The Chain Cronicles

Blood Ties

"Astred." The sound of my name returns me to the reality I hate and dread. I cocked my head to the man whose lips spilled my name. I took a sharp breath when I stared directly into the eyes of Hell. Gods, why have you forsaken me?

"What 'cha be doing, boy?" The man snarled angrily, knitting his thick eyebrows together as a vein popped on the side of his strong neck. So this must be Lefon, the bar's owner. Or in other words, my boss. He was a lot broader than I thought, shoulders as wide as some of the tables. I have never seen or even met him in flesh, and frankly, I never wanted to. His very presence seemed to have brought the cold air of death.

"Uh... Nothing sir. I was-uh- cleaning," I choked out of my tight throat. I bet I sounded like a stuttering idiot but it felt like straw was being shoved down my throat. To enforce my words I moved the mop in my hand back and forth in a cleaning manor. I laughed nervously as I examined him from the corner of my eye. His face reminded me or square, his hooked nose dipped low, and his head shines brightly.

"Really?" He questioned as he bended down to level his eyes to mine. There was moment of silence, as if it was just me and him in the bar and the tension was thicker than ice. He sighed and dropped his arms to his sides, giving up. My guess is that he was just trying to past time. Getting bored was basically asking for someone to catch you off guard and stick a knife in your back. He started to stomp away.

"Get back to work, Beer Boy." And with a grunt he disappeared into the group of men trying to get laid by pretty women. Which was obviously not happening. There was no doubt in my mind, I bet that there was a prostitute waiting for him. Who would shag the likes of him? He isn't paying enough, I'm sure. And would you know it. A pretty young woman who isn't getting paid enough, walked out to greet Lefon. She took his hand and giggled before the two fled up the stairs. I gagged at the thought of them 'making love'. The sound of the door screaming for oil as it opened drew my attention to the person who had opened the door.

It was a suspicious character who made the whole bar go as silent as the skies at midnight. The occasional sound of someone fiddling with their beer glass was the sound anyone dared to make. I was guessing this character was male. A young boy not to much younger than I. His shoulders weren't very broad, slightly smaller than mine. His face was covered by a hood that shielded his face from this Hell-like world. His cloak brushed the floor and was slit at the front like any other cloak. The clicking of his leather riding boots was almost nostalgic. He made his way to a round table, slumping tiredly in a wooden seat as every pair of eyes in the bar stared at him. The waitress, whose name I can't quite remember, looked at me completely terrified. I took a deep breath and the bar slowly became noisy again. To be honest, I liked the loudness the bar brought but I never even know why.

"Hello sir, would-" The stranger began to take his hood off. I stood there, shocked as I looked at his- I mean her features. Dark, unruly hair and steel eyes that left me feel vulnerable. If Lefon was down here, he would have thrown the poor girl out. She looked like a Traveler.

Long ago, when the king was ill, he split his power between his two sons. Which meant, the king's domain was split in two.(A domain is like a state.) Octavian, the youngest of the two, traveled the roads of his domain, the Johann Domain. He regularly set off to help his people in need. But his elder brother, Nathaniel, thought and did differently. Though he was older, he wasn't as people smart as Octavian but dealt better with politics and decisions. Nathaniel, who owned the Keydon Domain, conquered several other domains and he let his people suffer. He didn't give a damn if they were dying from starvation, illness, or crop disease. Nathaniel's people were called Pure Bloods and Octavian's people were called travelers. Nathaniel and Octavian fought for the others land. They both died, leaving their legacies and people behind.

"Look," started the girl. "I may act like a boy, but I ain't a boy!" I could tell she was angry but why at me? How was I supposed to know she wasn't a he? She was the one who hid her face. I never really did look at her face. It was small and round, much like a child's. With large eyes and a small nose. She seemed much like a doll that belonged in a young girl's dresser. She was a lot smaller without the cloak.

"You were the one who hid your face." I replied and her cheeks burned a flaming scarlet as she realized my words were true. She looked away in embarrassment and just about every guy in the bar jerked his head towards the cute scene. Dear Gods was she beautiful.

"I guess you have a point. What are you doing over here anyway?" She asked, clearly not pleased by my presence. I had forgotten the purpose to why I was here but I remembered. I was a Beer Boy, a boy between the ages of nine to eighteen. It's kind of being a waiter but you aren't getting paid a dime.

"What would you like to drink, miss?" I asked smiling at the girl's attitude. She was very, interesting.

"Whiskey." She answered as the floor suddenly became interesting to her. I nodded, smirking at her behavior. I went to the counted where the waitress was stationed at. She was flirting with men two times or even three times her age. She shifted her bright eyes to me and left the men telling them she would be back in a moment.

"What do you need, Astred, my boy?" She asked smiling as she kept eyeing the girl. Speaking of the girl, she had gotten out a map tangled with roads she ran her delicate fingers over.

"One whiskey and one wine." I replied, getting something for myself. She shook her head and got down two glasses. A wine glass and a shot glass, a bottle for the whiskey was laid beside them. She filled the cup of wine and whiskey in the bottle. She placed the two cups and the bottle in a tray and smiled wickedly.

"Here you go, mate. Tell me how it goes later." She winked and without another word she walked off to her men. What the Hell was that? 'Tell me how it goes later'? What is supposed to happened? I sighed, why does she have to be so complicated? I took the tray and walked back to the girl, what it Gods name was she doing? She was a Traveler, at least I think so. I placed the short cup beside her, filling it with whiskey. I sat on the other side of the round table, drinking some wine as I studied her. She looked up at me with such annoyance.

"What's your name lassie?" I asked, staring at her. She was stunningly beautiful and so different than the other sluts that come to this bar. We sat in silence for ten more minutes before she sighed.

"Bramble," She mumbled. "What's your name?" I knew she- Bramble -only asked because she knew I wanted her to ask me. I smiled and leaned on my elbow to act cool even though my hands shook.

"The names Astred, Bramble." Her named rolled off my tongue so easily. She took a drink of whiskey, her eye twitching ever so slightly. I chuckle at her and she twitched even more. I studied her even more. She seemed like the type of person who gets angered easily, but she also seems shy and meek. Her features were indeed rare, but she acts like a young child.

"Bramble how old are you?" I felt like I wanted to know everything I could about her. Everything she would tell me at least.

"I'm seventeen, I believe." S-seventeen? Did I hear her correctly? I would have guessed fourteen, ten, or even nine. But seventeen? A year younger than me, that seems unreal. "Would you stop gaskin' at me? I'm seventeen, it isn't a big whoopty-do. It's not like I'm some whore who learned how to spell my own name." She said sarcastically. The sad part is most whores can't read or write. I nodded my head agreeing with her words.

"True, true." I glanced at the map of the ten main domains. "What are you looking at anyway? And why are there red dots in random places?" I asked as I looked at the large crinkly map upside down. The small red dots were spread about, thin black lines stitching them across the leather textured paper.

"I'm hunting someone." Her voice cracked and her face, grim. I bit my lip, trying to keep myself from asking anymore questions. This sounded like a sensitive subject but my situation is much like hers.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm in the same situation lassie." She looked up at me with wide eyes. It was the way she looked at me that made my throat tighten and my knees buckle. Genuine sadness lived in those eyes that seemed as sharp as swords. "He raised my village, raped the women, and made many children orphans. Including me." I remembered that day. The day where my life had changed forever.