Veiled Love

2

Louis

TW: Violence!

"They took everything. Now I just want them to feel the same pain."

- -

A strangled gasp tore from my throat as a brutal shove slammed me into the brick wall. My boots scraped uselessly against the slick snow masking the grime on the floor. The world throbbed behind my stinging eyes.  A hand, rough and unforgiving, yanked at my collar, the worn leather of my vest and the threadbare gray shirt bunching painfully around my neck. I was nothing. Utterly empty. All I had left was the cold metal of my mother's ring, a ghost of warmth against my chilled skin.

Since I was cast out of the castle, I can only believe the king keeps sending these slum rats to jump me, a desperate attempt to silence me. A bitter chuckle escaped my lips. Predictable. Years I've spent in the shadows, and this is the best they can muster? It stung, the pathetic lengths they'd go to.

"Well, well, well," the man drawled, a cruel smile twisting his lips. "Look who decided to grace us with his presence...Thought you could hide in these slums forever?"

I didn't flinch. "Not hiding. Just surviving." Standing at six foot two, with dark brown hair tied back in a messy half-ponytail and small, uneven curtain bangs framing my face, I wasn't an imposing figure, at least, not until the anger flared in my deep blue eyes.

The man's fist connected with a sickening crunch, a metallic tang flooding my mouth. A curse ripped from my lips before I could clamp it down. His sneer flickered, a flicker of surprise warring with anger in his narrowed eyes. "Think this is a joke?"

"A joke?" A crimson splatter erupted from my mouth, staining the snowy ground. My gaze, icy defiance burning in my deep blue eyes, locked with his. "No. I think it's pathetic. The king, so mighty and powerful, resorting to sending his lapdogs to do his dirty work."

His grip dug into my collar, but I saw it clear as day, a crack in his bravado. "Shut your mouth," he growled, the bite gone from his voice.

"Or what?" I leaned in, my voice a low, dangerous growl. "You'll kill me? Do it. Save me the trouble of living another day in this cursed place."

A loud laugh burst from him, echoing off the men behind. "Oh man," he wheezed, "that's the best joke I've heard all year!" His eyes darted down to the silver glint at my neck, a plain ring, the only thing left of my mom. It was all I had from a life crushed by lies and thrown out. His sneer turned nasty as his hand shot for the ring. "If staying alive meant suffering for you then I would hate to kill you Louis." I didn't resist. The necklace snapped easily in his grip, and he held it up to the dim light, examining it . He scoffed, his voice laced with venom. "You're lucky the king has any interest in you at all."

The ring gleamed dully in his hand, catching the faint glow of the flickering streetlamp. Memories flooded my mind, of my mother's laughter, of better days in the castle before ambition tore everything apart. I clenched my fists, the ache in my jaw pulsing with each heartbeat.

"You have your prize," I said, forcing calm into my voice despite the storm raging inside me. "Now leave me be." I spoke my voice low with warning. His grip tightens on me as he shoves the ring into his pocket and pulls out a pocket knife.

"King wants you quiet, huh?" He snarled, his hand clamping onto my jaw, forcing it open. A choked groan escaped me. He leaned closer, voice dripping with malice, "Maybe I'll just..."