Red Gauntlet

Chapter 7: Red Gauntlet

I laugh lightly, hoping that I have the skills needed to survive this. Without her, this mission's chance of success has plummeted rapidly, but I can make this work. I have to, or I'll die trying. "You worry too much. I'll be back before you know it."

"Avern, stop it right now!" I can see the fear in her eyes from across the room. Does she really care what happens to me? No, she just doesn't want to be left in a room alone and injured. I'm nothing to her, and she is nothing to me.

"I'll finish this mission, I swear it." I give her a salute and force a smile.

Gwen holds her hand up to get my attention and reaches for a blank piece of paper. She grabbed a book and tore out a relatively empty piece, using a nearby quill to scribble something down. I walk over to her side and watch as a rudimentary map is made, instructing me to the armory.

"Take this and don't get caught," she instructed. She hands me her own set of lockpicks in addition to the paper. "Please don't fail," she requested. "Remember that it's three right and two lefts down the hallway to get to the armory. I'll stay here and gather intel on the Gauntlet to gauge its value to Darius."

"Thank you, Gwendolyn. I would be lost without you. Literally," I said as I took the paper out of her hands. 

"Yeah, yeah." She gives me a small smile. "Don't leave me here to be caught, alright?" Her eyes go wide at the thought. "A real partner in crime would never do that."

"I promise. There will be no capturing on my watch." I grinned and waved goodbye as I walk away from the injured girl. "Don't miss me too much," I tell her on my way out of the room.

I slip out into the hallway, keeping out a nearby guard's view. His gaze is set forward, scanning ahead for any danger. To him, a lowly chef strolling around the castle is no threat. I soundlessly sneak behind him and wrap an arm around his neck, applying just the right amount of pressure to it.

"What the hell?" he croaked out.

"Shh. It will be over soon," I assured him, tightening my arm around his thick neck.

His eyes bulged out, and a strangled sound came from his throat. He gasped for breath, but my hold on him prevented that from happening. Soon his body grew heavy, and he collapsed in an unconscious, limp form on the ground. "It's all over," I whispered, frowning at the soldier. "Hopefully I'll be able to say the same about this damned quest soon."

I dragged the soldier's body behind the curtains to hide it. The red fabric does little to conceal the large man, but it's the best place I have to store him. I unfasten my apron and tug off the hat I borrowed earlier and let it flutter to the ground. My uniform would only attract more attention to myself the further away from the kitchen I get.

I quickly throw the guard's armor on over my clothes, making sure to pull the helmet low to hide my face. I march down the hallway, keeping my distance from the other soldiers. It's mostly luck that allows me to navigate the hallways with some sense of accuracy. Gwen's drawing is hard to read and the sweat coating my palms has smudged the ink into pointless shapes and squiggles.

I try to stand tall and walk with unhurried confidence as guards are supposed to do. The map is now useless to me and I ball it up and toss it to the floor. Was it two rights and a left? Or two lefts and a right?

With a shake of my head, I aimlessly follow the hallways until I come across a door made of metal. A wheel spun tightly shut keeps anyone from sneaking inside. The guards standing outside the vault ready their spears as I approach them.

"Halt! What business do you have here, soldier?" he questioned.

"I have been sent on a mission by Queen Victoria herself," I responded, trying to sound arrogant and self-important.