1 Ch1 : Exit

All his life, Red knew that life was not easy. So he could only imagine just how difficult starting a completely new life would be. He closed his eyes again, trying to obtain even the slightest amount of rest, but he knew it was impossible as the clock ticked, each sound reminding him of the destiny he was soon to embark on. Both his mind and his body were a harbor for anxiety as he reviewed his plans for what felt like the millionth time. He gazed all around his room, staring at the four stone walls that he had always felt trapped in. Months of planning had been leading up to this very day, and every moment and instance was crucial. He rose from the bed and collected his belongings hidden under one of the fake drawer bottoms in the side of his room. He picked up his leather bag, originally meant for hunting, and began to place all of the items inside.

As he crept silently down the halls with only the torch in his left hand illuminating his path, he saw his sister's room. He walked closer and gently opened part of the door to where he could only gaze in with one eye. As he squinted, he could make out her comfortably sleeping on the bed. More than anything, he wanted to go in and tell her everything. Why he was leaving. How much she meant to him. She was the one person who was truly there for him and understood his troubles. He knew upon hearing the news of his unexplained absence that she would be confused and sad, but there was no way he could risk the plan, not even for someone who he cared about as much as her. He closed the door again and began to walk down the halls.

He took a deep breath in and put up his long dark hood. While he may have been a prince of great royalty and esteem within the castle, outside the walls in the city he was a nobody. He pushed open the gate to the outside world.

As he walked down the cobblestone path into the city, with only the moonlight illuminating his path, he couldn't help but notice how silent the entire night was. He glanced quickly at the silver watch on his left hand and could see that it was nearly midnight. All the shops and merchants were finished with their sales for the day and had long since then returned back to their homes. Even though he was a protected royal, he was well aware of the danger that lurked in the city at night. He moved his hand into the right side of his pants pocket to make sure he still had the knife on him.

He did.

Once he was at the end of the road he saw the road split into two pathways. The left pathway led to the upper class homes, and the right one led to the slums which were led to the outskirts of the city. Royalty wasn't to be expected in a place like that, and Red had only heard of rumors in hushed tones about the kinds of people that lived there. Unfortunately, this was the only path that would allow him the most secrecy in the night. He began to slowly walk down it, his eyes quickly shifting left and right on every dark alleyway that appeared in his peripherals. With every passing alley, the houses and roads began to appear more rough and poverty-stricken. He had to watch his step now, as the ground was no longer refined cobble, but cracked stone. Some parts of the ground didn't even have stone under it, only brown moss patches that made a scratching noise as your foot touched it. The large sustained/completed houses were now small shacks, some of them only housing a single room for an entire family.

"Have you ever met a good peasant? I know I haven't" his senior's words rang out in his head. Red tried to avoid these thoughts.

Compared to the empty part of town with established merchants and the upper class the streets of the underground did not sleep, they only pretended to rest. Not a single night would people go by without locking their doors, sometimes even double or triple checking to make sure.

As he walked down the street, he made out a figure coming his way from the darkness. Red focused his eyes forward, making sure to not draw any attention to the man, but he didn't have to see him to know he was being watched. He could feel the man's prying eyes on him but he had no intention of doing anything that would bring attention to himself. His pace quickened a little, as the lantern's light waved in and out.

Every step made it easier for the details of the man to come into light from the lantern. The long shaggy hair that covered his forehead obscured his face, and his hands were buried deep in his pockets unable to be seen.

They both continued to walk, with the man keeping his eyes locked on Red, until a few steps covered the distance between them. Red stayed alert, and after a few steps noticed the man's footsteps had stopped.

The moment Red turned around to understand the sudden silence, he saw the man charging towards him. Then he saw the small knife in his right hand. Red reached into his pocket to pull out his own knife, but the man was entirely too close as he was only a few inches away from him. Red gave him a kick from the left side that landed into his ribcage. The man stumbled back for a second and dropped the knife. He had a small look of surprise seeing himself on the ground,

"Give me everything you got kid, and I'll let you live" he said raspsily

Red ignored his words. People like this were unpredictable, and to do what they said would mean far worse than what they promise

The assailant moved over to where the knife was and came charging back. This time around, Red had the chance to pull out his own knife, and he readied it eye level at the man. The man noticed it and let out a wild smile, before attempting a forward slash at Red. He easily moved out of the way, but before he had a chance to react with his own strike, the man was already trying to stab him again from the side. There wasn't any rhyme or reason in his attack patterns, he was only going for the kill.

"Red, you really need to work on countering your opponents. Your offence is good, but what good is a glass cannon?" his mentor's words rang in his mind, but not words that distracted him from what was currently happening.

Forward, side, forward, his attacks soon followed a pattern, as all fighters had a pattern to their moves, even if they themselves weren't aware of it. Red could read all of his moves easily, but he refused to go in for the kill. Red was going to leave him unconscious, as he felt killing would only be in situations where it is absolutely necessary. The only problem was at the moment the robber was giving him no openings.

The cycle of slashes continued. They followed the same familiar pattern. Red parried whenever he could, while also throwing in a few kicks here and there. He could hear the man's breathing starting to become faster and uneven as his movements finally began to slow down. Red slashed him in his left arm in order to get him to drop the knife, and the robber let out a loud scream before Red's fist collided with his top part of his mouth and his nose that sent him falling to the ground. The man tried to move his right arm to the area to reach for the knife, but Red punched his arm again making it fall flat against the floor. He stared at the man's bloodied face and arm, without even the smallest feeling of empathy or respect.

Some people were the type to commit crimes because it was the only way to survive, while others were only doing it to cause chaos and pain to other people because they felt like it. The underground was full of people who were this disgusting.

It was obvious which kind of person this was.

There was a part of Red that wanted nothing more than to focus his energy into the palm of his hand and let out a heat wave that would incincerate his entire body. In a weird way, it felt like it would be the right thing to do. Hearing his screams of agony as the skin would turn to bone. Watching as he would be engulfed into flames, before becoming ashes of the trash he once was.

Red blinked a few times as the man's quiet groans of pain brought him back to reality. He stared down at the man again. There was no body burnt alive, only a bruised criminal in front of him. He knelt down and put him in a headlock and waited a few seconds as his arms wrapped tightly around his neck. He squeezed until the man lost consciousness, and laid him down onto the ground slowly. He could feel his adrenaline going away as he stood back up. He took a breath in, and noticed a slight aching in his hand. He held his hand out towards the moonlight and could see some blood dripping down from his hand down his forearm, staining the part of his cloak that covered his arm. He didn't know exactly when the man had cut him, but it had happened at some point. Or was it the blood? He looked closer into the bloodied area and noticed a cut marking from the knife that confirmed his curiosity. He stretched his fingers out towards the sky, feeling the blood slowly drip down towards his hands. It was a new feeling, being bloodied in direct combat. He wondered if he would see this same blood drawn from him in the future.

He knew what the answer to that would be.

He put his hood up with his other hand, and began to walk down deeper into the darkness of the underground, each step taking him closer and closer to the end and the unknown.