Flash-ForwardThe luxurious ceremonial hall was boiled up with bewilderment.
n.o.ble ladies and gentlemen were whispering violating all the rules of decorum.
"Who is this ugly guy?» and «Why is he marrying Princess Kara?" - these were the two questions that troubled the minds of all the people presented there.
Meanwhile, the ceremony was coming to an end.
Almost husband and wife put the rings on each other"s fingers.
The appearance of the bride called Kara was actually outstanding.
Her body, slim and with ample curves, dressed in incredible white and burgundy wedding dress aroused unintentional salivation of all male guests as well as burning desire to slay the bridegroom for such a good luck.
Her beautiful and piercing gaze with its demonic charm could capture the spirit of anyone, but, as for now, an unknown, weak and far from the most handsome young man had deserved it.
What"s the unfairness?
The husband looking like a fifteen-year young man made up as for not a handsome one were smirking like a cat that cornered a mouse.
The oppressive looks of the jealous men might have a.s.sa.s.sinated him hundreds of times if only they had physical strength and they just warmed up the mood.
The Princess looked at the bridegroom with the expression as if she pretended to ask: «How this might happen?».
The elder gave a sympathetic glance to Kara, then looked at the bridegroom enviously, and proclaimed loudly:
«Seal your matrimony with a kiss.»
Kara recalled this formality of the human race with irritation and scorched the bridegroom with her hostile glance as if she strove to say: «Just try to do it and you will definitely regret it!».
The young man slyly smiled realizing that she is helpless - {She will not dare to stop me. She will not stand up against the mother"s will.} The environment of permissiveness scavenge to the bone exciting all his inner self.
The chubby cherry lips of the Princess were so alluring... The young fellow sunk into them pa.s.sionately feeling their pliable softness and sweet scent of the maiden"s body.
He actually enjoyed his feeling of power over the charming girl and, in order to feel more pleasure, he embraced her slim waist and slightly cuddled her ample bosom.
He heard the many breaths intercepted.
The guests feeling envy and jealous could not take their eyes off the kissing couple.
It appeared that the ground had to erupt that time commemorating the end of the times and common sense.
But the husband had not crossed the red line for he realized that if he stuck his tongue further, she would undoubtedly bite it off.
Have you ever seen how a girl looks at a vile and slimy slug crawling on her?
This was the look the Princess gave to the poor young fellow who was deliriously kissing her.
Nevermind... The revenge will be terrible and will not keep him waiting. It"s most likely that it will overtake the poor newly husband very soon, probably, on the wedding night.
She would have done it right now, but her mother"s attentive gaze was holding her back.
«I now p.r.o.nounce you husband and wife!» - the Elder with tears on his eyes proclaimed and his voice broke the solemn silence.
His head was pounding with terrible pain ... His thoughts were in a sort of fog.
Having opened his eyes slightly, the young man could see a dim light from the lantern.
He could do each motion with great difficulty. His muscles throbbed with a viscous pain, as after impact of heavy loads, and the throat was dry of terrible thirst.
Having gathered his strength, he raised his body trying to remember anything.
There was a damp and cold cave around him. It was impossible to see a thing farther than two meters; only the flashlight built into the helmet radiated light azure light. A crystal was faintly blinking inside: apparently, it would completely fade away soon.
The young man slightly recovered himself, rubbed his temples and began to a.n.a.lyze the situation. {Judging upon the migraines and memory loss, I was badly hit on the head.}
He astonis.h.i.+ngly stared at his hands as if he had never seen them before. - {It"s oddly.} - skin is very rough, stale and calloused. - {It is most likely that I work here, but is it allowed to work at a mine at my age? After all, judging upon size of my hands and body, I"m not more than 15 years old.}
Having picked up a helmet with a built-up flashlight laid nearby, the young man he got back on his feet with effort and walked around in a circle to explore the area.
He found a metal tool with a handle and a sharp end similar to a pickaxe. This was the tool the miners operate and it suggested the correct idea. An odd device which missed figures and symbols with a randomly rotating hand laid nearby. - {It does not look like a compa.s.s.}
The young man examined himself attentively. Light and worn clothing and shoes, pale skin, dirty and broken nails, slim physique, short hair and not tall growth. There appeared an amazing feeling as if you are looking at an absolute stranger. Wearily rubbing his forehead, he felt a strange tingling and outlines of some symbols.
{It is definitely not a scar? Is it possible that I have had the formation?!}
And the symbols meant his name - Kyon, but he couldn"t know it.
Kyon was still feeling shocked and his eyes met fading light of the lantern.
{I have no time at all, I have to find the way out here. I wouldn"t prefer to be stuck here forever.}
He put the tool of unknown device under his belt and, swaying, he made his way in the only direction available.
The surrounding landscape had not changed substantially after half and an hour of walk - the same wet and dark cave which seemed to be boundless. Unsuccessful attempts to recall anything escalated the situation. Suddenly he set against a half-meter ledge of rock. He climbed the ledge with the effort and, having advanced, Kyon disclosed that the cave began to narrow.
The young man resolutely climb the slope.
The cave was getting smaller and smaller, but a lean body has its advantages.
Finally, the light at the end of the tunnel became visible.
The young man, grunting and shaking himself, got out of the cave and got up to his feet. Eventually, the signs of civilization emerged: wooden supports with width and height of 3-4 meters backed up the mine. A pair of rails was built on thoroughbred land, and a bright lantern were placed on the walls in each 10 steps. Here"s the mine.
The smell of damp and mustiness which accompanied the young young man from the moment of awakening gave way to a more pleasant working atmosphere. But there were no workers at all... And absolutely no sounds - silence.
A slight smile flashed across his grim face: {I am on the right track.}
Having looked back, he noticed that the cave was properly masked in small boulders and it cannot be detected without careful inspection. His curiosity gone away as soon as his stomach started grumbling. Hunger and thirst were unbearable, and the body was treacherously weak. Despite the weakness, his mind stayed clear.
Kyon was going upward the rails which came down to the main branch There could be seen on the support beams the symbols which sense the young man did not comprehend. Soon some distant voices could be heard. He lent an ear to them but it became clear that he can"t understand them. {So strange… This language is not familiar to me…} - for some time he even listened to the strange speech but then he bit about it for this activity was senseless. {It"s not the best time for this.}
The young man focused his mind and walked wearily towards the sounds of voices mentally getting ready to everything.
…
Working s.h.i.+ft was over two hours ago.
The workers with minimal personal rights - slaves, to put it simply - had long been sleeping in their beds, the supervisors Bob and Mob are still unable to go to bed. Young man Kyon went missing three days ago.
«Perhaps, he was blocked by stones and his search formationer was shattered?»
«The idea is good but it"s unlikely to be true. My faithful dog Rogash would have found the body under the blockage.»
«Maybe someone let him down and...?»
«Nonsense. We would have been reported by brothers-in-law about the accident, and even if not-Rogash would have smelled it as well.»
«Maybe he escaped?»
«You got crazy? No one escapes from here alive! And the deadmen, as you know, can"t run. And even if they could, my dog...»
«I got sick and tired of your dog! You"d better propose an idea how to report Flitz about the matter!» - exclaimed Mob angrily.
After a moment of reflection, Bob, the happy owner of the Almighty Rogash, cautiously asked:
«And what sort of sanction might be imposed in such odd cases?»
Mob"s eyes flashed. He writhed an awesome face and began to «educate» his fellow. «I heard that the previous supervisor was seized his dog and it was gutted, filled with sawdust and put as a reminder of fault in a prominent place, and then…»
«f.u.c.k you and your jokes! It"s not the proper time.» - annoyed Bob interrupted him.
Death of a «slave» meant nothing for a supervisor, but fat Bob was a rare exception. He was always soft-tempered man and liked to help people in need because when he was a child any a.s.sistance from people around was vital for his poor family. In the future, having received an acceptable livelihood and" getting on his feet», his feeling of malnutrition found a way out, so he gained weight and began to help the needy.
However, in the conditions of the mine, where slaves often die of starvation, exhaustion or a blockage of stones, his character slowly underwent changes.
Now both of them have something to worry about - the fact that tomorrow comes a weekly report to a strict boss, and it is impossible to fake the death of a slave: everyone has on his forehead the formation of magic, called "search formation," which informs not only about the location of its, but even about the viability of his body.
Well, if a person dies then the database would have received a signal about his death and the report will be simply closed without any proceedings. But in this case the signal was absent and the formation did not respond to search. There were no witnesses to the death, nothing was known, but here existed a law that must be strictly observed. «Any activities in the mine must be under control.»
As for all history of existence of the mine inexplicable losses have happened incredibly rarely, because the formations are extremely stable and magical formations which ordinary people can not destroy... Therefore, such cases are «considered to be extraordinary» and force to thoroughly clarify the situation.
Bob and Mob actually undertook their best efforts to find the missing person during these 3 days. The survey made during the «red-necks» resulted in no outcomes: anybody saw or hear anything. Bob even sent his faithful watchdog Rogash to search him but it didn"t find him by smell. Upon return, it plaintively whined and shook the nose.
While they had their active conversation, the could hear steps from outside.
Having looked closely, the supervisors noticed the exhausted guy of years 14.
Black hair, dark brown eyes, 165 cm tall and slim build.
It"s... it"s him! - Mob exclaimed uncertainly.
Bob, seeing that the guy was barely standing, ran to support him. «What"s up? Where the h.e.l.l have you been?»
However, he only kept silence. In the next moment, his slender body went limp and probably would have flopped to the ground, if not for the support of the supervisor – the young man lost consciousness.
«He"s been found for all that! Ugh ... just a stone from the soul ... I Wonder where he was?»- Ugh ... just a stone from the soul ... I Wonder where he was?»- breathed a sigh of relief Mob. However, taking mirror-like device and without seeing in it a reaction of the formation on the forehead of Ken, frowned. - «f.u.c.k, his formation doesn"t respond.»
Bob was surprised and felt like saying something, but eventually he just shook his head. «It doesn"t matter now. Just have a look how exhausted he is... He is surely also dehydrated. We should let him rest to more or less recover. Grounding upon his words we will find out where he went.»
«Bob, wait ... Think carefully, what will we say when it turns out that the formation is out of order? We have no idea where he"s been, and we"ll have to report back tomorrow!»
«What the h.e.l.l does it matter? We must first help him, he could die!»
«What are you, nuts? Let"s just get rid of him. An ordinary half-dead slave will solve all the problems with the heads...» - Mob approached the half-dead young man with cold determination.
Bob growled furiously:
«Your heartlessness strikes me down! How can we not help this young man?! OK! If that"s what you want, I"ll take full responsibility! Get away.» - and he pushed Mob from the road and dragged Kyon to the hospital.
«You"re moron, you don"t want to find easy ways.» - Mob sneered as a reaction on such manifestation of humanism. His friend always sucks an egg. - «And by the way, it"s your boasted dog that couldn"t find him... Well, do as you like, as long as it"s none of my business.»
…
The young man focused his mind and walked wearily towards the sounds of voices mentally getting ready to everything.
The two men stood ahead and they were likely to be very surprised at his appearance.
Both middle-aged. One was plump, short and the second was tall and thin, with a sly expression on his face. It struck his eyes that the missed formations on their foreheads. This highlighted the guess that he was still a slave, and they were superiors.
{d.a.m.n it... If this is the case, then my situation is unenviable – these two will clearly be easier to get rid of me ... d.a.m.n it, there is no strength even to raise my hand ... Am I finished? There"s no choice... I"ll try.}
The young man felt himself on the verge of life and death, after all, in his understanding a slave – is n.o.body. He carefully watched the expression on the faces of both in order to understand how to proceed. Is it possible to change your destiny?
Chapter 1
His head was pounding with terrible pain ... His thoughts were in a sort of fog.
Having opened his eyes slightly, the young man could see a dim light from the lantern.
He could do each motion with great difficulty. His muscles throbbed with a viscous pain, as after impact of heavy loads, and the throat was dry of terrible thirst.
Having gathered his strength, he raised his body trying to remember anything.
There was a damp and cold cave around him. It was impossible to see a thing farther than two meters; only the flashlight built into the helmet radiated light azure light. A crystal was faintly blinking inside: apparently, it would completely fade away soon.
The young man slightly recovered himself, rubbed his temples and began to a.n.a.lyze the situation. {Judging upon the migraines and memory loss, I was badly hit on the head.}
He astonis.h.i.+ngly stared at his hands as if he had never seen them before. - {It"s oddly.} - skin is very rough, stale and calloused. - {It is most likely that I work here, but is it allowed to work at a mine at my age? After all, judging upon size of my hands and body, I"m not more than 15 years old.}
Having picked up a helmet with a built-up flashlight laid nearby, the young man he got back on his feet with effort and walked around in a circle to explore the area.
He found a metal tool with a handle and a sharp end similar to a pickaxe. This was the tool the miners operate and it suggested the correct idea. An odd device which missed figures and symbols with a randomly rotating hand laid nearby. - {It does not look like a compa.s.s.}
The young man examined himself attentively. Light and worn clothing and shoes, pale skin, dirty and broken nails, slim physique, short hair and not tall growth. There appeared an amazing feeling as if you are looking at an absolute stranger. Wearily rubbing his forehead, he felt a strange tingling and outlines of some symbols.
{It is definitely not a scar? Is it possible that I have had the formation?!}
And the symbols meant his name - Kyon, but he couldn"t know it.
Kyon was still feeling shocked and his eyes met fading light of the lantern.
{I have no time at all, I have to find the way out here. I wouldn"t prefer to be stuck here forever.}
He put the tool of unknown device under his belt and, swaying, he made his way in the only direction available.
The surrounding landscape had not changed substantially after half and an hour of walk - the same wet and dark cave which seemed to be boundless. Unsuccessful attempts to recall anything escalated the situation. Suddenly he set against a half-meter ledge of rock. He climbed the ledge with the effort and, having advanced, Kyon disclosed that the cave began to narrow.
The young man resolutely climb the slope.
The cave was getting smaller and smaller, but a lean body has its advantages.
Finally, the light at the end of the tunnel became visible.
The young man, grunting and shaking himself, got out of the cave and got up to his feet. Eventually, the signs of civilization emerged: wooden supports with width and height of 3-4 meters backed up the mine. A pair of rails was built on thoroughbred land, and a bright lantern were placed on the walls in each 10 steps. Here"s the mine.
The smell of damp and mustiness which accompanied the young young man from the moment of awakening gave way to a more pleasant working atmosphere. But there were no workers at all... And absolutely no sounds - silence.
A slight smile flashed across his grim face: {I am on the right track.}
Having looked back, he noticed that the cave was properly masked in small boulders and it cannot be detected without careful inspection. His curiosity gone away as soon as his stomach started grumbling. Hunger and thirst were unbearable, and the body was treacherously weak. Despite the weakness, his mind stayed clear.
Kyon was going upward the rails which came down to the main branch There could be seen on the support beams the symbols which sense the young man did not comprehend. Soon some distant voices could be heard. He lent an ear to them but it became clear that he can"t understand them. {So strange… This language is not familiar to me…} - for some time he even listened to the strange speech but then he bit about it for this activity was senseless. {It"s not the best time for this.}
The young man focused his mind and walked wearily towards the sounds of voices mentally getting ready to everything.
…
Working s.h.i.+ft was over two hours ago.
The workers with minimal personal rights - slaves, to put it simply - had long been sleeping in their beds, the supervisors Bob and Mob are still unable to go to bed. Young man Kyon went missing three days ago.
«Perhaps, he was blocked by stones and his search formationer was shattered?»
«The idea is good but it"s unlikely to be true. My faithful dog Rogash would have found the body under the blockage.»
«Maybe someone let him down and...?»
«Nonsense. We would have been reported by brothers-in-law about the accident, and even if not-Rogash would have smelled it as well.»
«Maybe he escaped?»
«You got crazy? No one escapes from here alive! And the deadmen, as you know, can"t run. And even if they could, my dog...»
«I got sick and tired of your dog! You"d better propose an idea how to report Flitz about the matter!» - exclaimed Mob angrily.
After a moment of reflection, Bob, the happy owner of the Almighty Rogash, cautiously asked:
«And what sort of sanction might be imposed in such odd cases?»
Mob"s eyes flashed. He writhed an awesome face and began to «educate» his fellow. «I heard that the previous supervisor was seized his dog and it was gutted, filled with sawdust and put as a reminder of fault in a prominent place, and then…»
«f.u.c.k you and your jokes! It"s not the proper time.» - annoyed Bob interrupted him.
Death of a «slave» meant nothing for a supervisor, but fat Bob was a rare exception. He was always soft-tempered man and liked to help people in need because when he was a child any a.s.sistance from people around was vital for his poor family. In the future, having received an acceptable livelihood and" getting on his feet», his feeling of malnutrition found a way out, so he gained weight and began to help the needy.
However, in the conditions of the mine, where slaves often die of starvation, exhaustion or a blockage of stones, his character slowly underwent changes.
Now both of them have something to worry about - the fact that tomorrow comes a weekly report to a strict boss, and it is impossible to fake the death of a slave: everyone has on his forehead the formation of magic, called "search formation," which informs not only about the location of its, but even about the viability of his body.
Well, if a person dies then the database would have received a signal about his death and the report will be simply closed without any proceedings. But in this case the signal was absent and the formation did not respond to search. There were no witnesses to the death, nothing was known, but here existed a law that must be strictly observed. «Any activities in the mine must be under control.»
As for all history of existence of the mine inexplicable losses have happened incredibly rarely, because the formations are extremely stable and magical formations which ordinary people can not destroy... Therefore, such cases are «considered to be extraordinary» and force to thoroughly clarify the situation.
Bob and Mob actually undertook their best efforts to find the missing person during these 3 days. The survey made during the «red-necks» resulted in no outcomes: anybody saw or hear anything. Bob even sent his faithful watchdog Rogash to search him but it didn"t find him by smell. Upon return, it plaintively whined and shook the nose.
While they had their active conversation, the could hear steps from outside.
Having looked closely, the supervisors noticed the exhausted guy of years 14.
Black hair, dark brown eyes, 165 cm tall and slim build.
It"s... it"s him! - Mob exclaimed uncertainly.
Bob, seeing that the guy was barely standing, ran to support him. «What"s up? Where the h.e.l.l have you been?»
However, he only kept silence. In the next moment, his slender body went limp and probably would have flopped to the ground, if not for the support of the supervisor – the young man lost consciousness.
«He"s been found for all that! Ugh ... just a stone from the soul ... I Wonder where he was?»- Ugh ... just a stone from the soul ... I Wonder where he was?»- breathed a sigh of relief Mob. However, taking mirror-like device and without seeing in it a reaction of the formation on the forehead of Ken, frowned. - «f.u.c.k, his formation doesn"t respond.»
Bob was surprised and felt like saying something, but eventually he just shook his head. «It doesn"t matter now. Just have a look how exhausted he is... He is surely also dehydrated. We should let him rest to more or less recover. Grounding upon his words we will find out where he went.»
«Bob, wait ... Think carefully, what will we say when it turns out that the formation is out of order? We have no idea where he"s been, and we"ll have to report back tomorrow!»
«What the h.e.l.l does it matter? We must first help him, he could die!»
«What are you, nuts? Let"s just get rid of him. An ordinary half-dead slave will solve all the problems with the heads...» - Mob approached the half-dead young man with cold determination.
Bob growled furiously:
«Your heartlessness strikes me down! How can we not help this young man?! OK! If that"s what you want, I"ll take full responsibility! Get away.» - and he pushed Mob from the road and dragged Kyon to the hospital.
«You"re moron, you don"t want to find easy ways.» - Mob sneered as a reaction on such manifestation of humanism. His friend always sucks an egg. - «And by the way, it"s your boasted dog that couldn"t find him... Well, do as you like, as long as it"s none of my business.»
…
The young man focused his mind and walked wearily towards the sounds of voices mentally getting ready to everything.
The two men stood ahead and they were likely to be very surprised at his appearance.
Both middle-aged. One was plump, short and the second was tall and thin, with a sly expression on his face. It struck his eyes that the missed formations on their foreheads. This highlighted the guess that he was still a slave, and they were superiors.
{d.a.m.n it... If this is the case, then my situation is unenviable – these two will clearly be easier to get rid of me ... d.a.m.n it, there is no strength even to raise my hand ... Am I finished? There"s no choice... I"ll try.}
The young man felt himself on the verge of life and death, after all, in his understanding a slave – is n.o.body. He carefully watched the expression on the faces of both in order to understand how to proceed. Is it possible to change your destiny?