After passing though the illusion Aldrich and Levi found themselves in a dimly lit passage way. They followed the tunnel until it opened up into a brighter and much larger room. Aldrich let out a small gasp of amazement as he took in their surroundings.
He was met with an eclectic assembly of vendors showcasing their clandestine wares. A hooded figure in the corner exchanged a vial of iridescent liquid for a pouch of shimmering dust. The murmur of negotiations surrounded me, and the scent of forbidden enchantments lingered in the air.
"This is an underground black market," Aldrich said. "I've heard of them but never actually been to one."
"What is a 'black market'?" Levi asked, confused.
Aldrich looked through the crowd in search of the princess. "It's like a regular market, but for all kinds of illegal stuff. Forbidden arcane items, stolen goods, if you can't find anything in a regular market you'll find it here."
Aldrich spotted a figure in a cloak for a second before it was obscured from view again but the crowd. He grabbed Levi's arm so they wouldn't get separated and pursued it. Despite the few shouts of protest as they pushed past they managed to catch up to the figure and Aldrich reached out and grabbed their shoulder.
"Oh, I'm sorry I thought you were someone else."
The figure under the cloak was a short middle aged man and not at all who he thought. The man gave him a small look of annoyance before turning and continuing on.
Levi shook Aldrich's arm suddenly and pointed. "There, at that stall."
Aldrich looked over. It was her, he was sure of it. She seemed to say something to the giant man behind the stall who nodded and then let her in the back.
"We need to follow her," he whispered loudly to Levi. Levi nodded and they made their way to the stall. The man behind the stall did not look very friendly as he loomed over them.
Aldrich smiled awkwardly. "We, uh, we need to go after that girl who just went in. It's of the utmost importance."
The man was not amused. "What's the password."
"Oh... the password, yes. It's uh..."
"Ignis de caelo pluat." Levi said.
The man stared at them intensely for a fee seconds before letting them in. On the ground of the stall was a small hatch, the man opened it and they walked down into it. It subsequently slammed shut again.
Aldrich turned to Levi. "How did you-..."
"I have pretty good hearing." Levi explained. "I heard the girl we're following say it."
The hatch led them to a small door leading into a room. Behind them Aldrich could hear voices speaking. The first was an adult male's and the other, a girl's.
"Here it is, the Astarian diamond." The male voice said.
The girl let out a small gasp. "It's even more spectacular than I imagined."
Aldrich faintly heard the sound of a cover shut close. "Ah ah ah, no touching till we get our money."
"Of course," the girl replied. There was a sound of a robe rustling and then a jingle of coins in a pouch as they hit the table. "There."
After a short silence the male voice spoke again. "Sorry to say but, this isn't enough."
"What? That isn't possible, I'm sure I counted correctly. I even brought a little extra to..."
The girl's voice trailed off mid sentence. She spoke again after a second. "You never intended on selling it to me did you. This was just a ploy... to lure me here."
The man's raucous laughter filled the air. "And it worked like a charm didn't it? Who'd have thought the crown princess of Yves would be so interested in forbidden arcane items. All I had to do was tell a few people where I would be selling it and you walked right in, all alone."
"This won't end well for you."
The man's only answer to that was a sly smirk.
Aldrich turned to Levi, who was already looking at him. "Ok, on my count we bust through the door."
Aldrich counted down from 3 before he and Levi threw their weight against the door and busted it open. They stumbled into the room and met the surprised faces of the princess and the shady man.
Aldrich wasn't sure what he was expecting, but the man was extremely well dressed. A large leather coat draped over his shoulders, underneath which was a simple black shirt and trousers.
He had a large grin on his face, but what was most eye catching was the almost star shaped scar right above his left eye which has a hazy white appearance probably as a result of the scar.
The man placed his hands on the table as he got up from his seat. "Looks like I was mistaken, you brought friends after all."
Levi looked around the room for any other people, but there was no one else. "It's just the one man here?"
"You were expecting more?" The man asked, he gathered his long black hair and tied it behind his head. "Sorry to disappoint."
"What are you doing here?!" The princess asked Aldrich loudly. "Were you following me!?"
Aldrich reached for his sword. "Yes, and it seems it was a good thing we did."
Veliona didn't seem to think so. "I had everything under control."
Aldrich doubted that but now wasn't the time to argue. He kept his eyes on the man who's hands were now in his pocket as his gaze moved between the three of them. He was wide open, and yet it felt like he had no openings at all. A drop of sweat rolled down Aldrich's head.
He spoke to Levi without turning his head. "I'll distract him, you take the princess and leave the way we came."
Levi looked concerned. "Are you sure, judging from his lack of weapons he is probably virtued. It would be dangerous to engage him alone."
"I know that." Aldrich snapped. It was dangerous, but what kind of knight would he be if he didn't do everything he could to protect the princess.
Levi seemed to sense his resolve and backed down. He inched over to the princess. The man didn't seem fazed in the slightest, it was unnerving.
"Now Levi! Go!" Aldrich yelled as he began to draw his sword and point it towards the man.
But the man wasn't standing in front of him anymore. "Where did he-..."
Aldrich's thought was interrupted by a jarring punch to the face causing him to fall to the ground. He tasted blood in his mouth. When had he gotten behind him?
"It pains me to have to use force against children like yourself," the man declared. "But if the job demands it. My apologies but I'm going to have to make this quick. I'm not getting paid for overtime after all."
After those words he proceeded to kick Aldrich in the face and everything went black.
×
"Your plan actually worked." A hooded figure mused, staring at the three bodies lined up neatly in the back of a close carriage.
"Of course it did," the fake merchant retorted. "I always get the job done. Even if said job is abducting the princess of what just might be the most powerful kingdom in the world."
The hooded figure nodded, quite impressed. "I won't keep you. You should leave before they wake up."
The merchant couldn't argue with that. All he had to do was get past the guards at the city gates and his job was all but complete. "Don't think you don't owe me for this."
The figure waved him off nonchalantly, beginning to walk away.
"You be careful as well," the man called out after them. "Get caught and even I couldn't bust you out."
But the figure was already gone. The man sighed and got into the carriage with the three captives. He knocked on the walls, signaling the coachman to get moving.
x
Aldrich groaned as his eyes cracked open. His whole face hurt like hell. He was on the floor, but judging from the bumpy movements he were on a vehicle of some sort. His hands were tied. He rolled over to discover Levi in a similar position to his.
"Sorry, I tried to get the girl out like you said but he just appeared out of nowhere." Levi apologised.
Aldrich nodded, he had been caught off gaurd as well. "But where's the princess now."
"She's right here."
It was the man's voice. Aldrich grunted as he sat himself up without using his hands. Across the carriage the man sat on a bench, the princess on the seat right next to him. Her hands were behind her back. Probably tied as well.
Aldrich struggled against the rope binding his hands but they wouldn't budge. He decided to try keeping the man distracted while he did by making conversation. "How come she gets a seat and we're on the floor."
The man let out a laugh. "Sorry about that, I'm afraid I didn't make the arrangements to transport more than one person. I also couldn't leave you behind, wouldn't want you to go alerting the knights before we crossed the border."
The border, they were being taken to another nation. That didn't sound good, Aldrich thought as he continued to pick at his binds.
"Oh, where are my manners. I've forgotten to introduce myself to you two." The man announced suddenly. "Van Salvatorre, pleasure to make your acquaintance. Also you can pick at the rope all you want but I think you'll find they are quite hard to break free of."
Aldrich groaned and let his hands drop. He was right, he couldn't break free. "Aldrich de la Rossa."
Salvatorre raised an eyebrow at that. "De la Rossa?, now that is a name I didn't expect to bump into."
Aldrich wanted to what he knew about his family but Salvatorre had already turned his attention to Levi. Levi didn't seem to understand what he was waiting for and just stared back in silence for a while.
"Oh, you want me to say my name too." Levi realised. "It's Leviathan."
"What a peculiar name," Van Salvatorre noted. "And that's not the only thing strange about you. I just can't seem to put my finger on it though."
Aldrich's head whipped around to Levi. "Speaking of, do you think he could break us out of here?"
Levi shook his head. "He hasn't spoken to me since we met with the king."
Aldrich cursed under his breath. That was his last idea. The princess, who had been silent so far, spoke up.
"You're working for someone aren't you. If you return us now I'll make sure you get paid double whatever was offered."
Van Salvatorre seemed to consider the proposition for a second. "Tempting. But sadly I gave my employer my word. And I never go back on my word."
He leaned back and crossed his legs. "Do try and make yourselves comfortable, it's going to be a long ride to Shinkoku."