When The Sun Bleeds

The girl left him behind that night.

She always did.

She moved like a ghost through the lawless streets, vanishing before Kaelion could ask her anything. He did not even know her name only that she had saved him, mocked him, and left him to starve all in the same breath.

He would not beg for her help.

But he needed to survive.

The first lesson he learned in the lawless district was hunger.

The second lesson was pain.

Three days passed. His body ached. His hands trembled from exhaustion. The bruises from his fall were fading, but the dull ache in his stomach grew worse.

Food was power.

And power belonged to those who could take it.

Kaelion was still too weak to fight for it, too unfamiliar with the streets to steal it. He needed another way.

He needed to think.

The lawless district was chaotic, but it was not mindless. It had its own rules... unspoken laws of survival that Kaelion had begun to notice.

There were vendors who never got stolen from.

There were gangs who owned certain streets.

And there were people who paid for information.

That was how he found his first opportunity.

A merchant had set up a stall near the eastern alleys, selling old maps and trinkets scavenged from the ruins outside the kingdom. Kaelion had seen him before....he was one of the few traders who never got robbed.

Which meant he was protected.

Kaelion waited, watching from the shadows until the merchant was alone.

Then, he stepped forward.

"I can read," he said.

The merchant barely glanced at him. "So?"

"I can read maps," Kaelion continued, pushing down his pride. "I know how to navigate the ruins outside the city. I know things others don't."

It was a lie.

But the merchant paused.

Kaelion knew he had him.

Information was valuable. Even in the lawless district, knowledge meant power.

The merchant studied him, then threw a scrap of bread onto the ground. "Bring me something useful. Maybe then, I'll listen."

Kaelion swallowed his anger.

He bent down, picked up the bread, and walked away without another word.

The girl was waiting for him when he returned to his corner of the ruined district.

She sat on the broken steps of an abandoned house, her arms wrapped around her knees. Her sharp eyes flickered to the bread in his hands.

Then, she smirked.

"So, the little prince finally learned how to beg."

Kaelion stiffened.

He wanted to ignore her.

But something in him...some deep, unbroken part of his pride... refused to let her mock him without answer.

"I didn't beg," he said coldly.

She tilted her head, watching him with unreadable amusement. "No. You lied."

Kaelion didn't flinch.

She laughed softly. "Good. At least you're not completely useless."

She leaned forward, resting her chin on her knees. "You want to survive here, prince?"

He didn't answer.

She smiled anyway.

"Then stop thinking like a prince."

Kaelion's fingers tightened around the bread.

She didn't wait for a reply.

She stood up, brushing the dust from her ragged clothes. "Come with me."

Kaelion hesitated.

The girl had never invited him anywhere before.

But something in her gaze was different tonight.

A challenge.

A test.

Kaelion followed.

She led him through the streets.... not through the ruined alleys he had grown used to, but deeper. Into the heart of the district, where the flickering lanterns barely held back the dark.

Kaelion felt it instantly.

The air was different here.

The streets were quieter. The laughter was sharper, laced with something dangerous.

And then, he saw them.

A group of men gathered near a fire. Their clothes were torn but rich beneath the filth... not common beggars, but something worse.

The girl stopped a few steps away.

She tilted her head toward Kaelion. "See them?"

Kaelion nodded stiffly.

"They run this part of the district," she said. "They don't steal. They don't beg. They take."

Kaelion's stomach twisted.

"They're looking for new recruits," the girl murmured. "Boys with sharp eyes and fast hands. Boys who won't be missed."

She turned to him.

"Do you want to join them?"

Kaelion's blood turned cold.

He met her gaze.

"You think I would?"

She shrugged. "You don't have many options, prince."

Silence stretched between them.

Then, she smiled.

"But you're different, aren't you?"

Kaelion clenched his jaw.

He didn't know if she was mocking him, or if there was something else beneath her words.

She turned, walking away without looking back.

Kaelion did not hesitate.

He followed.

And as they disappeared back into the shadows, he realized something.

The girl had never told him her name.

But she knew something he didn't.

Something about this place.

Something about him.

And if he wanted to survive... if he wanted to prove her wrong.... he would have to find out what it was.