“Uncle… where are we going?” A young girl asked as she was being led away by a handsome young man of 20 years of age. He was dressed in Victorian Gothic clothing, a scarlet red and black tailcoat matched with an equally dashing and complimentary pair of black pants and shined black boots, while a cleanly shaven beard adorned his face. If not for his dead white eyes, one would have mistaken him for a human with a very unique, but handsome, fashion sense.

“Away. It is no longer safe at home.” He responded monotonously, keeping his eyes forward on the road at all times. His lady entrusted him with a mission, and he is obligated to complete it.

The girl’s name was Charlotte Rayne, and although she was extremely young, she knew enough of politics to guess that something had happened between the princes.

“Will mommy be okay?” As they passed another carriage on their black stallion, she couldn’t help but worry for her family.

“...” After a long silence, he finally responded. “Yes. Your father will be with you in a few days.”

“Okay~” She returned back to gazing at the world rushing by her. A kid’s attention span is pitifully short.

Up ahead, was the city of Farwind, with its imposing gilded Black walls being one of the great nations of Ascania’s most far-eastern cities. It was basically bordering the Devil’s valley, the first line of defense against any monsters. Massive spires and mage towers spiraled into the sky, while the glint of thousands of cannons lined their walls.

They were almost there.

The man could only hope that his master would be alright. Although a witch, she had not had enough time to master all of her skills, and further decimated her own prospects by wishing to live as an aristocrat. There was a very real chance that she could die to the second prince’s schemes.

He would know, after all, he was one of the second prince’s closest aids before being killed by his Lady…

‘Ambush!’ The word flashed through his mind as he shielded the young Charlotte with his own body, 3 throwing daggers appearing out of thin air and digging into his ethereal flesh.

“Uncle!” She yelled out. Now terrified, the young Charlotte began sobbing uncontrollably.

“GO! Continue to the city!” He reached into his coat and grabbed a single golden medallion, and pressed it into her hands. Ignoring the crying Charlotte, he continued, “Show the guards this and wait for your father. I will be with you shortly.”

Not waiting for a reply, he jumped off the horse, leaving them racing towards the city of Windrip. He blocked another dagger that shot toward the crying Charlotte, now disappearing over a hill.

“Now, you bastards-” He snarled, glowing red Scimitars materializing out of thin air. Dozens of cloaked figures rose from the gloom, with nothing but glowing red fires lighting underneath their hoods.

“Let's dance.” 6 Fiery runes lit on his skin, a crimson flame erupting from each Scimitar. This was his last stand.

He could only hope Lady Charlotte would make it safely.

…

As the sun dawned on the largest capital in Achdelle, Yrin, a young girl stalked the market streets from the shadowed alleys, waiting for an opportunity. She was covered in dirtied rags, and parts of her face were sunken and hollow.

An orphan. Scum. Dirty rat. Just any of the few choice words used to describe her, and her not-so-friendly peers.

Her mother died in childbirth, and her father was a piece of shit guardsman who abandoned her without a second thought. Only her grandma took her in and raised her for 10 years. Until she passed away as well. She was the one who gave her name, Evatide Falltear, and taught her everything she knew.

Now barely 16 and malnourished, she was severely stunted in her growth. Perhaps permanently.

But she didn’t mind. The law of the jungle applied in the slums, and the smaller and more slippery you were, the less likely you were to get caught. That's how she was able to survive for an entire 5 years.

Market Street is her favorite area to ‘borrow’ from, simply because in the middle of all that people, who will actually stop you when you nab some food from some merchant?

No one, that's who. She could say that confidently.

She had her eyes set on a particular merchant, who was currently setting out some fruits and vegetables from a faraway land. He had 2 guards nearby, who seemed to be a bit drowsy from being up this early.

‘An easy target.’

Evatide waited patiently for the perfect opportunity to strike. Her opportunity came soon later, with the merchant leaving his cart to his guards, as he went to grab another crate of food items.

‘Now!’ She raced out of the nearby alley, into the bright rays of sunlight. It stung her eyes, but she didn’t care. Her target was right in front of her, a bright yellow curved fruit bunched together like fingers on a hand.

“THEIF!” The guards noticed her, but in the brief moment of shock, she had already nabbed her prize. Willing mana to flow into her feet, she shot from the crime scene, zig-zagging between the already busing market street crowd, before disappearing into a thin crack of two buildings.

Her legs groaned in agony from using that much mana, but she didn’t care. She had her prize.

Sitting down, she admired her haul, until she realized she had another problem on hand.

“...How do you eat this?” She hesitantly tore one of the strange fruits off its stem and bit down on it. A weird, acrid taste filled her mouth, but the insides were extremely sweet and tasty. Evatide’s eyes lit up with joy, as she dug out the innards of the fruit with her fingers, shoveling it into her mouth.

The commotion of several guards racing down the street was ignored. This area was basically undiscovered by anyone else, so she was safe. The guards couldn’t possibly fit through the crack, since even she had a hard time squeezing in.

She tore off another one, breaking it in half and sucking out the sweet innards.

Evatide made a mental note to ‘revisit’ the merchant’s stalls later in the future, in case they have more of this delicious yellow finger fruit. Stuffing the last of the finger fruits into her mouth, she stood up and exhaled a sigh of contentment.

She was full! Definitely a rare occurrence… now all she needed was water. Tossing the skins of the finger fruits to the side, she glanced at the current situation of Market Street.

She saw men and women, young and old, walking down the streets, checking out the various stalls and their items, as if a thief had not just stolen some food moments prior.

‘Safe.’

Slowly shimming her way out, she began running once again, this time, to the slums. As she raced down Market Street with the sun beating down on her pale body, her surroundings began to noticeably change, first with the quality of the buildings, then the roads, and finally, the people.

Once the buildings became shabby and vagrants slept by the side of the roads, did she finally arrive in the Yrin slums. She would rather not stay here for long… it was famously unsafe, under the rule of various slumlords. Many of whom would gladly kidnap her to sell for a couple of gold coins.

Spotting a pair of guards walking down the roads, she quickly dived into another alley. \

‘Shit…’ Now she had to take the detour around. Evatide had no idea where she was now, especially after diving into a random alley that was never on her radar before. She was going in entirely blind.

Nothing in this area was familiar, and with the guards approaching ever closer, the only choice she had was to go further in. Steeling her nerves, she stuck close to the wall and made her way forward. The shadows seemed to loom over her, and chills ran down her spine.

Something was watching her. Tracking her. Except… it felt as if it was extremely far away. Using the shadows as cover, she dove behind another wall, covering her from the main streets of the slums. Here, she was safe. At least for a while.

Evatide had more problems though, especially concerning the mysterious person watching her. Even now, she could feel their eyes observing her every movement.

“I don’t like this one bit…” She scanned her eyes around the dim alcove, locking onto another crack between the buildings. If the years on the streets taught her anything, it was that if something felt off, then it was best to run, no matter the potential rewards. It had kept her alive, so it was definitely working.

And her gut was telling her that this alcove was dangerous. Horribly so.

‘Curses…’ She took a step away from the wall, as she approached the opening. Then another step. And another. Soon, she was right in the middle of the alcove, and right in the middle of her next step, the ground below her crumbled.

“Wha-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH” Evatide screamed as the ground gave way, leading down into a pitch-black void. Bits of dirty brick and dirt flew down alongside her on the spiral to certain doom.

As the light coming from the hole above got further and dimmer, Evatide shed her first tears in over 2 years.

She was going to die.

And her promises to her grandmother would mean nothing.

As the darkness consumed her, she closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable.

But the inevitable did not happen.