Against all Odds {Middle-Earth fanfic}

Chapter Thirteen

Nikandros was doing badly. His leg wounds were getting infected, and his ribs ached. When Ulric came, Nikandros was recovering from a fit of pain from his legs combined with his ribs. Ulric's eyes widened as he saw the condition of Nikandros. For a moment, a surge of pity washed over him.

Nikandros saw Ulric staring at him, and glared darkly at him. "What do you want?" He growled.

Ulric composed himself, and said simply, "Just checking on the prisoner."

"Well, you can see he is still in here." Nikandros said sarcastically. Ulric glowered at the sarcasm, and turned away abruptly. Nikandros uttered a short bark of laughter.

Ulric whirled around, "You got a problem?" He snapped.

Nikandros shrugged innocently, then groaned slightly as he bumped an injury. Ulric walked away haughtily, 'the sooner these smart mouths are gone the better.' He decided angrily.

Thea waited until all the guards an Ulric had gone before speaking. "N-Nik...?" She asked weakly.

"Thea?" Came the soft reply.

"Still holding on?" Thea whispered.

Nikandros swallowed. "Yes. You?" He asked.

"Barely." Thea forced out a laugh. "That plan certainly didn't work very well..."

Nikandros grunted in agreement, but said nothing. In truth, he was so disappointed that the plan hadn't worked. Everything has been going so well! But then the guard had thrown his stinking sword. He meditated bitterly. Nikandros shifted, trying to get comfortable, and he felt something shift in his boot. Realization dawned on Nikandros. "The keys." He whispered to himself. Of course, he thought, he had put the keys in the most inconvenient place possible.

"Maybe we'll never get out of here..." Thea frowned and closed her eyes. It felt like her whole face was on fire. No matter what she did, the action caused it to hurt.

"Thea." Nikandros spoke slowly and softly.

"What? I'm just sayin'..." Thea defended.

"I have the keys in my boot."

"What?" Thea exclaimed in disbelief. Her eyes widened and she repeated quieter, "...what?"

"I. Have. The. Keys. In. My. Boot." He repeated.

"Oh...how?" Thea scrunched her forehead in confusion.

"Well, I placed them in there before I stabbed the prince." Nikandros explained.

"Well that was smart...but how are you going to reach them when your hands are chained?" Thea sat up, stretching her tired limbs.

"Yah, that's the problem." Nikandros bit his lip, trying to think of a solution.

"Mmhmm..." Thea nodded, joining him in thought.

"Can you think of any way?" He asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Are you flexible?"

"Uh..." Nikandros stared blankly into the darkness where Thea's cell was located.

"Is that a no? Cause that factor is important in my idea." Thea stated.

"Um, it depends...what is your idea?" Nikandros questioned.

"Bend your leg up to your arms?"

"Well, I'll try, but the keys are in my boot, so how would I get them out?"

Thea threw her hands up in frustration, "I don't know! Do I have to do everything?" She winced when her shoulder wound was moved.

"No, but you had the idea in the first place..." Nikandros pointed out.

"You figure it out...I-I...my head hurts..." Thea rubbed her temple.

Nikandros sighed deeply.

"Sorry...that was insensitive. I'm sure you don't feel so hot either." Thea walked over to the wall that separated her from Nikandros, "Honestly, I think we shouldn't do it right away...we are both too weak and they will be expecting us to try again."

"Your right." Nikandros agreed tiredly, "But we may not have time."

"True...we can't wait too long..."

"This is so frustrating!" Nikandros exploded quietly, "To have freedom so close and yet so far!"

"I'm starting to regret agreeing to this mission..." Thea stated obviously.

"Yah, me too."

Thea fell silent and sat down, leaning against the bars to be near Nikandros. Her eyes fluttered closed and soon the exhausted assassin fell into a troubled yet deep slumber.

Nikandros felt the tears come. What had happened in the past few days finally caught up with him and he let the tears fall. He was totally exhausted.

Here's the thirteenth chapter for y'all! I hope you enjoyed it!

Spread some love if you enjoyed it! Thx guys!

Ithildae, Aris, and Evara

Writers:
Ulric: Evara
Thea: Ithildae
Nikandros: Evara
Fendrel: Ithildae
Guards: Ithildae and Evara
Degore: Ithildae