"Here we are," Nassir breathed, looking up at the large palace. Stones, carefully placed by their long dead architects, fit together like a puzzle to create a sturdy structure. The stones were a little uneven in places from various storms over the years, but that seemed to be the only flaw from the outside.
After a few days of traveling, Nassir, Janaff, and Ulki had arrived. It felt good to be home again, but at the same time they all knew that they needed to keep up their guard.
"Remember, Tibarn could still be under the sage's control." Ulki reminded.
"In other words, runt, don't get close to him until we know for sure." Janaff rephrased. Nassir shot an irritated glance Janaff's way, but his attention stayed on the building before them. It was hard to believe that the mighty Tibarn wouldn't be able to control his own body. It made Nassir wonder what the bird laguz king was thinking of right now. Did he feel powerless? Did he blame himself for getting controlled in the first place?
Janaff and Ulki walked up to the tall wooden double doors. Nassir followed, the staff called Galen banging annoyingly against his leg as he walked. He had hooked it to his belt to avoid carrying it, although he almost tripped over it a few times. It also reminded him that getting Tibarn back wouldn't be the end of it. They would still have to reach Midhe, Nick, and Violet and save the owl laguz. He had no idea how they would go about that, but the most important task at the moment was making sure Tibarn had control of himself again.
Janaff reached out to pull open the doors, but seemed to hesitate for a moment. Then, setting his jaw, he tugged on the cold metal ring that formed a handle
The large slab of wood didn't even creak as it slowly opened. It finally reached its full range and halted. Janaff, Ulki, and Nassir stepped inside.
Everything looked exactly the same as it had when they had left. The sunlight still shone in the same places out of the windows, the rough walls still enclosed the enormous room before leading to the back, the plain throne still standing in the same spot. And, most importantly, the bird laguz king still sat in the same position.
Tibarn's eyes flicked over to them and seemed to spark with recognition. But he didn't bother to move or even raise his head from where it was propped with his hand. Janaff took a cautious step closer while Nassir and Ulki watched intently. Obviously, Tibarn was not free of the mind control yet.
"Hey, Tibarn." Janaff greeted. "How have you been?"
When Tibarn didn't answer, Janaff spoke again. "Any ne—"
"You don't have to pretend." Tibarn said in a dull voice. "You're friends are already here." Realizing that he was talking about Midhe, Nick, and Violet, Janaff dropped his friendly act.
"Just give him back and we might let you live." Janaff ordered.
A few seconds of silence followed, almost as if Tibarn was hearing another conversation. "It seems that they're weaker than I thought."
"They will defeat you. They'll—" Suddenly, without giving the trio no time to react, Tibarn leapt from his throne. He crossed the room in the blink of an eye and immediately stood before them. Janaff stepped back in surprise while Ulki tried to shield them from the attack.
The bird laguz king easily slammed Ulki to the ground before grabbing Nassir and Janaff by their necks. He placed his foot on Ulki's throat and raised the two smaller laguz in the air until they were a foot from the floor. All of this happened in only a few seconds. Nassir's and Janaff's wings flapped, trying to get them away from the threat. However, this didn't last long as their strength began to wane and their wings went still. They desperately clawed at Tibarn's hands, which caused no damage at all to his tough skin.
"You all will die." He hissed, tightening his holds and putting more pressure on Ulki's throat. None of them could breathe, their lungs wanting to burst from lack of air.
From the corner of his eye, Janaff could see Nassir's arms fall to his sides and his eyes close. In Janaff's position, he couldn't see how Ulki was doing. He felt his own arms' strength sapped until he also had to let go. He thought desperately as black dots appeared before his eyes.
Midhe, Nick, and Violet, please hurry.
I'm not sure why, but I feel kind of proud of this chapter. This is one of the scenes I had thought of from the very beginning. I hope you enjoyed and please review!