THE GREATEST ADVENTURE
PART ONE: WHERE MY HEART DIED
chapter one -- "black rose castle"
There were many secrets at Black Rose castle.
The moon was shining a very pale sort of light down across the ocean. Midnight had fallen upon the German shores and everything was covered in shadows. A tall castle stood out among the black trees. Small lights were flickering from room to room, most likely fireplaces started to keep the inhabitants warm during the long night.
A very tiny, tiny light could be seen at the farthest ends of the castle and it was the castle's dungeon.
It was dark and cold. The firelight of the candles wavered as the muggy breeze blew through the dungeon, light flickering. Somewhere, there was the sound of rushing water but it was faint and too far to mean anything. The floors were made of hard, freezing stone and they were covered with dust. Rats lounged about as they searched for crumbs, acting as if they owned the place. As if they knew they had nothing to fear.
But there was fear in that dungeon and it had many names.
Two prison cells were filled with raggedy kids, all sniffling and sobbing. There was no hope left in their eyes, no impossible dream to keep them going. They only had the knowledge that some time, sooner or later, something would happen and their situation would change. Whether it would be for the better or for worse, they didn't know. Life was always changing for them. Nothing remained the same.
Not since the Virus.
Not since power and chaos.
Not since ever.
A whistling guard captured the attention of the young captives. They all moved towards the bars, their chains rattling. Dirty faces crowded the cell door as they waited. In the short week that they had been there, they had learned that guards did one of two things. They either came to feed them or came to ask them questions. They all wore the different outfits but they also wore the same emblem: a rose, black and red in color.
They figured it was an emblem for their leader, the infamous Black Rose of whose castle dungeon they were currently residing in. They had been traveling up the coast of France, trying to find a place to hide from the Technos but something worse had caught them.
Ram was known for being meticulous, temperamental, manipulative and evil. The Black Rose was known for being murderous, cold-hearted, totalitarian and torturous. Of the two, meticulous was far better than murderous. Still, they had yet to see the Black Rose kill any of them. So far, the tyrant had only questions for them. Strange questions.
Strange in the sense that they were normal. 'Where are you from', 'what are your names', 'do you have siblings', 'what did you do after the virus', and so on. Sometimes, the questions were easy to answer while some were hard to even think of.
Why did the Black Rose need to know these things? Usually, when one is asked a question, one is also answered a question. A bit of tit for tat. They hardly knew anything of the Black Rose except for stories they had heard. They knew next to nothing of the place they had been taken to.
There were many secrets at Black Rose castle.
The whistling came to a stop as the guard, carrying a heavy brown bag over his shoulder, made his way past the empty cells. His good mood seemed to bring a little hope to the kids. Some of them even grinned up at him as he came to one of the cells.
"Breakfast," he called out. All hands instantly went out as he pulled the bag around his shoulder and set it on the floor. With a knowing smile, the guard pulled out something the kids hadn't seen in a very long time: fresh bread. The huge loaves were met with gasps of excitement. The guard handed three to one cell and three to the other. "There, now make sure you all share that, you hear me?"
The kids said nothing in return but there was the sound of bread being ripped apart and a chorus of tiny thank-yous followed. Looking quite satisfied with himself, the guard folded the bag up and tucked it away in his jacket. He then took out a set of keys and started to search through them. "Alright," he said without looking up, "I've got orders to bring one of you up to the Black Rose." The guard tossed his head up and gave them a reassuring grin. "Time for negotiations."
The keys jingled as he opened one of the cell doors. He walked in, tucking the keys back in his pocket, and looked around at the kids. None of them were over twenty years of age and most of them were hardly older than thirteen. The guard himself was no older than sixteen but it was hard to tell from all the dirt on his face and his over-sized clothes.
The guard sighed, watching as the bread disappeared in their hungry mouths. He bent down and looked one small boy in the face with a sympathetic smile. "Hey, don't worry. As soon as things get worked out, you'll all be out of here." He patted the boy's head. Standing back up, he looked around again. "Okay, so one of you is coming up to talk to the Black Rose. Who's it gonna be?"
"What kind of … negotiations?"
There were many secrets at Black Rose castle.
The guard grinned as a tall blonde stood up from the group. The Black Rose had been right in assuming which one of them was the leader and the Black Rose was never wrong. The boy was probably older than him but it was hard to say just how old he was. Eighteen. Nineteen. Either one would have worked. He was thin, probably from the lack of food over their rigorous journey. The guard looked down to his right and this time, tried to keep from grinning again. There, next to him, were probably the other three that the Black Rose had pinned as the main leaders of the group. A girl with a sleeping baby wrapped tightly in her arms sat in the corner, her sharp green eyes staring daggers at him. On her left side were two other boys, both looking at him with the same stare.
"We've done nothing wrong!" The blonde continued, straining against the chains around his wrists. "If anything, he should be apologizing to us for keeping us here like stray animals!"
"You were trespassing on Black Rose territory."
"We didn't know!" The girl suddenly shouted. One of the boys put a hand on her arm as if to calm her down. While it seemed to work, it didn't keep her mouth closed. "He doesn't own the land anyway!"
"You were traveling in a large group," the guard explained. "Black Rose deemed it necessary to investigate."
"And keeping us here? What sort of necessity is that?" The blonde was beginning to pull against his chains and the guard was starting to feel as if he should have come down with some extra company.
"A political one," was all the guard had to say. "One of your people has had extreme close contact with his rival. Black Rose has zero tolerance for Ram, surely you must have known that. You took a huge risk going through Green Wood." The guard took a bold step forward and, taking out his keys again, unlocked the chains around the blonde's wrists. "You should consider yourself lucky that the Black Rose is letting you go."
"Lucky?" The blonde rubbed his swollen wrists, his chapped lips pursed tightly together in deep concentration. He seemed to be contemplating whether he agreed with the guard or not.
"So … the Black Rose, he's really not going to keep us here?" A small girl tugged on the guard's pant leg. The guard smiled and shook his head.
"No, he won't." The guard turned to the blonde and frowned. "As long as you do as he says, of course."
"Then take me to him and let's be done with it," the blonde knelt quickly next to the three and whispered something to them. The guard didn't try to hear. He doubted it was anything other than reassurance and if it were something else, well, he would deal with it if it came.
"Come on," the guard urged. He walked out of the cell and waited for the blonde to follow. Once out, the guard pushed the door shut and locked it. "Now then, if you would be so kind as to follow me, I'll take you to him." The guard walked down the dark dungeon hall, adjusting his cape as he climbed up a flight of stairs not too far from the cells.
"You've been very kind to us," the blonde spoke up suddenly, his voice much less angry than it was before. "The other guards hardly say anything and when they do-"
"They are uncivilized and all of them have been shipped off."
"Shipped?" The blonde seemed to question the reality of this. "Where to?"
"You shouldn't worry. It is none of your concern." The guard came to the dungeon door and, for probably the fifth time that night, he took out his keys and went through them. "I shouldeither just make one key for all the locks or take off all the locks," he muttered in annoyance as he searched for the right one. Once found, he pushed the door open and let the blonde walk past him. He shut the door, locked it and turned around to continue their short excursion.
"Welcome to Black Rose castle," the guard waved his arm to the dark hall around them. To their right, the tall openings, medieval-designed windows, led to a view of the coast. They had been right to think that there was water nearby. From here, they could see the waves pound against the shores and they could hear the furious sounds of the ocean. "There's been a storm for the past week or so. Again," the guard turned to the blonde with a knowing smile. "You should consider yourself lucky."
"I doubt luck has anything to do with it." The blonde replied dryly, moving his gaze to the guard.
The guard hung his head and tried to conceal a chuckle. He glanced over his shoulder at the blonde. "You're right about that."
The blonde's eyes narrowed. In the dark of the dungeon, it was hard to pull out any details from a person's face, especially when half their face was covered by a black leathered mask but now, it was easy to see. "Do I know you?" He asked. The guard frowned, turned and quickened his pace. "Wait, what's your name?"
"The Black Rose is expecting you. He is not a patient man," the guard turned a sharp corner and hurriedly dashed up a hidden set of stairs, gesturing to the blonde to follow him.
The blonde said nothing more. He watched as the guard adjusted the mask around his face and he frowned.
There were many secrets at Black Rose castle.
