Chivalry is Dead | On Hold

Chapter Three: Escaping the Palace

Sneaking out of the basement was actually rather easy. Mercy was gone, they confirmed that in an instant, cautiously scanning the grounds for any sign of him as they hurried away, fear written across both of their faces as they jumped at the slightest noise anything made. Even dry leaves skidding along the courtyard in the gentle breeze made them freeze, terrified they were about to be caught. Their worries weren't for naught, though. He would easily be able to overpower the two in the blink of an eye, but he could just as easily turn them over to the Vices now they were out of his domain and in the open. Neither option was good, which was why they were praying for choice C – to get out of the city without being seen. Arden was no fool. She knew she needed to leave the city if she wanted a chance at payback. She was no where near his level. She hadn't even held a sword before in her life. Heck, she'd broken her knuckles just punching the man.

Arden couldn't say the same about the girl creeping along beside her. The blonde had a hardened look about her, though she couldn't tell whether it was because of Mercy's ministrations or not. "We need to stop by the palace if you want a shot at making a clean getaway." She informed her new partner, ducking behind a column to keep them out of sight. Even if she was the princess, she couldn't be seen. Not now that her dress had been torn, revealing the irritated red skin surrounding the brand of Heaven's Judgement. It itched as she walked on, the scabs and blisters forming all the more apparent whenever she moved. Her skin felt like it'd been stretched taut – as though she were suddenly too big for the skin she wore. She didn't like it one bit and it was agony trying to resist the urge to scratch at her back, even as she slipped silently through the corridors until they eventually reached her room and she found she could ignore the burning itch no longer.

"Stop." Two greyish beige hands caught her own as she went to scratch at her back, annoyance marring her expression as they closed the door to Arden's chambers. "If you pick at it, it'll get infected and it'll hurt more." One pink eye darted from side to side. "Besides, we need to get out of here as soon as possible." She said, her lips pressed into a thin line. "This'll be the first place Mercy will look as soon as he realises we're gone."

"I know." She sighed, hurrying over to her wardrobe, pulling out the false bottom.

"Whoa..." Her new companion blinked, starring at the array of weapons and fully packed bags. "Why the hell does a princess need all of this?!"

Arden smiled, but it was pained. "Chivalry..." She trailed off, rubbing at her watery eyes. "He told me to always have an escape plan. For emergencies."

"And this qualifies as one no doubt."

"Here." Arden held out a battered cloak. "You probably ought to cover up. That outfit will draw attention."

One pink eye narrowed on the long flowing dress the brunette was wearing. "So will yours." She said, blinking as the other girl pulled a dagger out of its sheath, her hands grabbing a hold of her dress.

The knife ripped into the fine fabric bunched in her hands, tearing it into shreds as the former princess cut away the bottom of her dress. "There." She pulled her cloak around her shoulders, wincing when the fabric made contact with her burnt skin.

"I guess we're all set."

"Yeah." Arden mumbled, biting her lip as she stared around her room one last time, having painfully pulled a bag onto her back. She'd lived there her whole life... and now she was finally leaving. Though not in the way she thought she'd be. If anything, she'd expected to be betrothed and married off by her father to another country for diplomatic reasons. She'd heard it happened to other royals from other countries, but her father had vehemently disagreed on the matter whenever it'd been brought up. He'd wanted her to fall in love on her own. "What would he say if he could see me now, huh?" She whispered, gently tracing the figures in the photograph propped up by her bedside. "I wonder what you'd have done..." Her uninjured hand fell back to her side, clenching into a fist. "Nothing, no doubt." She scowled, remorse quickly shifting into anger. "And that's what you'll do when you get back too."

"Come on." Her partner intoned, exasperation lining her face along with another emotion she couldn't decipher. "We're running out of time." She said, slipping on the shoes Arden had given her only moments before. "We want to be well out of reach by the time Mercy does whatever he's gonna do, because it ain't gonna be good for us. That's for sure."

"I know." She said, carefully lifting open her window. "So let's go... while we still can."

"That's what I've been telling you for the past minute or so." The girl rolled her eye, hurrying over to the door.

Arden shook her head. "Not that way!"

"Huh?"

"The window." She said, pulling herself so she was sitting comfortably on the ledge.

"Isn't that a bit obvious?" The blonde asked, joining her on the wide windowsill, staring at the ground a good two and a bit storeys away. Arden's room was on the third floor, facing out towards the back of the property and towards the royal forest – not ideal for making a quick getaway. "I mean, someone will spot us a mile away, and the whole point of this is to get out of here without being seen."

"There aren't any guards on this side, and the next patrol is a good half-hour away." Arden said, wrapping her injured knuckles tightly with a set of bandages as she prepared herself for the climb down. She'd been climbing down into the garden for years, using the convenient set of vines she'd pleaded with her father to keep. She'd told them they brought character to the palace.

Her father had told her the palace had enough with her in it.

Nevertheless she'd got her wish, and now that wish had come in handy some five years later down the line. Only this time she wasn't using it to go and see Chivalry.

She was doing it to help avenge him.

"Right." She nodded to her new partner in crime. "I'll go down first and double check the coast is clear." And with that said, she began climbing down one of the overgrown thick vines. Her injured hand throbbed with each movement, the vine creaking uncomfortably the longer she stayed there. It was coming away from the wall. That much she knew, having had the unfortunate experience of tumbling down a fair distance due to a snapped vine in the past. Though thankfully Chivalry had been there to catch her that time. But he wouldn't be again. To make matters even worse, an all too familiar figure rounded the corner, walking on the path beneath where she was frozen, his footsteps practically echoing on the hard tile as he walked beside another of his fellow Virtues, chatting away without a care in the world.

Mercy.

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