Chereads / Monarch's Requiem / Chapter 18 - Chapter 18: Run

Chapter 18 - Chapter 18: Run

Two days prior at noon, Singre had been turned on its head when every house in the court received a notice about an assembly at the castle's main hall with mandatory assistance. Those who were out of the capital had been notified by a letter stamped with the dukedom's seal, and dozens of pamphlets had been pasted in every wall of the city, informing the populace of the event.

Every notice had been signed at the end with:

'Expecting your presence,

Elron Laurent '

Mandated by the dukedom's seal, from early morning a parade of carriages strode through the main street, entering the castle along with the curious commoners who walked past the gates while discussing the strange nature of this assembly.

Most nobles felt dissatisfied at being ordered around by what they saw as a child playing around while his father was gone, but none were able to express their irritation after seeing Elron sitting at the highest chair in the room while surrounded by his most trusted advisors.

His temperament was that of his predecessor; serious and sharp eyes that seemed to cut through their pretense while being accompanied by a cynical but polite smile.

The common-blooded people stood at the sides and back of the room, pouring out the open doors as it was impossible to accommodate most of Singre in one place, specially while taking into account the amount of space that was necessary for the nobility's seating. Still, regardless of the amount of people present, the uncertainty of the reason behind this meeting, and the strenuous social context in the capital layered a thick silence over the hall.

"Now that we are all here, I would like to commence this assembly by explaining why I have summoned you today."

Elron's voice boomed over everyone's heads. Flanked by dozens of guards in their bright armor, his lacking stature became apparent, but his back was still straight, just like his father's.

After a small gesture from his hand, even more knights stepped forward through the crowd, surrounding the seating of the nobles with drawn swords.

"Young Lord! What is the meaning of this?!"

Turning to the nobleman who had raised his voice, Elron smiled even wider. His eyes, though, were cold.

"How nice of you to ask. I was just about to explain that this assembly was issued to denounce some of this dukedom's nobles for the crimes of corruption, embezzlement, attempted murder, and ultimately, treason."

At the same time, in another corner of the castle, Davina followed Neera's silhouette as she ran through a dark set of corridors, not even hesitating when meeting sharp turns or stairs.

Earlier that day, before dawn, they had met in Davina's room to go through the last details of their escape. When the small child revealed her last card, their unexpected escape route, Davina finally understood how she had managed to procure her food, medicine and information, all while avoiding the castle's guards' eyes.

Now, as they ran through the darkness, she could only think about calming down her racing heart. She had been truly terrified when she left her room, her cell, for the first time since she arrived at the castle. Just like the letters sent to her had said, no guards were there to stop her when she opened the door and charged through the corridors towards the young heir's office.

After a while, though, she heard loud voices behind her. She was being chased. Had she been betrayed?

With no time to wonder, she threw herself through the wooden doors of the study, shutting them as inconspicuously as she could. The voices grew nearer, and her eyes darted to the corner behind the bookshelf. Instinctively, her shoulders squared up, she spread her feet and lifted her fists. She was preparing herself to fight. But just as she had promised, Neera's face peeked through a sudden hidden door in the wall. Davina almost cried out in relief.

She had so many questions. How did she come across these passages? For how long had she been going inside them? Did anyone else know? But she kept her mouth shut since she knew they could not speak right now.

Davina could see the light from inside the rooms of the castle peeking through the seams of the hidden doors as they ran past them. Conversations, steps, and the clanging of pots reached her ears along with their quiet treading while they advanced.

'If we can hear them, they can hear us,' was what she thought, forcing her to step as softly as she could.

Neera twisted her fingers behind her back in a series of signs Davina had taught her, informing her they were close to their final exit next to the stables. From there, they would run towards a horse and charge through the gates of the castle and into the busy streets of Singre. Thanks to the young lord's assembly order, the area around the gates was packed with people in carriages, horses and on foot, which would hopefully cloak their presence to the guards.

Suddenly, Davina felt a bright light pouring in from behind her, along with loud yells and the characteristic banging of metal produced from a running knight.

"The Young Lord said they would be here! Comb through every tunnel until you find her! We can't let the savage escape!"

"Over there! I think I see someone!"

"Quick! Chase after them!"

Neera looked over her shoulder to see at least ten nights with torches running towards them behind Davina. Without a second to waste, she sprinted towards a fork in the tunnels, guiding Davina through as many twist and turns as she could, successfully losing the ominous presence behind them. But they were still close, and coming closer.

"I can't see them anymore!"

"I think they went that way!"

"What do we do?!"

"The backup should arrive soon. Don't worry, these tunnels will be filled with knights in a couple of minutes!"

Davina felt her hand being pulled through one of the doors at the side of the passage. They entered a dark room filled with crates and shelves displaying different kinds of swords.

They had arrived at the weaponry.

Neera's whisper cut through the tense silence.

"Take this. We will have to disguise ourselves."

Receiving the knight's apprentice uniform, Davina quickly changed out of her haggard dress. Neera also stripped, revealing her pale skin to the Ronna's eyes.

The amount of scars she saw almost stunned her for a second. Not once had she ever seen such a tortured body, not even in the most seasoned warrior in her hometown. Still, she said nothing. Their current predicament didn't leave space for her distraction. Focusing back on her task, she put on a pair of sturdy boots when the cold edge of a blade shone into her eyes.

"Here, take this."

She took the sword from Neera's outstretched hand. Her wrist was hidden in the oversized uniform. The fabric swallowed her silhouette, like a child wearing their parents' clothing, with her eyes barely peeking from behind the helmet on her head.

"Weren't the tunnels supposed to be a secret? Why are the guards here?"

Neera looked down for a moment. Her gaze was pained when she looked back at Davina.

"Alea probably sold us out."

"Wasn't she your friend?"

"She still is. I am not entirely sure if she knows I am with you, but at the very least she knows I told you about the tunnels in order to escape."

Thundering steps resounded from inside the passages, halting their conversation.

"Hide!"

The rough whisper was the last sound heard before the door to the tunnels burst open. Torchlight flooded the room in an instant.

"It is the armory!"

"Dear God, these passages truly run through the whole fortress."

"Do you see anything?"

"No, it's empty."

Another pair of footsteps resounded from outside.

"Captain! Anything here?"

"No. Have any of the other teams found anything?"

"Not that we know of. The trace was lost when the hallway split."

The Captain of the team sighed roughly.

"We are never going to find her. She clearly knows these passages like the back of her hand and we are severely understaffed."

"There's nothing to be done. Most of our manpower is focused on guarding the assembly."

"Geez, what a bad day to loose an assassin in the castle."

"From what I heard, there was no actual assassination attempt. The savage just escaped."

"Quit blabbering and keep searching! If this room is already clear then we have to move somewhere else. We will not allow a savage to run freely inside these walls."

"Yes, Sir!"

Alone again in the now dark room, two figures slowly climbed from inside of one of the crates.

"Are they gone?"

"I think so."

The Ronna secured a helmet on her head.

"Do you believe we can still make it?"

Neera didn't even turn around as she placed the straps of the bag she had been carrying back on her shoulders.

"The uniforms should help, but my stature and your skin tone will become obvious from up close. Training knights would never be deployed for this task, but we can't afford to be slowed down by the heavy armor of a full knight, so we better stay away from the light as much as we can. If we can't-"

"We fight then."

"Yes."

The girl rested her hand on the wall where the hidden door was, she was about to open it when she heard Davina's soft voice from over her shoulder.

"Neera."

"Yes?"

"Did you expect this to happen? Did you know your friend would alert the knights?"

Davina had been pondering why this child had decided to take her with her after learning about the tunnels. With such a resource at her hands she should have been able to easily escape with her friend Alea. There was no need to draw attention to herself by pulling away a highly guarded individual like a Ronna favored by the duke.

The only scenario where any of it made sense was if she knew she would face resistance from the dukedom's guards.

"Alea, she... Never intended to leave this place. I wasn't entirely sure she would, but I did believe that if she noticed I was gone she would send people after me."

"But, why?"

"She intended to use me from the beginning."

Without wanting to talk any longer, Neera stepped back into the passages, picking up her pace as she once again guided Davina towards the stables. They encountered knights along the way and managed to avoid them by hiding in empty rooms a couple of times, but their luck eventually ran out. Just as Neera saw the final corner they had to take to enter the outer ring of the castle, the door right next to her suddenly opened.

"It's true! There's a door here too!"

The knight who had just pushed it open crashed into the girl who hadn't had enough time to stop.

"Ugh, that hurt. Hey, are you okay?"

Noticing the apprentice uniform, the knight stretched his hand to pull Neera up, stopping when he realized how small she was.

"Wait. Why are apprentices here? Are you even an apprentice?"

His eyes fell on Davina who stood behind her. Her sword was drawn and her gaze was murderous, but her skin was what called his attention. It was the skin of a Ronna.

"It's her! She's here!"

The rest of the knights inside the service kitchen the door had opened up to wasted no time in verifying their comrade's statement.

"He's right. She's the Ronna. Go tell the rest to come here!"

"Catch her!"

Neera felt the taut fabric on her neck choking her as Davina grabbed the back of her shirt and dragged her down the passage.

"Don't let them escape!"

"Quick, run!"

Pushing the girl in front of herself, Davina instructed.

"Keep running! Just guide me and I'll follow you!"

Neera felt her lungs burn while she focused on the road ahead. Groans, yells, and clashing metal were all she could hear behind her, pushing her numb legs to maintain their pace.

"We need help here!"

"Don't let her- Argh!"

"Call a medic! A medic!"

"Keep going Neera! Don't stop!"

The clamor inside the passages called the attention of the rest of the knights who poured into the tunnels as they ran through them.

"Over here!"

"There she is!"

"Run, Neera!"

Her head felt dizzy and she almost stumbled. She turned for a second only to see Davina's sword elegantly moving in a diagonal swing, cutting one of their pursuer's throats. Behind his falling body, dozens more men laid on the floor, being stepped on by the charging knights who kept coming. Bile rose to her throat as hot tears welled in her eyes. The red blood glinting under the light of the torches would not leave her mind. The sound of the blade's edge tearing flesh was all she could hear.

Through her blurry gaze, she saw the light of day pouring into the passage ahead. The knights had finally caught up and entered the tunnels in front of them, blocking the way.