Outside the palace was cold, too cold, and Renji shivered as he replayed the earlier moment in his head.
One moment, he had been crying, holding his father's dead body, and the next, he was being dragged outside the palace by the same guards who had served him before.
His coronation were now soaking wet and ruined by mud.
"Hey, take it easy!" He shouted in protest as his shoulder smacked against one guard's breastplate and he stumbled. "I know I'm exiled, but I'd at least like to walk there in style. You're wrinkling the prince."
The guards didn't reply or act as if they heard him. They didn't even meet his eye, they simply held him with firm grips and moved quickly, half pulling, half dragging him.
As they got farther from the palace, the lights got fewer and the roads became darker, making Renji panick more as his new reality dawned on him.
They stepped into the forest, and eventually the guards stopped walking.
"Are we there yet?" Renji asked absentmindedly, looking around the forest.
But something made him pause, the air had changed, and there was new tension.
The leader of the guards stepped forward and drew his sword. "By the order of the queen, the traitor dies here."
Renji's heartrate spiked. "Dies?" He looked around quickly for anything he could use as a weapon. "Wait guys, my sentence was exile. Exile means living somewhere unpleasant, eating bugs, maybe growing a beard and getting thinner. I can't do that if I'm dead."
The leader grinned. "Exile to the grave."
Renji sighed inwardly. He probably should have expected it, his stepmother wouldn't have wanted him alive, he would be a threat that way, she would prefer if he was gone completely, no loose ends.
The other guards brought out their swords and pointed at him.
Renji raised his hands slowly. "gentlemen, if this is about me staining your breastplates earlier, I swear it wasn't even intentional, I couldn't walk due to all the dragging and stuff."
As the first guard lunged at him, renji's swordsman instinct kicked in and he twisted aside quickly.
The sword sliced through his robe instead of his neck.
Another guard slashed his sword and renji ducked quickly, feeling the edge of the sword graze his hair.
"Damn it," Renji shouted in panic. He needed to move freer to avoid getting his head chopped off, he also needed to disarm one of the soldiers and get a sword, that way he had a higher chance of survival.
He lifted the robe and pulled it over his head quickly, knowing he was taking a risk by covering his eyes.
But he was lucky, and in some seconds the robe was off and he was freer. "There, now I can at least move," He said.
The guards surrounded him in a circle, with their swords ready to strike.
Renji raised his hands at them, taking a fighting stance as well.
The leader sneered. "You think a coddled boy like you can fight us?"
Renji forced a grin despite himself. "Coddled boy? Two hours ago, I was your lovely prince and now I'm a coddled boy."
The leader said nothing in reply, instead he rushed at Renji, the other followed as well.
The first clash rang sharp. Renji's arm jolted as he blocked, nearly losing his grip. His body remembered lessons from endless drills, but drills weren't battle. This was faster, rougher, every strike meant to kill.
Renji looked around, trying to determine who was the weakest among them. He soon picked a target, a guard who was just as muscular as the rest of them but had less conviction in his stance, as if he still had not come to terms with the prince now being a fugitive marked for death.
"Bingo," Renji said, and with a grin he lunged at the guard, hitting his arm.
The guard grunted in pain as his sword clattered to the ground.
Renji quickly grabbed it and triumphantly pointed it at them. "Now let's dance."
The leader turned to the disarmed guard. "What is wrong with you, Kuyon!"
Kuyon gave an apologetic bow.
The leader turned back. "We have wasted too much time, we need to end this quickly," he said, and they all began to swing at Renji.
Renji blocked the first few swings, moving back slightly, but soon he realized he couldn't win this duel.
They were too many, too strong, if he continued like this he would get exhausted and they would impale him.
The only option was to run away.
He looked around frantically, searching for anyway he could escape these people.
Then he saw a dark pool not far from them. An idea sparked in his minds.
He changed his direction and started retreating in that direction.
Finally, when he was directly in front of the pool, he took a deep breath and braced himself for what was coming next. As the next blow came at him, Renji blocked slowly and weakly, he then twisted his body so that the sword sliced his side.
Pain filled his body and he yelled out in anguish, he stumbled dramatically, holding the now bleeding area as if it was a fatal wound.
Then he fell back into the pool.
The cold swallowed him whole. Water surged into his nose, his mouth. He sank, bubbles streaming upward, chest burning. His body screamed for air, but he forced himself still, forcing his limbs limp.
If the forest was cold, then the pool was like being submerged into ice itself, Renji shivered as the cold permeated his entire body, water rushed into his mouth and nose, and he began to sink downward.
Above, muffled voices echoed.
Above him, he could hear muffled voices saying, "He fell in."
"I got him boss, right on the side, did you see it?"
"Yes, I saw it. We can leave the body, the pond will take him. The queen will be very pleased."
They walked away, taking their light with them.
Renji waited for as long as he could, not wanting to take any chances, then when he could no longer hold his breath he kicked up, breaking through the water.
He gasped, taking in several deep breaths that filled his lungs with searing pain.
He coughed vioelntly, his lungs were on fire, his body was cold, and he could barely move it, his wound was still throbbing.
He managed to gather his strength and dragged himself out of the pond into the bank. Still shivering, he whispered in defiance, "Still alive. Take that you bastards."