Erik was severely wounded and Ana was panicking. She looked up at the monster in front of her. She knew what to do, but was unsure if she had the heart to do it. Ana slid her hand under Erik's clothes and grabbed a knife. She pulled it out and looked back up at the man.
"Hey you, come closer!" she shouted. Greg mindlessly stepped closer with a smile, unaware of the danger. The tears in her eyes didn't even allow her to see him clearly. But then the ruins of the library collapsed, grabbing Greg's attention. Out of the ruins stepped a woman, covered in dust.
"I was sleeping there, you son of a slime!" The woman was unharmed but as angry as she could be. She walked over to Greg as the probable reason for her fury. "Are you responsible for this mess?" Greg looked surprised, already forgetting Ana's call.
The woman sighed. "I hate dealing with cursed Tharnies." She raised her hand above her head and a crystal sword began to form in her grip. "The punishment is losing one arm," she said calmly. The scales beneath the woman's torn clothes revealed that she wasn't simply an Avarian, but she wasn't fully cursed either. She was tainted. Ana didn't dare speak in the presence of the tainted lady.
Ana needed that man's blood to heal Erik. His blood was better, but her own blood could... no, it would have to be enough. She gritted her teeth and got ready for the pain. She cut her palm and let her blue blood fall onto Erik's red-stained back.
The woman sliced down and cut off Greg's left arm with her crystal sword. The cursed man screamed out in pain and knelt, clutching his shoulder in agony. On top of the ruined library appeared an Avarian figure. "There is so much wrong here that I don't even know where to begin!" Tim's voice boomed as he walked closer.
The woman turned to him. Tim walked past her as if she didn't exist. He laid his left hand onto Erik's head. "Erik, I told you to stay at camp. And Ana, don't use your Vital energy so inefficiently." A green, slime-like substance seeped from Tim's hand, draining his arm of its vitality.
"Who do you think you are?" the tainted woman demanded. "How dare a mere Avarian ignore me?" Tim turned his gaze toward her. "Why would I pay attention to a tainted Gravany?" he asked calmly. She smiled, beyond furious. "Because I am the ruler of this place."
Erik recovered enough to chuckle. Ana glared at Tim. Tim's demeanour shifted. "My bad... that one is on me. I do apologise for that." He smiled uncomfortably and continued healing Erik with the green slime, withering his own arm in the process.
Then, after his arm was drained and Erik was safe, he turned serious again. "I am disappointed in your judgement. Instead of helping the injured first, you began by punishing the first person you saw. You are a disappointment to your tainted Gravany race and an insult to your status."
Tim stepped closer to the tainted Gravany woman and lifted his left arm horizontally, drained of vitality from healing Erik. "I am the one who made this mess. I am the one who threw that cursed man into the library. So I should be the only one you punish."
Erik was in pain, but after Tim's speech, a memory surfaced and it was worse than the physical pain.
* * *
It had been a cold evening. The smell of food and perfume filled the air almost as much as the melodies and the noise of nobles talking. Erik tried to discreetly fix his shirt collar while no one was speaking to him at the gathering.
A fat noble came his way and started a conversation with a smile. "Hello there, I don't believe we've met before. What is your name, boy?" With a nervous smile, Erik shook the noble's hand. "My name is Erik Shadow."
The polite noble was mildly surprised. "Oh? So you are a member of the Shadow Brotherhood? I thought all members were of the tainted Noctary race." Erik's smile softened. "It is true that the Red King enslaved their clans, but an orphan like me got lucky enough to be adopted by them." His gaze fell to his fancy clothes. "If not for them, I would still be stealing in the streets." Then he realised what he had said and raised a hand in defence. "Don't worry, all that is behind me. I am good now."
The noble chuckled. "If they trust you, then so will I. Do you mind me asking... where is Emanuel Shadow? I thought someone like him would be here this evening." Erik shrugged for a moment before remembering his manners. "I understand it is an important meeting between the Dark King and the Brotherhood... but he is the Red King's right-hand man first, and leader of the Shadow Brotherhood second."
The fat noble visibly lost interest, though he said his goodbyes with a smile. Erik sighed and took a look around the room filled with people dancing and snacking on food. In the crowd, Erik spotted his big brother, in name only. Erik took a breath, exhaled, leaving only emotionless focus in his eyes, and then moved unnoticed through the crowd.
As Erik arrived beside his friend, emotions returned to his eyes. "Hi, big brother." The man, in dark clothes with a red shirt underneath, flinched. "Erik! I told you to never sneak up on me like that." But his chuckle ruined the scolding.
His big brother, like other members of the Brotherhood, was from the tainted Noctary race. His hair was dark brown, just like his eyes. The dark clothes almost hid how hairy his arms were, from a distance it would have looked like fur.
Erik shrugged and smiled. "Don't worry, Andrew. I'm not doing it often enough to get myself cursed. I even stopped lying so I wouldn't become a tainted Vespary." Andrew Shadow looked at him with a smirk. "Oh really? So... where were you last night?" Erik nervously looked away and asked: "Anyway... have you seen any cute girls around here?"
Andrew sighed and pointed at the corner of the room, where a black-haired girl in a blue dress stood alone. "She is a daughter of the Dark King, so be nice to her." When he looked back, Erik wasn't there anymore. Andrew chuckled in surprise, but it also made him worry. If they weren't careful, Erik might become tainted.
Erik greeted the young lady with a bow and a smile. "My name is Erik Shadow. It is a pleasure to meet you." The girl closed her eyes and slightly sighed, then gave a small bow. "It is nice to meet you, Erik. My name is Mia, or rather, Princess Mia Dark."
"Can I call you Dark Mia?" At Erik's question, Mia opened her eyes in surprise. "Emm... no." Erik had already changed topics. "I expected to see some scales or something, since you are a daughter of a tainted Gravany..." The girl moved her arms behind her back and said with a worried expression: "Ahem. Rude."
When she looked at his face, she saw only his warm smile. His words had a gentle tone. "It is alright if you wish to stay humble, to prevent the curse from spreading. But don't be ashamed of yourself." She slowly relaxed. As she stopped hiding her hands, Erik saw bright blue and magenta scales on her wrists, sparkling like jewellery that matched her dress.
Erik offered her his hand. "May I have a dance with you?" Mia blushed slightly and offered her hand. Erik gently took it and led her to the centre of the room to dance. He was not a great dancer, he wasn't even good. He knew the basics, and only because of Mia did they look decent together.
A kid from the streets. Stealing, sneaking, hiding and lying like a rat... if not for the Brotherhood, Erik would still be a rogue. But right there he was someone. He was Erik Shadow, a loyal servant of the Red King, just as a shadow is loyal to its object.
The music stopped. The noise went silent. Erik turned around and saw the Dark King glaring at him. "Who do you think you are?" the king's voice boomed. Erik immediately bowed down, too scared to speak.
"You are not good enough for my daughter. What would you even do if she fell in love with you?" Erik looked up. A prideful Gravany wouldn't fall for someone like him that quickly... but then he saw Mia blushing. He also noticed that he was still holding her hand.
I should take responsibility for my actions, he thought. But it's not fair. I didn't mean to steal her heart. I am not a thief. Not anymore. Erik let go of her hand. He wanted to apologise, to say anything, but he had this old feeling of powerlessness, as if a guard had found him stealing again.
So Erik did what he did best: he disappeared in front of everybody. As he ran away unnoticed, the world behind him broke into chaos. He thought he could hear the king shouting, maybe even Andrew calling his name, but what he feared most was the sound of Mia crying.
He lost a lot that day: his redemption, his place in the brotherhood, and his chance to do what was right.
In a way, that was the price of running away from his punishment.
* * *
Erik looked up at Tim offering his withered left arm for his mistake as though it were nothing. How? How did he do that? How could anyone do that? The wounds on Erik's back had healed, but the pain and the green slime remained.
As the Gravany lady raised her crystal blade to cut Tim's arm off, Erik noticed a familiar face.
"Dark Mia?" The words escaped his lips, grabbing her attention and then her rage.
"ERIK SHADOW?!"