"He's actually going through with it? That's taking things too far!"
"No one has been able to stop him so far, and the Abbot has a thirst for revenge."
"Surely he knows the consequences if word of this gets out?"
"That's for the Abbot to worry about. You have orders. Get the others and go fetch him and bring him to the practice yard."
The guard shuddered and trudged down the steps to the lower dungeons. His captain, one of Chloderic's monks who had been deputized, returned to his dinner to find it missing. Rats, probably, the castle was full of them, especially recently. But would rats take a pint of ale, too? He'd have his guards go kill a few just to be sure. It always helped them blow off steam if nothing else.
"Did you hear that, Peewit? Who do you think they're talking about?"
Peewit finished wolfing down the stolen meat pie and washed it down with the jug of ale.
"Does it even matter? Whoever it is, I'm sure Chloderic has something terrible in mind. I told you his men tried to strangle me," Peewit answered his Smurf friends. They had discovered his cell first, picked the locks, and released him. It was a slow, nerve-wracking process.
Now the group searched for where their friends were imprisoned, though it was difficult going with guards everywhere and dawn fast approaching. They crept down the steps after the guard was out of earshot and felt their way through the darkness of the hallway. They froze when they saw a dim light and heard a cell door creaking open, chains rustling, and a familiar voice shouting.
"What are you going to do to me? You all know this is criminal! When my allies hear about this - "
"They're only following orders, not that you'll be around much longer to care. Now march, you'll want to save your strength."
Peewit and the Smurfs ducked around a corner and hid in the shadows as the torches the guards carried revealed it was the king that they had been sent to retrieve. He was dressed for battle, apparently taken prisoner after putting up a fight. They marched him down the hall, none of them noticing the escapees. The Captain laughed, and the guards looked terrified.
"The poor king!" Papa Smurf exclaimed.
"They're going to execute him! We have to find Johan, or Tremaine, or somebody," Peewit whispered.
"We don't know how to get into the cells. We don't even know where anyone is." At the end of the hall, as if to answer their question more shouting came from behind another cell door. It was Johan, trying to get the King's attention as he was led past.
"Shut up, brat! Your turn is next! If you're good, maybe the Abbot will let you watch!" the captain snapped.
Sabina was dragged into a room where the rest of the court ladies, including Dame Barbara, were being held. She recognized the room as one of her uncle's, though it was now in a shambles from being made into a makeshift prison. The ladies had dozens of questions regarding her health and thwarted escape. Dame Barbara shooed them away like a crow scattering pigeons and immediately began fussing over her. The Princess never thought she would be glad to be the center of her governess's attention. She was numb with cold and shock after seeing Tremaine take a beating to protect her. She could neither run nor fight on her injured ankle, and so she resigned herself to being a prisoner. At least they were safe, for now.
Though they wanted to free the rest of the prisoners, Johan, Peewit and the Smurfs had to make a fast escape from the dungeons while they still had the cover of darkness. They hid in one of the castle's large cisterns, and made hasty plans of what to do next. Johan rubbed his wrists where the shackles had cut into them, and Peewit chattered his teeth in the waist deep water while the Smurfs told them of Maenad's escape and the Princess's capture. It was encouraging that Maenad might be able to bring help and that Sabina and Count Tremaine at least were still alive, but there was no guarantee that the werewolf's mission would be successful, or that Gerard could get his army to them in time. They would have to come up with their own plan.
"You say they were taking to King to the practice yard?"
"Y-y-yes."
"Then that's where we're going. I have an idea."
"Have you finally lost your mind? That's where Chloderic and all his flunkies are going to be."
"He seems to want to make this into some kind of game or we'd all be dead by now. We have to create a distraction, and save the King. It's the only thing we can do, until help arrives."
"Even if it gets us killed? What if no one comes to our aid?"
Johan didn't answer and instead began to climb out of the cistern into the misty dawn light.