Royal Blood

Chapter 10: Dark Side Part 1

Yubin was shouting yet the cloth made her unable to talk, she looked at the kid telling him to leave the alleys and find help. Thought that's how she said, however, Cortez seem to have misinterpreted this.

Cortez saw something similar or it is the a*******n of kids, he was furious, in his own home, a*******n is considered traitorous activity and will be executed without trial.

He saw Yubin crying under her tiny face, to him the girl is needing help, he looked back to where he was before here and found no trace of the guards and knights following him.

The atmosphere is rather fuzzy but Cortez didn't let the man talk, Cortez jumped his tiny body accelerating towards the wall, he looks like he was walking at the wall but that is because of his speed that made him looks like walking at the wall.

He swang his body jumping at the back of that man and kicked him, thought the kick is not a kid's kick, it did impact the man's back, and was forced to let go of Yubin and fall.

"Good, now it's time to escape." He removed the rope from Yubin's hand and grabbed her. She didn't have the time to remove the cloth from her mouth because she was afraid to do so and followed Cortez.

When both of them reach the sided way of the alley, Cortez looks back as if they were still following them. When he seem to have seen no one coming, they stopped running because of Yubin.

Yubin felt her knee from falling, her eyes were filled with fear that is because she started blaming herself for not following the original plot. Her eyes were still filled with tears and then she started shouting.

Yubin felted so weakly, she didn't see and expect this to happen. She seems to be tied up to the horrors of her past, blaming herself for being alive.

"I only wished to live peacefully, I didn't want a life of being in danger always... My luck is savage, and now I'm paying for being alive." She mumbles to herself and she has forgotten Cortez besides her hearing her every sentence to every statement she appeals to have and blame herself.

"Looking at you, it seems that your one of these noble around here. No, I could tell by the glimpse. Your marks aren't yet fading so I can tell, the mark on your neck." Yubin was surprised, no she's instantly was shocked, she realized now that she was with someone and followed him.

When Cortez said about the mark, she immediately touched her neck at her back. They said it takes a year for the slave mark to fade and disappear, which means it will be expired.

"Now that I can tell, you are also wearing a dress unfit for slaves... Who are you exactly?" Yubin took her heads up and then she looked at the ground with her expression of shock written on her face, she's shaking.

"I... Almost forgot... I live a life of a living hell... I am no one since the beginning... I was cocky living a luxurious life... When I was supposed to die! I... Am useless..." Instead of answering Cortez, something left her gasped that stunned Cortez, it was an answer he didn't expect and an answer he didn't like.

"You're just a kid, and it's not nice telling yourself that your useless nor you deserve to die. This world is cruel both everything, if you seem to find it average to understand, this is because you are still a kid... Miss Uncertain..." Until that, he was trying to comfort her but also lead to a quite unexpected situation.

The man that was abducting Yubin was just in Cortez's back. When he realize this, it was too late, the man hit his back to make him unconscious before he repeated it to Yubin.

Yubin lost her consciousness but what she saw after that is Cortez on the ground like a dead man losing his life.

After the news broke through the palace of Castaline, Esmia's mind was missing both regret and avenge. She thought that by declaring Yubin as her Quest, people will take her seriously and will take her accordingly but the knights she sends to protect her was also the person who didn't do their duty accordingly.

She blamed herself for not freeing her to her name as a slave, and for not announcing her future appearance as the princess. She gripped her hands thinking of what just happen until worries teared up her face.

"Forgive me my dearest sister, I've been failing you again and again. Please take care of her and let nothing happen to her, please my dearest sister."

She thought before someone just knocked on her door. A voice of a man echoed asking for her permission to enter, Esmia looked at the door and responded to come in.

"Her Majesty!" It was Vincent, he looked rather in hurry and also he looked unpleasant for he was exhausted from running.

"Yes, what is it? "

"I failed you, her majesty. The captain sent by the East has escaped. We can't locate him no more but he stopped at the Capital and lost track of him, that kid is very tricky." He announced, he was referring to Cortez who escaped thanks to Ramirez's sacrifice, unfortunately, Ramirez died fighting this man with only his sword and his intelligence as a swordsman.

Esmia looked paler than usual, not only that she lost her niece (her soon-to-be princess) but also lost the biggest person that came from the East. The gloom before immediately turns into a more gloomy sensation.

"Her--"

"Leave it be, he's the prince anyways, we must prioritize finding the Guest." The prince? Vincent thought, he didn't know that what they were following was a prince.

Esmia knew he was a prince but didn't say anything, she didn't execute him just like his comrades because he is a prince, with killing a prince, they will go to war without proper preparation and it will be earlier than the scheduled date.

Esmia thought that leaving the prince alone since he is a prince so she thought he is unimportant for now. She decided to drop him off to prioritize a search party to find Yubin.

Vincent nodded before he left. While walking, he had once thought about the Queen bringing a slave home and treating her more like her own daughter.

Vincent didn't know the reason behind her actions but he trusted his Queen to see the finals of her own decision. The Queen is busier when the slave arrived, so he must think that Esmia had a plan in mind.

As soon as he left the palace, he was approached by his knights, Arni and Stiff. They are the two duos who have always been with his side since they rebelled against the former King.

"It's good to see you well, captain." Arni greets while Stiff nodded. The difference between Arni and Stiff is because Stiff lost his tongue when he was a kid, leaving Arni his childhood friend being his interpreter or his guide.

"Ah, yeah, feel so alive, still with my squad dispatching for a search party, Miss Phine is yet to be seen. Of course, I can't forget that the captain who escaped. This day couldn't make it any worst, I need rest after this." Vincent's face can tell how sad and how disappointed he was, they knew how hard it was to be a captain yet, they felt useless for being useless.

"Captain, we hope you don't mind. It was supposed to be our duty to protect the miss, we couldn't have the guts to tell you what our team has done." True that Arni was tasked to take better care of the miss and they were to protect her.

They lost the miss because they didn't take the task seriously, ending their miss to disappear. The one responsible for this matter is them, they wanted to take the blame but they didn't have the guts, they knew that the two of their teammates should be observing them but they didn't do their jobs properly.

Arni felt bad and Stiff who can't talk but think to seem to be saddened, to Arni and Stiff to bring huge mistakes, they thought that they don't deserve to be a knight nor have the courage to become one.

"Both of you are my most outstanding comrades, you two are my brothers till the edge. I don't think it's your fault, to who is responsible for the lady's disappearance, they are responsible for it. Nothing in this situation is our fault nor the miss fault. So do not worry, will just have to take our lucks to find her." True, theirs no point blaming anyone, if they blame someone, that is the person who's responsible for her disappearance.

Arni and Stiff looked at each other before looking at their captain, they saluted with their left hands around their front waist while their right hands should be on their backs. They bowed, closing their eye's and stay in that position.

That is the military salute of this world, unlike the modern era where Yubin came from.

"Arni and Stiff, command your men to search the capital darkest alleys. Search in to out, leave no space behind, understood!?" Vincent commanded while both nodded.

Vincent has an idea where to look for her, he thought that maybe some abductors is looking around space to space, so he thought maybe she was abducted and that means the darkest alley is where they'll find them.

On the part of the capital, below the roads, a built sewer was seen, and behold a small quarter that some good-looking bastard has made.

The doors are wooden and the locks are tightened, the man responsible for Yubin and Cortez's a*******n is with two more men seating calmly on the chair and a table.

Three of them were busy playing cards, they are loud and noisy but no one can hear them above. The door next to them leads to a dark place where it smells familiar to Yubin's nose.

In that dark room, there was a two kid, one is barely beaten up and two was asleep. The first kid is Cortez and Yubin was the second one. Cortez woke up a little earlier and he tried breaking off the chains but they beat him up to a pulp.

Yubin felt heavy and when she open her eyes, she sees a familiar black ceiling that reminded her of the Slave Cages. She suddenly lost her voice, it was then she awoke with a painful body.

"It seems that you're awake," Cortez mumbles beside her.

"My head hurts, what happened? " She asked touching her forehead but before Cortez was to answer, she looked at him observing him and then she gives a relieved sigh.

"You seem fine, haha, I thought you were dead back then." Cortez glances at her before he shakes his head.

"We were captured by your abductors, I woke up earlier to escape but I was beaten. Anyways, you seem a little fine now." Cortez said answering her earlier question, Yubin looked around, and there she finally remembered everything.

She stood up and sat next to Cortez before she hugged her knee. "I... I am... Afraid of the dark... " She whispered.

Cortez nodded at her and he smile, "I haven't know your name, by the way, miss uncertain, what's your name? "

"Honestly, I can't remember my name. However, the current King has called me Phine so I guess I'm using that name for now." She answer Cortez and he nodded.

"My name is Cortez, I came from the East, thought you might be wondering what I am doing here, I was with a merchant and when we arrived here, everything seem to be different and I got lost and chased by some random guys." Cortez introduce himself creating a lie to hide his identity, Yubin laughed when he said being chased by some Random Guys.

To the truth, he was referring to the Castaline Knights.

"I see, you must have a taught journey. Will you be going back to the East? " She asked politely but this time, she's smiling more stabilize unlike how she was doing earlier.

"I don't think so, we were caught but if we ever escape. I think of going back myself because my family lives in the East." Yubin looked rather fascinated but she wonders what the East looks like because the East was called the East Continent, he reminded her of the East on his former world called Asia.

She thought to herself, what has been happening with her former family and friends now. She was saddened from thinking so Cortez assume that she is unwell.

"Are you okay? " He asked.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. I just remembered something, no perhaps it's not remembering but reminiscing a memory. Honestly, I don't even have a family anymore nor I do have friends to go back to." Cortez understands the situation of mentioning a family, it is because they are the same.

Cortez has a family but felt he doesn't have one. Cortez only has his father, a foster mother, stepsisters, and his duty as the heir.

Cortez was about to say something but Yubin held his hands distracting him from talking. "You have seen my trademark, yes? I was a slave, but I wasn't born one or anything. I was sold by my trusted friends, betrayed, and become a slave. My life was a tough one too, but despite that, I didn't want any revenge." Yubin mumbles until Cortez was speechless.

She was betrayed? What a shameful act, he thought. Not because she was betrayed but because those she called friends sold her yet she still called them trusted friends.

Not all can endure such deep scars without wanting an act of revenge, everyone can't avoid it so it was rare to see one. Being betrayed means everything, so most people wanted their revenge but that, of course, depends on people's minds and actions.