Antebellum (Fable III fanfic) (Reaver x Princess)

Chapter 1

Chapter 1
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"We've descended into the chasms of the netherworld, stared death in the face, and waded through things so foul I'd rather not think about them..."

The smell was the first thing that Finch noticed - the heavy stench of mildew and fish that seemed to cling onto every hair in her nose. Instinctively she brought a hand up to clamp her nostrils shut, looking over to her companion.

"...but this is where it gets really ugly."  Walter didn't seem to mind the smell. Though it was terribly unpleasant, the many years of visiting this place had nearly rendered him noseblind. He was also preoccupied with his aching muscles, laden with soreness from the previous fight.

"And buried somewhere beneath it all are the people Logan has left behind." The pair stepped out from the musty tunnel they'd been traveling in for the past few miles, out into the grimy streets of Bowerstone. A bouncy and excited pup followed suit, his maw open as he panted quietly. The dog, Rex, almost looked as though he was smiling when he bounded up next to Finch. She gave him a loving pat on the head.

As they walked on through the city, Finch couldn't help but huddle in on herself. There were many disheveled people there alongside the curbs, holding out their hands and begging for any measly amount of coin that they could get their hands on. Walter reminded the princess that they were short on time, so she reluctantly tucked her coin purse back into her pocket.

The sky was painted a deep, gloomy gray, the threat of an oncoming thunderstorm in the distance. Street lamps glowed a faint orange, their light reflecting off of the wet bricks that made up the buildings of the city. Walter spoke up again.

"You can see for yourself what life outside the castle is like. Poverty. Hunger. Disease,"

In all honesty, Finch had never set foot outside of the castle. She'd heard plenty of stories, sure, the whisperings of violence and hardship - or whatever gossip there was between the guards or the kitchen staff - but she'd never actually seen it. Her eighteen years of life had been spent behind those walls, either soaking in the comforts of royalty or doing her damndest to sneak away from afternoon tea for sword lessons - much to her mothers annoyance.

She would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy being a princess. Who wouldn't? You had everything handed to you, and no one ever questioned it. All her life, though, she knew that there had to be more. As she got older, the voice inside her grew louder - the call to find out just what it was past those all too familiar gates became too much to ignore.

If Walter and Jasper hadn't ushered her out into the world to lead a revolution like they did, then by god, she would've found a way to do it all on her own. That's how desperate she was for something new.

This, however.. this is not what she had expected to find. Bowerstone was a shell of what it'd used to be; a filthy husk if it's former glory. Her memories of it were foggy, though she knew she must've been there before. The only memory Finch could recall was one with her father, when they'd gone rather late in the day to the local book shop in the market.

She could still hear her brother Logan's voice like he was right there beside her. She cringed at the thought, at the fresh memories of him that still burned in her mind. Even after seeing the Dweller camp in the state it was in, the rapidly depleting forests - and how he'd went and shut down the library in Brightwall for seemingly no good reason - Finch couldn't believe that Logan had done all of this of his own volition. Whenever she thought of her brother, the word tyrant was not the first to come to mind.

He was a mischievous child, though he'd grown out of that as he got older. The routine pranks he'd pull on his unsuspecting little sister, the apricot jam-filled shoes turned into short lived glances and quiet reminders that dinner was ready.