Dragon Eyes

Chapter 20. Rescue.

Chapter 20.

Escape.

The dungeon was a damp and cold place, not made to be comfortable. The grey stone floor and grey stone walls, with the few flickering torches gave it a most unwelcome appearance. Lynwood turned up his nose when he entered. The place smelled like a mixture of mold, sweat and filth; and for a boy who had grown up in the fresh air, this was a new, horrible experience.

"Who goes there?" The warden of the prison called out.

"Lord Eadberht," the nobleman replied. "And I bring with me a most wanted prisoner?"

"I'd say it was no one more than a boy? What did he do to be so wanted?"

Lord Eadberht rolled his eyes. "You fool; this is the boy who caused the trouble in the first place, the messenger who delivered the letter."

"Oh! That's him? I was expecting someone a little....I don't know, older, stronger, bigger. How on earth did you get a hold of him?"

"He came sneaking into my castle today, I have no idea what he wanted, only that I came into my study and there he was, snooping around."

"How about his dragon friend? Everyone knows he flies around on a great red dragon."

"There was no dragon. I suppose he flew away or something. Though even if I did see him how on earth would I have caught him? A boy hardly fifteen is one thing, a dragon ten times the size of me is another."

"That's true," the warden shrugged. "At any rate; the dragon is no harm without the master. I only wonder why the king didn't have the boy put to death at once."

"Because, idiot, the boy has taken the princess somewhere, and if he is dead, we will never find out where he has hidden her. The boy is a hundred times more useful alive then dead."

"Could be, could be, where am I suppose to take him?"

"The king said in the cell where the rest of the plotters are being kept."

"That would be number 13," the warden mumbled to himself. "Alright, come along boy." He placed a pair of handcuffs on Lynwood.

"Oh warden," Eadberht called out.

"What is it?" the warden turned around, only to receive a strong blow in the face. He slumped senseless on the ground.

"Nothing," Eadberht replied. Quickly he took the cuffs off of Lynwood and handed him a ring of keys.

"I'm not sure which of these keys is the correct one, you'll have to do some trial and error to find out. Now remember Lynwood, you need to act swiftly. The guards pass that way every ten minutes. Hide until the guards are gone, and then work as quickly and as quietly as you can. The prince is in cell 5, and the warden just gave away the where the other prisoners are in number 13. I don't know who else is being kept in this dungeon, so try to be discreet."

"Yes sir." Lynwood nodded and silently scampered off. He nearly bumped into some guards along the way, but hid in the shadows of semidarkness of the dungeon. He was afraid the guards would hear his heart thumping; it seemed it was literally trying to get out of his chest. At last he reached the cell that Eadberht said held the prince. Taking a deep breath he peeked inside and whispered

"Prince Wilheard?"

"What do you want?" A deep male voice sounded from the darkness

"Oh, please keep your voice down," Lynwood whispered as he began fumbling with the keys

"Who are you?" The voice, now alert, whispered back.

"No one really," Lynwood replied as he searched for the right key. "I'm just here to try and get out of this cell."