Dark Light

Chapter 2: Scars

Year 1869

Dark grey clouds populated the sky, but despite the very obvious fact that a heavy downpour was about to come and all the merchants in the city struggled to sell one or two last things before taking down their tents, one lone girl kept walking about without a hint of worry for the sky’s angry face. The villagers would describe the look on her face as a distressed one, but the reason behind that wasn’t the weather.

The brunette walked fast, her long hair tied in a ragged piece of fabric, looking into every alley in the stone city, crossing into every new street, occasionally talking to people to try and get the information she needed but no one could help her. She did not like the way everyone would bow down in her presence and speak to her as if she were some sort of deity, but right now she had no time no keep reminding people they did not need to do that. She was in such a hurry that she even brushed off one of the things that annoyed her the most.

“Oh the Princess!” people would say in shock when she approached them, and then proceed to bow and mumble on until she cut them to ask one simple question. All she wanted was to know where her friend was.

But no one seemed to have seen her that day, which was odd to say the least. Rina was a common figure in the city; she was always running around with that big smile on her face, helping people around with their things when she thought they needed it. Rina was the kind of girl who stopped to help anyone, and she really loved that about her friend, but now the worst thoughts were seeping into her head… what if Rina stopped to help the wrong person this time. As much as she didn’t want to think of terrible things happening to her friend, there wasn’t a decent explanation why the girl would just disappear.

The last time she had seen Rina was two days ago. She got herself grounded and couldn’t get out of the castle, so she didn’t get her daily hours with her best friend. Technically, she was still grounded… but when Rina failed to sneak into the castle to see her like she would usually do… then she got worried and sneaked out.

- Princess Haruna! - she was shocked to hear someone shouting her name like that, and when she turned around in the busy street, just like she feared she saw one of the knights coming in her direction. He took off his helmet and lowered his shiny lance, looking down at her in his heavy silvery armor with an eyebrow raised in suspicion - Shouldn’t you be in the castle, your highness?

Haruna started to sweat. Jet-black hair and beard, a small scar right under his left eye. That was Takao, one of her father’s trusty men. The king’s trusty men would know she was supposed to be grounded in the castle, since her father was very keen on her antics.

- And, I beg your pardon since you look beautiful as always, but shouldn’t you be… Dressed more appropriately… for a princess?

Now Haruna puffed her cheeks in anger, and saw the amused smile that showed on Takao’s face. As always, he was just messing with her.

People would expect the princess to walk around like a delicate flower in a shiny marvelous dress, accompanied by guards or something. But that was the exact opposite of Haruna: she was usually seen in town dressed in the soldiers’ training garb that she liked so much, blood-red and black; no guards to be seen around her, but a skinny girl who liked to run around barefoot, and take her to see dragons.