Fallen Kingdom

Chapter IV - pt.1

The day went by quickly as the four of them went over the new plan and made adjustments now that they had Roaan's knowledge of the castle. There was a lot of arguing on Miles' part, but thanks to Percy, they finally came to an agreement after Roaan draw a rough map of every passageway she knew. Using the new visuals, they were able to evaluate the different ways inside, including how to get to the eastern tower where the King and Queen were trapped, and in turn, where they would ultimately find Cersei. By the time they finished making preparations, the sun was already setting. Percy's father watched as the boys suited up; Miles wore his iron chest plate and greaves from the Knighthood, grabbing his favorite sword to go with it, while Sam and Percy each took a brand new sword from the rack. Meanwhile, Roaan put her cloak back on and hid her face. Even though she made a point about defending herself, she didn't want to take a sword and decided that hurting anyone, her sister included, would be the very last resort.

"You're going to need these," Percy's father said, returning from the other room. He handed the boys cloaks of their own for obvious reasons; with guards at every corner of the castle grounds, there was no way they could just waltz in looking like they owned the place (even if one of them technically did). After that, he turned to Percy and handed him his lucky shield. "I want you to have this, son. Make me proud," he smiled sadly.

And with that, the boys joined Roaan in concealing their identities.

Percy embraced his father, "Thanks, dad. For everything."

"I love you."

"I love you too, dad," Percy replied with a nervous smile.

Roaan watched with a frown and felt their emotions tug at her heart. They all knew that this plan was dangerous, but to really imagine losing one of them... A father losing his son, brother losing brother... the very idea of losing Sam made Roaan tear up too, and she hugged him tightly, leaning her face into his chest.

She felt him kiss her head and whisper, "Everything is going to be alright. Are you ready?"

She nodded her head and sighed. "It will be dark soon. We should go."

Miles and Percy nodded, and they all thanked Percy's father for helping before leaving. Miles was already out the door by the time they caught up with him, and the four of them went through the village, sticking to the side of the street and keeping their heads down. By now, most of the smoke had gone away and the sky was actually clearing up. Thankfully the attention of the villagers was still focused on reparations; many people rushed by with supplies, too busy to notice the princess, while others offered aid to those who were injured and homeless. Roaan bit her lip, trying to suppress the feeling of guilt because she knew, even though everyone told her otherwise, that this was her fault.

If the throne hadn't been taken from Cersei, none of this would have happened, she thought to herself as they crouched behind a horse-drawn wagon that was headed uphill toward the castle. As it passed the entrance, the four of them hid behind a wall and observed the closed doors of the gate leading into the courtyard.