I'm sorry that I took so long but I had major writer's block with this chapter and it was also perhaps the worst I had ever experienced. The escape was a nightmare to write! Another character is introduced in this chapter but it's more of a glimpse. He/she will hopefully make an appearance next chapter. A little fun thing to point out, there's a moment in this chapter similar to a moment in the ending scene of Rise of the Guardians. If you spot it then kudos to you. I finally watched Hotel Transylvania and now I realize that Cairbre (who's Dracula, for those of you who hadn't figured it out) is probably as OOC as can be.
Nothing to report this chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter #12: The Gathering (Part 2)
Jack's POV
Rapunzel and I were standing quietly off to the side. I looked at her and she gave me a nervous nod. It was time. I silently snuck around our house and entered. After I closed the door behind me, I quickly undid the tie of my sash and threw my tunic off, revealing the black poet shirt. I grabbed a black cloak from its hiding spot and donned it on me, pulling the hood up.
I snatched the key and ran down to the storage room. We had kept the gathering on the opposite side of the front door and the storage room, which meant that both were bathed in shadow, ideal for sneaking. I quickly ran through the hallway and opened the door; Tuffnut and Rannveig were already waiting.
"Let's go!" I whispered harshly, my hand rapidly motioning for them to follow me. We ran out of the room, out the tunnel and up to the world. In the shadows we rapidly moved around the gathering towards the market place. As we walked by the gathering, I looked at Rapunzel. She looked back and nodded.
As we had thought, the market place was completely abandoned but we still moved close in the dark shadows of the buildings as guards could still be on patrol. The information from the triplets was very accurate but the patrols also changed, sometimes on a daily basis. When Aileen discovered that the teenage princes had an unconditional hatred for William and the massacre, she had convinced them to aid her cause by passing on information to people like me about the guards and their patrols. Their help had been invaluable.
We kept walking until we reached our first stop: a well. The well had been empty for years but no one ever bothered to permanently close it; even the rope was still attached. When I joined the operation, this well also became invaluable. The well was the entrance to a manmade tunnel that led to a forgotten corner of the outer wall. With this well, it became easier to sneak escapees out.
I looked down the deep pit, the bottom overwhelmed in darkness and the tunnel invisible.
"I'll take Rannveig now." I whispered. Tuffnut and I had already planned this. If anything came up, an obstacle or something, I would take Rannveig with me. It was also safer for her if she went down the well with me. Tuffnut passed the little girl to me. She wrapped her legs around my torso and her arms around my neck; she had to hold herself up while I lowered us. I grabbed the rope,
"Hold on tight." I whispered and started to lower ourselves down the rope into the darkness.
Luckily, Rannveig was not that heavy but carrying someone while trying to descend a rope was no easy feat. I was more than glad when I reached the end of the rope, a little over a meter from the ground. I dropped the two of us and landed like a cat, a small squeal escaping from the girl.
Tuffnut followed shortly afterwards, landing with much less grace. As he picked up Rannveig, I had scoured the floor for the torch that always lay there. After finding it, I lit the torch with a bit of flint and steel, blowing lightly on the flame to get it going. I picked up the torch and revealed the long, dark tunnel, just big enough for a grown man.
The three of us walked in silence with me leading. There was not a sound; no water dripping, nothing. The only sounds were our footsteps, breathing and the occasional squeak of a rat, quickly followed by a gasp from Rannveig. When the end of the tunnel came into sight, I extinguished the torch and laid it on the ground for usage on the return journey.
Ahead of the exit was a large open field followed by the dense forest; this was the most dangerous part of the journey. If we were spotted here, it was over. The field was the reason we clad ourselves in black and only attempt an escape during the new moon. That and the fact that were always wall patrols at this time; the angst of a possible attack from Aileen and the others.
"Ok," I whispered to Tuffnut, "We have to run very fast here. I'll go first and I'll take Rannveig with me." Tuffnut nodded and quickly translated. Rannveig nodded too. Out of my pocket, I took a small wooden whistle. "When we're safe on the other side, I'll make this sound." I blew on it and the sound it made almost sounded like an owl. "Then you can go."
Tuffnut nodded and handed Rannveig to me. We emerged from the tunnel. I looked up at the wall and was relieved to see that were no guards at the moment. We dashed across the field, first hiding behind a large rock. I glanced at the wall again but there were still no guards.
It was continuous patterns of run, hide, run, hide. Much to my surprise, a guard rarely appeared on the wall, almost as if they didn't care if the castle was attacked or not.
We kept running until we reached safety of the dense borders of the forest
I made the call and we waited. One minute passed and another but Tuffnut wasn't appearing. I watched intently, Rannveig holding tightly on my sleeve.
A wave of relief hit me when Tuffnut came running to us; the worst part was over. Navigating through the forest in the dark without light was difficult but at least there was no immediate threat. We walked nearby, but not on, the main road, which passed close by the Ring of Stones.
I looked behind me and saw Tuffnut carrying Rannveig, the little girl hitting branches and giggling quietly
I turned my attention in front of me. It was then that I heard distant voices laughing and light approaching dangerously close to us,
"Get down! Hide!" I whispered, hiding myself behind some bushes. Tuffnut followed suit, placing his finger in front of his mouth, looking at Rannveig. She nodded. The three of us sat in silence as the light approached near us on the road. From the voices and the shadows, I could tell that it were two men riding. I kept looking until the two men came into sight, the torch one of them was holding revealing their faces.
It was William MacInroy. The one holding the torch, the rider beside him was Cináed, his left hand man. Cináed was one of the men that always attacked Rapunzel; he was the same man that attacked Hendry on the day he arrived at DunBroch. How a man like him ever reached a position so close to William remains a mystery since the young lord usually outcasted men like Cináed. He wasn't "normal". The man had scars from old burns covering one entire side of his face; "the face of the devil" some had called it.
"How in God's name did you convince her to do it?" Cináed chuckled.
"It was too easy." William replied, slowing his horse slightly, "Just threaten a woman that you'll kill her only child and she'll do anything for you." Horror racked in me. What did William do?
"And her husband doesn't suspect anything?" William pulled on the reins, commanding the black horse to stop. He looked at the man,
"Please, Ewan's a fool. If someone were to tell him that the Earth moved around the Sun, he'd believe them." Ewan? Ewan MacIntosh? It had to be Ewan MacIntosh. William would never associate himself with the common folk unless it was absolutely necessary. If it was Ewan MacIntosh he was talking about, then what did William do to Ewan's wife, Anna? The two men kept riding, talking to each other loudly. The two continued on their way, slowly disappearing around a corner. I would've liked to keep listening to the two talk and hopefully find out what William did to Anna but my priority at the moment was Tuffnut and Rannveig.
I emerged from my hiding spot, carefully placing my steps; a snap of wood could still be heard by William, even at this distance.
We continued to walk silently, keeping our distance from the road and placing our steps very carefully.
When the Ring of Stones appeared, I let out a small laugh and quickened my pace to a run. Tuffnut followed suit.
We entered the circle, myself taking in the sight of the cloaked figures, all of them with their hood down; a rare occurrence. Everyone was there: Aileen Fletcher, Fionntan Morrison, Seoc and Seòdsaidh Johnston, and, the only one that doesn't wear a cloak, Heather Williamson.
Third Person POV
Aileen always became very nervous when it came to an escape, though she'd never admit it. On this particular night she was even more nervous. Jack was late. She'd been pacing back and forth on the same spot for several minutes, the grass flattened completely.
"Don't worry, Aileen." Heather consistently cooed, sitting on top of one of the smaller rocks, "Jack'll make it. He's done this many times." Aileen looked up at her and sighed, pushing her hood off of her head.
"You're right." She sighed, climbing up to sit beside Heather. She looked up at the starry sky, noticing the clouds on the horizon, slowly getting bigger. Aileen continued starring at the sky, not really noticing the wind starting to pick a little.
"There they are!" Heather yelled, pointing to the forest. Everybody looked and out of the forest, Jack, Tuffnut and Rannveig appeared.
"Jack!" Aileen called as she jumped down from the rock and ran to him, "What took you so long?"
"Sorry, we had some trouble getting here." Jack replied as he ushered Tuffnut and Rannveig to Seoc and Fionntan, the two men giving the escapees supplies and instructions,
"What happened?" Aileen inquired as she moved away from the others, Jack following,
"William MacInroy is returning to DunBroch." Aileen stopped in her tracks, grabbing his shoulders
"What? You're sure?" Jack nodded,
"Yes. I saw him with Cináed near the main road." Aileen let go of his shoulders and began pacing again, contemplating and processing the information,
"Why is he coming back now!?" She asked out loud, throwing her hands in the air, "He's not due back in DunBroch until tomorrow at noon!" Jack shrugged his shoulder, leaning his back to a stone,
"I don't know. Guess he got tired of the north." He looked at Tuffnut and Rannveig, "Are they ready?"
"Almost. There's been a slight change of plans." Jack looked at the woman confused,
"What?"
"Nothing too big. There's just another person going with them." Aileen motioned her head and Jack looked. Tuffnut was standing in a tight embrace with a woman that looked exactly like him. Both their eyes were watered and the woman held a death grip on Tuffnut's shoulders. When they let go of each other, they gave each a gentle head butt, probably because of the injuries on the woman's forehead. She looked at Tuffnut and gave him a hard punch on his shoulder. He let out a shriek of pain but laughed anyway.
A bright smile played on Jack's face as he watched the reunion and Tuffnut's introduction of Rannveig to the woman; it reminded him of his reunion with his sister all those years ago,
"Tuffnut's twin?" Jack asked Aileen, who was watching with the same intensity as he was,
"The one and only." Jack looked back to the reunion. Tuffnut was looking at him and gave a nod, a sign of deep appreciation for everything Jack had done for him and Rannveig. Jack returned the nod and smiled at the little girl, holding her father's hand tightly.
Jack lifted the hood and turned to leave, not noticing that Rannveig was watching him.
"Jack!" Rannveig let go of her father's hand and ran to the leaving man. Just as he turned around, the little girl threw her arms around his legs. Jack gasped when he felt the girl crash into him but that quickly turned into a smile as he lowered himself and hugged the little girl back "I miss you." He heard her whisper in broken English.
"I'll miss you too." He whispered back, tightening the hug, relishing the brief moment that he felt like a father again.
Jack's POV
I rejoined the gathering while tying my sash. Most of the people had already left but there were still plenty left. Merida, Hendry, Mavis and Onceler were all sitting around the bonfire. They were probably doing a drinking contest because Onceler and Merida were constantly refilling their tankards and emptying them just as fast,
"What?!" I heard Merida yell at Onceler, punching his shoulder. I noticed she was slurring. Did Onceler get Merida drunk? Hendry probably noticed as well as he tried to take the tankard from her but she quickly pulled it closer to her, "You boys think a princess can't drink!?" She yelled at them followed by a loud and drunken chortle. I shook my head and walked to Rapunzel, who was standing in the exact same spot as when I left. As soon as she saw me, she enveloped me in a tight hug; that I was back meant that the escape went smoothly.
"Well?" She asked anyway, letting go of me, "How did it go?"
"Everything went smoothly," I said as I brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, "They're on their way to England." I let out a sigh and looked out to the bonfire, watching Hendry and Merida laughing, "I'm going to miss Rannveig."
"Well, you might have your own little Rannveig running around soon." I looked at her confused. What was she talking about?
"What?" Rapunzel let out a chuckle and tears of happiness appeared in her eyes.
"I'm pregnant, Jack." She laughed at my face of surprise. An almost child-like spread across my face. With a yell of happiness and joy, I lifted her into the air and twirled her around, earning a happy squeal of laughter from her. I set her down and placed a kiss on her rosy lips
"You'll be extra careful this time?" I asked when we separated. Rapunzel had had experienced many miscarriages in the last few years and each miscarriage had a deep emotional impact on Rapunzel that took a long time to recover from. She nodded
"Of course I will." She smirked and leaned in for another passion filled kiss. We separated when we heard someone yell a name. I recognized the voice and it was one that I hoped I didn't have to hear here.
Third Person POV
"MAVIS!" Mavis and Onceler separated hastily from there kiss when they heard her name being yelled. They looked and saw a furious Cairbre pacing towards them.
"Dad!" Mavis stood up and ran to him, trying to stop from walking towards Onceler, "It's not what it looks like!" He looked at her and pushed her to the ground, continuing towards Onceler, only stopping when Jack interfered.
"What do you want, Cairbre?"
"This is none of your business, Overland!"
"Dad!" Mavis bravely took a place in front of her angry father, "It not what it seems! This isn't me fooling around!" She looked at Onceler before looking back at Cairbre, "I love him!" Cairbre looked at Mavis, his face becoming so red that it looked like it was going to burst. Hardly anybody caught the swift movement of Cairbre hand hitting Mavis' cheek until her head shot to the side, her hand caressing the reddening skin.
The whole time, Onceler stood by and watched, feeling completely responsible for what was happening. He had enticed Mavis into the kiss, he was the reason she got hit.
"Cairbre," He stepped in-between daughter and father, "I'm at fault here." Onceler tried to sound as calm and as modest as he could. He bit on his lip for a second, trying to bite down the overwhelming feeling of grief for what he was going to say, "I'll leave," He glanced at Mavis, "And I'll never come back." Cairbre looked at the young man in front of him,
"Then leave." Onceler glanced once more at Mavis before disappearing to retrieve Melvin. All Mavis could do was watch, with tears in her eyes that she refused to release, as the only man she ever had feelings for disappeared out of her life forever.
Hiccup's POV
After the gathering ended, the weather switched. It was storming outside, the rain tapping loudly on the roof, lightning flashing often; Thor must be angry. I was lying on my bed, staring into the fading embers. I hadn't slept for a second. My mind was buzzing about that dance with Merida. Why had we stared at each other like that? Why had I felt weird in my stomach? It was just a dance but why did my heart start to pound like a drum? Did I-?
I sighed and turned onto my back, closing my eyes. I knew it couldn't be. Merida's a princess. And me? I'm a crippled blacksmith. What could I possibly give her? I lay in silence, listening to the storm but then I heard something that didn't belong in a storm. I sat up and listened.
There it was again! It sounded like a screech but what creature would be out during a thunderstorm?
After getting up and dressed, I went to the door but wasn't surprised when I found it was locked. I slowly lifted the beam, not trying to wake Jack and Rapunzel up. I opened the door and was immediately greeted by a rush of wind.
I stepped outside and quickly closed the door behind me, my clothing drenched within seconds. I walked up to a higher point. I looked up at the sky, shielding my eyes from the pounding rain. There was a sudden flash of light. I waited for the thunder but it never came. I scoured the sky but I saw nothing out of the ordinary
Then I heard the screech. It started soft, barely audible over the rain, but it got louder and louder and louder and then-
BAM!
A flash of white light and a vague silhouette of something large flying in the sky. At that moment, a memory flashed in my mind. A memory of a wooden tower. I heard the same screech in the memory and the tower exploding in a flash of white light.
That could only mean one thing: dragon! And not just any dragon. A Night Fury: the unholy offspring of lighting and death! I squinted my eyes and could faintly make out the creature flying in the clouds, the one the Night Fury is attacking. It didn't take long for me to guess which dragon it was; only one other dragon could be found in a thunderstorm.
A Skrill.
It was obvious the two dragons were fighting. I watched the Skrill as it breathed flames of white at random, trying to hit his opponent but he always missed. A Night Fury, however, never misses its target. I heard the Night Fury screech again but instead of a ball of fire, there was a flash of lightning and a horrible screech of pain. I vaguely could make out something falling out of the sky towards the forest. The loud snaps of trees and branches could clearly be heard.
The Night Fury was down.
Three guesses who got struck by lighting when he was fighting a Skrill. If any of you are curious to know how Anna is going to look, there's a picture of her on my deviantart account (I'm still under the same name). Go ahead, kill me for what I did to Mavis and Onceler but trust me when I say, this is not the end for them. Review, favourite, follow.
