A/N: there will be no more dialogue at the beginning if the chapters. It ended in the last chapter haha.
"Katelyn the Fire Fist?" I nearly howl with laughter. "I thought she was long dead."
Laurance shakes his head with a victorious smile. "On the contrary. She's alive and well in Phoenix Drop."
In Phoenix Drop... I feel a wave of fear wash over me. If my aim is to get to Phoenix Drop to meet my brother, encountering another Jury member is the last thing I want. I cannot cross her.
"Reconsidering?" Laurance breaks my train of thought. "Does the thought of another Jury member scare you~?"
"No," I deadpan. "I will still get there. After we rescue Azlynn."
Laurance smirks a bit. "I suppose we've got to sleep for now."
"Hold on," I say. "I still have some questions."
Laurance's eyes flash. "Answer them yourself. I'm tired." He crawls underneath a tree and closes his eyes, shutting me out.
I huff in annoyance. I guess I should get some sleep for the soon-to-be long day tomorrow.
««»»
"Cassie. Cassie!" Someone's shaking me awake.
"Laurance...?" I groan. "It's still dark. What are you doing?"
"If we're rescuing her, we're doing it when most soldiers will either be asleep or barely awake." He grabs my wrists, forcing me to sit upwards.
I rub my eyes and nod with a yawn. "Yeah... okay." I stand up and stretch, waking up fully. My bow is strung and my arrows sharp. I'm ready.
Laurance unsheathes his emerald broadsword. "Ready to crash this party?"
I nod and we pace to the outskirts of the city.
"Okay," Laurance says. "Here's the plan. They're most likely keeping her in a prison. See those ports on the right? It's just next to the middle pier. I want you to go there."
"I know where the prison is," I say, rolling my eyes a little. "I've probably been in this city more times than you."
"Okay then, smartass. You check the prison. I'm going to find whoever's the general around here and—DUCK!" Laurance whisper-shouts as he pulls me quickly into some bushes. I hear the footsteps of some soldier making their rounds.
"Damn Tu'la soldiers," he breathes. My heart's beating out of my chest from that close call.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" I murmur.
He nods. "I do. All you need to do is do as you're told. Trust me."
I nod. Taking a deep breath, I leap over the fence effortlessly (A/n: I know they have taller walls, but please just pretend this segment just has a barbed fence haha) and glance around. No one. Perfect.
I turn around the corner and press my back to the wall and exhale, shutting my eyes for a moment. Then, I dart to the middle pier, crawling so low that my knees ache by the time I'm well-hidden in the boxes. I steal a glance at the Tu'la warships.
They're massive, much more so than the ones at Nahakra. With their billowing flags bearing the Tu'la crest, and enormous decks that could house hundreds of soldiers for an overseas mission, they look simply terrifying.
I swallow my fear and concentrate on the task at hand. I can see the prison, a few of its cells, in fact, they appear to have people inside. But I can see two large, menacing-looking guards manning the entrance. I could easily shoot them from where I'm hidden, but that would make too much noise. If I only were on higher ground...
I glance up at the Tu'la warship.
It's my only hope.
Scaling the ship would require balance, an aspect I never had. If I can just get to the lookout point on the very top with out being noticed, I would be golden.
Getting up without making a scene is harder said than done. I creep down the pier before darting behind a post and examining the warship. It looks to be vacant. I suppose all the soldiers are occupying the town rather than being in the ship.
I take a steady and careful step onto the oak deck. The rockiness of the sea below takes me slightly by surprise, and I teeter backward, but regain my balance and plant my feet firmly on the ship's deck.
I take a few long, silent strides until I reach the mind-blowingly high lookout post. A small triangle flag sits atop it, waving in the seabreeze.
The sails, however, are a different story. Latched on to the uppermost and middle point of the pole, they're a deep maroon with an enlarged Tu'la crest right in the middle.
A small, sad-looking ladder with rope on either side and oak rungs descends from the lookout balcony, which is a little circular structure with an oak railing surrounding it.
Firmly, I grab onto the ladder, my fingers wrapping around the unsteady rope. The wind tosses it a bit and I gasp slightly in fear, although I've barely gotten a foot off the ground.
I take one more fearful step up the ladder and then another. My breathing relaxes and I begin the catch on to climbing a weak ladder.
Suddenly, as I'm a little before halfway up, out of the corner of my eye, I catch a guard turning the corner. Panic sets in as I see his face turn upwards towards the swaying ladder.
He's going to see me.
My gut takes over and I do the dumbest thing imaginable--I wrap my body around the pole, leaving only my leg on the rung as I latch my nails into the wood, so I'm half-shimmying on the pole.
The wood digs into my nails and I grit my teeth and shut my eyes tightly. The last thing I'm going to do is look down.
Finally, the guard exits and turns down the other road. Impatiently, I reach over and grab the rope. My other leg finds its way onto the rung and I grab the ladder so my whole body is on it. The action sends the ladder swinging a few feet to the left and I breathe slowly as to calm my panicked nerves.
I heave myself up the last few rungs and collapse on the balcony. I can feel my stomach flip as I see how far I've climbed.
I can see the entire kingdom. I never realized how massive it was. The buildings and cobblestone two-story homes stretch over the hills to the point where I can't see the grasslands covering the mountains. On any normal day, I'd've seen late-night shoppers, or townspeople going to or coming from the O'khasian pub. I'd've seen the twinkling lights of an ignorant city. Ignorant of how corrupt they were. Ignorant yet blissful. However, all I see are Tu'laian guards making their rounds. I see no townspeople nor ignorance. Not any longer. All I see is the darkness of a
once-glorious empire.
I stand up fully and grip my bow. The early morning breeze blows my hair off my back. I scale the cobblestone walkways for those guards at the prison. Finally, I catch the red of their armor. I load an arrow and pull back on the string. I can make a clear shot from here. I can't guarantee it won't be seen by a passing guard, however.
I take a deep breath, knowing that I'll have to hit the guard right next to him almost blindly--just an immediate load and fire, so he won't have time to alert any surrounding guards.
Holding my breath, I release the string.
Just as I thought, the arrow hits him and I see him fall to the ground. I've already fired at the second guard.
Except, this time I'm not as lucky. The arrow is off by a foot or two, which gives the guard time to look around to see who's firing. I load and aim once more. This time, the arrow hits the target, but it's too late. I already see a handful of guards rushing to the docks.
Dammit. I've got no way out. I'm trapped on the ship. The soldiers are already surrounding the ship and pole. One begins to climb up, but I grab and arrow and slice the rope handles with the tip so the ladder falls to the ground with a thud.
The soldiers begin yelling at me to come down. Just then, I see something, no, someone running to the prison. He's got chestnut colored hair.
Laurance. So this was his plan. To get me to do the dirty work while he waited in the shadows, finding the right moment.
Anger and gratitude boil in my stomach. Anger for putting me in the worst situation and gratitude because I see a certain purple-haired girl running out of the prison.
My mind goes blank and I nearly double over with fear. I can see the soldiers trying to chop down the pole.
All I can do now is hope that if I jump, I'll be done and I won't have to submit to them.
««»»
Hey guys! Thanks for reading this super long chapter I hope you--
JUST KIDDING ;) I'm not that cruel! It's not over yet!
Keep reading! xx, vylad
I've jumped. My body flying, no, falling through the air. Then, everything is black.
My eyes open up a crack. I shiver a bit. Am I dead? No, not yet. I spot the bars of an iron cell in front of me.
Worse than death. I'm now a prisoner of Tu'la. Laurance and Azlynn are gone. Hopefully safe.
"Ah, you're awake." I hear a deep male's voice in front of me. A tall guard with smoothed-back chocolate hair, dark eyes, and oddly sharp canine teeth says. He's wearing a Tu'la uniform yet not wearing a helmet, so I assume he's the general Laurance said he was going to look for. He speaks with a thick Tu'la accent.
I sit up. "Who are you?" My tone is strict, yet I think he can hear the fear in my voice.
"Me?" He smirks. "My name is General Lahané. But since our relationship will be a little closer, you can just call me Rivano."
Lahané... Something about that name tugs at a memory. That's it! Lahané was the name the soldiers in Nahakra were talking about. So what's he doing here?!
"Anyways," Lahané's voice breaks my thoughts. "The subject is not me. It is you, my dear Jury member."
"Are you going to execute me in front of the kingdom?" I ask.
Lahané's face turns to mock hurt. "Oh Irene, no~. Rather, you proved you're quite the hotshot, Ms. Ro'meave~."
My eyes widen in shock. "Ro'meave... how the hell do you know?!"
Lahané motions directly across him, to another cell. It contains a woman with long black hair and there is an O'khasian crest on her white dress. She's unconscious, but it doesn't take a genius to know who she is.
It's Zianna Ro'meave, my birthmother.
Okay, now the chapter is over haha. This is my longest chapter (even though it's only like 14 pages lol). It was quite the challenge to write as I had to change things around because other things didn't add up and stuff... anyways, I'm planning on drawing Cassie on the lookout balcony in my art book so stay tuned if you would like to see it!
And now I'll sign off because it is two am and I'm typing this on mobile with my eyes closed.
xxx,
vylad