Hello, again!

I have another wonderful chapter here. If you have read some of my other stuff, you'll know that I LOVE PLOT TWISTS. Plot twists? Guaranteed.

Take from that what you will.

Enjoy!

Chapter Four

Lydia quickly snatched a small tube from out of her sleeve. She blew into it and a poisoned dart flew from the end of the weapon and embedded itself into the assassin's skin. Hal looked on as the man fell over the railing and into the crowd of dancers.

The guests backed away from the body silently. No one was talking. It was scary how quiet the hall was. A man stood up. He had neat brown hair with harsh blue eyes, yet he seemed to manage a calming smile.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," he boomed. "Please, continue on with the festivities! We have men looking for the assassin as we speak."

Cassandra caught Lydia's eye. She asked a silent question. Lydia nodded slowly. Cassandra looked away.

"Who's that?" Hal whispered, gesturing to the man. The event picked up momentum.

"Mundane Gravis," Lydia answered. "He's the King's advisor-."

Hal noticed Gravis doing a large sweep of the ballroom and quickly kissed Lydia, cutting her off before she could finish her sentence. He put his arms around her waist and held her closer. She slid her hand through the back of his hair and placed a hand on his shoulder. Out of the corner of his eye, Hal saw Gravis watch them suspiciously. Lydia was about to pull back, but Mundane Gravis was still watching them. Hal leaned closer to her ear.

"He's watching," he whispered. He kissed her again. Lydia moved her hands to his face. Hal was feeling a little uncomfortable, but Gravis stopped watching them and moved on. Hal pulled back. He was pleased to realize that he was about 6 inches (15 centimeters) taller than Lydia.

Lydia looked up at him. "What's our next move? Weren't we supposed to signal the Herons?"

"Yeah," Hal said. "But we're done, I think. Wow, that was fast."

Lydia nodded. "What time is it?" Hal checked the sun out of a nearby window. It was gone. The moon was now straight up in the sky.

"It's about midnight," he answered. "The guests will be leaving soon."

In fact, the guests were already leaving. Hal and Lydia were about to follow suit when Mundane Gravis stood in the middle of the room.

"Excuse me," he called. "May I have your attention please?"

The guests turned toward him. Lydia and Hal looked down on the ballroom.

"I don't like this," Lydia whispered. Hal had to agree. There was something that just wasn't quite right about that man.

"I am pleased to announce that we have found the usurpers!" he boomed. Everyone clapped. Mundane Gravis waited from them to calm down. "These traitors have hired Genovesans to kill Princess Cassandra!" The crowd gasped. Mundane nodded gravely. "Yes. In fact, these traitors aren't even Araluens!"

"Lydia," Hal whispered. "Flash your ring out the window." She was about to move when a cold hand grabbed her arm in a steel grip. Another grabbed Hal's arm. The men escorted them downstairs. They entered the first floor ballroom and were roughly thrown in front of Mundane Gravis.

"And here they are!" he exclaimed. "People, I present to you Hal Mikkelson and Lydia Demarek, members of a Skandian warship." Hal looked up at Gravis. Gravis' cold eyes fixed on him. "Take them to the dungeon," Gravis instructed.

Hands grabbed Hal by his shirt and pulled him up into a standing position. A man pushed him forward and led him to the staircase again, but instead of going up, they went down a level. A door swung open to reveal the dungeons, but these weren't regular cells. Instead of a door that swung open, the top of each cell was a wooden trapdoor that covered about ¼ of the cell's ceiling. The trapdoor was about two feet by two feet and only opened from the outside. They were taken to the third of five cells located on the right side of the long dungeon hallway. A soldier threw open the hatch and it hit the stone floor with a CLANG!

Hal was thrown in first. He landed awkwardly on his foot 2 meters below the trapdoor. He stood up as they threw Lydia in the dungeon cell and Hal rushed to catch her. He caught her and she hastily stood upright. She looked up angrily at the guards, but they simply shut the door, engulfing Lydia and Hal in total darkness.

She grabbed his hand. "Well, that was definitely not part of the plan."

Hal and Lydia? In Castle Araluen's dungeon? Sparky's Girl? Where the heck are you going with this story?
You'll have to see! *evil laugh*

1 more review, guys! Then I'll post another chapter!