The Stolen Princess And The Blind Prince

Rice Pudding heard the laughter just as Mi-hee had smacked the last bandit to the ground. He looked around, and saw the bandit leader standing over a fallen Wulin.

"Boss!" he shouted, moving out of the smoke.

It seemed intent on keeping him there, as the smoke became a sort of swamp. But Rice Pudding kept a dagger in his hand, cutting through the wisps. He kept his steps light, eventually breaking out of the gluey substance.

He checked his pockets, he still had two knives tucked away, and one in his hand. He picked up a chair leg,

"Wow." The bandit leader's voice sounded funny, "I guess there's no point hiding in this disguise anymore…"

The bandit leader had aged significantly since the last time Rice Pudding had seen him. His skin was wrinkly, crinkling and folding excessively. No, wait, his clothes and skin seemed to move together. Like they were one whole fabric…

Well whatever, he thought, dashing towards them. Wulin needs my help!

In an elegant array of movements, the bandit leader raised his hand, snapping his fingers.

"Enough of this!" he snapped, the air seeming to suck itself into his middle finger.

Rice Pudding took this as his chance, throwing the chair leg high and rushing in low.

"Eh?" Their leader juked, sliding out of the way. A little bit of his face caught the splintered end, tearing off.

Rice Pudding was mid-strike when he was grabbed by his face. He felt himself being pushed down, until his back slammed into the wooden floorboards. His face was twisted from the hand gripping his cheeks. He couldn't see, but he could hear. Not a man, but a woman.

"Annoying!" she said, "Am I surrounded by idiots?! How do 11 men lose to… to you people?!"

Rice Pudding felt himself begin dragged. Sensing how close her palm was, he opened his mouth and bit down. Hard.

"Ow!" The woman giggled, continuing as if nothing happened. "Juuust kidding!" she slammed Rice Pudding into the wall.

He heard a ripping sound. Her grip loosened a bit. Curious, he peeked. A woman was tearing away the bandit leader's face, skin and clothes. Her hair was long and went below her pale shoulders. Her black eyes twinkled, complimented by her gold eye shadow. Her lipstick was the same gold color. She wore a simple midnight frock, it flowing down to her ankles. He looked away. She's kinda pretty...

"It's paper! See?" He heard her say.

After a quick scan of the room, Rice Pudding realized he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He hadn't noticed earlier, but the smoke that Boulder, Mama Peach, and Mi-hee were in had solidified. They were bound in purple-glittering bonds; watching intently. His eyes flicked over to his Boss, Wulin, who was on the floor pale and sweaty. He seemed to be breathing. Thank goodness.

"Today's been a shit day." She said, demanding his attention, "And you're the perfect dummy to take my anger out on…"

Three glittering black knives appeared in her free hand.

"Let's see how long you'll last!"

---

Porridge's big brother senses were tingling. He was sitting outside, with some of the customers he had herded out of the bar. A few of them had gone home, and others had run off to get guards. It was late, so there were only about two making rounds in this area. They wouldn't be back for a while…

But that doesn't change the fact that Porridge's gut was telling him something was off. The sounds of fighting had stopped a few minutes ago. But who had won? No one had come out yet.

"I'm going in there," he finally said. A drunken man acknowledged him with a simple nod.

He knew Rice Pudding hated the way he had always seemed to hover, but this wasn't the same as being too scared to climb down from a tall tree. These men, these bandits, had real weapons. Which meant the Rice Pudding could get seriously hurt.

Its not that Porridge doubted his little brother's abilities. They had grown up without their parents, living in the forest. Back then Porridge used to do everything: cooking, cleaning, fighting, begging… all of that. He just never thought that his little Rice Pudding would like fighting as much as he used to!

Porridge stepped over the broken door. Nervous.

No matter what, he thought, its always better to stay calm.

The air was still. Tables and chairs were flipped over. There were dents and cracks in the walls, and splinters of wood were all over the place. He saw Wulin first, from the doorway. Gliding against the wall, he saw Boulder, Mama Peach, and a girl bound to the floor. They looked to be fine, but… he didn't see his brother.

He followed the wall, walking past them and edging closer to Wulin. There was this weird haze making it hard to see. His instincts told him to stick to the wall, but he watched Wulin carefully as he walked past.

Wulin's left cheek had been bleeding; the skin bright red, like a rash. The rest of his face was pale and sweaty, glistening like a lizard's. There was a bit too much blood, Porridge noted. It flowed like water. But, Wulin seemed to be breathing, which was good.

The young man looked ahead, suddenly hearing a voice, along with some sort of whisking noise. It was a woman, and she was counting…38, 39, 40.

Porridge squinted, slowing his pace. He saw two silhouettes. One was limp, pushed into the wall. The other was holding them up.

"Hey, hey, hey! You there?" The woman, shook him a bit, then, he dropped.

Red blood. The face covered in blood was his little brother.

"Ryung!" Porridge ran to him but tripped over a table leg.

His c.h.e.s.t, his face, the walls, they were all the same color.

"Hey? You know this kid?" A woman said.

Porridge didn't answer, he was stunned. His little brother. He needed to reach him; help him. He tried getting up, but was his hand stepped on by the woman.

"Nng!"

"I, don't like being ignored," she said. "I'm the super famous, super strong, assassin: Sa! The Snake! Stuck in this shitty place!" Stomp. "Saddled with…with these disgusting men!" She stomped again, "Who get beat by barmaids, old men, and children!"

She finished her rant with a kick to his side

"H-huuu, w-wa…" Porridge held his stomach, crying. This was just too much! His brother's bleeding out, Wulin's losing color by the second.

---

Sa, watched his big wet tears. It made her skin itch. But, she thought, I guess I won? She fluttered three knives between her fingers juggling them. She tossed one at Rice Pudding, one at Porridge, and put the last one under her shirt.

"Bye kiddo," she said turning towards the door.

There was a tiny sound. A rushing sound.

Sa found herself flying through the air. She bounced off one of the few remaining tables, tumbling, rolling, into one of the booths in the back.

"The f.u.c.k hit me?" She coughed. New pains had blossomed all over her body.

Her entire body ached, but the pain from the side of her head… she placed her palm there. It was wet.

"Shit… Blood." She got up, equipping her last knife, a little dizzy.

Her slip in concentration had made her glittering haze affect her vision too.

A new enemy? She wondered. Assassins work best when they get the jump on their enemy, not the other way around. This new guy, how long had he been watching?

Another small sound. The swooshing. A table???

Sa barely had any time to dodge. She juked left, moving away from the exit. The table suddenly changed direction, aiming straight for her head.

Unprepared, she thrust her arm out, slicing through the aged wood with her black knife. Just as Sa was about to sigh in relief, her wrist was grabbed.

She was quick, sacrificing the sleeve of her frock to escape. As she jumped back, she saw a table leg flying towards her face. She caught it, distracted, receiving another blow to her c.h.e.s.t.

She tumbled, returning to the ground. Sa was winded, gasping. There were footsteps, coming close. She rolled over, trying to buy time.

"Tsk! Hey, do you know who you're messing with! I've got princes lining my pockets!"

She heard the footsteps coming towards her pause. She took advantage, swiping at his legs. He seemed to falter. Sa wound a strand of her hair to the hilt of her knife, throwing it into the rafters above.

I just need to grab my things and leave! Sa desperately thought. This is way too f.u.c.k.i.n.g annoying!

This was her last chance, as she was out of energy; pulling herself up by strength alone.

Halfway up, the line was cut.

Ah. Sa thought. This can't be happening… The only thing that can cut my hair is… is one of my own knives…

---

Sa felt squished. The man had her head in an iron grip. His palm covered her eyes. The dull ache coming from the cut along her head was throbbing along with her heart beat.

If I play this right, she thought, I can get away.

One kick was all she needed.

"…antivenom." The man said.

"Huh? What? Can you speak up?"

"Do you have antivenom."

It wasn't a question.

"Ah, yes!" Sa sputtered, grasping this chance. She pointed up, "It's in my bag! Up there!"

She could still feel his eyes on her. She felt her forehead get hot, sweaty. Why was she so nervous? She was telling the truth!

"I'll get it myself." He simply said.

Sa received a punch to her gut. Her world went black.