When The Sun Bleeds

The first lesson Kaelion learned in this place was simple.

The weak do not eat.

It had been three days since he had fallen from the palace. Three days since he had woken up in the filth and shadows of the lawless district, with nothing but a tattered cloak and the mocking gaze of a girl who called herself nobody.

Three days since he had become one of the forgotten.

Now, his body ached with hunger.

The small piece of stolen bread had barely been enough to keep him standing, and the scraps of water he found were thick with filth. But the girl.. she never looked hungry.

She wasn't strong. She was thin, weak-looking, barely older than him. But she had a way of moving, a way of watching that made Kaelion feel like she saw everything before it happened.

And she never shared her food.

"You need to find your own," she had said the second day, when he asked. "Or take it."

Kaelion had clenched his jaw, refusing to beg.

He was not weak.

But his stomach burned, his body ached, and when he tried to stand too fast, his vision blurred.

On the third night, he watched her slip into the streets.

He had seen it before... the way she moved in the shadows, slipping between the broken alleys and watching from the rooftops. Sometimes, she would disappear into a crowded corner of the market, only to return with something small tucked into her sleeve... a piece of bread, a half-eaten fruit.

Tonight, he followed.

It wasn't difficult. His body was exhausted, but he had spent his childhood memorizing the halls of the palace, moving through hidden corridors and listening to the whispers of servants.

He knew how to move silently.

But this place was not the palace.

The streets twisted like a maze, filled with figures that did not belong to any kingdom he knew.

Drunkards slumped in corners, hollow-eyed children with hunger in their gaze lurked near vendors, and shadows moved behind doorways with quiet, watching interest.

For the first time in his life, Kaelion felt like prey.

And then...

A flicker of movement.

The girl darted into an alleyway.

Kaelion followed, his heart pounding.

Was this how she survived? Was she a thief?

He pressed himself against the corner, watching as she crouched low.... her small hands reaching toward an open crate. Inside, wrapped in cloth, were fresh loaves of bread.

His stomach twisted.

This was too easy.

A trap.

And she knew it.

She hesitated only a moment before pulling something small from her sleeve... a rusted knife, barely sharp.

Kaelion's breath caught.

She wasn't stealing.

She was waiting.

And then....

A hand shot out from the darkness.

A man stepped forward, grinning with yellowed teeth. "Finally caught you, little rat."

Kaelion's blood turned cold.

The girl did not flinch.

She had expected this.

Her fingers tightened around the knife, but the man was faster.

In a blink, his hand closed around her wrist, wrenching it backward. A sharp crack echoed through the alley.

She gasped.... but did not scream.

Kaelion did not think.

He lunged.

His body moved before his mind could catch up. His foot slammed into the man's knee, sending him staggering.

The girl twisted free.

For a moment, they locked eyes...

And then, she ran.

Kaelion did not.

His blood roared in his ears as the man turned back toward him, his eyes dark with rage. "You little—"

Kaelion moved.

His body screamed with exhaustion, but he was a prince. He had spent years training with wooden swords, memorizing battle techniques he had never thought he would need.

But this was not a duel.

This was survival.

The man lunged. Kaelion ducked, slamming his elbow into the man's ribs. The impact barely fazed him, but it was enough to throw him off balance.

Kaelion ran.

His chest burned, his vision blurred.... but he ran, twisting through the alleys until the sounds of pursuit faded into silence.

Finally, he collapsed against a wall, panting.

And then...

A voice.

"You're a fool," the girl said.

Kaelion's head snapped up.

She stood above him, her expression unreadable.

But there was something different in her gaze now.

Not mockery.

Not pity.

Something else.

Something he did not understand.

Kaelion swallowed. His hands trembled.

But he forced his voice to remain steady.

"You didn't run."

She exhaled sharply. "No."

Silence stretched.

Then, for the first time, she asked him a question.

"Have you ever killed someone before?"

Kaelion stiffened.

The girl's gaze darkened.

"You will."

Her words settled like ice in his stomach.

She turned, her figure fading into the shadows.

Kaelion clenched his fists.

His body ached. His mind was screaming.

But something in his chest was no longer weak.

She was wrong.

He would not become like them.

He would not kill.

He would survive.... but not at the cost of his own soul.

And yet, as he watched her disappear into the night, her words whispered in his mind.

You will.