Broken Bonds

Chapter One, Part One

Cat Like Theif - Box Car Racer

Word Count: 1532

I blink. My gaze travels to the chains around me. I try to take a deep breath, but the metal chains bound around my chest stop me halfway. Is this what life is going to be like now? With my powers, I loosen the chains, keeping them tight enough to show I'm still restrained, but allowing myself to breathe properly. I can't escape yet; they would kill me on the spot if I did.

If they could kill me. They have metal guns and we're surrounded by metal. I'm guessing I would be dead if we weren't circled by what I could use. My powers and Lady Titanos are my only saviors here. Not that my lady truly saved me from anything, only a later death date. 

SIlverblood seeps from my injured shoulder, an open wound yet to be covered. It's the only real physical injury I have; the rest of my injuries are only bruises and small cuts. There's no light to be found in this situation, but I try to find it there. I'm caught in a scheme I should never have been a part of, but at least I won't die by injury. Not yet, anyway.

"I saw that move, Samos," Farley says as she ties a red rag around the prince's lower face. She doesn't look over at me, but something tells me she didn't need to. "Don't think you can escape so soon."

"I wouldn't dare," I respond. I'm next in line to have a rag tied around my face. Soon, I'll match Prince Calore and the Red soldiers around me. I do my best to stay calm, but unease still rises in me.

What comes next? I look around the train, and it dawns on me how out-of-place and lost I am. This is a world of betrayal and rebellion, one I didn't know could exist like this until recently. I would be amazed at its complexity if I weren't in the middle of it all. It's a world of bloodshed, and it won't take well to my kindness. I don't know how well I'll adjust, but my only chance of survival is adapting and obliging to what the Scarlet Guard wants.

The Undertrain moves along quickly, bringing me further away from my old life. My memories feel like they're being dragged away from me as the train moves along, as though they're not really my own anymore. They're part of my old self, my royal Silver self, one I've lost and won't get to mourn. I realize that Prince Calore and Lady Titanos must certainly have taken more of a hit, but it shocks me all the same.

The cloth tied around my face is a deep redblood color, and it smells of it. I can see myself in the reflection on the glass opposite of me. I certainly look calmer than I feel. My eyes look just like every other member of my house; cold, black, dead. My whole life, they've been filled with life. It took less than a week to drain it all away. I look away from the reflection.

Lady Titanos sits diagonally from me. Farley orders the teleporter not to let her escape. She's too valuable to them now. She glances over at me, and our eyes meet for a moment, but I quickly look away. I don't want to see my reflection, but I want to see her much less. She's the reason I'm trapped here now, on the side of a dangerous rebellion I never wanted to be a part of.

Out of habit, I start to fiddle with the ring on the chain around my neck. For a moment, my thoughts are brought to Porter. The thought of her reassures me, but a new worry also comes up. Will she ever know what happened to me? She's the only real kind of family I have, but will she figure out where I am, or even get the letter of the execution? All I want right now is to see her again, but I have a feeling that that scene is far from where I am now. I miss her now, more than ever. I reach a hand into my pocket and make sure the letter is still there. It's the last letter I received from her, two days before the execution, and the only thing other than the necklace that I was allowed to have on me during it. I just hope the ink didn't smudge. Even if they did, I still know the words and message, and I still can't believe the news.

"I hope you don't plan to fight," Prince Calore says from beside me, directing his comment at Farley. "I hope you plan to run."

"Save your breath, SIlver," Farley responds, but Lady Titanos cuts in, making room for the prince to continue talking. He brings up the Snapdragons. The boy standing by Lady Titanos laughs at the name, but Cal goes on and describes them. I've seen plenty of those in my life, and everything Cal says is correct. If we have to fight them, they'll be easy to tear from the sky, but I don't speak up as he continues about the fights we'll have to go through if we want to get out.

"What do you suggest, then?" Farley asks the prince once he's done lecturing about the new king's army, concern carrying in her voice. "Total surrender?"

"Surrender or not, Maven will kill us all," the prince says bluntly.

"But maybe we have a chance." Lady Titanos interrupts the conversation again. Everyone's eyes fall on her, but her gaze goes to me. I can feel her eyes on me, but I don't look up at her. She made the comment I didn't want to, reminding people that I'm here and presenting me as a solution to the problems we'll face in the city, like an object or a weapon. I guess I can't be invisible forever.

Farley is the next to look at me. "You think your silent magnetron can deter a fleet of these Snapdragons?"

"I've done things like it before," I admit, looking up at Farley. I can't help but pull down the rag covering my mouth as I talk. I hesitate before speaking next, unsure of what to call the prince beside me. I finally settle for his last name. "Calore is right, we shouldn't plan on fighting. We're going to have to run, and I can help provide cover."

I study Farley. It's clear that there's a secret being held, one that Prince Calore, Lady Titanos, and I aren't filled in on yet. Farley gives me a look and marches off, saying something about considering that option and not dying today.

"You can just call me Cal," the burner beside me says. I blink and look at him, realizing how I'd been calling him Prince Calore unconsciously. He's not a prince any longer. And Lady Titanos wouldn't be Lady Titanos anymore, but I don't know recall real name.

"I'll have to get used to that," I respond.

The Undertrain slows down, coming to its stop. I pull the rag back over my mouth. Instead of waiting to be helped, I break my chains as the train stations, exiting the Undertrain with everyone else. My hands are bound together with rope, but I don't break it just yet. I'll be watched closely as the Silver without an ally. I know I can't trust anyone, just as they can't trust me. The only thing I share with the soldiers around me is my hate for the new King Calore.

When we step out into the cold autumn air, I instantly recognize the ruins of Naercey around us. A fog hangs over the ruined city, blurring the far-away buildings. The world around us is empty where it would normally be full. Someone must have evacuated the place.

Farley leads the group, quick with her pace. She's a leader, and I'm expected to follow her like everyone else as we move down the street. We're kept in a long line, no more than three people wide at any point. Cal is kept under restraint behind Farley, and Mareena is watched by the teleporter. Kilorn is in front of me, and soon I'm flanked by two Scarlet Guard soldiers. This is what Mareena must have felt like at some point. I'm not used to being the guarded one. There's quiet murmuring from the groups around me, but it stops when the line is halted by Farley.

I sense planes and hear them before they come through the mist. I can't help by slip past my guards and move forward, using a metal shard on the ground to cut the rope. I find myself in line with Lady Titanos and the teleporter as the Snapdragons cut through the air in front of us. I almost have to cover my ears. They look so small in the distance, just small pieces of metal built by people like me. I shudder at the thought. 

The planes almost seem harmless at first. Loud and deadly, but nothing to worry about yet. As though they could be passing by and not have noticed us. But when a building near us explodes, it's clear the Snapdragons are anything but harmless.