Such a bad guy ~ Prince Viridian

36

I could see a small village right before me. It wasn't much, but this horse was leading me there so it had to mean something. The horse stopped before the path that was leading all the way over a bridge.
"So this is where we say goodbye?" I did not ask the horse, I was asking myself. It took all. The strength I had to slide of the back of the horse. My feet reached the ground without a sound. They felt horrible, but I had to go. Keep moving. I gave the horse a small pet on the cheek.
"Thank you my friend." The horse turned in a swift movement and was gone in a flash. The walk to the village was heavy on me. The sleep my body needed was creeping on me. The travel had been heavy, but this was torture itself. I reached the gate of the village. There were no people on the street. Every house looked broken down. All the windows were closed. Doors were covered with pieces of wood. Above some doors were red marks. I used to read about this legend that people would mark their doors with blood to bless their houses. I never knew that was actually a thing they really did. I walked on to found one of the doors on my left being opened.
"Child, get in here fast." A voice whispered. I did not know if I needed to trust the voice, but I knew I had to go. I needed someone to offer me a bed. Or at least a piece on the floor to sleep on. I rushed to the door. Many hands reached for me and pulled me inside the house.

It took a second for my eyes to get used to the darkness of the place, but when they did I was shocked. The small place was a tavern. People were sitting around tables and laughing cheerful. There were small candles everywhere. They could have been burning for hours. The smell of beer and smoke filled my lungs. This place was not dead. It was alive. The people that had pulled me inside smiled at me. One of them pressed bread in my hands. The piece was warm and the smell was amazing. My stomach graved for it. Another person came up to me and offered me a cup. It did not smell like beer, but I was sure it wasn't water either. What were all these people doing? Why hide in this darkness?