Dark Hearts

Chapter 2

A/N: The man himself: Cade.

The next morning came too soon for Cade's liking and he briefly considered uttering a hateful curse to the fairy that created the ghastly sky and luminescent sun. It had been the disconfigured rays of sunlight peeking in through the cracks of boarded up wood against the window that prodded the boy out of his slumber. Multiple thin boards had been nailed to the window in order to keep the dim rays of light completely out of his tiny room but clearly that proved to be inefficient. Unfortunately it had been poor planning on his part to keep the mat of hay right beneath the missing wood square so he had no one to blame but himself.
Groaning quietly to the empty room he rose to his feet, making sure to bend backwards as far as he could to create the satisfying pops in his back and neck. Some of the flattened hay managed to end up out of the thin shape and Cade had to kick the stray pieces so they rested atop the bed, only to be knocked off again the next night. With a quick look to the small pile of clothes in the corner of the room he decided that the ones currently covering his figure would be cleaner than the others laying in a heap a couple feet away. He wondered briefly if his stench had begun to linger around him like an aura or if it remained unnoticeable to the regular nose.
Last night's events began to slip into the freshest area of his mind when he decided that the outside world deserved some attention on this new morning. He remembered the topics of interest that the farmers spoke about, the way they mentioned the royal families with such distaste a bystander would've thought the devil had taken a live form. At the time it seemed too obscene to consider how people could preach such things but then Cade remembered that the world did not run on sugar and pixie dust. The brawl between two beings of different descendant was vividly painted in his memory, each scene seemed to have been stretched out and slowed so that every detail could be pointed out with precision. In the few years that he had managed the tavern with Buck, Cade could not remember a time when an outsider attacked a human. It was more than forbidden in this section of the land for any creature to harm a human, a death sentence for sure. Yet it seemed that the rules of this land were no longer etched in stone.
Cade wondered what the farmers had meant when they mentioned that riots had occured in the border villages and how often they had transpired. A couple times when the traders from other villages had stopped at the tavern before their journey home Cade heard the whispers of violent outbreaks between the visiting soldiers and locals, but the bartender merely assumed that it was because of the ridiculous rules that had been enacted upon the poor towns. Now it seems that they were connected to a rebellion that lurked around the corner until its ideal time. Strange, the situation, considering the creatures of the Dark Forest never behaved when it came to working with mortals. Books larger than Cade's head existed detailing the gruesome interactions of humans and the creatures from the other side throughout history: bloodbaths, massacres, curses, and other methods of destruction. For a proposed revolution, desperation beyond measure would be required. Opting to question the confused men at tonight's drink fest, Cade momentarily let the thoughts slip from his mind.
The floorboards creaked whenever Cade walked upon them and if any noise seeped through the cracks then Buck would shout in frustration so the boy stepped on his toes, making sure to avoid the slabs of wood he knew screamed underneath added weight. Carefully, Cade made his way down to the first floor where the stench of leftover mead smacked his face with brutal force. A cool breeze snuck through the cracks of the rundown door and goosebumps erupted on his forearms where the sleeves of his tunic were rolled up. The sound of Buck's snores drifted through the backroom and brought some life to the empty tavern.
The tavern was much different in the hours of morning than prime time at night, much more peaceful. A heavy silence hung in the air, a stark contrast to the incessant shouting of the raging nights where quiet was a word lost to the imagination of illiterate men. Most of the room was cast in a gloomy shadow from the lack of blazing lanterns that the guests brought. Cade considered lighting one of the few that hung from rusted steel hooks implanted on the wall but decided that he would wait until the first guest came through the door later in the evening. Five tables were arranged throughout the room with a small open strip from the entrance to the bar leading to the counter for those that found happiness in solitude. Each wobbly table made by the graying craftsman came accompanied with six chairs, most of which had at least one of their wooden appendages hastily nailed back on after being used as a weapon in a fight. Multiple barrels as large as Cade's lower body were stacked behind the bar each with a removable lid so that the young barkeep could dunk the mugs and remove them full of mead. Underneath the thin counter the boy made sure to hide a bag of stolen coins in case the owner and himself found themselves in a threatening argument. He hated the thought that if there were to be a misunderstanding then he would just run but it was what he knew best.
Cade found himself back behind the counter, simply leaning on the slabs of wood with his head in the palms of his hands as he examined the room, taking account to every subtle scratch in the wood and spec of dirt. He enjoyed observing the world around him, making sure to recognize even the tiniest of details about the most disregarded objects; it made him feel as if he had a purpose in a world full of empty promises and failed dreams. An exhilarated feeling would overtake his body when he noticed a detail that no one else had considered to account in the description of an object as a whole. He never told anyone about his strange obsession in fear that the people he despised living around would judge him, even though in reality their opinions meant nothing more to him than the dirt on the underside of his boots.
Imagining the blurry faces of men who visited one too many times and those who brushed through quickly like the breeze of wind drifted through his mind as he stared at the door they entered. When the picture of a being that had caused him misfortune once or twice in their brief exchanges had the image burning with a crimson tint and a painful warmth spread from the tips of fingers into his forehead. But then there were the figures of people that interested him or that he could actually stand to  extend more than a quick courteous greeting to that soothed the angered thoughts, releasing his fingers from the grip they had on each other. The stinging pain in his palms had not registered as pain until the stiff clench of his fingers went loose and his nerves resumed their duty. A quick flash of the cloaked figure from the previous night brushed through his thoughts until he craved the image and all that filled his vision was the swirled pattern of silk woven into the fabric covering a mysterious individual.
Cade wasn't sure what it was about the stranger that constantly brought his mind to the outsider (or he assumed) that hunched over the wobbly counter of a disgusting tavern in a suspicious village but he could not help the attraction his thoughts provided. Maybe it was the way that the slumped shoulders underneath clumps of fabric seemed to have been thrust downward in a purposeful slouch, as if the body of the person had been trained religiously to remain straight without a single curve. Or it could have been the fact that every article of clothing that dressed the figure was far too large for their figure, as if the physique was meant to be kept a secret to the eyes that found themselves prying as a second nature. Possibly, it was the fact that when the intoxicated farmer brought up the slaughter of the royals the grip around the steel mug had increased until not even a finx could escape through the tiny gaps of finger separation that existed. But Cade knew for a fact that it was the way the figure vanished into thin air the second a brawl broke out between the two beings without a trace or inference that they had ever entered through the broken door. The fight was a perfect opportunity for someone who did not want to be seen to slip away into darkness without detection, and the mug was left completely untouched without a single one of the blurry visioned customers catching sight of the stranger. It had been such a rush of people from the moment the first swing was thrown until only the regular townspeople were left lingering in stublimbing clumps around the room that Cade never thought twice about searching for the stranger.
Abruptly, Cade was pulled from his thoughts by the sharp knocking of a bony knuckle against the rattling door that was begging for a burly man to brush against it too roughly so it could finally break free from its rusty hinges. Muttering softly under his breath about how it was not even an hour past noon, Cade made his way to the door, fully prepared to lash out at the soul who interrupted his dreaming. His footsteps were quiet on the cobblestone floor, barely making a sound against the stiff hay strewn across the ground. The handle felt as if it were about to fall of of the screws keeping it semi-sturdy against the door as Cade gripped the gritty copper in his hand. All it took was a quick tug on his end to throw open the door, a cool wind brushing his face as a greeting to the darkened sky.
The decrease in light from near an hour ago would have startled Cade more if the moody stranger from last night was not standing sullenly in the front of him. In a similar way to last night, the hood was drawn up over their head covering any piece of facial feature that could be used as identification. The same gloves were covering the figure's hands but only the fingertips could be seen from underneath the lengthy fabric that hid the clothing from view as well. Cade could barely make out that the stranger's hands were folded on top of each other, daintily, the way a proper person would rest them on their knees for tea time. A light shadow drifted down the front of the stranger's face and dimmed the color of the cream tunic peaking out at the neck line, where the embroidered fabric did not cover. Something caught the brief light drifting between the gaps of clouds and glinted in his eyes; a small broach hooked the cloak together at the neck, made of a shiny material that he didn't notice last night. Cade ventured a glance to the ground to fully examine to fully examine the physique of the stranger that had been protected by the lack of light from the previous night. A sly smirk threatened to make an appearance on the boy's face as the wheels in his mind slotted together smoothly, but he kept his features in control knowing that freelance emotions were dangerous in any part of the world.
"Bar's closed. We're not open till sundown," He uttered out bitterly, leaning against the broken door with nonchalance. Trying his best to remain inconspicuous to the hidden face, he forced a slight glare on his face, bringing his eyebrows down and keeping his lips sealed tightly. Cade may not have been educated through textbooks and hired professionals that forced young children into tight desks for the entirety of a good day but he did, in a sense, have knowledge that proved to be useful. Fight to stay alive, even if it means destroying someone else's chance to.
The stranger cleared their throat, then hesitated for a moment as if collecting their thoughts in order to follow a strict guideline set to their life. A cool breeze whipped through the air sending the bottom of the stranger's cloak wrapping around their small calves and blew the stray strands of Cade's air into a knot. "I don't need a drink. I am in need of assistance." The voice came out low, but it was unnatural, strained. Had he not known the difference, the boy would have thought that it was merely a lanky juvenile that struggled to fit in with his friends that already gained their voice tuning.
Assistance did not come willingly in this village; it was bought or forced, but almost never given blindly. The prospect of gaining a sum of money for a task that could easily be forged crossed Cade's mind but he disregarded the idea until a more elaborate description was given. "Sorry but you aren't going to find that here either, unless you got a pretty sack of poils underneath that cloak of yours. If not, I suggest you scram. Looks like a storm is coming." A tiny slip of his lips let a coy smirk appear on his face at the show he was performing. He always loved messing people's minds.
With a quick turn of their head, the stranger took note of the dark clouds clumping together in a nasty combination, looming over the village like a promise; a promise for darkness to follow. Frigid winds blew down the cobblestone streets, swishing the hanging signs of some establishments back and forth, and driving the demonic little children with disgusting yellow teeth inside to their frail, angry-looking mothers. A haze of precipitation hung in the air and Cade could practically feel the drops of water that waited for the most inconvenient time to drown the world. Branches of the nearby dead trees knocked against each, some falling to the stale ground in a pile of ashen wood. Only darkness drifted beyond the border, taking shapes of monstrous creatures before melting away to reveal it was a trick of the eye.
"That storm is exactly why I need help."
"What? That- that doesn't even make any sense. Look, if you're searching for a weather reader you're at the wrong rundown building." How could he be so pathetic, thinking that this stranger would actually propose a feasible offer that could get him out of this town. This was probably just another loon desperate for the attention they weren't receiving in another town. Cade continued to scold himself in his head, giving a brutal glare to the stranger before returning to the tavern door. Before he could rip the wood from its hinges in anger a grip encased his forearm and tugged him slightly.
"No, the person I am searching for goes unnoticed by most others but proves to be extremely valuable." Cade paused, holding the rusty handle in his palm with a loose grip, wordlessly acknowledging the fact that he was still listening to the stranger's words. Their practiced voice had begun to fade and cracks appeared in fragments of their sentences, leading to a series of strange throat noises to fix the error. "They also happen to own this." A moment of quiet shuffling occurred before Cade bothered to turn around with annoyance. How was he supposed to know an advantageous person by some compact object.
Yet when his eyes landed on the easily concealable item gripped tightly in the gloves of the foreigner the boy was rendered speechless. He had never wished so much to have the ability of foresight, then he would not be stuck in the current predicament of surprise. Cade despises surprises.
Swallowing quickly, careful not to let the collecting saliva make a bulging gorge against the skin of his throat, Cade kept a blank, unamused face. "Is that supposed to mean something to me? A book? Half of the people in this bloody town don't even know how to spell their own names let alone read. Find something worth my time then maybe we'll talk." This time, he didn't bother to look back when the feel of smooth leather brushed the bare skin of his forearm, instead choosing to disregard the gaping stranger in a game of chase. He knew that the moment the wood slab shut in the foreigner's face he would indirectly be involving himself in whatever task they had been determined to achieve. Right now his only concern was how in Hades a paltry traveler managed to pilfer his possession when he himself was the best thief he had ever met. Not even the most nimble of fingers had been able to snatch an object from his pockets.
It disturbed him to the point of unease that someone was able to reach into his pockets without knowledge but time to dwell on the matter was not given when the door to the tavern burst open. On a less relevant viewpoint, he understood the emotions of those he had previously stolen from.
"Well that was awfully quick. Manage to find something relevant to your conversation in less than two minutes. What did you do, walk around the building once?" Cade was being bitter and he knew it, but aggravation was all he felt at the sight of the stranger and his possession. Maybe if he could distract the person long enough and get within range he could sneakily obtain what was rightfully his.
"I do not take well to offense so I suggest you keep quiet. Now give me what I want." Irritation bled through the cracks of their voice and displayed itself for Cade to see. A weakness that he planned to jab with the sharpest tool he could find.
"You know, you never did say exactly what it is you want and with that attitude of yours, I am very inclined not to give it to you at all. Rudeness will get you nowhere, did mummy and daddy not teach you that?" All he wanted was his book back. They could make this situation much easier on the both of them if he could just receive his belonging back.
"Clearly yours never did," The stranger sneered back, the concealment of disguise and voice altering broke until almost the entire interior had been brought from the shadows. Now Cade just had to wait for the right moment to stab the spot of exposed flesh with the tip of his knowledge.
"Now that was not very polite, was it, Princess." The recoil by the hooded figure supplied enough satisfaction to know that once again Cade proved to be correct. Moving forward with agility like a predator stalking its prey, Cade leaned over the petite figure of the concealed princess, gazing down at the shadow where her face lay. "Ah, hit a nerve, have I? That is what happens when you mess with a street rat. You expect a mouse but recoil when you see the face of an ugly sewer rodent."
    The princess remained silent, possibly taking in the knowledge that someone had discovered her secret and wondering how to weasel out of the confrontation. Cade could not describe the feeling pumping through his veins at the fact that he had stepped upon a pedestal of superiority. To make this situation more exhilarating for the neglected boy, he managed to snag the leather bound notebook from the clutches of the princess in front of him, completely unnoticed. A corner of his mouth fluttered upwards in a twitch, an uncontrollable urge to show the satisfaction of finally gaining the upper hand.
"H-how, how did you know?" She had given up completely on attempting to disguise every piece of her from the boy who knew more than he appeared. "I-I was so careful. Nobody knew, nobody!"
Cade, eager to gloat to a girl who thought too highly of herself, leaned in closer, until his nose was barely outside of the confines of her dark hood and his breath caressed her face. "Guess you are not as smart you think you are,"  He hesitated for a moment, attempting to reel in as much emphasis as he could. "Sucks to be treated like trash, does it not." Quickly, before she could begin to react or pose an argument, Cade reached up and pulled the hood from her head to reveal the woman beneath.
Pinocchio would become the boy's best friend if he heard the thoughts running through Cade's mind about the girl before him. He began desperately trying to convince himself that she was not attractive in the slightest, forcing every thought of her absent flaws out of his mind. Locks of curly, ebony colored hair peaked out of the hood, cut just below her shoulders, a obscure color that would make the night growl in jealousy. Her skin was fair with a clean shine to it, as white as the few instances of snow he had seen. Irises of cerulean blue lay stark against the pale white of her eyes. Her lips were small, the bottom one slightly larger that made her look as if she was constantly pouting or confused, and stained a ruby color, almost like a rose. The shape of her face could be described as that of an oval, at least that was what Cade recalled from a thin book he once read, with cheeks that did not reveal the bones beneath but did not hide them with layers of skin. From what he could tell, a slender figure hid within the confines of her cloak, but Cade knew better than to think of her as weak. She was truly a sight to behold.
"There she is. Princess Ivory." Cade whispered, before stepping away from the stunned girl, her lips parted slightly as she stared up at him in wonderment. The action only accentuated the bright crimson color of her lips and drew more attention to the blatant allure of her face. Now he knew why she wore that bloody cloak.
"You never did explain how you managed to piece together my identity. I thought I was pretty inconspicuous to the normal eye," She questioned, looking at his retreating figure with interest, wondering how a simple tavern boy was able to see past her disguise when no one else had. Cade argued with himself on whether or not to explain the reasoning behind his deduction, especially with a girl who was not only a royal but had also searched for him in particular. It only bothered him more that he did not know why she had tried to find him in the first place. Too many questions and not enough answers.
"And you never explained why you were looking for me. I think it's only fair that you explain yourself first. Especially how you accomplished getting from the Red Kingdom to a border town without anyone realizing you and what you are doing out. Or we could continue with our lives like this never happened, which is the preferred choice, actually," He muttered the last bit, mostly because the glint in her eyes let him know that she had no intention of erasing the previous events from her subconscious. For some reason the recollection that quicksand only drowns a person quicker if they struggle squeezed through the cracks of his locked mind.
"Fine, if you must be so nosy." Cade sent her a vicious glare to which she clinched briefly before erasing any trace of emotion from her face. "To be honest I never meant to be out here, especially during times like these but I had a little bit of... assistance in leaving the kingdom. My parents have been talking about the rebellions for a long time, longer than they have been happening."
"And you just felt compelled to take matters into your own hands because your parents are "heros"?" Cade hated the commonality that ran through the blood of the royals and all those praised saviors; they could never back away from a fight, even if it wasn't there's to fight. The more this girl talked, the more he wanted to kick her out and report her to the lightweight guard that watched the village entrance.
"You wanted to hear the story, so would you be quiet and listen?" She hissed, glaring at him with obvious distaste. Even she knew how ridiculous it sounded when the words danced in the air instead of inside her head. "As I was saying, the rebellions perked my interest and I found myself scraping for any knowledge I could about the other side. That is where my motivator came in and told me about a man who knew everything and anything about the creatures from the other side and I knew that he would be able to understand exactly what is happening. After that it was relatively simple to get out of the kingdom and begin my search for the man with the journal about people none of us understand. As for my parents, they think I'm visiting a friend in the Glass Kingdom. There, that is my story. Are you satisfied?" The princess finished with a grand flourish of her hands dramatically landing on her hips, tilting her head in annoyance. There were still so many questions that filled Cade's mind and rested on his tongue until the command was thought and they could attack the open air.
"Two more questions and then I will decide whether you are worth my time or whether you have wasted it. First, what is your goal here? To try and stop all the rebellions because trust me, it is going to be a lot more difficult than just commanding them to stop." It had been floating around his thought since she mentioned the uprisings, and drove the entirety of the conversation between the two. News was scarce to the ears of the townspeople, save for the travelers that breezed down the streets, so anything occurring in the kingdoms became backwater for those in the border towns. Cade had only heard about the rebellions the previous night but clearly more lay beneath the surface.
The girl sighed, her positive attitude faltering, leaving her body in a slump of misleading promises. "My goal is to try and understand what has caused all this violence, this... anger. I want to help my parents and the other royals solve this problem that these creatures are causing. I do not want to end up leading a kingdom that is overrun with riots in the streets and more dead bodies than live ones. And I need your help to fix this." Her voice strained at the end, climbing into a plead that reached Cade's ears with low volume. Too many variables in this situation were urging him to ignore the requests of the princess, even if it meant treason to the highest degree, because it was merely an escapade for the attention of a fourth generation heroine trying to prove herself worthy to the throne.
He scoffed at her words and rolled his eyes quickly. Nobody had needed his assistance before, what made now any different. "That leads me to my second question then, how did you manage to steal this from my pocket and how in Hades did you find out that I have it?" Cade lifted the thin leather bound book up with his left hand. The pages had become stained overtime and the writing inside lost the vibrant color of the ink showing off the wear it gained over the years of its existence. A few pages had become lost to circumstance over time and some gained a messy scrawl by its current owner. Cade was well aware of the value of the small journal and had made sure to keep it hidden from sight the moment his young mind discovered its worth.
The princess gasped quietly and began to frantically check her pockets as if the small notebook held in his hands was an illusion and the original still remained in her possession. After realizing the boy had regained his belonging she huffed and pursed her lips, bothered at the fact that she lost her leverage. "It took awhile a first to even find out that you existed and unfortunately when I found that out, your age or gender coincidentally were left out. Thankfully though, I was provided with the village where you lived. After that it became relatively simple. All I had to do was ask around for anyone that could write and, well, you happened to be the only one. You seemed pretty occupied last night and the low light became the perfect opportunity to take your little book, and that leads us to where we are now."
She had a hopeful look on her face that made her eyes glisten and the ruby of her lips pounce at unsuspecting onlookers. The world had bountiful gifts to offer and here she was practically forcing it into his hands, yet his mind pulled on the restraints anchoring his desires to reality. He would be walking blindly into a dark room hoping that a lantern would appear out of nowhere. At some point the line between possibilities and dreams would have to be drawn. The only question would be when.
"Well I did not appreciate your little stunt last night, just so you are aware. Especially the rudeness. Completely uncalled for." At this point, Cade was attempting anything he could think of to stall the answer that he knew she desired. For a boy with nothing to lose he was acting as if he would be leaving behind everything substantial in life. All his life he dreamed of exploring the world outside of the slummy towns he drifted through yet when the opportunity presented itself he hesitated.
"I do apologize for that but the setting and the fact that I am not accustomed to this life were not sitting well with me last night. Those people were barbaric. Do you have to deal with them every night?" Cade was taken aback at the fact that she sounded completely sincere and worried about the fact that a boy his age was constantly surrounded by men of that caliber. It made his mind reel in confusion and a rude comeback almost slipped out but he refrained himself. This entire encounter made everything seem as if it was not truly real, that it was all a fabrication of his exhausted brain and he had trouble distinguishing what was false or not.
"Depends. Some nights are worse than others but it is nothing that I can not handle. You learn alot when you have been around as long as I have," Cade muttered, recalling all the burdens he had 'learned' over the years.
"Oh. Well I am terribly sorry that people are like that. I could not imagine what living like that would be like," The princess sounded upset, like the situation she found the young boy in actually caused turmoil within her. She tilted her head slightly, staring at him with a new pair of eyes that made Cade want to turn away and shield himself.
"Yeah well that tends to be common when you spend your whole life in a castle." A feeling of bitterness began to overtake him and he could feel the tips of his ears burning with heat, the sting travelling throughout his body. Deciding not to let the girl experience his dangerous anger, he turned away from her and walked behind the bar, pretending to busy himself with cleaning up the spotless counter.
For a brief moment he ducked beneath the counter to check and make sure his leather pouch remained on the nail hammered into the wood, an instinctual plan forming. When he popped up from beneath the table he found the princess staring intently at him, standing in front of the same stool as the night before. Cade wondered if all the royals felt this comfortable in places they had never dared tread or if this was a genetic trait passed on to one of the entire bloodlines. Her posture returned to its stick position and he briefly thought that pretending to blend in with people below her status had been as difficult as she made it out to be. If he had to pretend to possess royal blood, even if for only a few hours, he wouldn't be able to do it; he would be too tempted to slit his own throat.
Cade leaned against the table with his forearms and narrowed his eyes at her. "Are you actually going to order something this time or sit there mysteriously like last night?"
A slight twitch of her lips caught his eye. Did he say something funny? "Depends. What do you want me to do?"
"It does not matter what I want you to do, you will not do it anyways."
"How do you suppose that?" He could tell she was slightly offended, a bite coming out in her voice.
"For one, you are a royal. Secondly, you are extremely stubborn, I can see it. You will fight until your last breath to get your way and even then you will still go down believing that you are correct in your beliefs. Tell me that I am wrong." It felt good to challenge a princess, to have something over her that she could not match. All she could do was stare, dumbfounded, at the boy in front of her, trying not to let her mouth tape open too much. The sight was enough to prove that he had indeed been correct and that provided enough satisfaction.
Quietly, the girl slipped into the bar stool and propped her head on the palm of one hand in defeat. "One flagon," She muttered, avoiding eye contact for as long as possible. A smug smirk painted its way onto Cade's lips and he desired to chuckle with gloat but found a smidge of kindness within him not to. "Stop finding this funny." He couldn't hold back the chuckle that time.
"I will stop finding it funny when I am proven wrong, princess. Until then you will just have to deal with me the way that I am." Cade leaned back against the wall behind him with his arms across his chest and his heels crossed, watching as the proper girl frowned at the murky liquid bubbling inside the mug. She brought the steel rim to her lips and carefully took a sip that must have burned going down her throat because she gagged the moment after, holding her throat as she coughed manically.
"That is absolutely revolting!" She accentuated with a scrunched nose and puckered lips. Cade thought she resembled a disgruntled mouse. "How do you people drink that disgusting liquid. Bleh! I do not think that taste will ever get out of my mouth." At her displeasure, Cade finally found himself warming up to the lost princess destined to fail and the boy settled for placing a small grin on his face instead of the wicked smirk he originally wanted.
"You get used to it, eventually. Most people around here have their taste buds shot to Hades so they can not tell the difference. Must be quite different than the pure juice you drink in the palaces, huh." The young bartender began to scrub up the small mess that the girl had made with his dirty cloth which only blended the dark mead further into the counter so it was unrecognizable to anyone standing nearby. As much as Cade loved to put his fishing rod out there for the dim-witted to hook onto, it was agonizing that this time needed to be used in order for him to make a decision on the girl's offer.
The princess cleared her throat with a look of discomfort on her face and she re-positioned herself on the small stool. "Yes it is much different than what we drink in the palace. Must you continue to bring up the circumstances in which I was raised?" She questioned, squinting one eye in a cringe before picking at a loose piece of wood embedded in the countertop. Cade knee that people often felt discomforted when placed in positions they are not used to or when their hidden flaws become exposed.
Cade noticed the way the girl refused to meet his eyes after she spoke and instead focused on something with more occupying than the boy standing in front of her. The vivacious ivy color of her irises blackened with the overwhelming emotion coursing in her veins. A pale glaze drained the natural white of her skin tone and it seemed to take all the interesting pieces of her personality with it. The sight of her sagging figure wrapped a iron hand around Cade's throat and he felt it clog with something unfamiliar to him.
"If you insist, your majesty. I was merely attempting to make conversation. Something else you wish to talk about?" He watched her wince again at the proper title but it was less noticeable than the first slip of emotion. Too much about her made it obvious that the world she willingly stepped into did not fit her caliber. A flourishing rose would be crushed to ashes within a field of poisonous weeds.
"Again with the titles," She spoke as if chastising a child but wore a light smile that knew the joke behind her words. "There is still one thing we need to discuss, master adventurer. You still have not told me your answer to my request; will you accompany me on my journey or will I be on my own?" Cade began to scold himself for even allowing the girl, the fact that she was a stranger angering him even more, to control the discussion when it should have been him with all the power. Never give someone else the opportunity to gain control of the situation, he reminded himself.
"Let me get one thing straight before I consider giving you an answer. You want me to come along with you, basically as a guide, while you try to quell the rebellions and I am to make sure that you do not die along the way?"
The girl shifted on her seat. "Yes, indeed, that is my plan. I want you to help me learn about the creatures we encounter and help me through any problems along the way. The kingdoms are depending on me venturing into that forbidden place and call me a loon but I do not wish to do it alone," She pleaded and moved so that her face was much too close for Cade's liking and stared into his eyes without breaking contact. It bothered Cade that the girl was so eager to please people she did not know and the fact that she was desperate enough to request aid from someone who in her mind still had no title, no background, and no security.
The boy narrowed his eyes at the girl before leaning away from her desperate gaze and wondering how a simple thieving barkeep got involved with the business of a princess yearning to make a name for herself. How could an orphan with no hope, destined to live a life of poverty and mischief get mixed up in situations he had no right to be in? What made him special? Why him; out of all the people in this land, someone had to put the least inclined person at the task. Cade couldn't help but feel annoyed at the idea of fate or universal destiny that people preached about, especially since said outer force was pushing him to make a life altering decision.
All Cade had to offer was a sack of stolen coins, the detailed journal, and his most precious possession, his life. It crossed his mind that accepting Ivory's request would change everything he knew and most likely everything he lived for, but he also knew that this could quite possibly lead to a death he was not ready for. Yet nothing had a hold on him, he had the freedom that many craved to own and he treated it so poorly that he began to think he did not deserve it. Cade had no one to wait for, no one that loved him, no home to take care of, no family eager for his return home everyday; so what was stopping him from walking out that door.
Before he could think of a logical answer, a chorus of yells and loud curses came from outside the door, one of which happened to contain Cade's name. The boy cursed under his breath with a low growl ducked beneath the wooden bar just as a pair of slightly intoxicated men stumbled into the bar with looks to kill. Cade could hear them push through the tables and step up to the bar with heavy legs and tilted heads. Luckily the table top had a board wide enough so that his body was hidden by the shadow of unlit lanterns. He knew exactly why the men had entered the bar and scolded himself in his head for his arrogance; he had grabbed the man's entire sack of coins from his back-pocket the night before when he was thrown out into the mud for causing a ruckus.
"Hey, you, pretty little lady. Seen the rat that runs this joint lately?" The man slammed his palm against the wood plank and Cade jumped slightly at the noise. He prayed with closed eyes that the princess would keep her mouth shut and bail him for at least a minute so that he could get out unscathed. People were very particular about their coins in this town, the ones that were sober enough to notice when it was missing of course.
"No, I have not. Would you please leave me alone?" She asked politely, keeping her voice at a low tone that would not be able to distinguish any emotion of vulnerability. Cade may not have to worry about her skills as much as he previously assumed.
"I don't think so, missy. See the little rat stole our money and we want it back, now are you gonna tell us who served you that drink and where he went or are we gonna have some trouble." The second man growled out and Cade could hear his voice clear enough to make him nervous at the fact that he was leaned up against the counter. There were two ways this encounter was going to go, one of which would leave Cade without a finger as the price of thievery while the other would require a clever princess and a bucket of trust that he did not have. He hoped against all odds that fate would choose the latter option.
He heard the princess sigh and he deducted that traveling with a snitch was completely off limits. "Fine, he was in here a little while ago but then he left, I swear. Gave me a drink and then went off into that back room over there." Cade's eyes widened and he had to keep his mouth glued closed in order to refrain from letting a gasp out. She hadn't told the men that he was in fact hiding like a coward beneath the counter. It started a line of debts that Cade was obligated to pay.
"Thank you very much, missy. Hope you stay around town for a while," The man lowered his voice in an attempt to sound sultry and it made Cade gag with unease. If it was him in the princess's position he knows he would have let one of his fists loose in disgust.
"Keep off, creep. Go find your stupid rat and leave me alone." One of them, Cade assumed it was the one who had been brutally rejected, scoffed in anger but walked away from the bar with his companion following closely behind. When he was positive that the pair had exited the room and were out of sight from the two youths, Cade stood up and leapt over the counter with the sack of coins attached to his hip and the journal in the other. It ended up being more dramatic than he cared to display but soon enough the two men would find out that the only one in the small storage room was a sleeping tavern-owner with overturned glasses and the stench of alcohol on his breath.
Cade grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her towards the door with fast steps and frequent checks behind him for the angry townspeople. "Come on, we have to go. Now." The tug on his arm was immediate and he knew his actions had taken the girl by surprise but he chose not to dawdle on the pain in his shoulders and continued towards to door. A dark cloak hung from a dented nail near the door and Cade managed to snatch the article of clothing with a quick look back to the tavern over his shoulder. The princess stared at him with shock and confusion but he ignored her look and focused in on the open door to the storage room when a loud shout reached his ears.
"Where is he?!"
"What are you talking about you knocked up loon! What are you doing in my tavern?!"
"It was the girl!"
    The two made eye contact with each other, both wide as saucers, and the girl got one good shove at Cade's back before he was out of the door with her dragging behind. He could see the shadow-coated trees as soon as he exited the bar and the thin pathway that disappeared between two black trunks. Soon enough the cobblestone path that ran through the village turned to dirt quenched with rain and the stones hidden beneath. Their feet stumbled on the lumpy mud and they looked like staggering drunks trying to rush home. Both kept throwing reckless glances behind them to see if their pursuers figured out that the bar had been abandoned and they had been fooled for the second time in two moons. Cade's cloak kept slipping from his arms and he almost dropped it in the mud when his footing lost its ground. The shadow of the untraveled forest reached out to grab them as they approached and instantly the air took on a cool shape that stroked the bare skin. Dead leaves flew up in the air from piles on the ground where some rotted into the dark soil while others held onto the last breath of life.
The air shifted when the two entered the woods, out of breath and too caught up in their current troubles to realize what they had subjected themselves to. Cade eventually slowed down to a stop when the path they traveled took a curve away from the sight of the village behind them leaving them alone, surrounded by territory that was begging to destroy them from the inside out. The boy moved so that he could rest his forearm against the brittle wood of a tree and contemplate the consequences of his actions since the princess most definitely was not going to scold him. He wondered how many times he could make reckless mistakes before one of them would cost him something more significant, something like his life.
Cade caught a glimpse of the girl staring around at the dark woods around her with intense wonder and thought it best to examine the terrain himself considering he would not be able to turn around towards his town. All objects, Cade could not classify them as alive or dead, appeared to have been dipped in a bucket of liquid night so that they stained a dark color. Trees shrouded the light from reaching the ground even though their branches were bare of leaves; the immense number of thick and thin branches sprouting from each limb captured the sunlight and stored it away. A thin layer  of decaying leaves covered the pathway, all of them colored like aged wine, hickory wood, or plain ashen black. Wind howled through the trees in a low voice to demand respect from any daring traveler or lost soul. There was a peculiar scent that drifted on the air and into his nostrils; death. Cade did not even want to imagine the creatures that were more than likely watching the two closely from their hiding spaces in the dark cubbies of the trees or shadows that obscured anything more than ten feet from any mortal's view.
When he felt the girl's eyes on him, he turned to face her for the first time since they arrived at her desired location. He noticed that he chest rose and fell heavily as if the scene had taken away her breath. "You wanted to see the Dark Forest, well here it is."

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A/N: So here it is, Chapter 2. I hope that if anyone ever reads this one day that they'll enjoy it. It's not great and also not completely edited so don't hate me if it isn't fantastic. I'm really hoping that anyone that is reading this is enjoying the plot/ idea of the book. Maybe one day people will comment and tell me what they think. Here's to the future. Bye for now!