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'Why do you have to be so stubborn?'
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I slowly make my way down the rusty stairs. The dungeons are a dark and gloomy place. Absolutely filthy as well. I cant believe Jim's been stuck down here, treated like a dangerous animal.
All of it makes me want to scream with rage, but I keep it all in.
I tighten my hold of the tray in my hands, attempting to make myself appear as professional yet as casual as possible.
Yep, I am meant to be here.
I totally didn't knock out the head maid with a frypan. Nope, that was not me. I'm just a normal maid who's casually delivering the prisoners food.
As I walk, I spot a familiar figure standing infront of an iron door. I let out a shaky breath before I approach him as confidently as I can.
Galahad.
He's Merlin's friend. He was always keeping watch of the castle in the future (present? I don't know). I personally haven't spoken with him before, but I've seen him around many times.
Most of the times he's drinking ale.
"Excuse me, sir. I was told by Hellen that I was to bring bread to the...prisoners." I tell him with an innocent smile, forcing down the urge to just knock him out and break Jim out of here.
As much as I want to do that, there's no where for us to go from there. We'd still be stuck in time.
"Food...now?" Galahad asks confused.
I don't blame him. It's past midnight. I was honestly hoping he'd be half drunk and wouldn't question why I'm here.
"Hellens orders. If you have a problem, speak with her." I shrug, knowing that most people are scared of the grumpy old lady.
"Hmph. Maybe I will." Galahad grunts but I immediately shake my head.
"No! You shouldn't, she's very busy right now. Lots of grumbling, many words that I can't repeat." I tell him with an innocent smile.
Galahad grunts before opening the iron door that leads to a hallway. I awkwardly smile at him before ducking my head down and rushing past him, slightly jumping as he slams the iron door behind me.
I look down the dark hallway. Cages were hanging from the walls with snarling goblins, and the large cages were filled with the average trolls, all of which were glaring at me.
Honestly, I'm the good guy here!
Not that they'd know that...
I slowly walk past, glancing through all the cages, attempting to spot the one who hasn't left my mind since he was taken down here.
"Jim." I whisper as I look in a specific cage, jumping back when a troll snarls and presses up against the bars, bearing its teeth at me. "Not Jim.... Sorry."
"Y/n?" I hear a voice mutter.
I snap my head forward and rush to the cage next to the one who snarled at me. I look through the bars and let a relieved smile appear on my face as I spot Jim curled up on the ground, a confused expression on his face.
"Jim!" I smile in relief, holding onto the bars tightly as I stare at him.
"What are you doing here?" Jim asks frantically as he rushes to the bars, his hands going over mine as he gazes down at me. "You shouldn't be here."
"I had to make sure you were okay." I whisper as I reach a hand through the cage, softly cupping Jim's cheek as he leans into my hand. "How're you doing?"
"As well as anyone who's in a dungeon." Jim mutters to me with a small smile.
"I've brought you bread, thought it might cheer you up." I say with shrug, grabbing a piece off the tray and handing it to him through the bars.
I then look behind me to the cage infront of Jim and notice a female troll watching as curiously.
Maybe she wants bread too?
"Uhh...here you go." I say as I walk towards her cage and hold a piece of bread through for her.
The troll seems to stare at it in confusion before she hesitantly grabs it.
"Thanks." She mutters before going back to sitting in the corner of her cage.
I awkwardly clear my throat before turning back to Jim—who seems to be happily eating his bread.
"How's the shard?" I ask as I step back towards the bars of his cage.
"Same as before. You need to stop worrying about it." Jim tells me softly before he grabs my hand through the bars, squeezing it with a small smile.
"You can't tell me to do that, Jim." I tell him, my eyes narrowing slightly as I point an accusing finger at him. "I am still so insanely mad at you!"
"What?" Jim asks confused, clearly not expecting an angry Y/n, but here I am.
"You and your stupid hero complex! I cant believe you jumped infront of me like that!" I whisper yell at him.
"Are we seriously talking about this now?" Jim whispers with wide eyes.
"Yes!" I whisper back, a glare on my face. "What if you died, Jim! Do you know what that would've done to me?"
"Well what if you died? I wasn't going to watch you die, Y/n! No way." Jim tells me with a frantic shake of his head.
"I'd rather it be me then you." I whisper yell.
"Well I'd rather it be me then you!" Jim whispers back before we both go silent.
Two stubborn people who just want to protect eachother is always going to end badly.
"Why do you have to be so stubborn?" I whisper with a small frown on my face.
"It's in my nature." Jim shrugs, a small smirk on his face.
"I just...I don't want anything to happen to you." I whisper as I re grab his hand through the cage. "I-I can't lose you, Jim."
"I know...but I can't lose you either." Jim mutters softly.
I stare at Jim with a fond smile. Even when I'm mad at him, I'm not truly mad. I get angry because I'm scared. I'm scared of the truth and that truth is that Jim would happily die for me. But I don't want that. I'd rather it be me then him. And he knows that too.
"You should leave." Jim whispers as he reaches his hand out and softly cups my face in his hand.
"That desperate for me to go?" I smirk as I lean my face into his hand.
"You know that's far from the truth." Jim mutters before he drops his hand and carefully steps back. "I expect to see you soon. But not too soon."
"If all goes to plan, we should be out of here in no time." I tell him with a smile. "But when does anything ever go to plan?"
"For us? Never." He chuckles.
"Our lucks never been the best." I shrug before I step back. "Don't miss me too much."
"I'll be counting the seconds until I see you again." Jim says playfully causing me to laugh quietly into the palm of my hand.
"Alright, Prince Charming. Don't go causing trouble." I tell him pointedly.
"Me? Never. It's you I'm worried about." Jim chuckles.
Little late for that.
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I walk into our shared quarters with a smile on my face, a huge difference to the scowl that's been adorned on my face ever since we got here.
"What's got you all smiley?" Douxie asks confused, wiping some blue goo off his hands.
"Nothing." I say quickly.
I can't tell him that I visited Jim, he'd go ballistic at me.
"Alright then, how's Hellen been? Hasn't been working you too hard?" Douxie asks, grimacing at the blue goo that won't leave his hands.
"Nah, I think she likes me now." I lie smoothly before noticing an exhausted Steve laying on the bed. "How's being a knight, Steve?"
"Ugh." Steve groans causing me to nod my head.
"I agree." I mutter before looking back to Douxie. "I'm assuming you didn't get the time map?"
"What gave you that idea?" Douxie asks nervously.
"The fact that we're still in the past." I deadpan.
"Well it's not easy! One wrong move, and we will screw up history without even knowing it." Douxie stresses, just as Claire comes barging into the room, slamming the door shut behind her quickly.
"We have to change history!" Claire exclaims, leaning her back against the door with a horror stricken face. "Arthur's had enough. The Trolls are gonna die at sunrise!"
"What?" I yell, suddenly straightening up as I stare at Claire.
"Oh, Blimey Balroths! How are we supposed to stop this and stay inconspicuous?" Douxie asks as he stares out the window.
"It was us being here. Our presences alone have changed history! This is happening because of us!" I stress before staring at Douxie desperately. "I know you said to lay low, but we've already changed history! And because of that, Jim's gonna die!"
"We won't let that happen." Claire quickly reassures.
"Yes, let's see what this future Douxie is capable of." The cat (who I now know is called Archie) teases as he taps Douxie on the head with his paw while standing on his hind legs.
"Your right, sod the rules." Douxie says before looking to all of us with a smirk. "It's time for a dungeon break."
"Finally, something interesting." I smirk.
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We creep down towards the banquet hall, following Douxie's lead by hiding behind one of the marble pillars at the sound of laughter. I creep my head out from behind and spot Lancelot and Galahad laughing at eachother with large cups of ale in their hands.
I notice that they seem a bit too preoccupied with their ale and signal for the others to follow behind me as I quickly run past.
I didn't even notice that I started to take the lead towards the dungeons, but Douxie sure did.
"Hang on. How do you know the way to the dungeons?" Douxie asks as he and Claire attempt to catch up to my fast pace, the flying cat a bit behind and Steve no where to be seen (he's probably fine).
"I don't know what you mean." I say in a disregarding voice as I pull open the large door and start to jog down the familiar gloomy path with cages and trolls along it.
"Y/n-" Douxie starts to say in a stern tone but I cut him off when I catch sight of Jim's familiar slumped form in a cage up ahead.
"Jim!" I call in excitement as I race down towards his cage.
Jim's head snaps up at the sound of my voice, but his eyes narrow in warning.
"Y/n, I told you to go." Jim tells me as he rushes to the bars of the cage.
"You did visit Jim! Y/n, I told you not go find trouble!" Douxie sighs in annoyance.
"This is not the worst thing I've done since I've been here." I tell him before disregarding his presence and looking back to Jim. "Ready for a game of prison break?"
"What?" Jim mutters confused.
"We're breaking you out." Claire tells him.
"Your stay in Terror Tower is over, mate." Douxie tells him before nodding to me.
I smile before standing infront of the cage door and entangling my F/c energy around it, taking a moment before pushing my hands forward—causing the door to open with a small crack!
"And presto, one liberated troll." Archie comments as Jim steps out of the cage.
I quickly step forward and wrap my arms around Jim's waist in a tight hug, holding on to this moment for a few seconds before reluctantly pulling away.
"How does freedom taste?" I ask.
"Great." Jim chuckles before I notice him glancing around to the other trolls, goblins and gremlins in cages around us, a guilty frown on his face.
"I got it." I smile before moving towards the cage with a female troll in it.
She looks at me curiously and I realise she's the one I gave bread to before.
I hold my hands out and push open the door like I did with Jim's, watching in amusement as the female troll laughs and rushes out of the cage with a smirk.
"Haha! Take that, death! I elude you once again-" The female troll cackles loudly but her voice gets muffled by Jim's hand as he shushes her.
"Two down, dozens more to go." I mumble to myself as I look around to the cages of trolls.
I crack my fists and neck before I get to work.
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Authors note:
Whooo Jim's free...but not for long
We love Y/n breaking into the dungeons twice in one chapter, she's just like that
We also love that cute Y/n and Jim moment, because they deserve to be cute
I feel like every time Jim's finally back, he's gone again and it makes me sad
Make sure to comment and vote! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!