."
Ylre nodded with a smile. They looked at each other for a while before the nice atmosphere was interrupted by a stranger's voice.
"What are you talking about there?" the young man swam to them and looked at Rue, as if he wanted to see him better.
"Not your business," Ylre took a stone and threw it at him rather harmlessly.
The young man ducked and frowned displeasedly,"Why did you do that?"
"Don't forget who saved you...be grateful and get out." Ylre didn't like someone spoiling their time together.
"I didn't, I appreciate it, that's why I want to get closer to you," he said and took a step towards Rue, "we don't know each other."
Ylre stood between them again. His patience was running out and the only thing keeping him in check was that Rue didn't want him fighting with anyone. However, the moment Kaye took a step to the side with a smile and tried to go around him, Ylre felt like he couldn't take it anymore.
At the moment when the young man tricked him and, after moving to the right, unexpectedly crept up on him from the other side, Ylre couldn't catch him.
Rue blinked in surprise as Kaye approached him. He straightened and confusedly tried to say something to signal them to at least keep a decent distance when a crack echoed through the cave.
"АААААgh!" the young man's scream could be heard through the corridors as Ylre twisted his arm in a forceful grip, breaking one of his fingers.
"Don't you understand the word don't come close?" he asked irritatedly and twisted his arm harder. The young man grabbed him violently, slapped him on the forearm, but he didn't achieve anything.
"Ágh-áágh…sorry…ow…ow…let go...ágh!" he wailed in pain.
"Ylre," Rue took a step toward him, "stop."
Ylre looked at him and let the young man go, "It's his fault."
Kaye was obviously clutching his broken finger, "Ow..ahh...why did you do that...I-I didn't do anything..." he backed away confused.
"I said, don't come any closer," Ylre pierced him with his eyes.
"Is that why you can break my fingers? Because I got close to you?" he looked at Rue incomprehendingly, who sighed deeply.
"He's a bit temperamental...but he's right, I said that we have different customs...I'm not comfortable being around strangers and especially when the person is naked...maybe he overdid it, but I hope, that it will be a lesson for you in the future to listen to the requests of others." Rue looked at Ylre who just helped him.
Ylre laughed contentedly and leaned proudly against the edge of the pond. He gave the young man a knowing superior look backed by Rue's words, clearly on his side.
"I understand," Kaye said, "I just wanted to be nice." he declared and walked out of the pond, leaving the pair alone. He moved further into the cave as if he wanted to be alone and Rue looked at him in confusion as if he didn't understand where the mistake had happened.
"A moron," Ylre finally breathed.
"Shouldn't we go after him?" he didn't know.
"Don't care about him, we're finally alone," Ylre smiled, "if you want, I'll come out and you can bathe without clothes, I won't watch."
"That's fine," Rue smiled, "it's quite pleasant." he closed his eyes, sat contentedly leaning against the edge of the lake and enjoying the lukewarm touch of the water.
Ylre looked at him. He watched his relaxed face for a moment before lowering his eyes. The white fabric clung to his body with water, offering a glimpse of his pale chest. Ylre only watched for a few seconds as impact of water lifted his clothes slightly, tiny drops running down his neck, to his collarbone behind the hem of his clothes, where Rue gently wiped them away. He tilted his neck to the side and exhaled softly. Ylre swallowed hard and looked away. He backed up with self-discipline and made his way out of the water.
"Where are you going?" Rue asked in surprise.
"I'm a little cold," Ylre clarified.
"Cold?" Rue didn't think the water was cold.
"Yes," Ylre dressed slowly, "I'll wait until you come out." he sat down by one of the nearby rocks. Although the cave was natural, the ground wasn't cold at all, the rocks seemed to be carved, and it was generally comfortable to sit next to them. Ylre had the impression that the church here was using it for other things, like worshiping Luck, but since it was raining outside, they couldn't go any further.
He was wondering where they were going tomorrow when Rue came out. He walked to the rocks behind which he hid, changed his undergarment to an upper one and threw a wet cloth over them. He came out dressed and walked towards Ylre.
"Do you want to play?" Rue asked, sitting on his floor.
"Play?" asked Ylre, "A dice?"
"Whatever you want...if I win, you tell me a story, if I lose, I'll tell you a story," he smiled.
Ylre smiled softly. He was about to agree when Kaye appeared from behind the corridor, "Aaaaagh!" he shouted from a distance as he ran to them, "People...people I...I found...people!" he shouted, "There are people everywhere."
"People?" Rue stood up, "What kind of people?"
"In the back of the cave," he waved his hand towards the corridor from which he ran, "people."
"Calm down...breathe and explain what you saw," he didn't understand.
"I saw cells...with people...many cells," he looked at him.
"Like a prison?" Ylre asked.
Kaye nodded, "Yes."
"Did they see you?" Rue didn't understand and looked deeper into the cave.
"I don't know, I ran away," he admitted.
While Ylre thought about how the situation seemed dangerous to him, Rue didn't hesitate and made his way deeper into the cave.
"Wait...it might not be safe...let's stay in this part and ignore them," Ylre caught up with him, as he didn't want to risk meeting someone familiar in this situation.
,,Ignore? Ylre, those people might need help…no one should be locked in a cell." he walking on.
"I know, but," he couldn't stop him, "okay, wait...I'll go and find out who they are...if it's dangerous-" he tried, but Rue wouldn't stop walking.
"I don't want you to keep being used...I want to help them myself," Rue looking at Kaye, "Where to?" he came to a crossroads.
"I-I don't know... probably to the left..." he didn't remember.
Ylre and Rue walked to the left, when after a few steps the young man from the crossroads shouted: "Or right...I don't know...probably right...or not...don't know."
"Alright, don't worry...run to the right and call us when you find them," Rue knew it didn't make sense for them to explore both paths together.
Ylre wanted to object, but the young man nodded and ran to the other side before he had a chance to do anything. That's why he just sighed and said, "Don't you think it's strange? I don't think we should listen to him...it's suspicious."
"What's suspicious?" Rue didn't understand.
"Everything…nothing in particular, but when I see him, I feel it's appropriate to stay away from him," Ylre clarified.
"I don't think...ah!" Rue added with smile, "Light, you see, we're going right." he laughed.
Ylre followed him, they walked down a long corridor to a wider section where a large hall spread out. It looked as if it had been modified by humans for other than natural purposes. In the center of the spacious hall stood a tall crystal pillar with many inserted stones, but that wasn't what caught their attention. At the end of the hall were several stairs leading up to a floor that was also visible from below.
Around the entire room, cells full of people spread along the walls. Some were sitting huddled on the bars, some seemed to be sleeping, some seemed to be just staring at them, and some were tapping their fingers on the wall.
Rue ran up to one of the cells in the shock, "Are you alright?" he asked.
While Rue became interested in humans, Ylre didn't seem different from his usual self. He walked up to the tall pillar and touched the black stone in its wall. Right next to it was a yellow stone, pressed into the pillar as if it were part of it. Ylre was therefore quite surprised when he could easily removed it. He stared at the empty diamond shape in the pillar that was left by the stone and looked at the many clear stones in containers on the ground. Ylre took one of them, inserted it into the missing part, as if wondering what it was for.
The moment he did so, a scream echoed through the room. In one of the cells, one of the men dropped to the ground and clutched his chest in pain, as if someone had stabbed him. Ylre the stone in shock, after which the screaming stopped in a second. He stared in surprise at his hand, where a moment ago the translucent stone had turned black, making Ylre into confuse.
"What happened, Ylre?" Rue didn't understand and rushed to him.
"I don't know," Ylre looked at the pillar full of black and yellow stones that were obviously somehow connected to the people in the cells, "but I don't care either...let's get out before we get involved." he walked away, and though Rue objected, Ylre wasn't going to let them really get into the danger he clearly felt here.
Because ordinary people couldn't come up with something like that.
However, when he made his way to the corridor, a loud crash ripped through the room. Metal bars cut off their way out and Ylre stopped in surprise. With an unpleasant feeling, he walked up to them and grabbed the metal, which struck him with a sharp pain.
Ylre hissed painfully, retracted his fingers and looked at the metal inquisitively. When he looked closer, he saw that it was not metal, but a black stone with a familiar golden sheen. Ylre stared at it for a while, but the moment Rue approached it, he suddenly stopped him with a palm.
"Don't touch it...it will hurt you," Ylre knew.
"Why would it hurt me?" he didn't understand.
Ylre didn't know how to interpret it, but he added, "It will take away your luck," he explained.
Rue looked at Ylre's fingers where small black spots had formed. He blinked in surprise and without hesitation gently touched his palm. Ylre blinked in shock as Rue examined his fingers and stroked them gently as if to heal the injury.
"Sorry," Rue whispered as he realized which country was using the material. He felt responsible for his kind and had no idea what to do with it.
"Don't apologize to me...you didn't do anything," Ylre knew.
"In the past... I could help you," Rue muttered thoughtfully.
Ylre stared at him for a moment before gently removing his fingers from his, "I'm fine...they're harmless," he knew.
But as soon as he tried to say something to Rue, Kaye ran up to the bars from the corridor and looked at them clearly, "What happened?"
Ylre glared at him in anger, "You tell us. What have you done?" he growled and walked to the bars.
"Me?" Kaye didn't understand.
"Who else?" Ylre wasn't naive and knew he had to do it.
"Ylre, take it easy," Rue chimed in.
"He deliberately sent us this way...he deliberately chose another and deliberately let us be locked up here....I bet he is organizing the whole thing here. Say, those guys who met you in the woods...you really robbed them, didn't you? Did you want to drag them here and have them locked up here? What are you using it for?" he didn't ask the basic question and whether he was Lacrisan at all, as he didn't want to start this topic in front of Rue.
However, since the young man seemed to know nothing, he received no answer and only excuses: "I don't know what you're talking about...I ran here as soon as I heard the noise."
Ylre slammed into the bars, which struck him him again, leaving black marks on his hands. Furiously, he pierced Kaye with his blue eyes and growled, "When I get out of here...I'll kill you."
"I didn't do anything," the young man looked at him.
"Ylre," Rue walked up to him displeased that he touched the bars again, "stop it, we don't know if he's even to blame."
"He's, I know he's...who knows how many of them he brought here with his own hands," Ylre growled.
"I'm going to get help...I'll get help," the young man ignored his words.
"Of course…help…where do you really want to go?" Ylre laughed.
"I don't know what you're talking about...but I won't leave you here...you said they were guard somewhere nearby...I'll call for help," he promised.
"Of course," Ylre laughed murderously.
"I promise," the young man nodded and ran away from them.
Ylre shook his head in disbelief, "We have to get out of here."
Rue wasn't sure of anything, so he just stared at Kaye, "Why do you think it's his fault?"
"I know it is. We have to get out of here before he comes back." Ylre knew.
"Why?" he didn't understand.
"Because you really don't want to meet those he will came with," he was sure. Ylre knew that the young man wasn't Lacrisan and he was sure that his interest in Rue wasn't just out of curiosity. He was sure that he must have gotten to know him as well and he was sure he belonged to the Infey.
Although it wasn't easy to come across two Infey in the world in such a short amount of time, the fact that they managed to do so within two days was only proof of how bad Rue's luck was. And Ylre's job was to get them out of here before Kaye actually returned.
Looking at the bars that he couldn't cut and Rue, who looked like he didn't understand the situation, he was filled with the feeling that he made a mistake in entering the cave in the first place. And although Luck was usually on his side, he currently had the impression that it wasn't going to help them...and time was running out.
***
Shane was born in a village well known throughout Lacris. Larger than a smaller city, inhabited by members of a blood, which, although it didn't possess any noble title, was almost equal in powers to the royal family. Every child born into it was raised from a young age to be proud of their roots...and Shane was no exception.
Usually no one of them knew who his real family was. Once a child was born, it became the child of the village. Every woman was his mother, every man was his father, every other child was his sibling. Only the commander knew what the true biological relationships were and only he could arrange marriages between individual members.
But Shane wasn't thinking that far into the future. As one of the commander's few sons, he knew who his father was, and thus felt the pride even stronger.
At the age of three, as soon as he could hold a sword, he was put into training, which became the most enjoyable part of his daily moments. Together with his half-brothers and sisters, he learned all kinds of fighting, interrogations, and tortures that he was to perform in the future on behalf of their family.
Shane was proud of where he was born, even before he had his first action.
Their blood was known for its inexhaustible, unique luck, and all of Lacris knew them as the king's right-hand man. But not even the king could fully control them. However, he used them throughout history for his own purposes, whether it was the extermination of a disobedient village, bands of bandits, wild animals, or espionage in other countries.
Shane was always excited to watch the members of the village go on missions, return with pride, and couldn't wait to join them.
"The king couldn't do without us," one of his commanders said after the training.
As a seven-year-old child, full of ambition and enthusiasm for the future, Shane just listened passionately along with the other children in his group.
"Many say that the king is the heart of Lacris...they are not wrong...but when the king is the heart, we are the blood, remember. The royal family employs us but that doesn't mean we are subservient to them...hearts are worthless without us, never bow your heads to anyone who wants to bind you...don't be tamed, you are not animals...you are those, who keeps Lacris proud."
Shane's eyes always lit up when he spoke and it only made him more excited to train...just like many other kids.
Although he liked everyone in the village, he still had a group of boys with whom he got along the most. Since no one in their clan was weak, it was difficult to find someone who stood out, but there were still a few individuals who were more talented than others. Shane was one of them and the three others were his best sparring partners.
"If you aim too low, you won't catch anything," one of his biological brothers gently raised his hands during the archery lesson, "if you aim too high...even worse...you'll scare them off...right in the middle...like this." he whispered in his ear and when it looked like Shane understood, he let go of his hands.
The bow shot, the arrow cut through the air and hit the target in its center. The man stroked Shane's black hair contentedly and smiled softly, "That's right...we'll take you with us next time," he promised.
And he kept his promise. It wasn't Shane's first time hunting, but it was his first time hunting people. In the end, however, it was nothing special. Humans were only bigger animals in their eyes, and since he was told from an early age that they were superior to others, he had no problem helping his older colleagues to kill them. It was a smaller noble family that had been causing problems recently and the king wanted to get rid of them. Within an hour, the whole family was gone, with the exception of two men, who were taken in for questioning.
Interrogation was one of Shane's specialties. He didn't enjoy them, but he felt a job well done after them. When they and their brothers cut off the captive's fingers, they compared how nicely the bones were cut. Fifteen-year-old boys, who already had some experience, always praised them nicely, and they were overjoyed.
The main rewards from achievements during missions were gifts, useful for improving other abilities. After his first real mission, Shane was given a horse that became his dear friend.
When the rest of the children in his group experienced the same luck, their commander held a ceremony where he inducted them all into the world of younger adults at the age of ten. In reality, this was only the first step towards becoming truly independent, but for Shane, every moment, every compliment was what filled him in life and gave meaning to his days.
Shane loved his lineage, he loved his family, he loved his life...and he thought he was invincible...like everyone around him...thinking that no one could beat them.
But he was wrong.
One evening, when his three brothers took him on a nightly hide and seek, he joined in as always. Basically, it was a kind of training where one of them would hide, two would search, and one would keep an eye on everyone's mistakes to tell them at the end. Today, it is up to him to track the rest. Sometimes he thought it was a useless task while the rest of the members practiced tracking and hiding, but as a ten year old he knew that situational awareness was crucial in missions.
Hiding on the roof, he watched as one of the boys hid among the horses while the other two split up and followed the tracks he left behind. When they found him, he moved across the roof to the trees and watched as their fight began.
However, his attention didn't stay on the game for long. From a high place something hit his eyes that he didn't want to see. In the distance, dim lights were approaching from the forest in their direction. Shane knew that they weren't expecting any group to arrive…he knew that if he noticed the suspicious group, the guards at the gates did too. Shane didn't even manage to shout to his brothers that something was weird when the shout of the commander and other guys echoed through the village, bringing everyone to their attention.
Confused, Shane jumped off the roof and joined the boys who didn't understand what was going on.
"Someone is approaching the village…a large group," Shane clarified.
"Who?" they didn't understand.
"I don't know...looks like an army," he added and went with them to the center of the village, where the commander summoned everyone.
"A group of soldiers is approaching the west gate...around two hundred," the commander shouted as one of the men ran up to him and added to the report, "More are coming to the east gate! Groups one to twenty will immediately move to patrol, a group of thirty to forty will move all the horses out of the village through the underground! A group of fifty will take the children under fifteen to the south gate...!" he shouted orders.
Within minutes, the crowd of people became an organized group of fighters who took their positions. Shane wasn't in a group that could contribute anything. While all the village children were led to the south gate, a fight broke out in the village.
Escorted by only one group of adults to a safe exit, however, something unexpected happened. The report failed and the gate, which wasn't supposed to have any enemies with it, crashed into the exact opposite with a bunch of soldiers. The fifteen-year-olds were no rookies, but they were no slouch against the force they faced that evening. A group of adults fell fighting an unknown army within hours, a number of children ended up in their captivity and before Shane knew it, he had no memory of the evening.
It was daytime when he woke up. He lay tied up in the middle of a village that no longer resembled his home. The ground soaked in blood, the air permeated with the smell of iron and the sight of the surroundings filled him with terror for the first time in his life.
He was clearly blinking as he couldn't move. He looked from the ground at the many bodies that the soldiers were throwing in piles, he looked at the familiar faces that welcomed him to dinner yesterday, he looked at their chopped necks, crushed limbs and the silent silence that reigned in the village.
"Is that everyone?" he heard one of the soldiers ask the guy who had dumped the last of the villagers' bodies on the pile.
"All of them...not a single one escaped, sir," he nodded.
"And the young ones?" he asked.
"We left the two commander's sons and several others as you said," he clarified.
"Take them to the camp," the guy nodded.
"Yes sir."
Shane just clucked exhaustedly from the ground and watched as a group of soldiers approached in his direction. He was unable to defend himself as they lifted him off the ground and threw him into the wagon next to the other boys, among whom he caught sight of two of his brothers with whom he had spent the night yesterday.
He was exhausted, everything hurt, somewhere in his soul he couldn't fully realize what was happening and he tried to recover from the bad dream he suddenly found himself in...but he couldn't do anything like that.
He watched the laughing soldiers close the doors of the wagon that led him to the worst moments of his life. And no matter what he tried to do, no matter what he tried to find out about people from that day, he remembered only one thing...every single one of the soldiers he met from that moment on had black eyes.