After parting ways in their hiding spot, Silver passed Ethyn in the hall without comment. The Guardian thought about reiterating his point not to think about doing anything with his sister, but Silver knew he needed to focus on his own part and not the desires of the young knight.
'Desires, yuck! Get your mind back on track...' Silver chided himself. He shivered.
Even though it was very warm in the castle, the Guardian had not felt this exposed in years. He may as well have been naked.
'No, that would be worse,' Silver shook off his discomfort. Cape or no cape, he was still the same person. He would just have to alter his movements accordingly.
Having only memorized strategic points in the castle, it took a moment for Silver to gather his bearings. The Guardian could have backtracked in order to take the same path as he had when traveling to the dungeon, but thankfully his internal navigation got him to a familiar hall.
From there it was just a matter of retracing his steps. At first Silver kept to the shadows exclusively, ghosting from one place to the next. There ended up being little need. The halls were all but empty.
'Have they cleared everyone out so thoroughly? All without even a cry of alarm being sounded?'
It seemed so.
The Guardian could not help but marvel at the genius of it all. The execution so far had been flawless.
Silver's eyes narrowed. 'I have to stop it.'
As he neared the king's chambers, the Guardian finally heard the sound of voices break the unbearable silence. He rounded the corner and spotted two men outside Rhodri's room.
Fortunately they seemed too engrossed in their own affairs to give any mind to a shifting shadow.
The junior of the two was speaking quickly. "We are almost done sweeping the grounds. We just need to take down the men on the wall, but that is much harder. They keep at least one other soldier in their line of sight at all times. They could easily sound the Distress Horn and call up the garrison from the town if they suspect trouble."
"I'll ask the General what he wants us to do. He may decide it is easier to deal with them after everything is finished."
The two broke off as the door to the king's chambers flew open. "Either of you seen Hodey? Has he returned from locking up the Commander?"
The soldiers were silent for a moment.
"Not that I've seen." The officer with the superior rank answered the question.
"Then go find him. We need Borit back now." The man at the door scowled.
"I require a decision from the general. I have a report to make," the junior stated with a salute.
"And if I leave there will be no one to watch the door. The General stationed me here himself." The senior guard looked down his nose at the man attempting to give orders.
The doorman sighed. He shut the door in the two men's faces and emerged a moment later. "If I come back and you aren't here, I will make sure you suffer," he promised as he marched off in a huff to find Hodey.
"Quite dramatic, that one," the senior guard crossed his arms.
"He didn't actually say I could make my report, did he?" The junior furrowed his brow.
"He also did not say you couldn't..." the first man reasoned. "If I were you, I would ask. If things go wrong on the wall, then you won't be the one responsible." The guard winked and his junior cracked a smile.
"True...always good to have someone to blame. And if I wasn't supposed to come in, I can blame you for letting me by!"
Before the senior soldier could argue, the messenger knocked loudly on the door and entered. Crossing his arms, the lookout grumbled to himself. "Idiot can't even shut the door right. Bounced right back. Anyone could have waltzed in that large of a gap. Good thing I'm here guarding. I don't miss anything..."
--------
'That was comically easy,' Silver tried not to pat himself on the back too much. But really, the door bounding back open should have clued someone--anyone--that something was amiss.
However, human nature had always been less suspicious of overt distractions than subtle changes. So although the soldier looked at the door when it bounced back, he completely missed the man crawling along the floor and ducking behind the closest piece of furniture.
By the time Silver had made it to a more suitable hiding spot, the report by the messenger was already complete.
"Let the men on the wall remain. Not much the army will be able to do at this point anyway. They will feel utterly foolish when they realize they are protecting their king's murderers." Kaarel chuckled darkly.
The soldier bowed and left to carry out orders. The General leaned back in his cozy seat and took a swig of the king's personal wine. He wiped his chin with his sleeve as he gave a contented sigh. "Not too bad..." he said, taking another draught.
Kaarel set down the cup. He knew better than to lose his head. There would be time to celebrate when everything was over.
"I'm bored. Where is Hodey? I need the Commander back now!" Kaarel's sharp tone was met with silence. No one had an answer.
'Bringing back Borit already? He had barely been in the dungeon a moment.'
Silver listened silently and wondered about the General's sudden change of heart. Was Kaarel just keeping Borit on his toes? Or had something not gone as planned and now the General was pivoting.
Perhaps the Guardian's escape had been discovered and reported. News like that would certainly make Kaarel accelerate his timeline. Whatever the cause, Kaarel's façade was breaking slightly as he tried to remain calm.
"We are so close I can taste it," Kaarel glanced at the wine once more.
'Go on. Get drunk. Make a mistake," Silver silently urged his enemy.
But the general must have heard his thoughts because he turned away from the shining goblet.
Another messenger arrived. "Well?" Kaarel tried not to yell, but his voice was strained.
"We have gone through every room in the castle. Everyone we found will be in the throne room shortly if they are not already."
"Everyone?" Kaarel raised one eyebrow.
"Everyone we found," the messenger shifted on his feet, clearly not wanting to answer the question actually being asked.
The General looked ready to throw something at the soldier, but somehow he regained his cold, calculating glare. "Dismissed. Don't come back unless you have better news next time."
"Yes, sir," the soldier bowed and left much faster than he arrived.
Kaarel pinched his nose, resisting the urge to pace. He was a man of action, not one who cared for waiting.
And with the moment of triumph so close, he found each passing second of inaction suffocating.
Silver studied the general carefully. Although the Guardian had no weapons, he could likely still take out Kaarel before he was apprehended.
But if the general had a built in fail-safe, that could also mean the immediate death of many people including the king.
That was assuming the king was still alive. Although Silver believed that to be true, He had not seen proof of that yet.
While the Guardian was still trying to gauge the situation, another knock clattered against the door.
Borit, still in chains, was escorted back into the room. He eyed the general carefully.
"Ah there is the future leader of a nation!" Kaarel flashed a brilliant smile. "We were just about to call in the king and get his signature on the terms of surrender. I thought you would want to be present."
The corners of Borit's mouth upturned slightly. "Why the sudden rush? You didn't perhaps fail to catch a certain princess, did you?"
Although the Guardian did not like that the two powerful men were back in the same room, he had not anticipated enjoying their conversation so much. Silver's heart leapt at the news. He nearly hit his fist on the top of his hiding place as he silently celebrated.
His sister had escaped!