SONG FOR THIS CHAPTER: THE A TEAM by ED SHEERAN (yes yes I know this song is about crack, lmao. I just really like it)
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H A R R Y
Nightfall is yet to be approached in the city of Amsterdam. Sitting in a corner in the darkness has restricted me from seeing the beauty of the night, but I have found a way to simply feel it. It's just a blood chilling feeling deep inside my bones...
It's time to get out of this place.
My body is sprawled out on the cool ground, trying to relax myself. I guess I got used to the unpleasant feel of the stone pressing against the back of my skull for nearly four weeks. My eyes bore into the low ceiling; there's nothing much to see- only dust balls and fucking cobwebs and the cracked, grey stone crumbles.
Staring up at the ceiling with a blank mind, a mild thought seeps through my head as my eyelids slowly fall upon my eyes, causing my whole world to go black.
Don't worry, Caroline, I'm coming to find you soon.
•~•
There is a silent, swift knock at the door. To be exact, it sounds like some cheesy 'rata-tat-tat' sound effect. My eyes snap open tiredly as I prop myself on my elbow, squinting at the sound.
Who the fuck knocks on a door to a locked room? If I had the chance to open it, I would have escaped ages ago.
Nevertheless, I stumble to my feet, standing in front of the closed door and grazing the rusty wood with my cold fingers. The sound of the unlocking from the other side is barely audible, but I could hear it.
"Harry!" An accented female voice hisses silently as her head peeps out the crack of the door. To my relief, it is Lucille. She has a faux fur cloak over her body and the hood is scooped snugly over her head. The lit lantern that she is holding is lifted to my eye level, so now I can see her illuminating, wild blue eyes through the dark.
"Oh thank god it's you. Why are you here?" I ask quietly, rubbing the sleep out of my eye. Lucille grabs my hand fast and locks gaze with my eyes.
"I'm busting you out of here." I can't help but chuckle a little while she looks at me so seriously.
"Harry," She whines slightly, her thin eyebrows furrowing as I'm laughing at her.
"Sorry." I blink at her, smiling lopsidedly. "I can't help but think about your speed in such things." Lucille seems flustered by my compliment- as seen by the way her cheeks flush pink a little.
"T-thanks." She stutters, before snapping back to reality. Tugging at my arm, she motions for me to follow her. "We have to be quiet." I nod at her words, showing her that I'm listening.
We're now walking in the direction of the lights, moving past the empty cells and up the stairs mutely. When we reach the top, Lucille snaps her head both ways and jumps back behind the broad wall as she breathes heavily. She shoves me back as well.
"The guards are here." She breaths out and tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear. My chest rises and lowers as my breathing quickens. I retract myself from off the wall and continue to walk quietly, making sure not to catch the attention of the guards.
"Harry, what are you doing?" Lucille whisper-yells as she pulls my arm back harshly.
"They'll only know we're here if we don't move from this spot. C'mon." I hold her hand that isn't in possession of the lamp and the both of us creep away in another direction. It contains a narrow, dark passageway that gives me an eery sense but we decide to travel down it anyway.
"Harry! You're a genius!" She exclaims a bit too loudly and I put a finger to her lips to shush her.
"How so?" I ask, tilting my head to a side as we stop to a halt.
"This is the way to the underground exit, leading straight to the forest ." Lucille explains, her eyes glowing with excitement. I cock an eyebrow at her.
"How do you know that? Aren't the guards only suppose to know?" I ask her, brushing the dust from off my jeans.
Her eyes start to get glossy and misty and her lips tremble. This is when I notice she's about to cry. "I fell in love with a man once but father locked him away in the dungeons for years. He was a member of the opposing army we fought so father didn't approve of the fact that I had developed feelings for him." I helped him escape but it was only a few months ago I got the news that he is now married to another woman." Jealousy hints her tone with the last sentence. I sigh and pull her into my arms as a tear falls from her eye.
"I'm sorry." I apologize softly, rubbing her back. "Looks like you were in a similar situation as me, but I'm going to save my love." Lucille looks up at me, wiping away her tears.
"I hope it all works out for you." She whispers, her sad eyes looking down at the ground. My heart feels like it's melting at the mere thought of her helping the man she loved but only to find out he ran off to another woman later on.
It's sad, really- but I know this is just a sign that Lucille deserves someone better. I hope it all works out for her in the future as well.
She leads me into a tight spaced tunnel and together we crawl through, her in front of me. It smells like smoke in here- the reason to my groggy senses and pounding headache. Though,
I don't complain a single bit because it's been so long since I've seen Caroline's beautiful face and I hope those devils didn't do anything to her.
I will surely break if anything happens to Caroline.
Smacking the bad thoughts from my head, I force myself to think positively. Caroline is alright. When you see her, you will hold her tight and tell her how much you love her and missed her. You will kill the beasts who tried to hurt her and leave with Caroline by your side, holding your head high in victory. Then you'll propose to her and she'll say yes, then you'll marry her and make love to her all night l-
"Harry? Harry!" I blink back to reality when Lucille waves a hand in front of my face. "Did you not hear me?"
"What?" I ask, dumbfounded. Moving my mind from my fantasies, I divert my attention to Lucille who's standing in front of me and has her hand on the rusty doorknob.
"I said we've reached." She says bluntly, squinting her eyes slightly- clearly not amused by my distraction. I hug her tightly, giving her no space to breath.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you." I chant, closing my eyes and swaying her side to side to side. You're a dumbass, Harold. The princess probably thinks you have some illness or something, my subconscious tells me. I ignore the stupid voice inside my head and push it away when Lucille shoves a bag into my hand. It's the backpack I brought along with me.
"I put some bottled water, some food and medicine in there." She tells me and I kiss her politely on the cheek, grinning.
"Thanks Lucille, you're the best." I sigh happily and she blushes again.
"Oh, and there's also a candle in there. The fastest way to travel is by candlelight." She adds and I blink at her. What is she, crazy?
Lucille seems to have read my mind when she elaborates. "Our kingdom is known for our enchantment spells and voodoo magic. Just close your eyes, think deeply about a good reason why you want to go to certain place and only that. Your good intentions will lead you there." I nod my head, understanding a little bit. Withdrawing the long, thin black candle from the bag, I grasp it tightly with both hands. Lucille motions for me to light it with the flame from her lamp so with trembling hands, I do.
"Thank you so much, Lucille for everything. I will never forget you." I promise her and that's the last thing I ever do before screwing my eyes shut. My mind is set on only one thing, contemplating deeply on it, chanting it inside my head.
I can't let Caroline down because I love her. I can't let Caroline down because I love her. I can't let Caroline down because I love her. I can't let Caroline down because I love her.
Slowly, I feel my body and my spirit going in separate ways- only to find out that I'm now aching with pain. The sparking feeling in between my toes clenches when I now feel like I'm thrown from up above, falling with a thud.
My eyes lazily open when I find myself lying in wet grass, my backpack lying beside me. The candle is no longer in my hands so I collect myself from the ground and look straight at the dark place in front of me.
It is a large forest that is unknown to me. My eyes widen when I realize that this isn't London. I can tell by the way the trunks of the trees twist into a snarl and the ravens screech from above. The eeriness of the whole scene sends shivers down my spine and goosebumps form onto my clammy skin. Although the forest seems a bit creepy, I walk into it fearlessly. The twigs underneath my feet crunch as I walk, me looking up at my dark surroundings. None of this is familiar to me.
"Lads! I think he might be in here, go find him!" A familiar voice booms an order from the outskirts of the forest. It is surely King Ivan's voice but...how did he get here? I manage to get a glimpse of him holding a black candle similar to the one Lucille gave me and so I hide behind the bare bark of a nearby tree. Ivan has several men by his side, all holding black candles as well.
How did they find out I was here?
Without warning, I start sprinting at full speed, not looking back even once. "Hey! That must be him!" An unfamiliar voice shouts and I think it's a guard. My breathing hitches as I hear everyone running from behind me. Making a sharp turn, I stumble and fall down a steep hill, getting back to my feet right away and continuing to run. There are now rips and tears in my clothing, more cuts in my skin from all the tripping.
The sound of the running behind me starts to falter, so I take this as a chance to run deeper through the woods and hide in between bushes of unevenly growing wild berries. I watch quietly between the leaves as the group of men pant heavily, looking in all directions as confused expressions take over their faces.
"I think he went that way." A guard suggests as he points in a direction not even close to the one I am hiding in. Foolishly, everyone nods and follows. After a while, I hear nothing but the ravens and the cool, gusty winds. Taking the backpack off of my body, I open it to pull out the water. My throat is dry and I am unable to swallow.
Not because I'm dehydrated, but because of the contents of the bag: a thick long rope and a pocket knife. There is also a note attached to the items-
In case the enemies decide to turn the candle magic against you.