18 The Gorge
[WARNING!!!: Gore and Blood]
Inside a deep dark prison, a man was hung in front of the wall. The chains were attached to iron handcuffs which locked around his wrists. The metal had rusted from the numerous times it has been drenched in blood. There were metal spikes in the cuffs, that pointed inwards conveniently piercing the captive's wrists.
Metal hooks dug into the man's ankles fastening him towards the dark stone wall covered in dried blood. A muzzle made of metal was fastened to the man's mouth to prevent him from biting off his tongue.
His body which already seemed to have been covered in scars was now marred with even more wounds. Some had barely closed up while some were still dripping dark blood because they were deep and are not able to heal easily. His whole figure was covered with brown and scarlet blood.
His breathing was coming out in pants and wheezes as his head hung low with no strength to lift it.
The room was small with poor ventilation allowing the putrid stench of rot and blood to pervade the humid air.
The man knew that he had not stayed in this hellish place for long. It must have at most been a few hours, but he felt like he had been there for days.
When he took up the mission, he had not known there was someone who is even more ruthless than his owner. He was caught before he could execute any of his moves and his entire team was annihilated.
Suicide soldiers are generally hard to capture and his organization was especially well known for producing the best of men in this profession, yet they not only failed the mission but he also got caught alive.
He was tortured until he fainted within this short time but he knew it was only the beginning.
"Welcome back Chief!"
The guard's voice brought him a cold shiver down his spine.
It was followed by the clinking of keys and the sound of the metal gate creaking open.
The sound of shoes stepping on the stone cold floor into the cell could be heard. And he could tell it was more than one person who had arrived.
The man could hear them walking towards him.
"Yo!, Crow, he isn't dead already is he?" A playful voice sounded.
"Vice-leader, we dare not be that careless." A helpless voice followed soon after.
The man tried hard to lift his head but he could just do so barely and even if he could he would not be able to discern much in the dim light.
Suddenly, the room brightened as the guard lit up a fire torch and used it to light up the ones on the walls in his cell.
"Hmm, seems you did go quite easy on him." The vice-leader spoke again.
"I dare not disobey Chief's orders."
"Did he spill?" Another cold voice sounded effectively quietening down the other two.
"Chief, he's still as tight-lipped as he could be, we were afraid we would end up killing him so we didn't dare be too rough."
The man then heard a scoff and the person who was called 'chief's voice again.
"Useless"
Before he could react he felt something cold place under his chin and lift his face.
"You seem to not know your current predicament." The cold voice sounded from just before him.
Before the man could focus on the face of the one addressed as 'chief', he felt a sharp pain in his face, not even knowing when the knife placed under his chin was removed.
The man screamed through the muzzle in pain. His right eyeball had been gouged out within split seconds, and he, even as a soldier didn't see it coming.
The last thing his lost organ saw were hazel eyes that shone more like green converging over the blue in the lighting of the dim yellow flames.
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Hanson reached the end of the dark rocky corridor where there was a narrow opening. In front of him, some stairs looked like they were roughly carved out of stones leading further below.
Stefan followed him and soon the two reached the end of the stairs. Hanson habitually pressed a part on the wall that anyone else would not have noticed even if they tried all their means. It was to stop the traps laid on the way from activating.
The two walked further and soon arrived at the end of the corridor. Both walked to either side of the wall and pressed onto a rock on the wall but this time, it required both of them to do so at the same time. Soon the wall at the end of the corridor started shaking, habitually spilling dust which made Hanson frown and take two steps back.
Stefan saw Hanson's actions but did not react after long being used to them.
The wall partitioned soon and opened up inwards like a door.
Hanson stepped in and Stefan quickly followed and the wall closed up again as soon as the set time had reached.
As soon as he entered Hanson slipped out of his shoes that he had specially prepared for regular visit to this underground prison he had built long ago. He changed to the shoes that he had been wearing in the palace before he left that day and made Stefan change from his too.
There was another pair left, which was Calvin's.
Hanson did not name this place but his mates and he were used to referring to it as 'the gorge' as it was only a rocky crevice when he found its existence before building the palace.
Only he, Stefan and Calvin knew of the mechanics around the place. Hanson himself designed everything and knew of places even Stefan and Calvin did not know. The builders who helped build it were buried after to make sure no one knew of anything.
Hanson was always thorough and heartless when he needed to be.
After all, in the royal family, no one is innocent.
Hanson doesn't necessarily find kindness as a weakness but it should be levelled. He used to be too kind and he paid the price for it. He was no longer the ignorant child he once was.
The royal blood that flows in him had laid upon loads of responsibilities on his shoulders that he cannot avoid.
Avoidance means letting another carry all those sins.
Hanson would rather be the one that carries them himself.
But Hanson isn't a saint and he very well would not mind shedding all those burdens to a conscientious but willing party, like his older brother.
If one asked him whether he wanted to be a king or a knight, Hanson would very well choose to be a knight.
He rather let another make the decisions than himself. He was not fond of getting his hands stained in blood unless it is an absolute necessity. But right now he has no choice but to do so.
Even if he did not kill, ordering his subordinates to take a life is no different from him doing so on his own.
By now he had turned numb from all the death. The first time he took a life, his hands shook for hours after and he spent countless following nights without sleep.
After the second time, he had already accepted his fate.
Maybe he had to thank his ability to adjust to his situations easily.
Hanson laughed bitterly at himself in his heart as he and Stefan ascended the stairs that were hidden behind the wall.
They climbed up for a while before they reached the top of the stairs and Hanson deactivated another trap door before they both stepped onto the corridor.
When they reached the end, the passage divided and went both ways toward left and right. Hanson shooed Stefan away towards the left and he headed towards the right, opening the hidden door in the wall. There were numerous doors in the corridor and it stretched even further. They were all adjoined to specific rooms and only Hanson has access to them.
Hanson sent Stefan to his study where he left from before and Calvin must be waiting there for the knight already.
The one Hanson headed to was his bathroom.
Hanson was an extreme mysophobe. That was the reason he forced his friends to change their shoes, and even their clothes, in case they were stained in blood before they entered the palace. He did not want to see blood stains on the floor and carpet in the rooms he used. It also helped hide the evidence.
He shed his clothes and washed in the shower that his cousin helped design. He only felt comfortable after he used the disinfectant soap which was also something his cousin formulated. He was honestly thankful for the innovative Arian blood.
After his shower, he went to his bath that had just been prepared and sighed as he relaxed in the warm water letting it surround him gently as he sat in the tub.
