Waiting for Spring - Part I

Chapter Twenty-Three

"April, can you take a shot?" The question hit the girl unprepared. She looked up at Theron with an innocent look.

It was not that she couldn't handle pressure it was just that she was unsure how good a shot she was with the bow. She was better than most, but she was not the best marksman ever born, far from it. While shaking her head carefully she opened her mouth.

"I'm... No. I can't promise anything like that."

"Raven here is my best marksman. But he can't take two shots at once, certainly not with a crossbow this size," Sara muttered and made a wry look. "We can always try to drag them to the other side of the wall."

"We might not have enough time to get through the gate then," Theron responded quickly. "But yes. It is safer that way."

For a long while all was silent. April found comfort in the whistling wind. The others seemed less relaxed.

"Well... Let's not waste any time then." Sara tried to put on a smile and turned to her men. They were not as cheerful.

Half an hour later the party of seven sat in a snowy ditch not far away from the wall. It reeked horribly, and a few of the men gagged as they crouched in the snow. April could see the small gate that Theron had mentioned. It did not look big at all, probably because it was submerged in the water. April did not look forward to wade, or maybe swim, through the small passage at the bottom of the wall. The water would probably be colder than she could imagine.

"How long until they change shifts?" Sara asked for the fifth time after a moment of sitting quietly in the snow. The man Sara had called Raven laughed silently and received a nudge in the side.

"Just any time now," Theron said once more. He was more than right. The men in the tower turned around and greeted the two soldiers that were there to relieve them. As the two new soldiers entered the tower one of them leaned his head out the embrasure and observed the area.

Theron put his head down and retreated further down the small slope.

"So who will go?" he said.

"Felix, you were always good with words. Give them your best shot," Sara ordered. The redhead looked a bit reluctant. He pulled a hand through his hair.

"It's always me..." he muttered and rose.

The soldier slowly turned around and gazed towards the wall. April perked her head up to catch a glimpse of the view. The two guards seemed to have retreated further into the tower.

"They're not there right now. Everyone now," the soldier whispered and Theron grabbed April's hand.

Everyone ran except for Sara and Felix, sprinting towards the wall. The snow whirled about April's boots as she slid the last part and crashed against the wall. A heartbeat later the rest of the men launched themselves through the snow as well and hid beneath the battlements high above.

Felix made a calming gesture with his hand and pointed towards the tower before he walked over the hill with Sara at his side, both of them wearing tattered robes above their armour. April observed the tower and saw that one of the guards went over to the battlements as he noticed the figures in the snow. He put his head out the embrasure, but it was impossible to see what he looked like.

"Halt! Who goes down there?" the soldier hollered out into the night.

Felix and Sara tried their best in an attempt to continue walking away from the rest of the group.

Theron pulled out his black dagger from its scabbard and ordered two of the men to hold the gate while he rapidly cut through the hinges. The metal seemed to almost melt at the mere touch of the blade. The men looked amazed and April felt that she should be too.