Life or Death, Scene v1

Merry Christmas! Although the day is pretty much almost over.

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Many of the shops still had their windows lit, so it couldn’t have been too late. People would still be awake in the castle, so he decided to take a walk instead. After all, the empty streets were just what he wanted. He was alone, and it was quiet, almost soothing even.

A man leaning against the wall stepped out in front of him, huddling tightly inside of his cloak. It was too dark to see his face, but Lucas knew he was looking directly at him. “You’re Lucas Damire, correct?” asked the man.

Lucas slowly slid his hand to the hilt of his sword as he tried to make out the shady man’s features, but the only light around was the dim light from the window behind him several feet away. “I’m sorry, you must have me confused with someone else,” he answered, walking past him slowly while keeping a close eye on his actions.

“Sorry, my mistake. I guess you wouldn’t have any interest in helping a certain Kival house servant then.”

Lucas spun around, hoping that the light would reveal a bit of his face, but the man did not face him. “Who are you?”

“Only someone who wants the same thing you do, if you are Lucas that is.” With that, he turned the corner and walked into the alleyway.

“Wait!” Lucas went after him, keeping a safe distance and checking his surroundings. It was a long alleyway, almost completely covered in darkness. The faint glow of the moon lit the ground just enough for him to avoid tripping over the day’s garbage. He cursed his curiosity and desperation for making him follow the man so stupidly. Once Lucas reached the center of the alley, the man stopped. He spun around to find three men forming a wall behind him. He looked back at the mysterious man with a glare, only there were three more with him now as well. Lucas was confident in his swordsmanship, but one against seven would be foolish even for him, especially in the darkness. Unfortunately, there was no other choice. He drew his sword.

The six cloaks drew their weapons, while the man spoke. “Please, lower your weapon, Lucas. I meant what I said. I only want, what you want.”

“You expect me to believe that in this situation?”

“You’re right. I’m sorry for my rudeness. I just wanted to speak in private with you. After all, soldiers were sent to many of our hideouts, or what would’ve been our hideouts if we didn’t relocate after Isella’s capture. That also means I’m probably a wanted man, so I had to take some proper precautions, incase you’re not as loyal to Isella than I would hope. I would ask how she is, but I’d probably rather not know.”

His voice was unfamiliar, but he seemed to make no effort in disguising it either. A Kival, no doubt, but what would they want with him? How did they know him? The dull iron blades facing him were almost invisible in the darkness. Lowering his weapon would be foolish. “How do you know who I am?”

“I was always too busy working in the quarries at Lokem to visit, but my sister has sent my mother and me many letters. I’ve always wanted to meet the person she loved so dearly, though I do regret it had to be this way.”

“Kain? You’re Isella’s brother?”

Kain took a step closer, still keeping a large distance between them. “I hope she hasn’t said hasn’t said anything ill of me.”

Lucas lowered his sword to his side. Even if it was Isella’s brother, he was still one of the Kival activists organizing raids on Rokan. “What do you want from me?”

“Like I said, we both want the same thing. We want to save Isella.”

“And just how do you plan to do that? She’s locked in the castle dungeons, and her execution is in three days,” replied Lucas.

“The details aren’t important. But I do need some information to make it happen. That’s where you come in.”

“And you expect me to just help you? That would be treason,” said Lucas, baffled.

“That may be, but no one would need to know of course. I, for one, want to save my little sister. So you can either help me save her, or you can let her die. The choice is yours.”




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