The Place where Dreams Fade (Book Two of the Forgotten Truths Series)

Chapter One: The Order

~Kawasumi~

(A couple of days later...)

  Soft sounds of rain droned off outside. Outside... Far off outside was freedom. Freedom— Something many took for granted.

  Yet, they were inside. Inside and trapped. Inside and not free. Inside and forever desiring that small bit of freedom they once had.

  The throne room was a long room. One, singular red carpet stretched from one side of the wall, to the other. It only broke off in parts, but only to stretch out to other rooms.

  The throne sat at the end of the room. Behind it stood a window, which let one look out on the city. Also the dizzying drop that would lead to certain, fast death.

  Sometimes, it was easy to wish for that fast death. It was hard to know how much longer you would live here. Before you were cast out and tortured.

  However, things weren't horribly miserable. Only a very good amount of miserable. Sort of manageable.

  Days usually passed slowly. The chatter of servants; guards, or really any worker helped these days to pass by. Then, now and then, when life got too boring, her majesty would condemn two people to fight to the death in a fitting name called the "Blood Arena."

  All workers in her castle were demanded to watch this blood bath take place. The two opponents were given blades that would spill the most blood. After all, the more blood spilled, the more entertaining the fight would be.

   Meetings passed, life happened, and in the end, you'd just end up here. Well, maybe in the arena.

  "Kawasumi." Her majesty's voice echoed down the hall. All of the chatter stopped.

  "Go check on Ji-ho, will you?" She added in a much friendlier tone.

  At once, Kawasumi kneeled down.

  "As you wish, your majesty." She said formerly. Then, Kawasumi stood up again. She turned, and left the room.

~*~

  Suddenly, a blur of dark hair wizzed by. It was followed by a crash. Then an 'Oh no!'

  Pieces of a plate were scattered around the room. A pineapple and an apple, which were most likely supposed to be on the ruined plate, were rolled up next to each other.

  A girl immediately kneeled down on the floor. It was amazing that shards of the plate weren't getting impaled into her legs. Her hands scurried across the ground to pick up the shards.

  A wave of dark hair shrouded her face. However, this girl was easily recognizable by the strands of blue and purple streaks. They dashed around her thick swarm of hair.

  Hidden.

  Another person, one that was also a servant, walked up to Hidden. He held a pen in his hand.

  He bent down to help Hidden, but then, the pen slipped from his hand, and impaled the pineapple and apple.

  "Are you okay?" He asked.

  "Oh— Uh, great!!" Hidden popped her hands on her hips and gave the servant a grin.

  In the blink of an eye, Kawasumi tapped the male servant's shoulder.

  "It's illegal to help others," She scowled at him, then continued, "It's a sign of being weak."

"Oh— I'm sorry!" He apologized at once.

  He lifted his head. The servant gave her a full-on view of his face.

  Hidden gave him a small glance as if to say "sorry." She shook her head, and let her eyes trail to the ground.

  It was obvious that she felt... Bad?

  "Who even are you?" Kawasumi asked.

  She couldn't recognize him. Kawasumi had seen people with a similar shade of white hair before. Never someone with the blue-grey eyes around the palace.

  "My name is Ken'ichi! I am new here..." Ken'ichi's voice trailed off, "I'm still terribly sorry, I promise to remember next time."

  "I'll help him!" Hidden added quickly, and then faced him and added a bit more in a solid tone, "I'll help you."

  "Did you just hear me a few seconds ago?" Kawasumi shot Hidden a glare.

  "You're not allowed to help others. You of all people should know that, Hidden."

  "Oh... Sorry." Hidden mumbled. Although, it wasn't all that believable.

  "I guess I forgot." She laughed slightly. "Maybe I didn't hear. Bad ears, you know,"

  A few moments of nothing but silence passed. It was that awkward type of silence. The type that lingered in the air like a weight. It pressured you to say something, but all of the words seemed to fly out if your mind.

  Then, Hidden spoke up: "Besides all of that, why don't we look at the pen? I mean, how could an apple, a pineapple, and a pen all have formed like that?"

  She added the last bit in a laugh. "Rustic would be going crazy over this right now,"

  "It's a pineapple apple pen!" Ken'ichi exclaimed with a smile.

  She began to laugh too. Then, those eyes glued themselves back onto Kawasumi. Her cheerful tone immediately dropped. Hidden mumbled something under her breath to herself.

  Ken'ichi bent down. Curiosity had taken over him. He tried to see if he could take the pen out, but it didn't budge.

  "Have as much fun as you want, but remember, no one is going to help you when you're in the arena."

  "Even if you are the kindest person in the world, no one will bother to lift a finger for you." Kawasumi warned Ken'ichi.

A guy like him was most likely going to land himself in the arena.

  "Please don't talk about the arena." Hidden mumbled.

  A look of anxiety washed over it. Anxiety if it had effected everyone. Yet, she was still a child. More mature than Rustic and Wisp at that age, but still a child.

  Kawasumi ignored Hidden. In a low tone she whispered, "Remember that, Ken'ichi."

  Ken'ichi nodded, though his eyes glittered with confusion.

  "It's something bad. Something really bad." Hidden whispered to him.

  She tried to be secretive as she told him. Yet, her "whisper" was quite loud. More like normal speech that a whisper.

  Ken'ichi nodded once again. Still, he didn't really understand it. He probably wouldn't understand it until he had seen it.

  "I'll tell you about it later; if you still want to know. You'll eventually experience it too, though." Hidden whispered quite loudly. She always had bad ears.

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First chapter!!

Whatcha think??

-eChO

Ps: these things aren't gonna show up that much in this book

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