Arthur watched in mute horror as a Blackleg helped Sakura mount the horse behind Lord Agrarrok.
Sakura! No!
"Oh Nineve! My sweet, sweet girl! What terrible fate awaits you!" Lady Avarre wailed behind him, burying her face in her hands as two girls led her away to the back of the brothel.
What…What terrible fate?
His ears ringing, he made to move forward without giving the repercussions of being discovered a second thought. All he could see was Sakura riding away with a whole band of Blacklegs and their depraved leader, whose plans for her were probably as horrible and sickening as the man himself.
Before he could take another step, two hands grabbed his arms from behind, and pulled him back.
"Don't! You're gonna get us killed!"
"Get your fucking hands off me!" Arthur hissed, throwing Rubio and Bedivere scalding looks over his shoulder. "I need to go after them."
"Use your head, Arthur!" Bedivere whispered harshly in his ear, glancing around the room at the regulars, who were starting to give them strange looks. "If we blow our cover, it's over. For us, for her, for the whole Kingdom."
Arthur squinted his eyes, trying to see through the fog that had rolled in earlier. The Blacklegs were dots in the distance, but he could clearly make out Sakura's from, her bright hair a beacon in the dark. You idiot. You selfish, brave idiot…
"You'll do her no good if you're dead, lad." Rubio said, and as much as Arthur wanted to say something harsh and sarcastic back, he knew that the man was right. Vortigern's lapdog wanted her for something so he wouldn't do anything to hurt her. Not yet. She can take care of herself. You've seen what she can do.
For a moment, an image flashed before his eyes; an image of the dark purple blemish spreading on her shoulder, of her writhing in pain as the Mage extracted the poison from her body; of how close she came to death.
She is strong but she's not indestructible…
"We need to regroup and come up with a plan," said Bedivere, slowly letting let go of his arm as if he expected him to sprint after the horses the moment he was free. "Let us not create a scene. Rubio, fetch Percival and Bill, and come back up to Arthur's room. We'll be waiting for you there."
Rubio nodded and with one last look at Arthur, got lost in the crowd in search of the other two men.
Bedivere turned his eyes to him, and it took everything in Arthur not to growl at the look on his face. I'm not a child you need to scold, old man.
"Now's not the time to be difficult, Arthur." Bedivere said, shaking his head. "We will find a solution, and if she's still alive, we'll get her out of there."
If she's still alive…?
Arthur's eyes flashed in anger as he grabbed the other man by the front of his tunic and pulled him closer. "You better watch your mouth," he snarled, barring his teeth as if he was ready to rip Bedivere's throat open. "Say that again and you can take this damn magic stick and shove it, because I'm out of here."
With one last shove, Arthur released his grip and turned around, not sparing the man or the increasingly curious bystanders a second glance as he climbed the stairs to the second floor.
XxxOxOxOxxX
"I hate to repeat myself, but we should have ditched her when we had the chance."
Arthur rolled his eyes at Bill, too worried and on edge to really care about his snarky remarks. If anything, he'd bet his own coin that the other man was worried for Sakura too, no matter how much he tried to deny it.
"We need to get the lass out of there."
"We will come up with a plan, but for now we must keep our wits about us and wait a little while longer."
Arthur gritted his teeth, and he glared at Bedivere. "Wait? Why the hell would you want to wait?" he growled. "Do you have any idea what that bloody bastard could be doing to her as we loiter about here like kicked dogs?"
"She knew what she was walking into when she got on that horse." Bedivere's face remained expressionless, completely unfazed by Arthur's anger. It only made Arthur angrier.
Rubio shifted on his feet beside him. "The lass can take care of herself, but we do not know what awaits her inside that castle."
"Use your head, lad," Bill said, crossing his arms across his chest. "Do you really think our merry little company stands a chance against a whole castle full of Blacklegs? Say we manage to infiltrate a bloody fortress without raising any alarms. And say we somehow manage to locate that damned woman." Bill snorted at his own words. "How the hell are we going to get out of there without steel and fire raining down on us? We can't know what condition the lass will be in when we find her, and you," he said, pointing a finger at Arthur, "haven't a single clue how to control the Sword. Or your temper. So, please help me out here, because it seems like we're bloody doomed."
Bedivere shook his head. "There's nothing we can do right now. We remain here and lay low. Don't fight me on this," he said when he noticed Arthur shift on his feet, ready to give the lot of them a piece of his mind, "I have sent a missive to the Mage. She's not too far away so she should be here in two days, three tops."
Choosing not to lash out at the man for ordering him around like child, Arthur sucked in a breath. "Are you out of your bloody mind? Three days!? Earlier you said that we'll get her out of there. What the bloody hell happened to that?"
"What would you have us do, Arthur? Endanger the whole Realm for the sake of one woman?"
Arthur gritted his teeth. "That woman is the reason our heads are still intact. So yes, Sir," he spat the word as if it were poison, "I would have you repay your debt."
"She walked into this predicament willingly. I will not put years of planning and the Kingdom's last hope in jeopardy for her sake. We remain here and wait for the Mage to arrive. We shall see what can be done then." Bedivere's words had an air of finality to them, and Arthur wanted more than anything to punch the man. You ungrateful bastard…
"By the time the Mage reaches us, there will be nothing but pieces for us to find!"
For a long moment, Bedivere just stared at him, his face an emotionless mask. Were Arthur in a more sober state of mind, he might have felt just the tiniest bit intimidated by the older knight. Instead, he met the man's stare, daring him to say something.
"That's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."
Arthur felt the air leave his lungs, his stomach twisting as if he had been punched. His blood ran cold in his veins, as he stared at Bedivere's impassive face with wide eyes. "What…" he managed to say and took a step forward. The word came out more like a wolf's growl than human speech. It was a visceral sound, a threatening rumble from the deepest part of his chest. Within a second, Rubio stood in front of him, pressing a hand on his shoulder to stop him from moving forward.
"Easy, lad."
Arthur ignored him, never taking his eyes away from Bedivere. "You…you bloody bastard." His muscles tensed and he immediately felt Rubio put more pressure on his shoulder. "You better pray, old man. You better pray she doesn't die. Because if she does, I'll kill you and deliver your pieces to Vortigern myself."
He shook Rubio's hands off his shoulders violently and stormed out of the room, completely ignoring Percival's strangled cry for him to wait.
TBC
Hey guys!
I'm not gonna say sorry for being late with this update or apologize for the shortness of this chapter. I don't think it's really needed, considering the circumstances. I know you all understand. We're currently going through one of those history-altering situations that the next generations will be learning about in school.
I haven't really been in the mood to write, to be honest. I'm currently in total, strict quarantine, have been for the past 16 days, and we don't know when this will end. However, I'm getting used to this new routine, which is why I found myself craving to write something for the first time in a couple of months.
It's short and long overdue, but I'm proud of it, because I see it as progress. A small glimmer of hope, one might even say.
I hope all of you are doing good, I hope you're healthy and safe and social distancing. Eat well, exercise, keep your distance, and remember to wash your hands! Also, never forget to help those in need: stay home so that the sick and the elderly may be protected.
It's a first for us, it's tough, and we all wish things were different. But we can do this. Humanity has seen worse days, and we still emerged victorious. We'll beat this one too!
I'd love to chat if you're in the mood or if you need someone to listen to you, so please don't hesitate to drop me a PM! Reach out! To me, to friends and colleagues, even to people you haven't spoken to in a while. We're no longer strangers, we no longer live in different countries, or believe in different things.
We're all in this together and we'll get out of this together!
Until next time,
Lots of love!