Invincible

Chapter 2: Flashbacks and Ferdinand

In a moment Zephyr had leapt from the ground and pressed himself against the wall. He knew he couldn't stay there, if the guards had seen him, they surely would be coming to investigate. He frantically looked to his right, where he could hear the shuffling guards, and then to his left. The stables were one building over, he would have to sprint for it, and quickly.

Taking deep, staggering breaths, he silently shuffled along the side of the wall, to the other corner. His heart raced as he rounded the corner, the illuminating light of the street lanterns now warming his skin.

The guards shouted at each other. He had rounded the corner just in time.

"I told you, there's no one there!"

"No, I know I saw someone! Check the other side, come on." The sets of footsteps thudded against the ground, growing closer to Zephyr.

He launched himself off the wall, sprinting as quietly and quickly as he could into the street and past the other building, finally reaching the stables. He burst through the door and almost slammed it shut behind him, before remembering his circumstances and closing it quietly behind him. The noise of the door opening however was enough to startle awake a fire-red haired, freckle faced stable boy.

The stable boy jumped from the pile of hay he slept on, his arms flailing, and balling his hands into fists. He blinked rapidly, his eyelids barely open. "Who goes there? What is it ya want? Step any closer and I'll give ya hell!" He struggled to find his footing, but once he did, he stood his ground firmly.

"Ferdinand! Calm down and be quiet, it's me!" Zephyr grabbed Ferdinand's wrists frantically, shaking them slightly.

Ferdinand squinted, blinking again, then finally seemed to focus his eyes. "Zeph? Bloody hell, what're you doin' here?"

"Not much time to really explain, I've got three guards on my tail and a need to get rid of them." Zephyr still gripped Ferdinand's wrists, shaking and looking around the stable, paranoid.

Ferdinand ripped his hands from Zephyr's grasp, then grabbed him by the shoulders. "Woah mate, calm down a wee bit, will ya? Don't you worry your pretty little head, I've got a plan."

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Hazen reluctantly closed her eyes for the first time in days, respecting Zephyr's request to get some rest. Her withering body was turned towards the window, waiting for her best friend's return. As she drifted in and out of sleep, her mind wandered, bringing her flashes of dreams and memories. One of which happened to be the day Oriean invaded her kingdom.

The flashback was vivid and traumatizing. She saw herself, sitting on the very same bed Oriean sat upon at this moment, in the very same room she was thrown upon the floor and threatened just an hour earlier. But this room was warmer, more familiar. This was the room she had grown up in, the room she had come to as a child to escape thunderstorms by crawling into her parents bed. But at the moment, Hazen didn't know that it would be the last time she sat peacefully in the warmth of her parents room.

She sat upon the large bed, braiding her younger sister Asalia's long, golden hair. Her father sat in his chair by the fireplace, worry on his face. Her mother sat next to Hazen, her arm around her shoulders. Asalia couldn't stop giggling as Hazen tickled the back of her neck with her hair. The queen smiled down at them, then looked to her king. Hazen noticed the look of sympathy on her mother's face, and yet she stared at her husband with confusion and perhaps resentment in her eyes.

Suddenly the door burst open, startling the four of them. The king rose from his chair, and approached the knight who had barged in on his family.