A painful itch spread through Lunas's face as he fell face first out of a strange gash in space leading from his father's office into what could only be described as the itchiest cloud he had ever encountered.
Looking up, the boy fell from the pile of hay he had been lucky enough to land on, scrambling back until his back hit a hard wall. Once crimson walls stood far past even the height of his home's doorways, forming a darkened long barn with a dozen stalls on each side.
It's not my home anymore, why did I have to torment Miss Laurel? Lunas pondered woefully.
A loud scrape echoed from one of the darkened corners of the barn as a stream of light came from what Lunas knew now was not another stall, but a gate to door outside.
Two silhouettes peered through the light, saving Lunas the trouble of covering his eyes. He shrank back as small as he could against the wall behind the haystacks, hoping his strangely white hair would not give him away.
A loud but almost crooked voice shouted out from the doorframe, "Come out! We heard that crash, breaking into an empty stable you damn horse thief!"
Realizing that they thought he was a lot worse than the only idea that came to mind, he panicked spilling out, "I'm not a horse, I just needed a place to sleep! Don't kill me!"
The so far silent silhouette placed an iron hand on the shoulder of the one which had spoken, sharing but a thought.
The old farmer's brow creased with doubt as he thought 'It's just a kid..'
The door was pushed all the way open and the darkness was expelled from all the corners of the faded pink stable. The light washed over Lunas, showing him he no longer wore the clothes of his household, but a simple linen set of a shirt and trousers, with leatherbound shoes.
The farmer moved to the side and the figure Lunas had not noticed before entered through the doorway. A long shimmering black coat draped broad shoulders, framing a lightly pinstriped white button up, with it's collar linked by a silver medallion and several similar chains.
Above the collar stood a short dark beard which softened the sharp features of it's bearer. Deep red eyes filled with a softly swirling blue mist as they flashed through several shades of purple before settling into a gentle lilac.
"What now, Erlan? Your 'thief' is little more than a boy, and your horses are still nowhere to be found. What kind of imbecile did you expect to rob the same stable twice?"
Knowing the harsh words of the younger and taller man were true, Erlan broke his gaze with a glance at the ground before anger took root in his mind, spitting out "You dare mock me?! I hire your pale ass from the guild to dispose of these thieves! Not question their AGE!"
Erlan shoved his head back through the doorway shouting, "GAURDS!!" A light rumble reached Lunas's ears as a man coated head to toe in steel armor ducked into the doorway, sparing only a glance at the cloaked man before advancing towards the boy.
Lunas tried to dash to the side to run through the stalls towards the exit, but a feeling of absolute terror filled him whilst he felt a force clamp down on his entire body, slamming him to the ground at the word of the steel knight.
He gasped at the impact, feeling blood fill his mouth. He barely managed to cough it out before a sharp involuntary inhale. The breath refused to stay in his lungs with the pressure, and he barely managed to whisper as it escaped him, "I didn't do anyt-" A pained wheeze finished the sentence for him.
Before his consciousness left him, he managed to make out Erlan looking up at the bearded man, proudly declaring that "An innocent man wouldn't have run!"
Those lilac eyes flashed an almost imperceptible tinge of red before glancing back to Lunas's shutting eyes.
Then, everything went black.
When Lunas awoke, the soft hay pile landing of his first rapid exit of the day was long gone. In its place was a disgustingly green stone floor. He tried arising just to be pulled back down by his restraints.
They were black and covered in a long grass-like moss which tickled his sore wrists in an unpleasant manner. He looked around hoping to see a conveniently placed open door, but all that met his gaze were black bars too close together to fit through and a hole the size of his hand on the walls to his left and right.
Steel hitting stone and sparking over and over resounded through the wall on his right. The boy inched close enough to the wall to lean over and press his ear to the wall, but before it made contact, a scream came from the hole in the wall above his head.
He pushed off the wall in fright just to be pulled back to the center of the cell by the chains. Foul, scraping laughter pierced through the wall like needles into his eardrums whilst he moved towards the other wall.
"Don't listen to their laughter, boy. It will kill you," a similarly broken voice whispered through the hole behind him.