Chapter 11. Escape.
Alfred shot upright the second he opened his eyes. He didn't even remember falling asleep, but he was in his bed, dressed in usual night clothes. The last thing he remembered…he was nearly strangled and then kissed by Lord Braginski. Did he use a spell on him to knock him out to try and make him forget what had happened? Alfred glanced down at himself and frowned when he realized that there was magic residue on him. Someone had used a spell on him.
Alfred gritted his teeth, throwing off the comforter and quickly getting to his feet. He glanced out the door, finding that the sun was just beginning to set. As usual, there was an outfit waiting for him to put it on, like nothing was wrong. Like Alfred hadn't just been forced to sleep by Lord Braginski, who wanted to keep his secret fantasies secret!
Alfred grumbled to himself as he swiftly changed, knowing he couldn't exactly get very far in pajamas. As soon as he was dressed, he left his room, not even caring how loudly his door closed. He never really got a chance to explore the manor before, but that didn't quite matter at this point. He knew which direction the wall was in and that was all the direction he needed.
Alfred gripped his hands into fists tightly, he could feel his pent up magic he never really had a chance to use for quite some time. Lord Braginski could try all he wanted to keep Alfred there, but there was no way in Hell he was staying. Alfred stormed through the hallways, finally reaching a point in the manor that would be close enough to the wall for him to get cover in the forest, just a few feet away.
He didn't even bother with getting himself ready, his anger was more than enough to fuel his magic. He slammed his fist into the wall and, thanks to his magic, the bricks scattered and flew away with a massive sound. Alfred smirked and used the magic he'd only just learned in the castle to cast a spell over himself, making him appear invisible. He jumped to the ground, four stories below him, and used more magic to keep himself safe. He could already hear the thundering footsteps of soldiers trying to find him, but he wasted no time.
He ran right into the forest for the best cover. He could hide in there for a while, wait for them to give up, and then return to his normal life. Easy peasy. Alfred brushed past the trees and shrubs as fast as he could, well aware of the sounds of people trying to follow him, but he didn't allow himself to stop. He'd never been this deep in the forest before and he realized perfectly well that he was getting himself lost, but that didn't matter at this point.
He was getting away. Alfred had to laugh at himself for how stupid he was for not running away sooner. He should have ran the first day he got his magic back. And why did he stay? That stupid lord made him think that…what? What did he make him think?
Alfred stopped, ducking behind a bush for cover as he shook his head, trying to get his thoughts back together. The second his thoughts moved to Lord Braginski, his mind went haywire? Definitely not okay. Alfred shook his head. What did the lord make him think? That…that there was something there? No. No way in Hell. If that was true, Alfred wouldn't have minded the kiss. But he did care. He cared a lot. That was why he ran away.
Alfred stayed where he was as the sun set around him. He heard the soldiers that had passed him coming back, still searching for him, but they all passed him. Alfred couldn't sense anyone else with his magic. They were all returning to the manor. He'd made it.
Alfred smirked as he stepped out from the bush, finally putting down his invisibility spell. He knew he wasn't completely free yet, but he could definitely get somewhere with this. Alfred turned around and noticed the massive wall in front of him, covered in cool moss of the night. Luckily, running had let out a lot of his pent up anger, otherwise he would have tried something on that wall and given away his position to the manor.
Still…he couldn't stop himself from at least going forward to touch it. Immediately, Alfred felt the force of the magic surrounding the wall. It felt…familiar now somehow. Surprisingly, it allowed Alfred to get a little closer to the actual wall than usual, but then everything suddenly turned black.
"Find him."
"I know!" Ivan snapped at the damned voice in his head. He was already angry enough without the spirit forcing its own anger into him. He had made sure he was alone in the room and, already, there was overturned furniture and ice scattered on the ground. He was shaking, he wasn't seeing clearly. He wished more than ever that he wasn't connected to General Winter. At least, then, he could tell where his anger ended and the spirit's started.
"Go find him yourself, don't rely on your subordinates."
"Maybe I would if I could control your anger," Ivan growled under his breath. "I will find him. Stop continuously demanding things from me."
"You're more useless than your own father."
"Shut up," Ivan felt like his whole body was trembling with anger that wasn't even his to control. "Get out of my head."
"I would if I could," General Winter said pointedly.
"I'll help you," Ivan muttered, slowly managing to sit down on his bed and take a few deep breaths. He had to sort through his thoughts, figure out what he could at least do to quell his own anger. It was his own fault he had allowed Alfred to use his magic, his fault for not placing guards on him. He had figured he had erased enough from Alfred's memory of the day before to at least calm him down. He apparently hadn't done enough. At least Alfred didn't remember what he had seen in the hidden dungeon. If that were the case, he wouldn't have broken out, he would have found it again and actually gotten farther.
"We should find some way to destroy that thing in the dungeon," General Winter said, at least calming down slightly. "At the very least, it leaves your Trickster with less power."
"I know you have tried in the past," Ivan shook his head. "Don't act like it's never worked. I can't even enter the damn room."
"You should care more than you do about that thing and the person you let escape," General Winter stated.
"How can I when you don't bother sharing any information with me?" Ivan asked.
"You are far from ready to see and understand what I have seen," General Winter said coldly. "Perhaps once you find your Trickster and at least keep him in your custody, I will consider giving you the information you demand."
Ivan sat in his room in silence for a while. No matter what, he had to get Alfred back in the manor, by any means necessary. For his own means, and for General Winter. He needed to know what his father had known, prove that he could be a better leader than that man. He needed General Winter on his side.
"Consider it done."
Alfred couldn't feel anything. He was slipping in and out of consciousness and his whole body trembled slightly with pain. He knew this was the work of the wall, he'd felt exactly like this before he knew he'd get over it in a little bit. For now, however, he was barely aware of what was going on around him. He could…hear voices. It took him a while to understand what they had said after they said it, but he had a fair grasp on it.
"Poor guy, bet he touched the wall."
"Hey, check out those clothes. He's from the manor."
"No, look at his hands, he's definitely not from the manor."
There were three distinct voices, but Alfred could barely follow them or their conversation.
"Look at his aura."
"No…"
"We've finally got another one?"
Alfred's head throbbed as he tried to come up with coherent thoughts to follow their conversation. He tried to think about what they were saying, he really did, but he couldn't bring himself to do anything.
"With that level of magic…he's gotta be. He's got more than the last one!"
Alfred groaned, the first coherent thing he was able to do since he was stupid enough to try touching the wall again. The voices were quiet for a while, maybe consulting each other. Alfred was more than aware of the grass beneath him, so he wasn't completely out of it. He wondered how late it was, how long he'd been out like he was.
"I hope for our sakes he's not as foolish as the last one."
"Arthur wasn't that stupid."
"Yeah…I mean, showing off his magic to everyone was the best idea at the time, I'm sure. It's not what got us captured at all!"
"Both of you, be quiet, we don't know how much he can hear. He wouldn't even be ready for that kind of information if he doesn't even know who he is."
"Yeah? Look at him. He's gotta be 25. How long are we gonna wait until we think he's ready?"
"Maybe we should take him back with us. It would be for the best, right? That way we can figure out for ourselves if he really is ready. It's not like Nikolas hasn't done the same thing with the lord."
"True."
And then Alfred felt himself getting dragged. He felt himself slipping from consciousness once again, but he desperately tried to keep himself conscious. He was trying to understand what these people were saying around him, but he couldn't grip onto anything without his head throbbing enough to make him let go. He felt like this was important, but he couldn't bring himself to get his mind to stay.
"Don't worry, Trickster. You're safe with us."
Bah, short chapter is short. Not a lot could happen here because of how I want the chapters to go, but I was able to make it longer with the bit at the end. Another problem I have is I'm limiting myself to Alfred and Ivan's perspectives only and that's making this a problem because, otherwise, the last part could have gone smoother. It's still nice and mysterious so it's fine, in any case.
Anywho, I should have posted last night, but since I didn't because I was stupid, you're getting a double update later today, once I write a little more! And a regular update tomorrow!
Anywho, plot's moved forward for sure now so we should all be excited! Anyway, please review! And I'll see you next time!
