Keryan
Isle
- Distant Star
Dragons
| -Lahranne -Mezanine -Renoud -Tokei -Ruben -Wernyv -Sezanee -Jonayk -Sophia -Arrenji -Kuruma -Sekai -Barune -Thekardien |
KSG!
The First Movement
Chapter 3: Unprepared
Escape
As the jester led the two young women down, he was more than pleased with
the fact that they didn’t do any of the things a normal woman at Court
would have done. They realised the seriousness of the situation and were
in good shape so he could take a closer look at his own body. The knife
wound he had sustained from one of Arrenji’s henchman, a strange, cold
fellow Tokei had never seen before, who had stabbed him from the back. It
had been luck that his reflexes had been fast enough to make the deadly
assault into a wounding one. But it still hurt. Tokei knew that if he hadn’t
had the duty of escorting the princesses out he’d wish he was dead.
After all, all his life Tokei had been a coward, choosing the easy life
over trying to make his fortune in the rougher crowds and the less easilly
pleased. He had lived the life of a freeloader and this nght he had been
presented the bill. His once agile body had proven too sluggish to fend of
the knife. His reflexes that had been trained to see everything, hear
everything, had failed him miserably. Though depression lurked, Tokei knew
better than to allow his own feelings of failure to seep through the
adrenaline-induced effect he had gotten from his sense of danger
awakening. Now the first priority was to get out of the castle, away from
the danger and then he’d worry about the other things.
When the three of them reached the bottom of the stairs, Tokei tried to
usher the two girls back and to go out alone to spot any danger, but when
he had but taken three steps he felt the heaviness of his body weigh
through and he had to admit that he was in no shape to explore the
surroundings. In the end it was Mezanine who stuck her head out, and then
carefully took the first steps into the moonlit garden, illuminated only
by the light of distant suns.
No sound came from the outside, and both Tokei and Lahranne didn’t know
if that was good or bad. Would Mezanine have time to scream if they caught
her? Was the secret passageway really that secret? Unspoken questions
tensed the air between them and an eternity seemed to tick away before
Mezanine returned, followed by a gawky figure with telltale white hair in
an intricate hairdo.
"Renoud!" Lahranne excalimed in surprise. Of all places she
would not have expected to see the feminine interior decorator turn up in
this part of the garden, especially at night. She wasn’t unaware that
secret romances went on between some of the castle personal, but on this
moment, it would be far more likely for Renoud to be busy in the castle,
arranging tomorrow’s banquet.
"Why are you here?" Tokei asked, trying to sound strong enough
to pose a threat.
"Gosh, I knew I heard a sound. Something bad is happening. I tried to
get the queen’s approval on some last minute changes. But I couldn’t
find her anywhere, and when I walked past the throne room I heard voices.
I’m really not a gossip, but every now and then I just can’t help
myself. What I heard though, is far worse than knowing which handsome
stable boy goes around with whatever maid."
"You got out?" Lahranne asked.
"Honey, I know better than to get myself caught when I want to move
around freely. I know this castle better than anyone, though this passage
is new to even me."
"It’s a secret one." Mezanine shrugged, "You’re not
supposed to know."
"Do you know a way to get out of the palace and into the town?"
Lahranne asked, "We desperately need to escape and join up with my
mother if we can even find her in the commotion."
"Getting out won’t be that much of a problem." Renoud
shrugged, "There’s a few garden paths heavily
Shaded with shrubs, and past crumbling walls that we could get by from.
Even if the palace is under attack, they haven’t yet seized it."
"I concur." Tokei answered, "The gardens should still be
ungaurded."
"My... Tokei, is that you?" Renoud asked.
"Who else could it be."
"I just never saw you without a smile. You look bad man."
"How would you like to be stabbed from behind." Tokei glared.
"Temper temper..." Renoud smirked, but then immediately returned
to aan ice-cold seriousness. "It’s time to go if we want to live to
see the new dawn. Let’s go, I’ll lead."
"Now oth four people, the group moved slightly swifter since, even
though Renoud couldn’t exactly be called buff, he was stronger and
taller than the two princesses. With him supporting Tokei and the two of
them free to climb and creep over rocks and through hedges, they quickly
established the safest routes out of the castle. While walking, they saw
some irregular outbursts of activity, shadows who ran across the grass and
who looked too frightened to be meeting a lover or going out for aan
evening walk. And once there even was a short scream that made the hair on
their arms stand up straight.
"This should be the place." Renoud finally mumbled, "I used
to pass through here to get to a friend of mine in the city." Tokei
quirked his eyebrow, but in light of recent events he shouldn’t question
the other man’s habits. At least the girls would be safe and his duty
would be filled when they found shelter in the city.
Without a moment’s doubt, the four of them ran across the last remaining
patch of grass and disappeared beyond the castle walls...
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