Robin's Blood

Page 25, Ch. V

Robin is led through the cave tunnels and brought to an unstable-looking elevator. It was simple; A pulley with a rope and a wood plank platform with broken railings. She climbs on hesitantly, the guards following behind her, their weight pushing the elevator down a little, making Robin shiver nervously. One of the guards released the pulley rope and used his hand to slow the fall, but not by much. Robin feels the plummeting of the platform and locks her feet to the ground, and closes her eyes, bracing for some impact. They begin to slow, halt, and the guard locks the pulley again. The guard released his grip from the rope of the pulley, showing it reddened and burnt from the abrasion of the rope on his palm. Robin quickly steps off the platform and stands still as her legs shake, placing her hand on her chest and catching her breath. Once she feels stable again, she tilts her head up and is in awe at the sight of the market; a massive cavern with stalls and buildings lined on either side of a cleared path, lights of every color emitted from bulbs on strings along with windows and any other light source the market people could use, no natural light crept into the cavern, but crystals shone on the rocky ceiling like stars. All sorts of fae folk and creatures crowded the market path; Robin would hear exchanges and barters being made through the bustle of noise; it reminded her of a busier version of Time Square. Robin was caught in the captivating sight, almost forgetting she was a prisoner there, but quickly shook herself back into the reality of her situation. She twisted her gaze to examine the vast market, looking for a simple escape route to get away from the guards tailing her. Robin spots an alley between a couple of the stalls and smirks. She turned to one of the guards. "I see something I like at that stall," she declares while pointing to the stall next to the alley. The guards follow her to the stall, where she pretends to inspect the items on the counter. Robin slips a necklace off the top of the counter. "Oops," she mumbled. The guards simultaneously bent down to pick up the necklace, crashing their heads into each other with a painful grunt; they both rose, and Robin was gone. Both guards glare at the shopkeeper behind the stall, who shrugs and wags her hand. "Information isn't free, boys," the shopkeeper smirks.