Disclaimer: Well, you know...I suppose I have to say it still. NARNIA IS NOT MINE, ALRIGHT! There, I said it...

Once again, a heartfelt thanks extended to all my wonderful reviewers. Thanks for sticking with me this long.

This chapter is dedicated to my Navy-bound, bottle-rocket shooting buddy. I'll miss you, Pete.

Chapter 13.

At once, Pericles grabbed Galian by the collar, and threw him roughly into an alleyway. Soldiers passing by merely looked on with curiosity but said nothing; apparently it wasn't uncommon for certain soldiers to attack one another. At once, Pericles's knife flew out, and found itself pressed firmly to Galian's throat.

"I told you to keep an eye on her,"he growled, "You gave me your word. I trusted you, you filthy, lying little traitor!"

"No need for name calling, Captain,"Galian calmly retorted, "this is all part of a semi-well constructed plan."

"Well-well constructed plan?"Pericles spat. His mercy had reached it's breaking point, "I should kill you here and now. No one would bat an eye. Why shouldn't I?"he asked, as if daring Galian to give an answer.

And an answer he gave. Faster than thought, Pericles felt something sharp pressed uncomfortably to his belly, "Because it would be the last thing you'd ever do."

They stared each other down, but of course Galian could be an incredibly intimidating man when he wanted to be, and weapons were respectfully removed. Galian looked around, aware they were beginning to draw a crowd, "Is there anywhere we can talk?"

Reluctantly, Pericles led him out of the alleyway, amongst stares and whispers, though they were silenced at a glance from their none-too-happy Captain. The walk to his chambers was a short one, and in no time Galian found himself looking into a sparsely decorated but altogether cozy apartment. Far from being the genial host, as soon as the large door was shut, Pericles snapped, "Alright. You'd best have a damned good story, or so help me..."

"Calm down, Captain. It is a damned good story actually,"and for the next half hour he described the events that had taken place over the past few days, concluding with Aoife's plan, and stressing that he had not wanted to take part in the matter at all.

"You were supposed to go northwest,"was all Pericles said, though it was in a low, threatening sneer.

"We thought it would be quicker to go north."

"Do you think I'm a fool, Galian? Don't you think I've known about the thieves and this fortress all along? That's exactly why I told Aoife to go northwest, where there are no fortresses, no thieves, and no bounty hunters. But of course you had to be the hero, didn't you? Had to do things your way or else not do them at all. Am I right?"

"I've never been accused of being the smartest man,"Galian said simply, "I merely went with my instinct and with what I thought was right. And if I may say so, I've carried out my duties to the letter. No harm has come to Aoife."

"None, except now she's in the most heavily guarded tower in all of Calormen, with minimal time for us to find a way to get her out. I've just received my orders from Shameth. Our entire company, Aoife included, is to leave tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Galian nearly shouted, fearfully.

"Yes. Why would Shameth need to stay? He has what he wants," Pericles said, sinking into a chair by a small table.

"Listen, we need your help. I can get her out of that tower, if you can just tell me how to get out of the fortress. We haven't a moment to lose. Is there a postern gate or a secret way out?"

"The postern is located in the master bedroom, which is currently occupied by our dear Shameth Tarkaan. That would be the only way out, besides the north and south gates."

Galian sighed reservedly, peering out the lone window into the courtyard, where hundreds of soldiers were going about their daily business.

"What time does Shameth usually retire?"

Pericles gave him a hard look from his seat, "Surely you're not suggesting..."

"What time, Captain?"

"Midnight, lately. He'll be celebrating tonight, so he'll go to sleep later, I would think. But I sincerely hope you're not suggesting you go through his room?"

"Do you know of another way out?"

Pericles nervously rose from his chair, and began pacing the room. He felt like he was going to be sick, "No, but what you're suggesting is insane. You're practically walking into the hangman's noose, and taking Aoife along with you!"he added this last sentiment in a burst of anger.

"Captain, you and I both know how heavily guarded the perimeter is going to be tonight. No one will be going in or out by the gates. Unless we suddenly sprout wings and fly away, the safest way for Aoife and I is through Shameth's room."

"Do you have any idea how many guards you'll meet before you even reach the keep?"

"I've faced worse odds before,"Galian replied, which might not have been entirely true, "Captain, I don't like this any more than you do. If you know of a better way, I'd be more than glad to hear of it."

And of course Pericles didn't know of any other options, "Leave it to you to find the most dangerous way out. Listen to me,"he said, more seriously, "take the servants' entrance, on the east side of the manor. From there, you'll walk up three flights of stairs. You'll know the door to the master bedroom when you see it by the crimson tapestry to the right of it."

"How many guards keep watch up there?"

"Three. Shameth appreciates privacy more than anything. I don't doubt you'll be able to dispose of them. Now, how are you going to get Aoife out of the tower?"

Galian looked around, "Do you have a spare uniform?"

A few minutes later, Galian was donning a soldier's outfit, looking absolutely ridiculous in the daylight. However, he hypothesized, if it were dark, and if his face didn't give him away too quickly, it might work just long enough.

Pericles didn't ask anything further, feeling he probably didn't want to know what Galian had in mind, and more than sure he already did know. There was nothing to do now but wait for nightfall.

Pericles left for a few hours to attend to his duties, while Galian hid quietly in his room, eating a bit but mostly pacing with nervousness and excitement, and wishing dark would come sooner. It was dusk when the Captain returned again, regarding Galian as an annoying, unwanted houseguest.

"Still here, then?"he asked, reminding Galian of his days as a slave, when the Captain would walk into the cell and ask that very question.

He was jerked out of his memories by another statement from Pericles, "I'm going with you tonight. I might be able to talk you out of a scrape should one arise. I can pass you two off as new servants being shown around. And I want to see Aoife again."

Galian shifted uncomfortably. He had known Pericles would ask him this, and he already had an answer, "I don't think it's a very good idea, Captain."

"And why not?"

"For a lesser argument, you'd be in serious trouble when we turned up missing, as you'd be the last one seen with us. They might even link you to the killing of some of the soldiers, and you'd hang before noon. But for the most part, I don't want you to go because I think you'd be more of a distraction than any help."

"And just what do you mean by that?"Pericles asked dangerously.

"I mean that Aoife will be more focused on you than on escaping, and you'll be more focused on her than on getting us out of here quickly and quietly. She needs to keep her mind clear tonight. I'm really very sorry, Captain."

Pericles wanted to get angry, but for once he was absolutely sure that Galian was making sense, "Then will you tell her I was here? When it's all over, I mean. Tell her I helped you? It's important to me, Galian,"he added when he saw Galian looking doubtful.

"Alright. When we reach Archenland, I'll tell her you were here."

"Give me your word."

"I give it to you. I'll tell her."

Two men stood lazily outside the door that led inside the westernmost tower, "Why all this security?"one complained to another, "As if Imam can't handle one small woman by himself."

"It wouldn't hurt you to do something other than drink, you know,"his companion scolded.

"Watch yourself. I've been keeping watch over the gates all week while you've gotten to romp around outside."

"I was looking for the girl."

"So you say. More than likely you crawled into some cave and had yourself a little nap, like last time."

"Take that back or so help me I'll..."

"What's all this about?"they heard a stern voice ask from the shadows. The two guards immediately stood at attention.

"I could hear you two all the way across the compound. If you can't behave like men perhaps you ought to be shown the kitchens with all the other..."

"Wait a moment,"one of the soldiers said, for at that moment he discovered the man he mistook to be his Captain was not a officer at all. Before he could alert his companion, both felt the burning pain of a sword, and were dead before they hit the ground. Galian surveyed his work before tapping on the door, "Yes?" a gruff voice asked after opening the door a crack, only to receive the same fate as his comrades.

It was quite a job hiding all three bodies in the nearest closet, but in the end Galian managed it. The climb up the winding staircase was uneventful, save for an encounter with a man so blinding drunk Galian felt he wasn't worth the effort, and left him to pass out on the stairs before continuing on his merry little way.

The remaining two watchmen were silenced quickly enough, and after a fumbling search, Galian found a small set of keys that, after three tries, opened the door to Aoife's room.

She was nowhere to be seen. For one horrifying moment, he imagined he was in the wrong tower, or that she had been moved, or that something far worse had happened to her. Suddenly, a dark figure leapt from behind the door, and before he could react something hard collided with his head with more force than he knew ever existed. Through the throbbing pain and the ringing in his ears, he heard a feminine voice cursing, "You miserable, foul little..."

"Aoife! It's me, you fool!"he cried, though his own voice was a little faint.

"Galian! I'm sorry, I thought you were one of them,"and with a little struggle she helped him to the bed and brought a cold washcloth for his head.

"So you've had a little trouble with the guards, then?"he asked, trying to take his mind off the throbbing in his head.

"Yes. Apparently Shameth gave them permission to box me around a little."

His head had stopped spinning enough that he could focus on the large bruise that darkened her jaw and other slight signs of violence.

"I'll kill them,"he said promptly.

"No fear. I held them off well enough the past hour or so. Where on earth have you been, by the way?"

"On earth, in fact, until you knocked me clean out of it. What is that, anyway?"he asked, nodding at the weapon that lay unceremoniously on the floor.

"Some statue of one of the Tisrocs. Now answer my question."

It didn't take him long to lay the plan before her. She reacted much the same way as Pericles did.

"Are you mad?"

"It seems to be a popular opinion."

"This is no time to joke around. You want to go through Shameth's room?"

"Listen, half of the guards will be on patrol at the gates, the other half will be a little on the tipsy side, and Shameth himself will be celebrating. If we dress up as soldiers, and sneak in through the servants' entrance, we shouldn't have a problem."

"As easy as that, eh?"

"Just put those on,"he snapped, pointing to the equipment he had taken off of one of the guards downstairs, which he had dropped in all the confusion. Aoife stepped into the washroom to change while Galian chanced standing, and after the room swirled about a little, he concluded he was well enough to walk. By that time, Aoife was dressed, looking even more foolish than Galian had, and was throwing her old clothes into the fire at the far side of the room. She turned to him with a concerned look on her face and asked, "Look here, how did you find out about all that? About the servants' entrance and where the guards would be posted?"

"I kept a close watch,"he shrugged, hoping that was the end of it. Aoife wouldn't let it go, however, "You had help, didn't you. Who was it?"

"An old friend of mine. A very nice soldier I knew at your father's palace. He was transferred here."

"I see,"said she, though he wasn't sure she believed him. No matter, Galian thought to himself. She would find out the truth in Archenland.

The dead guards were dragged into the room, and Galian and Aoife began their descent. They were midway down when misfortune struck. Just as they rounded the corner, they came upon the soldier Galian had earlier passed, though this time he wasn't alone. Two others stood, preparing to help their comrade into the bunk room where he could sleep off the effects too much ale had left him with. They instantly spotted Galian and more importantly, they recognized Aoife.

"She's escaped, she's escaped! To arms!"one called before meeting his fate at the end of Galian's sword. Just as Aoife had finished with the other, more poured from the room nearest to them, and more from above. Galian did his best to subdue them, but for every one he killed, three more seemed to replace him. He and Aoife literally had their backs to the wall as they fought. In no time, it seemed that a good twenty soldiers surrounded them. Willing to try anything to hold them off for any amount of time possible, Galian pulled Aoife into one of the bunk rooms and locked the door, only to turn and find himself face to face with three of the biggest men he had ever seen in addition to ten ordinary sized men. One of the big men, apparently none too worried about Galian's skill with the blade, grabbed him in a bear hug and practically threw him across the room into a wall. Dazed and confused, Galian had just regained focus before a chair hit him full in the face, thrown by the same man. Aoife, meanwhile, was having a time holding off the other two big men. Luckily for her, she was so small and lithe that she could slip from their grasp with effortless ease. On the other hand, nothing she did seemed to faze them; they reacted to a cut from her sword they way an ordinary man might react to a bee sting. Her sword was wrenched from her, and she was thrown into Galian. Three large men and ten other soldiers, the latter of which felt no inclination to do anything other than watch the other three and laugh, surrounded them. Galian looked round. Behind them was one of the only windows the tower had to offer. It was a good forty feet to the ground.

Aoife followed his gaze, "Oh no,"was all she could say.

Grabbing her by the arm, he set off at full speed and crashed through the window. The glass cut into them terribly, and the ground came faster than they would have liked. Aoife landed with a sickening crunch on her right side. The impact winded her quite a bit, as well as jarred her head about a little. She tried to sit up, but the pain in her arm was so fierce she could do nothing but cry out.

"Aoife?"Galian asked, though his voice seemed to be pain-ridden as well.

"I think my arm is broken."

She saw Galian stand, holding his sides and hobbling something terrible. That would slow them down considerably, Aoife thought.

"Are you alright?"she asked him, standing, holding her arm close to her.

"Well enough. We can't linger,"he said, and limped away as fast as he could, which wasn't saying much. They went about slowly, keeping to the dark places and praying they wouldn't have any more unpleasant encounters. Every now and then they would have to keep still, for patrols darted here and there in a mad fury, knowing their lives would be forfeit should Shameth discover that his bride was gone.

"If he learns that I'm missing, do you think he'll be smart enough to return to his room and guard the postern?"Aoife whispered to Galian at one point.

"He probably won't keep watch himself,"Galian breathed, "but he might station someone else there. All the better if he is though. There are few men I've wanted to kill so much as he,"and he said it with such fierceness in his voice that Aoife was quite frightened, and yet a little in awe as well.

The servants' entrance was deserted. It was really nothing more than a large hole in the wall, and once through it, Galian and Aoife discovered the kitchen, which was surprisingly spotless for a kitchen of those times. The stairs were at the far end, lit sparsely by small candles. It was a torturous climb for them; both were absolutely exhausted and Galian's leg still seared with pain. It took them longer than their nerves could stand, and every now and then they would stop to hear a troop pass by or to catch their breath, but in the end, they managed to reach the top.

The entire third floor was so richly decorated that even Aoife, who had seen many palaces of rich Tarkaans, was amazed. It was mostly hung with red, and handsome oak tables played host to a wide array of exotic flowers or crystal vases. Parts of the wall that were not hung with red boasted proud portraits of the several founding fathers of the fortress, each man with a proud and greedy look upon their face.

The master bedroom, the one with the purple tapestry that clashed horribly with the red of the room, was in the center of the far wall. Trying to step lightly, though Galian's leg gave them away, they crossed the room with extreme agitation. Before they entered, Galian drew his sword, though even then he wasn't sure he could wield it efficiently. As for Aoife's, she had lost hers in the fall, and surely could not have used it even if she had one.

Galian opened the door slowly. Through the crack, he could see a well lit room, with dark crimson tapestries complimenting the light brown, rock walls very nicely. A large bed that looked as if you could sink into it jutted forth from the far wall, and was fitted with silk sheets. Decorations much like the ones in the hallway were seen all about the room.

He would have noticed more, but really all Galian needed to know was what sort of occupant the room might hold. At first glance, there seemed to be no one. Galian knew he should be more attentive, but the pain in his leg was overbearing, and the broken ribs he was sure he sustained were making it difficult to breathe. So it was no wonder, as they blundered across the room, that they were startled by the tall form of Shameth.

"I might have known,"he said evilly as Galian turned quickly, too quickly, for just as he brought his sword up he fell to the ground, crying out in pain, having wrenched his leg horribly.

"I might have known,"Shameth said again, "that you two were in league. In only proves to me she is as much of a whore as I had thought her to be,"he snarled, stepping over Galian to get to her. Galian tried to ignore the pain as he stood, but the leg seemed physically unable to support him, and he sank to the ground.

Shameth grabbed Aoife roughly, "You've got a lot to learn, my lady. First of all,"he slapped her across the cheek, "never disobey me. Second,"and he hit her again, "learn that you will never, ever be able to escape from me. Wherever you go, I will find you, and when I do, you'll wish you'd never crossed me,"and after one final hit, he spat, "like tonight."

He grabbed her arm, the one he had seen her coddle, the one that was broken. She uttered a scream that pierced Galian's heart, and with one final effort that took all his strength, he hoisted himself up and started towards Shameth as quickly as he could, sword drawn. Before he reached them, however, Aoife reacted. With her free and good arm, she drew the knife from Shameth's belt, and with fury never seen in such a beautiful woman, plunged it into Shameth's neck.

For a moment, all she could see was blood and all she could feel, besides her broken arm, was cold. Finally, she sat up, holding her arm once again, and cried harder than she had before, whether out of pain or rage, Galian wasn't sure. Mustering all his strength, he crawled to her, and comforted her as best he could.

"How do you do it?"she sobbed, "how do you go on killing men like you do and not bat an eye?"

Galian was a little hurt by the question, but let it go for the moment, "It's not as easy as that,"he said softly, holding her and wincing as she pressed against his side.

She stopped crying abruptly, perhaps realizing the danger of staying too long, "We'd probably get moving,"she told her friend, standing up and doing her best to wipe away the tears from her eyes. She looked down at her clothes, which were a mess of dirt and blood, thought there seemed to be more of the latter, "Do you think,"she asked shyly, "that maybe we could change? I mean, I don't think it would do well to walk into Archenland in...wearing clothes like these."

Galian glanced about the room, "Shameth's are much too big for you. I suppose we could make do, though,"and the next several minutes was devoted to finding the smallest shirt and bottoms they could, which were still humongous on her. The shirt was shortened when Galian had the bright idea of tearing off a strip from the bottom and using it to sling Aoife's arm, which, after a small test, she claimed felt much better. He changed as well, and after finding a small, broken spear that would serve him well as a cane, the two were ready to start.

The tunnel on the other side of the postern door was dark, and they were delayed a bit longer until a lantern could be found. Then they were finally able to begin their descent, always taking care not to knock their heads on the low rock ceiling. They allowed themselves to walk down the enormous steps at their leisure, assured that no guard would even guess that they might have been foolish enough to take this way out. There were frequent rests, which mostly consisted of rubbing sore arms, legs, ribs, or heads, before they would rise and continue on their quest. Aoife began to wish she had brought water or anything of that sort; her mouth and throat were horribly dry. She was bitterly tired, and sore, and wanted more than anything to just lie down. Just as she was about to make the suggestion to Galian, who was stumbling and reeling behind her, the lantern she held illuminated the most beautiful sight either of them had ever seen.

The mouth of the tunnel widened. The ground began to level out, though it was still a bit rocky, if you take my meaning. Not three yards from where the tunnel ended was what appeared to be the large opening to the cave. Hobbling to it as fast as they could, they could see large, dark mountains illuminated against the blue sky.

"Is that...?"Aoife began.

"That, my dear,"Galian exclaimed, unable to keep the joy out of his voice, "is Archenland."

They momentarily forgot their bruises and pains, their weariness and nearly broken spirit. They were too busy dancing and laughing to their heart's content in celebration. They were so close. A few minutes' walk, and they would be home. But not tonight. They were so weary they could not have chanced another step. Within minutes, their joyful energy expired, and they concluded that they would chance a few hours' sleep, and would finish their journey in the morning.

Galian, however, did not fall asleep right away. He was thinking about the question Aoife had asked him earlier, about being able to kill men with emotionless ease. As if a mental answer to that question, the faces of the men he had killed that day floated into his mind, their faces contorted in pain or fear, holding desperately onto those last few minutes of life that were slipping away. It was his punishment, he supposed. He was able to store away all those faces until nighttime, when they haunted him, and refused to let him sleep. No, he was not the efficient killing machine everyone thought him to be. Were he given the chance, he would vow not to kill another man then and there. But practicality blocked his oath. His duty was to protect Aoife, even if it meant sacrificing his own conscience, or another man.

He glanced at her as she slept fitfully. Her arm was terribly misshapen, and perhaps she would never be able to wield a weapon again, but it was probably all the better for her. She was nearly as filthy as he, and her hair grew in shaggy layers. Suddenly, it occurred to him that she had never looked more beautiful.

And the feeling hit him like a ton of bricks. He was in love with Aoife.