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Schwarze Unterwelt Chapter 1

Ray watched as the last silvers of moonlight disappeared behind an errant cloud. There were hardly any stars out tonight,
as though even the heavens were in agreement with his plan. And now the only other light source had too gone into
hiding.

It was time. This would be the night that was yielded through months of planning and weeks of preparation.

Shouldering his pack, the twelve year old cast a cursory glance over his extravagant room - the place that had held him
prisoner for all his life. A gilded cage, some called it. He supposed he was slightly wistful about leaving the only place he
knew as home. It was the last time he would ever set sight upon this place, if he had any control over it.

Securing the end of his improvised rope of bed sheets to the balcony's banister, he peeked over the edge, watching as
the guard passed under his window. He had not spent all those months studying and memorizing the movements of their
internal security only to jeopardize his first and only chance of escape.

Dropping the other end of the rope over the railings and swinging himself over, Ray slithered down to land quietly in the
courtyard. He eyed the wall at the far end cryptically - his goal lay beyond that wall. Stepping toward it, he cringed as the
snapping of twigs under his shoes sliced through the silence in the yard like whips slapping on flagstones. But he knew he
hardly had time to consider his options.

After a last check to ensure no one had come running, he made a mad dash toward the other end of the courtyard. He
could hear his heart pounding in his ears as fear and adrenaline raced through him.

He scaled the tree nearest the wall with little effort, pausing on a particularly stable branch. He removed the other rope
from his pack and secured one end around the branch, tightening the loop so it would hold. He stiffened when he heard
voices drifting up to him from below. Barely daring to look, he spied two guards conversing directly below his tree, pointing
toward something he could only guess at.

Panic gripped him - the taste of freedom was so tangible, he could almost feel it. It was just there, beyond the wall! He
daren't breathe until the guards started to move away slowly. Knowing it was too risky to stay there any longer; he
dropped the rope over the wall and leapt, swinging himself over the walls. He made his way down, careful not to make
any more noise.

A sigh of relief escaped him when his foot finally touched the ground beyond the wall. He was free. Free from those
never-ending responsibilities that plagued the life of royalty. Free of those countless rules of etiquette and court that he
could never seem to understand why all of it was necessary. It only took one visit to the 'outside world' to show him there
were more ways to live than be cooped up in a birdcage and never fly free. He had hated that life. But that was all in the
past, and there was no way he was going back.

He drew in a deep breath, stepping towards the world that had always seemed so distant to him. It was everything, yet
nothing he expected. Houses of bricks instead of the marble he had always known, dusty pavements in place of the
never-ending corridors that had represented his past. The stars were his only constant; their twinkle was the same both
in and out of his prison walls.

A grin tugged at his features, a sense of wonderment and adventure easing its way through his jumble of emotions. He let
his feet take him wherever they wanted - it mattered not where he went now, as long as it was some place far from
where he once lived.

There was hardly anyone left on the streets now; it was pretty late after all. He savoured the silence that surrounded him,
the peacefulness like a balm to his frazzled nerves.

"You really shouldn't have done that."

Ray almost leapt a mile high, his grip tightening around the strap of his pack. He scanned his surroundings wildly, mentally
berating himself for neglecting to be alert especially in light of his recent activities. However, there was nary a soul around.

He forced himself to calm down, taking in measured breaths as his ears strained to pick up any other sound or people. He
wasn't to be disappointed, for moments later he heard a distinctive thump followed by a groan, coming from an alleyway
some distance away. He hurried towards the source and ground to a halt as he took in the scene before him.

A figure lay unmoving on the dirt-strewn ground, at the feet of a young boy roughly his age. The youngster had a shock
of red hair, so eerily similar to the rusty-red puddle collecting near the prone figure. The youngster was fairly well built,
and his posture spoke volumes of his apparent rough upbringing.

His eyes however were drawn to the youngster's hands – for they were stained the same colour as the slick red liquid
that was staining the ground, making faint plopping sounds as it dripped off the appendage. A muffled gasp escaped his
lips and the he found himself staring into frozen pools of sapphire, rooting him to the spot.

A feral grin stretched across the boy's features as he realized he had a spectator. Raising his hands to his lips, Ray gaped
in abject horror as he licked off the excess blood, seeming to enjoy the mortified look on his audience's face. He had only
faintly noted the slight narrowing of the youth's eyes before he found himself flung backward, landing roughly on the
ground some distance away.

His hands instinctively went to clutch at his gut, willing the stabbing pain to ebb away. He barely had time to look up
before his assailant was upon him, delivering a swift kick to his chest, which he awkwardly blocked, rolling on his side to
get away from the sudden onslaught of attacks. His opponent beckoned almost tauntingly, feral grin turning sinister in the
few short seconds.

Enraged, he charged, dropping low to deliver a punch to his opponent's gut but only caught air. He twisted, just in time to
see a swift kick aimed for his chest before it caught him head-on. He flew, slamming against the wall and sliding down into
a disheveled heap on the ground.

His breaths left him in short gasps, spots dancing in his vision as his lungs fought for oxygen. The attacks paused and he
struggled to his feet, unwilling to go down without a fight. However, the youth was distracted with the arrival of a
blue-haired newcomer.

"Enough," he shivered at the startling cold tone, "he may prove to be more useful to us alive."

Any resistance the red-haired boy had meant to display wilted under the intense glare the newcomer sent his way.

"Bring him. We're leaving."

With that, the boy turned and left, leaving Ray alone with the red-haired teen again. He tensed when the boy shuffled
over to him, but he only grabbed him and proceeded to drag him off to wherever they were supposed to go.

Briefly he wondered if it was just his luck that was horrible. How he managed to get embroiled in a situation he wasn't
even sure of - he'd probably never find out.

And whilst he did not appreciate being dragged off to some unknown place, he wasn't about to argue with someone that
could possibly beat him to a bloody pulp, tear him to bits and feed him to the dogs all in a day's work. And he'd probably
be grinning like a maniac too. He could only hope that wherever they were bringing him, it was safe and far away from the
palace.

'First night out of home and I run into these people? Not I just know my life is going to turn out into an epic adventure,' he
mused sardonically.

There was no point trying to figure this out. It'd probably just give him a huge headache, which would do nothing to
improve his situation. It was probably a waste of time trying to understand these people anyway, and he wasn't going to
waste the effort. Period. Besides, how bad could they be?

Famous last words indeed.


TBC

Please R&R

Edit (15 Aug 2009 1:29 a.m.): After re-reading this, we realise how much we've improved in the span of 10 chapters.. first
time readers..it DOES get better. Non-first timers, you know it got better. Hmm... our ego seems to be growing much?

Edit (15 Aug 2009 2.28 a.m.): Fixed the gaping errors we spotted in previous read through. Chapter should be a tad more
readable now.