5 Order of Red

The halls were rather quiet at the present moment. Sets of ornate armor were ever present at the walls. Massive red and white banners hung from the sides of the ceiling, and carpets of the same colour laid on the floor. Kara walked slowly with little need to hurry, this bothered me slightly, as I am a rather fast walker. The long hallways felt much longer at the pace we walked, it was as if there was no end in sight. But at last I saw a single door at the end of the hall.

"Your quarters are just up ahead, you will be sharing the room with Kieran and Maddox. I will let you get acquainted with your surroundings." Kara spoke as she walked away.

I opened the freshly varnished door to see a fancy room that one would not expect to be used for sharing. The beds were at 3 corners of the room, with the baths and toilet at the remaining corner. Two of the beds already had been decorated with pots and photos, with sets of belongings in cupboards nearby. There was of course one bed free for use, so I went over to it and unpacked my belongings next to it.

The room could be considered as large as the standard middle class house, which made it confusing to refer to it as a room. The last interesting thing to note is that the room is in the palace, not the school. I find it rather difficult to believe that a princess would bother to walk to school from the palace everyday. But then again, the royal family is rich enough to possess a few personal use portals.

KNOCK KNOCK

I go back to the door and open it gently.

"Hi there Ren! How do you like the room?" I heard as soon as I opened the door.

Kieran entered the room with a blue haired boy. They greeted me joyfully and started to explain how things work in the palace.

"In case you don't know, we will be living here, not at the academy. But don't worry, the royal family have portals." Kieran said in a cheerful expression.

"By the way this guy here is Maddox, he comes from a marquis family. You will enjoy talking to him, he's a real fun guy!"

Maddox looked away from me with a tired expression. He proceeded to head straight to bed without saying anything.

"You see? He's a real funny guy, he knows exactly when to relate a comically awkward moment." Kieran laughed.

"He seems tired to me." I sighed.

"Trust me, he's thinking of a way to introduce himself in a fun way."

ZZZZZZZZZ....

"He is asleep." I spoke in a plain tone.

"No he's not."

Kieran grabbed a cup of water and proceeded to pour it on Maddox' crotch area.

"Aaaaah, spider!" Kieran screamed.

Immediately Maddox got back up, but was confronted by a damp feeling in his groin area. He looked to Kieran and then to me, he had an incredibly embarrassed expression.

"Please tell me I didn't just wet myself..." Maddox said with tears dripping from his eyes.

"The spider must have spooked you." Kieran giggled.

TWACK

Maddox slapped Kieran's straight in the face with what seemed to be a used sock. Kieran looked to Maddox in horror, to which I didn't understand why. Humour has never been a strong point for one such as I.

***

3 years earlier, Ren's POV:

It has been a little over 3 days since I left that god forsaken place. I feel weak from hunger, but I can still survive on what little amount of berries I reap. The road to the capital is a long one, and I must keep my strength to find a job.

The weather is calm and the sun is scorching me from above. It seems like the tides of fate are not turning in my favour today. I feel weak now, but I must press forward...

"Young lad, do you need help?" A voice called out to me.

"The road to self sufficiency starts at an early age, you are wise to embark on it now."

"But can you go through with it? Are you strong enough?"

"You are not."

"Forge a path worth walking, seek happiness, not sorrow."

"May peace be with you, lad."

The voice disappeared, leaving a small token on the ground. The token had three red scratch marks engraved into it. It was like nothing that I have ever seen before. Touching it made me feel strong again, but after grasping it, it vanished. It was gone as fast as it appeared.

"Fufufu... well then ladies, what do you say we get to know each other?"

I heard this phrase from far away, but it felt clearer than it should. I detect the scent of a group of people nearby. This is my chance to find food.

"No! Do not touch us, we would rather die!" A woman shouted.

I ran towards the sounds to find a group of 3 women and another group of 3 armed men. The men had leather armor and dull looking short swords. They however looked incredibly weak, not in a physical sense but in a combat sense. They looked as if they were wielding their swords like clubs, truly terrible.

These men can definitely be considered evil, so I am allowing myself to kill some more. This is what it takes to survive, the strong eat the weak. Even so, a conscience is still somewhat necessary.