Sasha was being marched through the dungeon, surrounded by newt royal guards with her hands bound by rope. Every cell she passed by had multiple prisoners, all of whom were toads who had participated in her attempted coup.
She never thought it would end like this, finding herself as a prisoner once again. But as she was marched into the castle's atrium, she saw the chopping block. That was when reality started to sink in. The executioner stood next to the chopping block, preparing to swing his axe.
There were a few toad soldiers standing with her. Grime was present as well, likely due to their connection.
One of the royal newt guards spoke. "It doesn't have to be this way of course. We have orders to call off the execution if you agree to order the besieging army to retreat immediately."
Grime looked at Sasha. Even when he was in a state of depression, Grime always kept a brave face. This time however, she could see hesitation and a hint of fear. He kept his eyes locked on Sasha's. Clearly, he feared for her life, yet he didn't say anything.
The guard's patience ended immediately. "Very well, let the execution begin!"
Sasha was pushed to the execution block. She wanted to say something, anything but words fail to leave her throat. She watched as the executioner raised his axe, ready to chop her head off with one swing.
That was when she saw something moving on the rooftops.
"Wait!" Grime called out. "I'll give the order. Let her go!"
The executioner stopped. He looked at one of the nearby newt officers who simply nodded at him. Then the executioner lowered his axe, away from Sasha's neck.
Suddenly a burst of black mist appeared that blinded everyone. Only the sounds of clanking armor, footsteps and a sword could be heard in the commotion. After a few seconds, the smoke cleared and the guards as well as the executioner were all dead. A hooded figure dressed in a dark blue outfit stood with a sword drawn.
The figure pulled his hood back. "Hey Sasha!"
"Drake!" Sasha called out. She stood up and ran to him. Unfortunately, hugging him was difficult due to her hands still being bound.
"I'm glad to see you too." Drake replied as he started untying her.
"Where were you? I thought you said you were going to sit this one out." Sasha asked.
"It's a long story but we don't have time for that. We should worry about the here and now." Drake finished untying Sasha.
"Agreed." Grime said as Drake started untying him as well. "We need to free the rest of our men and prepare our next move. Time is of the essence."
"Glad we're on the same page. I need you to take whatever troops you have left and find someplace to hole up. I'll come find you tomorrow." he started to walk away.
"Wait, where are you going?" Sasha asked a little confused about why he was leaving.
"I'm going to secure the entrance to the castle. It'll make your job a lot easier." Drake explained, then he ran off.
Sasha and Grime scavenged from the newt bodies. They got a key to the cell doors and a few weapons. Until they reclaim their equipment, it'll have to do. The duo went back into the dungeon.
Far away, Marcy was roaming the streets in the market district of Newtopia. Many buildings had already been broken into when the toads had sacked Newtopia during the initial takeover. She could see a few people trying to clean up or fix their shops. Planning the repairs was moving much slower than she expected and with the ongoing siege, she probably won't be able to get supplies into the city.
Suddenly, Marcy heard the sound of armored footsteps marching. There were too many steps to simply be a patrol which made her curious. She ran to where she thought the noise was coming from and looked around the corner. There she saw what looked to be an army of toads marching in formation. They weren't wearing King Andria's colors. Sasha and Grime were walking in the front.
Marcy turned around and ran away before she could be spotted. She needed to warn King Andrias of what just happened.
Author's Note
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Another short chapter is done. Even though this was incredibly short, it's very difficult trying to write original chapters so it seems this arc is going to progress a lot slower than I expected. At least I managed to release one more chapter before the month ends.
Something I will say, I have a few other things going on. I thought about putting this story on hold for a spin off prequel about the Sand Wars. I'm also finally prepared with the Drake prequel story on earth but it'll be difficult trying to get the first chapter out before the end of the month so that will probably be on hold.
We'll see how things go after a few days because my schedule is very hectic right now. There's barely any time to write and when I can, it's not much.
Anyway, Sasha is free and is loose in Newtopia once again. Looks like Drake and Sasha have found themselves in the superior position.