He didn't know where he was heading, in fact he didn't even know where he was. He just knew that he was free, that he could walk on the grass, touch the leaves and enjoy the sounds of nature that he hadn't heard in very long time. He wasn't sure how many years had passed. Though he counted everything, though he marked the days, he didn´t know if he recorded them all. He didn´t know if due to luck of energy, he really calculated a good time. However, if he was right, it would have been two hundred years since he had seen the outside world.

Rue didn't care how he got here or what his freedom meant...he was just happy, so incredibly happy.

He walked briskly through the forest among the trees. With a broad smile, he passed from one stem to another, enthusiastically embraced them, talked to them for a while and then moved on. He was aware that the trees wouldn't answer him, that nothing in nature spoke, but it didn't matter, because even if a trunk fell on him, he would laugh.

Nothing could spoil his mood, so when he stopped and saw flowers near the roots, he bent down and stroked them gently. They were beautifully soft, fragrant and in harmony with all that surrounded them, to the point that he felt like sprinkling their petals with water just to please them.

As he was leaning towards the grass, a soft flash hit his field of vision. Surprised, he looked in its direction, but saw nothing. Just a group of bushes, wood and tall grass in a tangle of other trees. However, Rue was interested in all that was happening around him, so he set out to find out what was shining there. He walked contentedly to the grass and gently moved a larger piece of wood from behind it. He smiled softly and reached under where something was sticking out. He slowly pulled it out and looked at the pouch, wrapped in a golden ribbon, which caught his eye. He curiously took a look at what was inside.

His eyes fell on strange coins that he had never seen before. He pulled one out and examined it. He hadn't been in the world for a long time, but he didn't think their currencies would change. Actually, he wasn't sure if the small gold coins could be called currency compared to their predecessors, which were of significantly higher quality.

He didn't know what the money was doing in the stump in the forest, but since he didn't see its owner anywhere and thought that someone had probably lost it, he had no intention to leave it there, lest someone steal it. He slowly put them in his inner pocket with the aim of finding their owner or asking in town who they belong to and continued his journey.

He walked for a few minutes before hearing the familiar sound of water. He quickened his pace and found the clear river, which brightened his face even more. Rue excitedly ran to it, bent down to the stones on the shore and dipped his hands under the water´s surface. He enthusiastically rinsed his face and laughed again. Cold and fresh. He loved the water...actually he loved everything in the outside world.

He drank it again with a smile.

"Thank you." He said, even though there was no one around and just happily dipped his palm into the water. He enjoyed the fresh stream and closed his eyes, what a beautiful feeling filled him.

He wanted to dive in, swim to the other side and let himself be possessed by the fact that he really had access to the water. Not that he didn't get to drink in the cell, he got everything there. But since his kind didn't need that much, since he was able to live without food and water for quite a long time, he didn't get it every day. Although, as he hadn´t guessed, they took care of him fairly well...at least by delivering food.

A beautiful moment of enjoying the cold water and the warm rays of the sun, which lulled him to sleep, was suddenly interrupted by a voice:

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Someone shouted at him from the bank of the river, and in a second briskly walked towards him.

Confused, Rue stood up and looked at the young man. His clothes weren't the worst, he looked like a well-kept merchant or someone in the middle class, although at about seventeen years of age he didn't earn his position on his own. However, it had been many years since Rue had seen a human, let alone communicate with one, so he was grateful for any voice he heard.

"Hello." He greeted happily.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Thief! How did you get here?!" He rushed towards him.

Their eyes met and Rue blinked a few times before realizing the human was upset, “Did I steal something?” He didn't understand.

"You're still pretending you don't know!" He raised his voice, "You brat! Wait until the guard comes! You think you can steal when no one sees you?!" He reached out to him, causing Rue to take a step back and automatically avoid his touch.

"Brat?" Rue didn't understand. Although he wasn't the oldest, he lived for around three hundred years and was definitely not a child to humans.

"Ah! There they are! Guards! Guards!" Shouted the young man to the nearby bridge, over which a group of armed men was just crossing.

Rue realized for the first time that he had probably really committed a crime: "What did I do wrong?" He didn't understand.

"What's going on?" the guards ran up to them, "Laren, what's the matter?" They looked at the young man they obviously knew.

"He was stealing water," he nodded at Rue, "this is the fourth case this week! Do you even go on inspections or am I the only one checking?!" He was furious.

The guard looked at Rue and measured him: "Why did you steal water? You don't look like you can´t affort it."

Rue blinked, "I didn't know there was a charge for water." He clarified.

The guard raised his eyebrows: "You didn´t know?" He looked at his colleague.

"So he didn't know." He laughed.

"Where are you from?" Asked the guard.

Rue opened his mouth to answer. Then he realized that his residence wasn´t something people should know about, so he remained silent.

"You don´t know," laughed Laren, "he steals water, has no money and pretends he doesn't know it's not free! How did your parents raise you?!" He shouted.

"I told you the truth...I didn't know that water can be appropriated by someone, but if it's in your rules, I understand and I apologize. It won't happen again." He promised.

"Hah!" Laren laughed, "So now he's apologizing. If that was enough we wouldn't need a guard!" He clarified.

"Leave him alone. You are taking it too seriously." Said the second guard.

"Me? Are you kidding?!” Growled Laren.

"How much did he drink, anyway? He doesn't look like he's local, maybe he really didn't know, you can't come to us with every drop of water that's lost.” They scolded him.

Laren chuckled, "Of course, you're not the one in trouble for giving counts and reports to Prince Nielle," he looked at them, "I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about last month!" He shouted.

"If you would change them-" began the guard, when the other nudged him and silenced him before he said something inappropriate.

"What did you want to say?" Laren got angry.

"Nothing," the guard cleared his throat and looked at Rue, "what family are you from? Is there anyone to pay for you?"

Rue calmly clarified, "There isn´t."

“Do you see? He doesn't have any money, he doesn't even know where he's from... why are we still talking to him?!" Laren shouted.

"I have money." Said Rue after a while. Although he didn't want to take anything from others sources, he didn't want the conflict to continue, so he looked at Laren.

"Liar, if you had, you would say so immediately." He explained.

"What do you use to pay?" Rue wondered and looked at the guard, who seemed to be more friendly than Laren.

"What?" He blinked as if he didn't believe someone would ask such a question, "Where did you come from...all three countries pays with coins...gold, silver...or crystals if you have some."

"Or luck." Added the other.

"Probably difficult in Equil." He objected.

"You're in Rinse, who cares about those idiots?" He didn't let up.

"In Rinsel..." Rue repeated silently to himself as he finally found out where he was. Although he had heard of the land´s name, that was it.

"Do you have any coins or luck you can pay with?" Laren glared at him.

“Luck?” Rue blinked as he didn't believe they were serious.

"You found him, didn't you? I don't think anyone you find is lucky enough to pay with it.” Laughed the guard.

"Why not? He just has less of it than I do." Laren smiled.

“Luck is not for sale.” Rue, for whom luck was a sacred source of life that no one was allowed to touch, frowned.

Everyone looked at him confused. There was silence for a while before Laren spoke, "If you don't want to, give me coins, you said you had money." He assumed he was sensitive to his luck reserves.

"I have." Nodded Rue, who meant to get back everything he´ll pay, so that he wouldn't rob the owner of the pouch. He pulled it out from the pocket of his black-gold robe and showed it to the guards.

All three fell silent at that moment, looking at each other incomprehensibly and then again at Rue, who didn´t understand what was happening.

"Finally." Laren gritted his teeth and clenched his fists aggressively.

"What's going on?" Rue didn't understand.

“Where did you get that money?” The guard placed one hand on his sword.

"I found them by the tree." He admitted.

Laren laughed and angrily approached Rue: "Liar! Do you know what I had to go through because of you?! Where have you been hiding?! Because of your greed, I had to-" he didn't answer, "Shit!" He tried to hit him, but Rue simply dodged and backed away.

"I really found them...someone lost it in the grass between the trees." He clarified.

"I don't think he's lying." Said one of the guards.

"Of course he's lying!" Laren objected.

"He doesn't look like he has to steal...have you ever seen such beautiful fabrics? Where would he get it if he was poor?” He tried to grab the luxurious garment, but Rue ducked again and backed away even more.

"Thank you," he smiled, "I really didn't steal them."

"Okay...okay," Laren laughed angrily, "if you don't arrest him, at the next report with Prince Nielle, I'll say that I highly suspect that you two have hands in the thefts he's trying to solve! I think he´ll be happy to have it investigated!"

The guards raised their eyebrows, but since none of them wanted to see how Laren would implement his words, they finally sighed and looked at Rue, who did not understand the situation.

"Well," said one, "boy, I'm afraid you'll have to come with us until the situation is investigated." He clarified.

Rue blinked, "I really didn't steal them."

"I'm not saying you did, but you're the only suspect at the moment. It would be illogical not to question you, don't you think? Don´t resist, if your innocence is proven, we will release you today." He explained.

Rue looked at them doubtfully for a moment: "I'm not going to the cell," he clarified, "I didn't steal anything."

"We don't have cells, you´ll simply wait with us in the camp." He promised.

"Ah," Rue calmed down, ,,okey then." He nodded.

While the first guard offered their suspect, as always, the option of going with them voluntarily, the second placed his hand on his sword with the intention to make him follow them by force if he resisted, as was usually the case. However, Rue didn't seem to have any plans for that.

He knew that the truth would come out, he knew that he hadn't stolen the pouch, and that he wouldn't be fined heavily for the water he drank, since that would be wrong. He believed that everything would be resolved and he would soon resume his journey.

Since he hadn't been to Rinsel, he knew that if he went with those guards, he would at least see a new part of the world, meet new people, talk to someone, and his day would be at least a little more interesting than it had been for two hundred years.

And since he wanted to get rid of suspicion, he quietly followed them to the camp. It's just a shame that he didn't know that luck had other plans for him.

***

Nielle sat dispassionately on his horse and slowly passed through the city. He was followed by ten armed members of his Black Guard, who forced passers-by to look down. It wasn't like Nielle ever did anything unjust to them, it wasn't like he went around kidnapping people for his sadistic games or imprisoning them illegally. However, despite his presence, people feared him as if he were a criminal, when in fact he was the one who was cleaning the country of crime. Nielle thought that none of them had a clear conscience.

However, he never cared about people's opinion. He actually enjoyed their fear, as they gave him further assurance that he couldn´t become king.

If his oldest brother was walking through town, everyone would throw flowers at him and try to impress the Crown prince. But Nielle didn't want to change it.

Once they were out of town, he finally picked up the pace at a gallop and headed in the direction where he had to stop before saving his new toy. The camp, where one of the local guards was based, informed him that they could use his presence due to a shift in the case of thefts that were happening in the city.

Nielle knew that they probably didn't discover anything new. But since it wasn´t far and he didn't intend to come here next time, he stopped by. He knew that his new Lacrisan would survive, so together with his men he got to the camp, where the guards were already waiting for him. He simply jumped off his horse, leaving it in charge of one of hs men.

He went with the rest to the camp. He saw a few familiar faces among the guards who secretly worked for him, but since some of them didn't trumpet it to the world and some of them were even forbidden to do so, he didn't look at any of them directly and just made his way to the part where the soldiers and Laren were supposed to be waiting.

Laren was one of those he was not secretive about. Sometimes he considered placing him somewhere as a spy, since he was loyal and capable, but because of his explosiveness and immaturity, he wasn´t suitable for this job. He was better placed somewhere where he can shout his name to scare away any morons who might try to cause trouble in town.

"Your Highness," he greeted, "we arrested him." He declared enthusiastically.

Nielle looked at the black-haired young man with equally black eyes, whose look screamed loyalty: "Who did you arrest?" He just raised his eyebrows slightly, as if he didn't believe it, "Two days ago, I received a message that you were comletely stuck. I was going to punish you and suddenly you caught someone?" He laughed.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Laren looked down at the ground, "I'm trying my best, sir."

"Try harder," he declared and walked up to the guards, "who did you catch?"

The guards looked at him and bowed gently before they began, "We found a suspect at the river who wanted to pay with the stolen money," he clarified, handing the prince a pouch.

Nielle looked in, even though he knew it was full of stolen coins just by the gold ribbon of their main bank's brand. He threw the pouch to Laren and looked at the guards: "Where is he?"

,,He´s helping to set up the tent, sir." Explained the guard.

Nielle blinked in disbelief: "What?"

"The tents...when we arrived, the wind picked up and two of them almost fell on him...he felt guilty, so he helps build them." He explained.

Nielle was silent for a moment in confusion before a loud laugh escaped him, "Your suspect...is setting up tents somewhere without your supervision," he looked at Laren, "do you need new training? You do." He clarified.

"Sir! It's not my camp, I said it wasn't a good idea, but they just won´t listen and-" he started, but Nielle just walked around him and moved on.

"He didn't appear to be aware of the seriousness of the situation at all," the guard began, "he cooperated and showed no signs of escape." One of the guards clarified as he led Nielle towards the tents.

"You're not my men, I don't blame you," Nielle began, to the mild relief of the guards, before adding, "I'll sell the information to Louis."

The guards stopped and looked at him startled, "Your Highness, Prince Louis is a busy man, we shouldn't burden him-" he tried, but Nielle cut him off.

"Brother is really busy...and when his soldiers are as incompetent as they are now, he's going to be even busier." He said.

The men stared at him silently. However, since they didn't want to get on Nielle's blacklist, they went straight ahead. They walked in silence until they reached the center of the camp where several guys were sitting. Rue was next to them, holding a cup of water in his hand, laughing contentedly with the men, as if it wasn't just a moment when they got to know each other.

Nielle chuckled softly as he immediately noticed the suspect and moved towards them even without the guards. As soon as the guys noticed that someone was approaching them, they realized the identity of the prince, got up and bowed in alarm, since no one expected his arrival.

"Your Highness." They said in unison, but Nielle ignored them.

He looked with interest at Rue, who was the only one who didn't greet him. At first glance, he looked so different from the rest that Nielle wanted to find out what his luck tasted like. However, since he got such a taste several times a day, he knew how to control it and so instead he just smiled softly.

Their suspect didn't look like he was poor and had to steal. His gold- black robes looked similar to his , if not more expensive. His long black hair with orange highlights tied back in a ponytail looked elegant and his overall appearance screamed grandeur. Nielle only felt this way in the presence of his father, and even that he didn't admit as openly as he did now, when this boy was standing in front of him.

"You have beautiful hair." Rue suddenly complimented Nielle.

Nielle considered for a moment if he really just directed the sentence at him or if he just heard wrongly, before he lightly laughed, "Thank you."

One of the guards nudged Rue to be quiet. He whispered something quickly to him, and Rue looked at Nielle with interest again.

"Prince Nielle," his tone changed slightly for a moment, as if getting serious, but immediately softened, "we're waiting for you, aren't we?" He smiled again.

Nielle didn't know if his impression was really correct and this Lacrisan was talking to him as if he was chatting with a child. Nielle was in his twenties, Rue looked to be around the same age, and since everyone treated him with respect as someone of higher rank, he suddenly couldn't adapt. However, he found it extremely amusing.

"You're a suspect in a theft case," Nielle approached him to get a better look at his face and added, "I'm in charge of all the cases, although you don't know me and you're obviously not from around here, it would be best for you to learn the local rules." He clarified.

"I only came today," Rue admitted, "I'll learn them." He nodded.

Nielle also smiled: "The first is that you should talk respectfully to the people with higher rank," he informed him and walked closer, "the second is-" he finally looked into his eyes and fell silent for a second.

"The second?" Asked Rue, who knew the first rule.

"You have really beautiful eyes." Nielle stated more quietly, but Rue still heard him.

However, as soon as Nielle reached out to him, Rue stepped back and blinked lightly, "Thank you."

Nielle looked at him curiously, trying to figure out if his irises were really gold or just a reflection of the sun. He had never seen anyone with golden eyes before and didn't think any of the Lacrisans had them. He knew that the luckier someone was, the brighter the irises were. But golden ones were indeed nonpareil.

What´s your rank in Lacris?" He asked.

"Lacris?" He confused Rue, who had only heard the name of the country.

"Aren't you a Lacrisan?" Nielle raised his eyebrows as if he couldn't believe that he wasn´t. The Equil people were all dull and the Rinsel people had nothing but black eyes.

"Sir," Laren interrupted their conversation, "If we interrogate him, we'll find out who he is."

Realizing that he was here on duty, Nielle sighed deeply. He looked at Rue, who he would have taken into his collection, at least for pleasurable looking, if he didn't have to go after his toy in the hands of criminals.

"He didn't steal them," Nielle said, "where did you get them?" He looked at Rue.

"I found them by a tree in the forest." He answered.

Nielle laughed at the unconvincing explanation he received, "Really?"

"Really." He nodded and Nielle surprisingly believed his words.

"Okay," the prince looked at Laren, "let him go...I still have a lot of work to do today...when I'm done, I'll put someone in charge of your training." He patted Laren´s shoulder, causing him to turn pale in shock.

"Sir...he is the prime suspect...we still haven't interrogate him." He said.

"You said he wanted to pay with money. If he stole them, do you think he would have taken them out infront of the guard?" He glared at Laren, "You really need new training."

"But-" Laren objected, but one look from Nielle made him shut up. He could literally feel him saying that if he kept Rue any longer, he'd have Laren locked up instead of a real criminal.

"Your Highness," the guard wondered, "he was stealing water... should we really let him go?" He asked.

"Water?" Nielle only now realized what Rue was stealing.

"He said that he didn't know that it wasn´t free." The guard said.

"Yes, I wanted to ask something," Rue said, taking a step towards Nielle, "why is there a charge for water?"

Nielle looked at him and sighed deeply, "When you go to another country, learn their laws," he advised, "be grateful that I let you go and don't anger me."

However, although he had no intention of offending anyone, Rue really didn´t understand why something natural wasn´t free. In any case, he didn't want to create conflicts, let alone fight, so he finally nodded and walked away.

"Wait!" Objected Laren, "Don't you think it's suspicious how easily he got captured and now he's just walking away? I bet he stole something from the camp, as well. "

“I didn't steal anything,” Rue clarified in a calm voice filled with a pure confidence that irritated Laren.

"Laren," Nielle looked at him, "go ask for ten good slashes...tell them to use the whip I brough last time." He commanded.

"What?! Why?!" He paled again.

“You piss me off.” For some reason Nielle was irritated just by fact that someone suspected the strange Lacrisan of stealing. Even though he hated them, even though he had no compassion for others or anything like that, he still felt a special kind of favor just looking at this particular one.

But not the kind he usually felt in their presence. It wasn't a sadistic favor with the intention of harming them, it was more like looking up to him. Like a child looking up to a parent, and as stupid as it was, as much as Nielle didn't understand where his feeling came from, he couldn't shake it off…and he didn't want to.

"But sir!" Laren was scared.

"Fifteen." Nielle added.

Laren fell silent, fear glinting in his eyes at the thought that Nielle was serious, and after a moment he stepped back and looked down at the ground.

Nielle went out of the camps with Rue. Once they were outside, Rue took a closer look at the group of soldiers. About ten, not pleasant-looking guys, were standing by their horses, waiting for Nielle's return. Each of them was dressed in a black uniform, had a sword of the same color on their side, and a silver pendant hanging from their neck, the form of which Rue couldn´t see from a distance.

"Do you need something?" Nielle didn't understand why he was hypnotizing them with his gaze.

"You have a lot of soldiers," Rue stated, "why are they all wearing black? Is that the color of your army?" He was interested and moved closer to Nielle. However, he was prevented from doing so by one of the soldiers, who drew his sword in front of him in a second and forced Rue to stop.

"Let him be, he's harmless," Nielle said, even though he knew nothing about him.

Rue laughed softly and reached out to the man's sword in an attempt to touch it when the man thrust it back sharply.

"Why did you come here? Are you going to live in Rinsel?” Nielle wondered.

"Just passing through." Admitted Rue, who didn't know how else to define it.

"And where did you come from?" Nielle continued the interrogation.

Rue only smiled gently: "I was walking through the forest, where I was stopped while drinking some water. I have never heard of water being charged before." He stated.

"In Lacris it's not," Nielle pointed out, "I'm not surprised you don't know, but while you live in Rinsel you should learn the rules. It's not our fault, it's tolled. Most rivers flow from Lacris. While you Lacrisans are asking for money to let it flow here, we can't give it for free," he clarified, "all rivers of our origin are free of charge."

"Ah, I see," smiled Rue, who accepted the reason and turned to leave, "Luck with you." He waved to them and walked away.

“Luck with you," Nielle didn't want to bother with him anymore, but then he remembered what had to be asked suspicious individuals, "one more thing! Where are you headed?" Nielle wondered.

Rue turned and smiled lightly, "I don't know."

Nielle looked at him for a moment with the strange feeling he had about this Lacrisan. After thinking for a while about where he came from and whether their paths will cross again, he returned to reality, where he dealt with more interesting things. He sighed deeply and urged the horse to move. His Lacrisan was still in the hands of criminals and he couldn't wait to meet him.

***

A distinctly delicious scent hit Shan's nose, forcing his eyelids to open slightly. His whole body was in excruciating pain, he felt as if a herd of horses had run over him, and for a while he didn't know what had happened. But once he blinked, his vision cleared and he could see people around him, he recalled. He jerked his hands shackled behind his back against the tree, making sure the ropes were too tight for him to get out of them right away.

He didn't want to draw attention. Firstly, he wanted to familiarize with the situation he wanted to find out how many people were around, if he was the only one who had been kidnapped and if he had anything available to escape.

Blood was running down his forehead, how the guy must have hit him really hard if it hadn't dried up for all night. He was slightly sick at the thought of what would happen if they noticed he was conscious. His thick black hair partially obscured his vision, and he only gently moved his face to the side to see through it.

"Oh, he´s awake!" He suddenly heard a voice from the side, where he looked immediatly. The guy who overpowered him due to his strength was looking down on him and gave Shan an unpleasant feeling that he should never have come to Rinsel. But he was aware that his opinion didn´t matter.

Shane didn't know what to say, so he just kept silent. He guessed their goal. However, he had no intention to scream or beg.

"Did he recover, boss?" One of the guys ran up to them and excitedly approached him.

Shane gave him a silent glare and looked down at the gnawed piece of meat in his hand. At least he knew where the scent that overcame him was coming from.

“What are you looking at? Are you hungry?" The man waved the food in front of his eyes, whereupon Shane looked down.

He felt incredibly embarrassed, could feel everything hurt, and he was sure that his compass in the carriage was lying, since he really didn't think he had luck. At the least, it was strange that he was caught by a group of Rinsel people and that they knew about his transport yesterday.

"How cute he is," the leader of the group snatched a piece of meat from his subordinate's hand and took a satisfied bite, "what are you looking at?" He was having fun.

"How many Lacrisans did you rob that you have this luck?" Shane wondered.

The guy laughed amusedly: "This luck," he threw the leftovers on the ground, "you Lacrisans attribute everything to luck...I'm just stronger than you, boy. Wait ten years and we can have a rematch," he laughed, "oh, wait, it probably won´t happen." He lightly reached out to him and ran his hand over his cheek.

Shane pulled away and glared at the guy with displeasure: "Don't touch me." He disgusted.

The guy gave him a sickening grin and gently wiped a bit of blood from Shan's cheek. He brought a bloody finger to his mouth and licked it gently as he only wanted to assess the taste, "Pretty sweet...I wonder what your luck tastes like." He laughed.

Shane was disgusted by his words, but didn't react. He just looked at the man next to him who called more guys to join.

"I want you to be a good boy. Then I´ll keep you longer," he promised, "but if you decide to be cheeky, I'll sell you to the biggest scumbag I know." He laughed.

"I see one right here." Shane said.

The guy raised his eyebrows slightly and laughed amusedly. Shane didn't have time to react when he immediately slapped him hard, forcing him to turn his face to the side. The guy was really strong and Shane could feel his cheeks burning.

"Next time I'm going to use a fist, you'd better be polite, otherwise I'll let you get beaten first before we all have fun with you." He clarified.

Shane looked at him again and scanned the guys behind him. Disgust filled his insides, but he tried to stay calm, knowing that panic would only put him at another disadvantage.

"Boss, boss...when do we start?" One asked.

"Don't get ahead of yourself! I didn't even get it last time...a tree almost fell on me twice today, you don't need the luck like I do." Another pushed him.

"Of course I need it! Didn't you see yesterday?” He shouted.

"Shut up!" The leader raised his voice and glared at Shane, "Of course I'll start...looks like there's enough for all of us." He smirked.

The guys quieted down after being assured that everyone would be allowed to join and backed away. Their boss approached Shane and looked at the young man closely: "If you apologize for your impudence, I'll give you a chance and only take your saliva." He lied.

Shane had no plans to comply with anything the guy wanted. In addition, he had experience with crooks and knew that none of them would keep their word. That's why he kept silent.

"As you wish." Criminal laughed and roughly grabbed Shane's chin between his fingers.

Shane only tried to move his head to the side in protest as he brought the knife to his cheek and as if he hadn´t enough bleeding wounds on his body, he cut his skin. A fairly deep gash created a new source of blood on his face, which ran down his cheek to the guy's hand.

Shan's eyelids moved slightly as it hurt, but he didn't react much. Only when the guy hid the knife in his pocket and brought his lips to his wound contentedly, he closed his eyes. He clenched his teeth as he expected a sharp pain, of which he immediately received the impulse.

He squeezed his eyelids together and let out a soft breath as he felt his luck leaving his body. If it wasn't for the guy being surprised by the taste of Shana's blood, he probably would have had to endure the pain longer.

"Ahh," he wiped his lips and looked at Shane, "where were you bred? I've never had such a quality...unique." He was amazed.

"Is it good, boss?" The subordinate asked immediately.

"Try it." Allowed the guy.

Shane jerked harshly as another man walked to him and repeated the process. Another one, as if he didn't want to drink from the same wound his boss did, took a knife in his hand. He tore off a piece of Shane's clothing to gain access to his chest and made a shallow cut on his collarbone.

Shane wondered if each of those guys wanted to cut him and steal some of his luck. He considered how many of them there were and whether he could handle everyone before he´ll collapse. The thought of giving something so valuable to vile criminals caused him a surge of aggression and disgust he couldn't get rid of.

"Ngh!" He gritted his teeth as the guy latched onto his wound and chewed it gently with his teeth.

The sheer luck which was coming out of him set his collarbone on fire, then the muscles around it, and as the guy greedily continued, he felt how the rest of his body was starting to burn spasmodically. If he didn't know he had enough luck, he'd think he'd been exhausted in just two rounds.

"Don't exaggerate," one of the guys grabbed the man who was currently torturing Shane, "we all want some."

Shane glared at the new guy and when he saw another knife in his hand, he violently twitched his hands behind his back. However, the rope still held, and although he tried really hard, he couldn't avoid the new guy. His chest was slowly sliced open, the shallow wound bled lightly and forced Shane to wince as it stung. However, the guy didn´t pay attention to him and immediately approached his body with his tongue.

Shane wasn´t content that his nice clothes were torn to shreds because of these bastards, but he was more pissed that he was simply giving away his luck. Involuntarily, but still.

“They had no right to take it, it´s ours, only ours...the most valuable, the luck we got because it belongs to Lacrisans, no one has a right to do this. So why do the Rinselians think they can take it from us?” He was thinking with hatred while his body was tortured by hard pain.

"Boss! Can we only have blood?" Asked one, therefor Shane, whose body was still painfully hot, glared at him aggressively.

"At least for today...I'll play with him tonight and leave him for you to try tomorrow...but only blood." He said.

Shane broke out in a cold sweet the moment he heard his words, but he quickly pushed them out of his head. Until the night comes, he knew he would get out of it somehow. The new guy walked up to him and tore his robe from his shoulder to his elbow, revealing the rest of his chest. He pointed the knife at his arm and cut the blade deeper.

"Nhh! Ágh!" Shane gritted his teeth again and looked to the side at how aggressive he felt. The guy didn't stop though, and as if the minor wound wasn't enough for him, he moved the knife lower. Slicing through his skin, he cut right into his muscle, which made Shane gasp loudly in sharp pain.

"Don't play with him, we're waiting!"

"Come on! Look at his crooked face. He´s cute when he´s scared." He objected, but he hid the knife and moved on to the most unpleasant part for Shane.

Shane closed his eyes and tried to stifle a moan as the man bit into his bleeding wound and began to steal his luck again.

His aggression only increased as his arm became aching again, a hot pain washed over him and he could almost feel the one thing he really wanted to protect leave his body. But he had no way to do so. He hated them, he hated all Rinselans.

"Agh!" He screamed as one of the guys unexpectedly latched onto the wound on his chest from the other side. The pain sharpened, and he only tried to calm his pounding heart.

And while he didn't know how to focus on escaping when everyone was torturing him in the worst way Lacrisan could ever experience, one thing he was sure of. He doesn't intend to stay here until the evening.

***

Rue walked contentedly along the path towards the town he had seen before by the river. He wanted to see everything, he wanted to meet new people, he wanted to get to know the local life and find out everything possible.

He moved his hand to the pocket in which he hid an apple he got from a guard at the camp and happily bit into it. An enthusiastic smile appeared on his face, what a fresh taste filled him. Actually, he had no reason to be in a bad mood at all. Everything was beautiful and a minor disagreement was not worth thinking about.

As he walked, he finished eating the apple and picked out the seeds from inside. He threw the rest of the apple into the nearby grass, where the birds immediately took it.

He put the seeds in the inner pocket of his robe and stopped in surprise after a moment. He wasn't sure if this piece of clothing really had second pockets inside, so he was glad to find out that it did. But not noticing before that there was anything in them was another matter.

Surprised, he reached inside again and felt something hard. He slowly took out a smaller pouch he hadn´t seen before. It wasn't the one he found in the forest, nor was it any other he saw in the camp, as he would never steal anything. It was another one that he must have had with him all the time. He just didn't notice it.

He peered into it and blinked in surprise at the sight of the money. There were not as many of them as in the forest, but still more than what a normal person would not notice on the body. He just gently took out the shiny coins. Some were golden like the ones in the forest, some were silver, which the guard once mentioned...and some were strangely translucent, shimmering and the most beautiful to look at. Rue had no idea how he got to have them, but he knew their owner would be the same individual who got him out.

And since no one but Luck itself would save him, he enthusiastically looked up and hugged the pouch to himself: "Thank you." He laughed and hid the money back.

He didn't want them, but they would make it easier for him to get to know the countries. It didn´t bother him that if he had found them earlier, the water situation wouldn´t have arisen. Thanks to a misunderstanding, at least the pouch was returned to its rightful owner.

And so he moved on towards the city, where he intended to get to know the world that he had never seen in this form and enjoy life to the fullest. Because it was the only thing he had wanted for years...and now that he had the chance, he was never going to waste a day.