A/N: Shout outs to my anonymous reviewers and James Birdsong! The explaining will begin. Also, thanks for that point out - I always goof that up. Thanks so much for reading. Glad you liked it!
Chapter 24
The five men were quickly tossed into individual cells after having everything on their person removed except for their clothing. Fiyero quickly took stock of what they found. Pistols, knives, clubs, and rope were among the items taken off of the new prisoners. There was also a bag that contained some food stuffs, extra clothes, and fire-starting equipment.
"So, you were definitely looking to make a break for it huh?" Fiyero asked out loud. It wasn't to anyone in particular and he figured that no one would answer.
"Where is our friend?" One of the men wanted to know.
"I don't know. Who is your friend and what does he look like?" The Prince wondered if he'd get an honest answer. Not surprisingly, there was no answer.
"There's a man down in the floor," they all knew it wouldn't have been long before the Wizard opened his mouth.
"There is. He attacked Sergeant Malachi and the Sergeant defended himself," Elphaba spoke up.
"I would imagine that you intended to attack everyone in here," Sergeant Kemal eyeballing the now locked up men. He then nodded to one of his men who went to the trap door in the floor and opened it up. Taking a torch from the nearby wall, Fiyero stuck it down into the hole. This was a spot that was designated for either the soldiers in the room to hide in, if they were about to be overrun or to throw unruly prisoner in. It was never meant to be a permanent solution for anything, but it had always been used for prisoners – no one had ever breached the Emerald Palace.
"Sergeants Bailey and Malachi could you fetch the man out of the hole? I do believe that he is still alive," the Prince announced. Quickly the two men went to the hole and used the rope ladder that was stored on the wall nearby to reach the bottom of the pit.
"He's definitely still breathing," Bailey called up.
"I can work with that," Elphaba told them. They worked their way up and other soldiers helped them get the unconscious man onto the floor.
"Don't touch him!" One of the men in the cells shouted.
"You don't want me to save his life? I do suppose that would be dumb, considering he's going to be going on trial for the attempt to kill Sergeant Malachi and for plotting to help a traitor escape. What do you think Sergeant Kemal?" The green woman asked the Vinkun soldier.
"He'd already be dead back home in the Vinkus, so your call," Kemal said honestly. Elphaba knew he wasn't lying. Had this man attempted to fight someone like Kemal, he would not have survived. It was Malachi's nervousness in his first hand-to-hand fight that had given this man another chance.
"He's got kids!" A different man shouted.
"Perhaps he should have thought about that before attempting to do something so foolish," Fiyero pointed out. He watched Elphaba cast her magic spell. The man opened his eyes and immediately freaked out.
"Easy there Wilbur," Kemal said as his men grabbed him and hauled him off to a nearby empty cell. Once he was secured, Elphaba looked at her beloved.
"No more interruptions. In the morning, I want the new prisoners brought before a judge. Wizard, your trial resumes tomorrow. Thank you, gentlemen. If you need anything else, do not hesitate to reach out," Fiyero told the soldiers.
"Yes, sir!" The men responded.
"Malachi, with me," the Prince turned to look at the Sergeant. The three walked out of the room. Once outside, Fiyero told the Sergeant to round up his men and to report to Glinda's office. Malachi only nodded and quickly headed out to find his men.
"Are you going to punish them? I mean they did capture someone who was going to help try and free the Wizard," Elphaba pointed out.
"They did not tell Sergeant Bailey or me what was going on. While they managed to get lucky, they did not follow procedure. We need to find Lieutenant Zetti and bring him up to speed," he said. Elphaba nodded. It was going to be another long night.
To Be Continued…