The Forbidden by Caleb Baker (reading list .TXT) 📕

"Quickly!" a woman bellowed through her hands. A long subway train roared to life as a quo of scraggly looking people jumbled into it. A young girl was among them. A girl of grand stature, even among the Forbidden. She had long fiery red hair, and bright, very bright blue eyes. Red dots were painted under those eyes. They represented something to her, something to everyone else. Hope. Hope that a new order would rise in the ugly world they inhabited. Her name was Alexandria, the Princess of the Forbidden.    

The train was now piling up with passengers, all trying to got to the same place. They all had the same goal in mind, get out of the Kingdom. Almaria, the country, had just undergone an overthrow of power. The once virtuous king Damian was killed in cold blood for the throne by his younger brother, Duran. Under his new regime the first order was to have every person of the Forbidden Kind sent to the gallows.    

Alexandria was first on the list to be killed, and she would have been if it weren't for that man. That man of mystery. He wasn't a Forbidden one, she could tell, he didn't have the markings. But, he did have one distinctive feature, and that was the long scar running down his face, starting from his cheek to his neck. She was awaiting her judgement by the High King when, from the crowd he sprang up. He defended her from the executioner and helped her escape the fate she had already accepted. But why? she didn't even know him.     She had now finally gotten onto the cart labeled 13a. This was the compartment that the scarred man told her to be in, he said she would be safe in here. She sat down, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. It was hard to tell whether there was a traitor among them. She silently covered her face with a light blue shawl that she had made herself after ripping it off her own dress.    

A disastrous looking man sat next to her, just as quiet as she was. He looked like he had been trampled during his attempt at getting on the train. His clothes were tattered and frayed at the seams. His face too was covered by a shawl, his being black. He was eyeing her oddly, making her shift uncomfortably. The train was buzzing with talk. Talk of what was going on. Nobody knew what to do, not even the Princess.    

The man next to her moved closer to her, so close she could smell him. It was the strange smell of Elken meat. Without turning his head he spoke into her ear. 

"Get off at the next stop," his voice was like a low growl. 

The Princess was taken aback. She certainly was not expecting to spoken to after what happened at the Hearing. 

"Who are you?" she asked, afraid that he would be the one to fulfill the new King's duties. 

"A friend," he whispered raspingly, "do as I say, I promise you will be safe."

He got up from his seat, but not before adding 'my lady.' He stalked off into the next compartment. Alexandria was left to her thoughts, left to think.    

The Hearing was held in the High Court. She was on trial for murdering the former King, Damian. Of course she didn't do it, it was all a plot for Duran to take the throne. He needed the people to take his side, to believe that he was a good man, that he was simply mourning his brother's death. To the uneducated, which was the majority in Almaria, he seemed that way, but to those of higher learning they could see he had horrible motives.    

The verdict was guilty of all charges. This was what sparked the outlaw on all the Forbidden people. If anyone was found or caught, and discovered as a Forbidden one then they were to be killed on spot or brought to the court for trial, which was all the same, just a slower death. Alexandria was outcasted immediately after the news of the verdict was brought to the people, even more so with her own people. She was the cause of everything. For the past week her kind had been hunted and killed all because of her.     The train came to an abrupt stop, signaling Alexandria to get off. She quickly made her way out of the train, afraid of being seen. Once the doors closed behind her she began a brisk walk down a long alleyway that would eventually bring her into the East District of the Kingdom. This was the quickest way out of the country.   

"I hope you're not 'ere alone," a sly voice said from behind her. 

She whipped around, the tail of her dress making a cracking sound. Lucio, one of the largest grossing merchants in all Almaria was staring at her with a sneering smile. His cold, dark eyes swam across her face, searching for some sign of fear, but she showed none. She was slightly annoyed, having been told she would be safe here when she was on the train. 

"Lucio," she said turning back around, her red braid of hair swinging behind her. 

She was now glaring at two of Lucio's cronies. One of them was tall and burly, while the other was shorter and less built. 

"You've got a pretty price on your 'ead, my lady," Lucio's said mockingly. 

It was true. Since her escape from the gallows she was given a bounty of over one million grands. Grands were a currency consisting of: oats being one grand, yellows being ten, and jewels being one hundred grands.     The Princess was not frightened at all. Over the course of her entire life she had been given the proper training to defend herself. She was more afraid of what she could do to them, that is why she had to refrain from any violence for the time being.

Lucio and his minions advanced on her. She moved across the wall, pinning her back against it. The scrawnier man ignited his hand with a bright and burning flame. He was a Forbidden one. The flame in his hand quickly turned into a ball, circulating faster and faster. Lucio gave a yelp of glee as he saw the look in Alexandria's eyes.    

With a flash of light and a second spared, everyone was on the ground. Alexandria lay on her stomach, unknowing of what just happened. Lucio was lying face first in front of her, unmoving. The burly man next to him looked lifeless as well. His eyes were blank, and spurt of blood came flooding out of his mouth.     Someone was standing over her, hovering a hand in her direction. She took it and the person grabbed her's firmly, lifting her back up to a standing position. A scrawny looking teenager stood in front of her, sheathing a sword. 

"You're a Telopath!" Alexandria exclaimed. 

She had never seen one before. The white markings under his striking green eyes gave it away. She had grown accustomed to looking at a person's eyes first, to see whether they were a Forbidden or not. Every person born into that kind bore markings under their eyes, signifying what race they were. There were many different races, some of which were the Telopath, which was a person that could break or bend anything at the will of their mind, and the Flamest, which was what Lucio's henchman used to be. 

"Yes, and you're lady Alexandria," he spoke was such courtesy.

 He must have been from the former Court, before Damian had fallen. His clothes suggested so. He wore a white tunic emblazoned with a red lion over tightly fitted chain mail. He also wore a knightly headband with a shiny white diamond encrusted to the front.  

"Are you the one I'm supposed to be meeting?" Alexandria said slowly. "Yes," he said tersely. Still holding her hand, he guided her through the rest of the alley. They splashed through puddles and patches of mud. It had just rained the night before, and the sky today threatened to do it again.    

A second later the rain began to fall. While a raindrop fell hard onto Alexandria's forehead she couldn't help but question everything that had happened up to this point. Who was this boy? Where was he taking her? Did he have anything to do with that mysterious man? 

Her foot splashed into a puddle, sending water flying into the air. Thunder and lightning began to crash down upon the two of them as they raced through the darkened alley ways. Who was this boy?

The East District was known best for its trade and commerce. It was usually full of the hustle and bustle of the scions that inhabited this part of the kingdom. However, today, the setting was empty. It was like a dream walking through the alleys and streets with this royal looking boy.     

His hand was hard, and firm for a boy his age. He was nineteen, at most, Alexandria pondered. Her mind was reeling. Questions were rebounding inside her head. Who was this boy? Where was he taking her? What does he have to do with the other mysterious man at the gallows? What was going to happen to her?    

He released her hand. She let it fall limply to her hip, a smolder of ash spraying her in the face. The Flamest, the crony of Lucio had left a mark upon her dress.     

The boy turned around quickly, a finger to his mouth and shushing her. 

"But, I wasn't talk--" she was cut off by his hand. 

He was standing towards her but listening behind himself. An ear perked out from behind his silvery blonde hair. So he was Elven. The ear was pointed and long, and also pierced with several white jewels. The hand he held up in protest to talk went strikingly fast to the hilt of his sword. 

"We're being followed. . ." He hissed. Alexandria had no idea what he was talking about. She hadn't heard anyone behind them.     

The boy looked up to the sky, his hair falling back neatly. Alexandria looked up too. A shadow dissipated just as quickly as she saw it. Someone was on the roof of the building they were standing under.     

She heard a sigh of relief from beside her. The Elf had now had his hand on his forehead and he was shaking it sarcastically. 

"It's just Gabriel," he said, releasing a small chuckle after. 

"Who's Gabriel?" she asked. 

His face went from smiling to astonished in the blink of an eye. 

"You really don't know who Gabriel is?"

"No."

"He's the King's youngest son. The new King rather," his voice now sounded annoyed, "he also saved your life yesterday."

"What!" Alexandria was astounded. 

That meant a name to the mysterious man. But it also arose new questions in her mind. If he was Duran's son then why did he save her? isn't he supposed to be on his father's