CHAPTER 21

"Everything is progressing according to plan. I will be ruling over the plateau by this time tomorrow and the Protector's line will finally be finished leaving us nothing to worry about."

Two men were kneeling before a chair where their leader sat, all three of them dressed in similar black clothing.

"Yes, my lord," the first man answered.

"Yes, it was a genius plan to take the knight to force the Chosen One's hand, my lord," the second kneeling man answered.

The man in the chair stood up and slapped the man harshly in the face. "You fool! It was a genius plan until you deviated from it! When did I tell you to strike the woman! It was fortunate for you she did not die, for if she had, your own life would have been forfeit!"

The man lowered his head. "I am sorry, my lord. She escaped from our grasp and was trying to escape. I was merely trying to stop her."

"Enough of your excuses, I tire of listening to them day after day! Tell the other men to be prepared for tomorrow and then check on Roxton. He should regain consciousness any minute. When he awakens, notify me immediately!"

"Yes, my lord."

Both men bowed as their leader exited the room. Each split up to take care of their tasks. One went out to converse with the men while the other went to check on Roxton.

XOXOXOXOXO

Roxton groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. One hand automatically went to his head and he immediately pulled it away as the contact made the pain flare up to a new level. He remembered Veronica use the phrase "went three rounds with a trog and lost" and it seemed fitting in his situation. His side was exceedingly sore and he was almost positive he had bruised, if not broken ribs.

He slowly opened his eyes and let his eyes slowly adjust to the dark room. He'd been in worse prison cells. This one had a bed with sheets, some water and food set on the ground by the door, but nothing he could use as a weapon.

As Roxton shifted closer on the ground to examine his provisions, he heard a key being turned in the door and immediately went back into his prior position. By pretending to be asleep, he might be able to glean some information about his captors without them realizing it.

He peered though his half open eyes and got a look at the man who entered the room. He was dressed in the same black clothing as the men that attacked Marguerite and himself in the alley, so he assumed they were captured by the same men. Roxton watched as the man knelt down and checked that his food was untouched and sighed and stood up again.

Roxton saw the man beginning to walk over to him. He made sure not to move too quickly and alert the man that he was feigning unconsciousness. Roxton had to assume that if they hadn't killed Marguerite, that she was there somewhere also. He could only hope she was only mildly injured though his thoughts quickly jumped to conclusions in the alley and let him be overpowered. It was up to him to use the situation to his advantage to escape and try to find Marguerite.

Roxton closed his eyes completely as the man stood beside him. The man kicked Roxton in his side to see if he was awake but Roxton did not stir. He had kicked him in a sore spot, but Roxton did not let even a moan escape his lips. The man sighed and turned around to walk back to the door.

This was when Roxton chose to make his move.

Roxton quickly cracked open his eyes and swung his leg out and tripped the guard. He went crashing down to the ground and Roxton picked up the tray of his food flinging the food to the side and used it knock the guard unconscious.

Roxton dragged his body out of the door way into the center of the room and made his way back to the door. Having grabbed the guard's keys, Roxton cautiously stuck his head out the doorway to make sure the coast was clear, and then locked the guard in his cell.

Roxton was at the end of a hallway so there was only one way to go. Forward. As he made his way down the hallway, he peered into the other rooms in hope of finding Marguerite but he had no luck. Either she was in another part of the building, or she wasn't there at all. As much as he didn't want to do it, he was unarmed in a place he knew nothing about. They would notice his absence before long and he couldn't help Marguerite if he got thrown right back in his cell. His only option was to head back to Avalon as quickly as he could to get reinforcements.

The first thing he needed to do was get out safely. He stayed in the shadows as much as he could though he didn't hear anyone in the immediate area. After he navigated a few hallways, he found himself in a large room with a lone chair sitting at the head. He saw two big double doors and started heading for them.

As his hands reached for the handles of the doors, he heard footsteps and immediately stilled.

"Leaving so soon, Lord Roxton?"

Roxton turned around quickly and saw a brief flash of black clothing and a sneering face before he lost consciousness again for the second time that day.

A/N: Sorry this took so long to get up, everytime I tried to access the site I couldn't get in. Thanks for those who are reviewing after reading I appreciate it!