923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfIaYNOd4Xr
923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVt6uWKLvt4
He remembers.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSUpOQvIGCG
How his day started with his mother's kisses. The feast, the songs, the celebrations, the laughter of their people, and the gifts from his friends; he remembers.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7wItjITVj4
And there's the signet ring hanging on his neck.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvapLR4tsRN
It was the most beautiful thing he had received on that eventful day. The white gold ring, too large at that time on his small seven years old finger, feels cold and makes this tingly feeling on where his ring and skin touches. It's blue in the middle with the kingdom's gold "stag and guns" emblem, and dangling daintly on a silver Figaro chain. He remembered his mother's proud smile as she tucks the ring on his chest, and whisper words of knowledge behind his ears.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW0VWpckksZ
"It is fine to rule with passion," She cupped with her hand the ring on his chest then placed a loving kiss on the crown of his head, "But remember that mind is above heart."923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyOrtMN6MVd
He took her words in his heart, not completely understanding the weight the words hold at the time, and though he convinced himself that he do now, he knows that her words we're still a puzzle for him.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrYNKNYZCYO
Then things went down to hell, the image of his mother's downfall that's as fresh as yesterday in his mind haunting him everytime he closed his eyes.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6c6l5WrXfn
She fought like the warrior she is, protected him like any mother would do for their child, and fell on the cold floor that no queen as great as her deserves. He can still sometimes see how her red blood blooms in her feast clothes, on how she grew pale, lungs heaving with lack of air, and the light in her eyes dying along with her heartbeat.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbEDfTqdnxg
"Run" Was the last word that left her lips.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGOWlMg3vOq
It was her last order as the kingdom's queen and he disobeyed her. Instead the young naïve him took the dagger he received that day and attacked the heavy clothed men in his room. He stood no chance at all with those men, and he lost consciousness with a hit on the head as they took him away from home.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXrQSch2huR
Away from his people, away from his friends, and above all, they took his mother's life; He then swears on his mother's memories, promised to pay them back ten folds of what they have done to him.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQTe8VdqK66
Then there was the man amongst monsters. A bit broken and frayed on the edges, but he owns a soul that shines brightly contrast to his dark defences.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtemJtyAgHZ
He didn't free him, no. But when things went down in hell and disaster came, he cut the rope, gave him the same dagger he tried to save his mother with, and ordered him the same thing his mother told him.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCivROc4w7C
"Run."923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfamJIb8PqU
So run he did, but for the second time at that night, he dismissed the plea as he stopped from his tracks and looked back. He saw the man - no, beast - fight for his life, not aware how his comrades and enemies alike fell one by one. That or he just does not care.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPt9YLSxoc3
He remembers the picture of that beast, covered in blood, his shadowed face, and black eyes glinting in the dark, as the puddle of blood grows every second as they found their way out of fatal wounds. It made him shiver to the core.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFAioV5fO4z
And he don't know how long he stood there, a few minute or hours - maybe even the whole night - he don't know, but he felt his knees go weak when that blood soaked beast turned to him, eyes locked unto him, and strode towards him.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3AGRS9RBF4
He took two steps backwards on the man's every step and "too late" he thought, "I should have ran"-923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVul8uaB763
And with those thoughts, he took off.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuUC7Smt560
As fast as his small limbs can, even though his lungs burns with lack of air, his tears blurs his vision, and his mind numb, he ran and ran and ran. He hears nothing but static, the breeze colder than he remembers, and he just feels too lost.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk7NImNgQ4O
A rough, sticky, warm, slippery, bloody large hands caught his arms and he flailed uncoordinated, with fear choking him. He's aware that he screamed, but he didn't know what nor how loud it was, but he screamed.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBjWGAFFuKz
And in between of everything that's happening, the clasps on his arms loosened and everything just stopped.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYDbwS3OEiq
He took a breath and looked around and saw the beast lying on the ground vulnerably. Same red grows on his stomach that he clutches for dear life - and maybe he really is clutching it dearly so - and red blood flows on the ground from his head, hair matted with his blood.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6HiHyg8TsR
He doesn't know why, but he spared the man.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2pJLLaY1qR
He remembers taking his dagger and unsheathing it, holding above the man's heart with trembling hands. He remembered seeing the beast as the same broken man earlier. He remembered seeing the tired soul behind those brown eyes.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlczyA37lkf
On how the breeze caressed him gently with cold hands, how the sun's rays peeks behind dark clouds as if promising tomorrow, remembers how the owls hoots above them, and how battered and resigned those eyes were.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLzLxRmV6WF
But he saw a spark. It was something alive and stubborn, as they search through each other's soul. And that probably is the reason why he spared him, his body giving away and slumping above him; resigned and hopeful.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeGIcPRuUhQ
But he forgets it all whenever he wakes up.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9E0BRbMOQh
Or rather, he makes himself to, and he's completely fine with that. He used to wake up gasping like a fish out of the water, tears streaming down his cheeks, air lacking and too much at the same time as his thoughts run wild.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8uRcbOGdzl
He was pathetic.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRuf1lIkLG9
He stopped minding it nowadays. It's easier that way.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzeizXQx6lC
As easy as how he turns a blind eye with how a friend run as hard as he can as if hell's hounds are on him like dogs with their bones. Which would be a rightful reaction with how his own people - those very same people he pledged to protect and serve - are running after him like the mindless monsters they are. Like the selfish persons they are.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLmiP5r5Zu6
And it hurts to see that the man stood no chance.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwhO6Upz4SH
With a sigh, he tangled his fingers together and stretched them, getting the familiar satisfying pop and crack, and he started working.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvwWSMZgNiY
He typed codes and decryption, unlocking traps here and there, thanking heavens above that this man knows how to dodge. This friend of his may think that he's forsaking him, or the elders may think lower of him than they already have with his incompetence, but he have to help this man out of here.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMlLABLGzpq
Satisfied with chasing his friend out towards safety and out of the kingdoms' borders, even succeeding with entrapping some of those poor excuse of knights on some traps, he sagged contently back in his chair.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIVqnrEGYpS
He'll be berated about this later, even to be hold off with his duties, but he realized that he doesn't care. He's fine with that. After all, he can blame them back for neglecting his founding and suggestions for improvement. Their hate for science would always bite them back hard, with revenge.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV4Hn4LNyXR
He reviewed some of the recordings and deleted anything that would prove that he "helped" with the traps, as well as the videos that would tell where the man would be heading. Maybe leaving some few that would make a greatly handy false assumption on where would the man go.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5wXmZWKoNK
A knock rang from his door, followed by a steady voice.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6JkTA8cTMF
"Col. Hauger, the commanders ask for your presence in the meeting in an hour, sir."923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw5aAmqG09i
"Thanks Joe." He replied, not even bothering to dismiss the man properly.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbOLmPFsnBq
Anyways, he does have a meeting to prepare. Either a boringly long reprimand regarding his lack of mental capability if he's lucky, or finally getting sacked if not. 923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHgukhxe4hI
Even if they sack him though, he still is the most qualified person when it comes to electronics here in this kingdom and he could easily just crack through the network. Though knowing himself, he'd probably celebrated instead of sulk if he really got sacked.923Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbS7EJsbGLp
Oh well.
ns216.73.216.176da2
