The Red Cloak Society

Chapter 1

James Chauncy

"It's a beautiful day for a hunt isn't it brother?" Horatio said, sitting atop the stone steps to the Keep. He was a brute, 6 feet of pure muscle and a deep rooted hatred for the king which probably made him one of the deadliest in the group; and despite his street smarts, he lacked the most common sense.

"Going out right now would be suicide, and I prefer my head connected to my shoulders" the boy said standing up. He looked up at the sky, it was a beautiful blue paralleled with wispy white clouds. The sun kissed his tawny skin and he loosed a smile at a group of passing ladies. They giggled behind their hands and shuffled along the cobblestone sidewalk.

"Besides, didn't you have enough bloodshed last night?" he asked, turning to Horatio, his brother in arms, and his family.

"Well Sir James if you weren't bedding women you could have enjoyed some with me"

Indeed he did spend the better part of the night bedding noble women, he actually did it while his brother slaughtered their husbands. He was doing them a service, giving them pleasure to their husband's pain, for the noble women did not pick their partner. Especially cruel men like Lord Percy and Lord Vane. They had poured many of their gold coins into the slaving posts in Sardieta, so Horatio and James had paid a debt to the Lords while their other brothers freed the slaves. This is what the Red Cloak Society did, resist and repay, repay and resist. The nobles whisper stories to their children about them, scaring the kids into obedience for if they disobeyed, the Reds would surely get them. They spread tales about the group of Wielders, turned assassins that held a desperate grudge against their King. According to the people, wielders were the magical beings of the past that were determined to harm the order of the world for power. However, wielders have been slain and persecuted for years due to the King's vendetta. The King desperately attempted to end the bloodlines of each wielder, from Changelings to Fae. He made these wielders seem like a heartless cruel enemy, but the Reds didn't harm children nor women; they simply dealt with the men of society. Weeding out the cruel ones and slaughtering them on the spot. No evil man survived an encounter with them.

"You have your delights and I have mine Hoho" Horatio lunged at James and he effortlessly dodged it with a smile. He knew how much Horatio hated that name.

If he was being honest, James didn't care much for the killing, he had one debt to settle and he had to exercise a lot more patience to get to it. He turned his attention to the castle standing in the distance.

"The princess's birthday huh, it appears the King finally wants to show her off."Horatio said standing from the steps.

"I didn't know you were so interested in the King and his daughter." James continued looking out at the busy pathway.

"You don't wonder why the King kept her so tightly under wraps? He didn't even let her mingle with other ladies her age this whole time."

"You seem to be spending your time indulging in gossip. Is Gregor not giving you enough work?" James squinted at the sun blaring in his eyes. He held up a hand, calloused by years of swordsmanship, to block it from hindering his sight.

"I listen to gossip only when it's related to work. I heard the festivities would be teeming with nobles."

"And guardsmen" James said nonchalantly "think with your head, not your blade" he flashed a devious smile at his brother.

"Besides the market should be booming with business," pulling the hood of his velvet cloak over his head, he sauntered onto the walk "let's make old man Tilly red with fury"

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Ciella Devereux

The streets of the market were loud today, everyone celebrating the princess's 18th birthday. The girl had never been seen outside the palace, the King even denying the girl a royal portrait. The only known thing about the princess is that she had the Royal golden eyes that had run in the family of Solista's royals since its creation. Now that she was of age, commoners and aristocracy alike brimmed with anticipation for her first Royal appearance. Merchants from all different nations tried to push their products to everyone. Violets to symbolize the princess's favorite color, apple tarts for the princess's favorite dessert, and chocolates...so many chocolates. A girl wandered through the market sniffing the smells and savoring them. The girl tentatively navigated the market, walking carefully around the group of common folk standing atop a box, preaching vehemently against the use of magi, the heart of all wielders. She stopped at a cart, where they were claiming to sell the best chocolates in all of the nations. She surveyed them, her light brown eyes lightly skimming each one before pointing.

"I want that one" she said pointing to a round one, sprinkled in toffee colored nuts. The merchant smiled, his teeth yellow and brittle.

"That is not a cheap one my lady,"he said. Fighting the urge to roll her eyes she dropped a heavy silver coin in his hand. More than enough to pay for all the chocolates on his stand. His eyes gleamed and he closed his hand around it quickly, as if he feared she would reclaim it.

"I want all the chocolates like that one" She said, pulling out a red parcel. The slimy old man obliged, dropping them in there.

"Thank yo..." Her words were cut off from a ruckus on the other side of the market. There was an old stout man, his cheeks burning red as he yelled.

"You boys give me back my apples!"

Ciella frowned as she saw two men in dark cloaks running around, throwing an apple back and forth. Huffing she stormed over to the stand where she caught the apple in mid air.

"Now that is no way to treat the hard working citizens of Solista" She said to the tall muscular one. He looked no more than 22 and his stance screamed trouble maker. However his friend...his friend was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. He was lean but his muscles suited him, unlike his friend who she could only describe as a gigantic loaf. He sauntered over to Ciella and flashed a smile at her that made her heart leap up in her throat. His figure towered over her, and as she looked up into deep pools of chocolate brown she had to remind herself to breathe.

"Well I wouldn't expect a pretty lady like you to ever defend a skamelar like old man Tilly" he said, crossing his arms in front of her. By the gods he was handsome, up close she could admire his unmarked smooth almond skin, a color that complimented the chocolate brown of his eyes. But there would be no way, pretty face or not, she would let him bother the old man.

"I wouldn't have to if rats like you kept your sticky paws to themselves" She said defiantly, staring him square in the eye "So why don't you take your friend and play elsewhere"

The other man gave her a nasty grin and took a step closer.

"Come with me and I'll show you the games we can play"

"I rather not play with brutes, all you're good for is smashing things and I'd rather have a conversation that goes further than your mind can take you" She said, her chin tilting upward. The guy in front of her chuckled, holding a hand out to stop the guy from moving any closer.

"C'mon Horatio, the old man has suffered enough for the day" the man dug in his cloak and pulled out a coin pressing it into her hand. "And an apple on me"

He winked at her before clapping his friend on the shoulder and moving with grace and ease into the crowd, both vanishing before her eyes. Ciella turned to the man and dropped the coin on his stand, giving him a polite curtsy, her adorned braids falling slightly in her face, before making her way to the carriage waiting in the shadows. The birthday festivities surely couldn't start without the princess.