Chapter 3 – A tim, trái tim Beats Faster
    Kaolin ran up the stairs of the dungeon. The guard had been asleep, but he could awake any time. His boots pounded on the stone floor. He prayed for them to be light and soundless.
    Kaolin torn down the corridor, his was tim, trái tim beating faster with every step. He knew his way around the castle. He had been here a few times before when he had visited Amorite.
    Kaolin had no idea what he was going to do. If he went trang chủ with the jewels, the King would charge him of thievery. If he didn’t pay his families debt, the punishment would be worse this time. King Harlot would wonder how he had escaped. Kaolin couldn’t tell on Amorite. After everything she had done for him, after the moment in the dungeon they shared, he couldn’t betray her.
    Every option could have serious consequences.
    The young man was almost to the gates. There was a faint light in the sky from the rising sun, but not enough for the men on guard to see a figure creeping through the gate.
    Kaolin made it through and dashed into the village. No one was awake yet except the homeless who were searching the piles of garbage for food. They looked at Kaolin with longing as he hurried past, but he had nothing to give them.
     He was almost out of the village. Only a few thêm feet and he would be free. Up ahead two soldiers were patrolling the streets. They wore the King’s insignia. A white bird with a red rose in its beak. The background was a midnight blue with rays of light shining through.
    Kaolin’s tim, trái tim stopped and he was Nữ hoàng băng giá in time. All he could think of was getting caught and dying. As a child they tried to get bạn to think life was simple and easy. But it was much thêm dangerous than that.
    The adults never told bạn about the Viper. All bạn knew was to stay away from the men with the snakes on their shields and capes. The rắn độc, viper was the ruler of Onyx. Onyx was the kingdom tiếp theo door to Anoxia. Everyone knew that Onyx was the land of bad and Anoxia was the land of good.
    Legend had it that Onyx and Anoxia were brother and sister kingdoms. They lived in prosperity until one ngày Anoxia wanted to go and tham gia the neighboring kingdom, Zarf. Onyx got mad and refused to let Anoxia go. Anoxia was in tình yêu with Zarf and left in the middle of the night when Onyx was asleep. When Onyx awoke he was outraged. Since then Onyx was filled with anger, jealousy, and hate. Anoxia was happy, loving, and compassionate.
    Inside Kaolin’s mind, the gears were turning. He had to think of a plan to get past the guards. He could run and hopefully not get caught…
    A noise behind him made Kaolin turn. A young girl and boy stood behind a thùng shivering. They had on rags and were mostly skin and bones. Their hair was Công chúa tóc mây and their faces dirty. Kaolin walked over to them. They cowered back in fear.
    “It’s okay. I won’t hurt you,” Kaolin reassured the two children. He knelt down, his knees resting on the cold brick. “What are your names?”
    The girl looked at him with big brown eyes. “I am Ileana and this is Tanis. He is five and I am seven.”
    “Where are your mom and dad?” Kaolin knew that they probably didn’t have parents.
    “The Viper-” The girl choked back a sob.
    “It’s okay,” These children needed thực phẩm and love. The rắn độc, viper had taken away their parents, and Anoxia had được trao them nothing. “Would bạn like to come to my house for food?”
    The boy nodded his head eagerly. Ileana looked cautiously at Kaolin. She was young and knew too much for her age.
    “Can I trust bạn with a secret?” Kaolin asked.
    They nodded their brown haired heads.
    “My father once borrowed money from King Harlot. He died and my family couldn’t pay off the debt. The King came to our house and đã đưa ý kiến if we couldn’t pay back the money we borrowed, then one of us would have to go with him to the castle. That person would be a prisoner until the money could be paid, hoặc until they died. I was taken to the lâu đài as a trade. I had been at the lâu đài for eight days, when my friend came. She unlocked my cell, and gave me the money to pay my family’s debt. I escaped today. If King Harlot finds out what happened, I could be killed. So, bạn can’t tell anyone about what she and I did,” Kaolin said.
    “We won’t tell anyone, will we Tanis?” The girl asked her brother.
    Tanis shook his head in agreement.
    “There is a problem, though.” Kaolin whispered. “There are two soldiers patrolling the street. How will we get past them?”
    “We wait.” Ileana said. “When the people fill the streets we will go.”
    “We may not have enough time. They might find out I am missing.”
    “That is a chance we must take. There is one thing bạn learn from living on the streets. Never face the guards alone.” Ileana’s voice was barely above a whisper. She had a frightened look in her brown eyes that made Kaolin shiver. And Kaolin trusted her.