Ruel smiled as he jumped from the clock tower on impulse, enjoying the rush of adrenaline that came from jumping; he did not suffer from any fear from his spur-of-the-moment yet surprisingly calculated action, fully assured in the physical proficiencies that he had inherited from his mothers side.
Just like he predicted, when he reached the ground, it was like he was a cat; with an easy landing that was as soft as a feather in impact, he stood their calmly at the base of the tower, dusting off his clothes that consisted with black shorts, a big white fancy shirt, white yet frayed cotton socks, and leather shoes that were severely worn.
The two guards who had seen him jump appeared mortified, their eyes wide as they witnessed a 10 year old child jump off the roof of a 25 story building no problem before landing as silently and softly as a cat. It was even more surprising to see the aforementioned child act like this was totally normal for him, brushing off imaginary dust from his clothing before proceeding to walk towards the gate casually, the expression on a face that was prettier than sense dictated as serene as a still glass lake.
"How-how... did that child...?"
Leto's question went unanswered at the child's steady approach, though Andrew who had served the castle for some numbers of years had a good idea as to how the child who at most reached his hip was capable of such maneuvers: inertia absorption.
Inertia absorption was a exclusive technique to the Imperial Family that stored the inertia and force of an action into the body of the practitioner, before releasing it in the form of a wave of force. Depending on the tolerance of the body and the amount of force stored, a single member could quite possibly wipe out an entire castle or army on their own. The current emperor was said to have been able to withstand and release enough force to destroy a nation.
To think a child of what appeared to be 10 to 12 years of age was already capable of such a feat when it usually took the children of the Imperial Bloodline until they were 15 to accomplish as daring a feat as jumping off a 25 story building without so much as a single scratch.
Andrew was apprehensive; what sort of monster had the Imperial Family created to have given birth to such a talent?
It was only when the child reached him that Andrew broke from his trance, stammering, "U-Um, Young Lord, may this guard inquire as to what you are doing? There is an order that all unsupervised leaving of the castle is to be restricted at the moment due to it being Hallows Festival, Young Lord..."
Ruel looked up at the guard, blinking with a bit of surprise that he had been addressed so formally; he was a tall, thin, yet muscular young man with piercing blue eyes like ice and soft looking black hair that was matted to his head from the sweat of the noon day. Ruel couldn't blame him for that—he was standing in an annoying and unnecessary full suit of what looked to be enchanted iron armor for what appeared to be several hours if the bags under his eyes had anything to say about it.
Overall, he was a fairly handsome man that had clearly gone through plenty of battles from the experience his closed stance dictated. Ruel's purple eyes flickered back to his black hair, the gold in his eyes flashing with the movement of doing so before his tilted his head, his glittery hair falling with the motion as he inquired in a calm and non-judgmental tone, "Are you part frost demon, or night demon?"
Andrew flinched, his eyes widening a bit before they flickered away from the child's direct gaze, clearly contemplative before he looked back and quietly responded in a humble, submissive tone, "Frost, Young Lord, although my father was descended from demon slayers which is why my hair is black in coloration."
"Hmm," came Ruel's curious tone, "so it's like that, huh? What's your name? And why don't you use your powers in this heat?"
Andrew closed his eyes a little, his face screwing up a little as if he remembered something he didn't care to recall before responding in a polite tone yet again, "My name is Andrew, Young Lord, and the Tamed are restricted from using their abilities in the palace unless it is in wartime, or for the sake of those whom we must protect as bodyguards."
'In other words, if him or any of the Tamed were to be harassed by human officers, you can't retaliate without good reason...' Ruel was contemplative as he stared up at the soldier who was clearly uncomfortable from his inquiries, but was nonetheless steady in the face of his gaze. 'He's got guts, I can say that much...'
Ruel ceased to ponder any longer on the enigma that had presented himself in front of him, breaking through his words with the impact of a knife as he immediately interjected, "Your real name, not the name the humans have assigned you."
Andrew once again flinched at his voice, his throat bobbing as he swallowed his saliva while his mouth became dry before he rasped in a strained yet ever respectful tone, his sharp eyes misting a bit while he did so; it had been a while since someone had cared enough to ask for his name. "Kori, sir."
"Kori... well, Sir Kori, I am going into the city to have some fun, since I have never left the castle before. You may tell you superiors that you could not rightfully restrict me, due to my identity."
"Hold on!" Leto cried, his expression twisting into anger as he saw himself, the son of a prominent nobleman, be entirely ignored from the shrimp in favor of a mere half-breed Tamed, "You can't just leave the Palace! Who do you think you are, giving orders to a nobleman like myself—"
"Silence, Leto!" came Andrew's, or rather Kori's, immediate rebuke to his show of disrespect to a person who was clearly a member of the Imperial Family, "Do not put yourself on the same level as the Prince or Princesses of the Imperial Family, let alone in the palace itself! Show some respect—"
"It is alright Sir Kori, I will deal with this ingrate myself."
The response from Ruel was calm, but there was a chill in his eyes that served as a warning that he was angry; he hated getting his authority questioned, especially by a pig.
He walked until he stood right in front of the guard, his amethyst and gold eyes glittering with an unknown depth as he proudly proclaimed, "Listen here, you stinking pig. My name Ezekiel Ruel Lucius la Raphaelis, the 12th Prince of this empire, and your superior. You, the son of a mere Baron with little authority, shouldn't pry into my business; may you be slaughtered with the rest of the pigs and your entrails to be given to your family to devour like the mindless fodder they are."
With that, Ruel turned away from Leto, holding his nose in disgust in response to the others poor smell, before running out the gate, his diamond glass hair glittering like a kaleidoscope in the suns golden rays as if to taunt the son of the baron, and cementing the thought in Kori's mind that if he could have a master like that, he would be content in his life that was really just a glorified slave's.
—————
Ruel's eyes widened at the sight of the sprawling and complex city, a smile blossoming on his face in response to all the new things he could learn here.
The streets were bustling with people who scurried to-and-fro in a hurry as they prepared for the apparent festival, like little rats scuttling away from a cat. The buildings were tall, soaring structures of a good 10 stories, a height which Ruel was faintly, but not entirely impressed by, due to him seeing the 50 story tall towers of the palace, but since he lived in a 2 story foreign structure, he was still nonetheless inclined to find the structures intriguing.
The peoples clothing ranged from attire that acted as a clear indication of nobility or at the very least money, to the humble, well-worn clothes of the commoners who helped with jobs for the shops owned by nobility of varying ranks. Of course, Ruel did not attempt to walk among them, finding the fact that their patterns of movement was akin to rodents disgraceful to walk amongst.
This lead to him scaling the rooftops of the buildings with ease in order to look down upon the twisting and complex roads of the city; they all seemed to flow to the center of a large plaza and a very clear central road one could get lost on if they were not familiar with the area, or had an elevated viewpoint, which he had wisely obtained.
The preparations for the festival was apparent to Ruel as he noticed the banners of glittering, prism-like stones of various color, stones which he noted to be Lumos Stones, magic stones that glowed in the dark and repelled demons and other darker forces; it was said they also helped with relieving curses, though you'd need a proper cleric to fully remove one.
A tall, wooden pole was being pulled up by a large mass of people next to a massive marble fountain; several ribbons of various color and texture were connected to the top, leading Ruel to infer that a ribbon dance of some sort was to take place, or some equally menial activity.
Several commoners and nobles also seemed to begin to line up at Saint Simon's Cathedral for the sake of blessings now that the noon had passed. It was a soaring, 18 story structure of stained glass windows, spires, buttresses, a dome, and more architectural features that Ruel regretfully didn't know the name of—he would've thoroughly been able to describe it detail if he had; he needed to learn more the next time he snuck into the library.
As he observed how food stalls opened along the central road and how crystal lanterns were set up around them, he encountered a guest who had intruded on his rooftop for the sake of hanging up more of the Lumos Stone banners.
The brown haired young man who seemed to be 17 or so stared at the 10 year old in shock, his gray eyes widening at the sight of the diamond glass hair that glistened in the light of the falling sun, the gold in his amethyst eyes glittering with it.
The hair that was akin to diamond glass was a famous trait of the royal family, along with eyes of platinum and fair as marble complexions, and the young man who had innocently climbed on the roof did not expect to meet such a child in his venture to string up the banners.
"U-Um... y-your Royal... Highness?"
Ruel merely blinked at him, his diamond glass lashes fluttering a little before standing up and turning from the commoner, running off the rooftop to jump all the way to the marble fountain, landing on the top of it delicately and shocking all of the bystanders at the boy's unexpected and fairy-like appearance before he leaped again, jumping all the way to the roof of the buildings on the other side of the square.
The brown haired boy stropped the string of lights he had previously held, shock and awe painting his face as the fact that a 10 year old child had effortlessly leapt across the 200 foot clearing of Raphael's Square in two jumps registered, prompting a cry of wonder to unwittingly escape his mouth—though truth be told, he sounded like a raccoon being strangled by a cat.
'The Imperial Family truly are a different breed!' was the collective thought of all the witnesses of the incredible feat as they watched the young boy retreat across the rooftops. This years festival was sure to be interesting...
—————
Ruel gave a sigh of relief as he lost the goggling crowd, scowling at the thought of the people who had stared at him with obvious intentions.
'This d*mned hair!' he thought furiously as he began searching for a way to hide it, 'It's so annoying! Forget the Imperial Succession rights—if I could have been born with Mother's hair, I would've been significantly happier and certainly less hassled by such inconveniences!'
Ruel's lovely eyes searched for something to hide his cursed hair, his amethyst and gold depths pausing on the sight of a thin, sleeping youth who had a charcoal gray newsman cap covering his eyes as he slept in an alley below the rooftop Ruel was on.
A smile decorated his face as he dropped from the 4 story building, landing silently as a cat before creeping forward as he stole his hat and left with it placed on his head—but not before using cleaning magic to remove any lice or dirt that had laid on it. He wasn't willing to take any chances with the conditions the particular victim seemed to live in.
Ruel then spotted a spare coat draped next to the boy's figure, and seeing as it was close to his size, he stole it, washed it like the hat, and went to leave, only to remember an instance where in the winter time, he'd been locked in his room by one of the maids with no blankets and not coat to cover him from the cold, due to 'cleaning', though he suspected that they desired truly for him to die and cease being an inconvenience to them.
He sighed, turning to look at the sleeping boy before he rummaged through the pocket of his shorts to retrieve a parcel of money he always kept with him. Removing a gold coin he'd stolen from the maids, he left it in the youths care by putting it under his hands to hide it for passerby, whispering, "Thank you for the contribution," before leaving to explore more of the city more leisurely, the problem of his hair covered by the large cap that covered both his hair and his eyes.
—————
Ruel had wandered around the city aimlessly, his keen eyes taking in the unfamiliar sights of the buildings and people as the festival came into full swing as the sun fell to the horizon and the vendors of food, trinkets, and clothing started to call for customers.
Smells of spices and meat filled the air, and the haggling of prices and shouts of merriment was heard all around him; the Lumos Stone banners began to faintly glow with a lovely light as the stars began to dot the evening sky that bled red, blue, orange, purple and gold as the sun died away.
Ruel stopped to gaze at the sunset, his mother's description running through his mind as he quietly wondered how his mother would've been like if she was compared to the autumn night; from what he could tell, if she was anything like this dazzling sunset, then she would've perhaps been a very warm person.
An odd sense of loss filled the young boys hollow heart at the thought of someone showing warmth or even relying on him was of foreign concept; the 12th Prince was too used to the callous ice of people to know.
It was then he was bumped into and out of his thoughts as a clearly drunk man shambled forward, slurring an insincere sounding, "Soorryyyy~" before shambling off and leaving an a faintly pissed off Ruel on the ground; he didn't like being pulled from his thoughts forcefully, as it made him feel as if he had no dominion over his own mind.
Endless thoughts of ill-intent ran through Ruel's mind before an odd feeling stopped him as he dusted himself after he'd stood up, his head turning to face the direction of the alleyway to the left of him, his gaze somehow transfixed.
Something was there, a something, or perhaps even a some one that he felt was essential. The feeling tugged at his rapidly beating heart, his fingers twitching as his body immediately began to follow the tether of the feeling in the direction it motioned to, forgetting all about the offense caused by the drunk man.
As the feeling grew, so did his footsteps, their rhythm quickening till he was running as fast as he could through the labyrinth of streets and alleyways to a certain location, though he knew not where his body and what felt to suspiciously be his heart was leading him. As he ran, the idyllic scenery of the festival and the soaring buildings fell to smaller and smaller houses, then hovels, then shacks of interconnected material to collectively create a slum.
The only large building in sight was the one he was being led to, his lungs gently panting for air as he stopped outside of the three story office building, an odd sense of simultaneous relief and fear thrumming through him as a deeper, darker side of himself that he did not know crept forth, invading his mind.
Though the presence was slowly seeping into his mind, he kept his wits as he pulled down the cap further and the pulled the large coat tighter to himself, grabbing mud from the dirt streets and smearing it on his outfit to create a worn look before taking a breath and entering the suspicious building, an odd sense of nerves assaulting his senses as he was greeted with a portly man at the island of a bar, cleaning the glass cups.
Ruel, noting the existence of several presences below him as well as the faint smell of blood and metal inferenced as to what existed beneath the floor of the bar. His instinct that led the 10 year old here agreed with his assessment, and a deep sense of urgency bolted through him. Turning to the man who seemed prepared to greet him with a false smile, he interrupted, "I'd like what's beneath this room, gentleman."
The bartender froze, the smile on his face widening as with a discerning emerald eye he slyly replied, "I'm not sure what you mean lad; there's only a cellar beneath our feet."
Ruel tilted his head, a cruel smile on his lips as he casually remarked in the empty bar, "Of wine and alcohol, or of slaves, sir?"
The bartender stared at him a bit longer before he laughed heartily at the remark from the boy; clearly, he wasn't simple in the least, and the bartender found that to be amusing. He'd never seen the kid in his life, but to think he was able to immediately figure out that this was a slave ground.
Perhaps he was a service boy employed by one of the higher up aristocrat's or one of the Imperial Prince or Princesses—he certainly had the look of it; no amount of mud or dirt or clothing could disguise the fine skin and fair features that peeked beneath the grime.
"Are you here for one of our merchandise on behest of one of your Lord's errands, young sir?"
Ruel gave a equally sly smile to the bartender as he simply said, "Something like that, yeah."
The bartender laughed again at the spunk of the kid, "So you're being sly about it 'ay? Very well, I'll take you to see the merchandise; we got a new shipment of them this week, and a particularly interesting one has arrived. I assume your Lord is intrigued?"
Ruel's reply was short and frank, "Unfortunately."
The bartender chuckled lowly at the kid's response; indeed, he was correct in saying that, especially since the interesting one's were all high priced on the slave market. Although, this one wasn't well known yet, so there was a chance the kid and his master could snatch it if they moved fast enough.
"Yer right about that lad. This one is especially interesting, given the fact that the species is so hard to find nowadays, ever since the last emperor banned all supernaturals from the country 120 years ago, while allowing them to be poached for sport if any were found. Nasty b*st*rd he was, don'tcha think?"
"You mean that one? Your assessment is correct in concerning the worst emperor in history, sir."
"You're a funny one lad, I'll give you that; I hope your master gave enough coin to pay for such a treasure, or at least has insurance to get her."
As the bartender turned and unlocked a hatch to the underground business, beckoning the Ruel over as he stepped down the hidden steps of a staircase to the basement with a Lumos Lamp in hand, Ruel muttered quietly to himself as his heart pounded at the mention of the slave, "I hope so as well..."
—————
They walked for several minute's until they reached a cellar area that looked like it was full of wine in wine racks, and stacked barrels of various drink and food. However, this all turned as the man removed a certain bottle from the third wine racks out of the 12, causing what seemed to be a false wall to move out of the way through the use of a contraption.
Ruel would've wanted to study it further if his heart had not suddenly increased and the tether that had led him here strengthened almost painfully as a deep longing for someone he'd never met filled him, but he restrained himself. But that restraint did not cease the sense of longing, nor the trembling of his hands nor the quickening of breath.
The bartender noted the unusual silence of the lad, and as they passed through cages of snarling demi-humans and other exotic beasts, he spot the trembling of his hand before remarking, "S'all right lad; none of these beasts can 'urt ya as long as I'm 'ere."
He'd mistaken his trembling for fear since he had never seen the lad in a slave market, but in reality, it was Ruel's attempt to stop the longing for a person whom he'd never met from overwhelming his rational and prompting him to run forward as fast as he could to the presence he was slowly approaching.
After a few more blocks of cells and beasts, they arrived at an area where the filthy cells were cleaner and the slaves more human-looking before they stopped outside of the cell of a certain girl; there was no windows in the very, very dim cell, and only the figure of a young girl with long black hair and pale, jade white skin was seen in a ratty white dress that was more brown from the amount of filth on it.
She was locked up in glowing white chains and was curled up against the wall of the cell, her expression hidden. Ruel subconsciously grabbed onto the cell's bars as the bartender called to the girl, "Oi, get up already, you've got a customer inspection."
The girl stirred, pulling away from the corner of the cell before she slowly, cautiously crawled forward, her breath labored at the movement before she stopped before the pair outside of the cell. She knelt quietly, her ears cocked to them as Ruel asked in a strained voice, "Is she blind?"
The bartender looked at him in surprise as he remarked, "Yes, she is young sir. But don't worry, it's not permanent if that's what you're worried about."
Ruel crouched down at her level as he distractingly said, "How so?"
The bartender laughed, "Well, it's cause of her species sir. She's a moon fairy boy; let her sit in the moonlight for a bit and she'll be able to see again with no problem, though I'd advise not letting her bathe in it; if you do, then make sure to bring mana chains..."
The rest of the explanation was recorded subconsciously by Ruel as he gazed at the huddled girl. Gently, he reached through the bars, lifting up her face and removing her long tresses of black hair from her face to reveal pale, jade white skin, lovely features, and glassy eyes that were as pale as the blue moon gazing as him, her pupils white as she grasped his hand, confused at the tenderness of the touch.
The white light of the Lumos Lamp illuminated her hair, giving it the shine of a night sky; the light lent a diaphanous glow to her gentle features as the girl who couldn't be older than nine year of age gazed unerringly at the boy.
What she thought or felt towards or of him could not be discerned nor vocalized on her cracked strawberry lips, but they parted to whisper in a cracked voice, "Who...?"
It was then, somewhere deep in Ruel, in the hollow of his chest, beat his heart, an odd sense of wholeness overcoming him as he daintily brushed her hair of night out of her lovely face before whispering a single word in a tone so broken, so hopeful, and so very vulnerable that it left her shocked.
"Mine."
———————
Diaphanous: "sheer and light; almost transparent" or "delicately hazy."