A rumble rose above the booming noise of the Iron City of Grimmhold. Grey clouds crowded together in the sky, hinting at an approaching storm ahead with their thunder and weather lightning. But even this powerful sound could barely penetrate the prevailing noise in the lower town at the foot of the mighty mountain that stretched into the sky like the spike of a dagger.

A puddle that had collected between the cobblestones from the last shower splashed under her leather boots. Mud and water splashed to the hem of her dark brown frock coat, but the young woman didn't care. She was in a hurry and had no time for such trivialities. She waited impatiently until the annoying ringing and rattling of the tram had passed her by before stepping over the rails and continuing on her way to the remote district.

Here, the rhythmic hammering of the pistons and gears became so loud that you could barely hear your own words on the open road. The boilers, which operated day and night, drove the grey steam and smog together and lowered the scenery of the lower town full of run-down houses of the poorer society into a dreary grey. The greenish light was caught in the thick haze and passed her by with the lanterns, while the sound of her footsteps was drowned out by whirring, hammering, and hissing. Although it was oppressively hot near the mountain and the numerous ovens, Scarlett pulled the red leather coat together in front of her chest and the wide hood a little lower before her face so that her figure was almost completely submerged.

"Look at that mum! A Redcoat!"

"Don't stare like that! Quick, come here!"

A woman frantically crossed the road with her boy when she realized the red color. "Stay close to me! Don't get infected!"

Her eyes darted nervously through the semi-darkness, finally settling on the leather and iron mask hiding Scarlett's features from chin to nose. It was only when she saw it that the lady seemed to take a deep breath, but she and her child moved away as quickly as if the devil were after them. How ironic, because the devil was not wearing red but dressed in the white of deceptive innocence.

Frightened, the boy had even dropped his toy. It whirred and rattled as she lay helplessly on her side, unable to move, and instead got caught in a crevice between the cobblestones. The gears clicked and whirred while the little mechanical legs rowed in the air. Mother and son were so hurrying to escape that they didn't even notice they were missing. Scarlett let out a soft snort, which turned into a loud hiss from the iron mask on her face. Then she turned away and continued on her way undeterred.

She finally stopped in front of the gates of an old railway station. The vast building was blackened by the soot and smog of the lower city, and the once reddish bricks were stained with ugly black. Still, no building could fit the Redcoats' headquarters more than the abandoned red-brick railway station, its Gothic arches framing the massive windows and a large clock with copper letters and hands.

'Password and identification code,' demanded one of the two broad figures in bright red coats at the entrance. The deep voice boomed through the mask, the mechanism clicked, and a small burst of whitish vapor rose from under the hood but quickly dissipated.

"SL-RAL3002. Password: bread and wine," she replied loudly so that her voice could be heard over the noise.

The two guards nodded, and then one opened the gate for her to enter. After the doors were closed again, a curtain seemed to fall to the world outside. The booming noise dimmed, taking the pressure off her hearing, and Scarlett hastily pushed the hood off her head, revealing the strands of bright red hair that gave her her name.

"You're too late."

The stern tone made Scarlett flinch, and her shoulders automatically heaved under the tension that flowed through her body. A tall, broad-shouldered man stepped through one of the large side arches, behind which was the arena for training with the seven-mile boots. His long, brown hair was tied back at the nape of his neck and fell in shorter strands around a face marked by numerous scars. The angular cheeks were decorated with multiple lines like war paint and even stood out under the shadow of the dark beard, which made him look wild in a certain way and blended from the mask into his hair.

"Hunter," she said quietly before clearing her throat and starting again. "I'm sorry. It took me longer to get here than I thought,' she said, wiping one of the copper strands from her forehead that fell around her soft, oval face with long lashes and jade-green eyes. Scarlett couldn't claim to be ugly and had enjoyed numerous suitors before her new career choice. Now, however, as an outcast, her amusing company was limited.

"I would have been on time if they had let me into the spindle railway..."

The man let out a harsh laugh and shook his head.

"No tram, spindle train, or any other form of public transport will take a Redcoat. You should have learned that by now," Hunter said and threw the "Come on, come on. The captain hates to wait" almost casually.

Scarlett grimaced at the thought of being late for her first real mission and upsetting the captain to boot. But that wasn't the only thing that made her features bitter under her mask. Because what Hunter said was true - although she had been wearing the cloak for a few months now, she had not yet become entirely accustomed to the reaction of the humans.

The redcoats were respected as much as they were feared.

"You'd think the masks would calm them down," she grumbled in leather and metal, suspecting that those mostly swallowed her words.

"They will never be reassured. Ignorance breeds fear. And when people are afraid, they forget all logic," the veteran replied, looking down at the Redcoats' newest recruit. "Even today, most of them hardly know anything about the plague or how it spreads... the fog kills everything in it instantly, and it scares them that we can enter it. They don't understand the sacrifice we make for this work."

He shrugged his shoulders. Infecting yourself anew every moon run with a plague that either killed or immunized you for a short time seemed worthwhile to very few people - even for good pay, not to mention the disadvantages, as society rejected its brave messengers for fear of the disease they carried. "We can be glad that we are now allowed to move around the city as long as we wear the masks. It wasn't long ago that we were only tolerated in the lower city."

The thought alone made Scarlett grind her teeth. The humans didn't appreciate that they constantly risked their lives to bring the messages and orders to the Beanstalks. At the same time, she also understood the humans; after all, not so long ago, she herself had been one of those who crossed the road. If it wasn't for her brother...

"We're here."

The young woman was torn from her thoughts and blinked as they came to a halt in front of the heavy iron door. She had to clear her throat to loosen the lump that had formed in her throat at the thought of her brother. Instead, a tingling nervousness spread through Scalett's limbs, and she plucked at her coat to ensure it fit correctly. It was the kind of restlessness that would befall a person about to come under the stern gaze of a person of respect.

"How... Is the captain like that?' she whispered to the other redcoat and could see one eyebrow rise.

"I would say 'ironclad,'" he said, letting his fist hit the door thrice. "After all, they don't call him Iron Henry for nothing."

A little fun fact for the curious:

I.) SL-R.A.L.3002 - Scarlett's codename is made up of the letters of her name (Scarlett Lockhart) and the RAL3002 - RAL3002 is a colour and it? What do you think? Right: carmine red ;)

II.) The code she gives on the door 'Bread and Wine' of course refers to the original fairy tale in which Little Red Riding Hood is supposed to bring bread and wine to her grandmother

III.) The 'Iron Henry' comes from the fairy tale "The Frog Prince".
Iron Henry was the prince's loyal servant. When the prince was turned into a frog, Henry placed three iron bands around his heart to prevent it from breaking with grief.