"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 to his shoulder to stop him from moving forward.
"Easy, lad."
Arthur ignored him, never taking his eyes off 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.
XxxOxOxOxxX
The sound of rusted hinges and creaking chains was an ominous sound that promised nothing but hardship, Sakura thought, as the heavy wooden gate was pulled back up in place. Shadows fell over the faces of the Blacklegs as they trotted inside the fortress' courtyard. Despite the late hour, the whole structure and the surrounding area were well-lit by torches.
Sakura made sure to commit to memory every part of the castle her eyes fell on as they made their way through. Feigning wonder at the sight of the structure, she took note of the number of guards perched on the battlements, of the heavy gate, the height of the stone walls and the possible exit points that wouldn't require hauling herself over the parapets.
Six windows on the right, seven on the left, another three on the wall across the gate.
They were narrow, but she was certain she could squeeze through. Ideally, she'd get out of there without having to demolish any walls and drawing too much attention to herself.
She felt the horse's muscles relax under her and she peeked through the hood of the heavy cloak to see that their party had finally reached its destination.
A young boy no older than thirteen ran up to them, and grabbed the reins of Lord Agrarrok's horse, briefly patting its nose. The man didn't even glance at the boy as he dismounted and then turned to her. He smiled at her what he probably thought was a charming smile and put his hands on her waist.
"Hold on to me, little flower," he said, tightening his hold on her body.
Trying hard to keep the snarl off her face, she hesitantly put her hands on his shoulders, maintaining the façade of uncertainty and apprehension.
He helped her dismount, and she resisted the urge to twist his wrist the moment her feet hit the ground. He kept his hand on the small of her back, and despite having a few layers of fabric between them, his touch still made her skin crawl uncomfortably.
The boy immediately led the horse away, and for a moment, Sakura felt herself missing her dapple gelding. The gentle giant of a horse was safe in the small stable that Lady Avarre maintained for her patrons' mounts, and Sakura hoped the others would take care of him while she was away.
The others…
Her stomach clenched at the thought of Arthur and her last words to him. She prayed that none of them had tried to follow, though out of all of them, Arthur was the only one mad enough to attempt it.
Well, considering how we parted…I doubt he wants to be within ten feet of me.
The thought stung, but she pushed it to the back of her mind.
Keep your head straight, Sakura. You're in enemy territory now.
She focused on her surroundings. On the horses' hooves splashing through water-filled puddles as they were led away, on the sound of rattling armor as the soldiers walked around the courtyard. Most of all, she focused on the man that stood beside her with his hands on her, giving orders to stable hands and the resident weapons' master. She breathed in deeply and allowed her senses to read his aura, every tense muscle, and every little move.
The human body is a book, Sakura. Learn how to read it and it will yield its secrets to you, Tsunade's words echoed in her mind. Read, Sakura. You've always been good at solving riddles.
She breathed in through her nose and circulated her chakra so it pooled just under her skin, making her nerve endings even more sensitive to outside stimuli than before. It was not something she did often, for shinobi had strong chakra signatures that were much easier to read and decode. She had spent her entire life studying them, she knew every little artery, every nerve, and every vein. But Lord Agrarrok's aura, with no chakra circulation system to amplify it, was almost barely there.
Still, if there was one thing she loved, that was a challenge.
Through the hand that he kept on the small of her back, she could almost feel his muscles as if she were touching them. It was subtle at first, a twitch of his hand as he dismissed the stable hands or a tightening of the muscles around his mouth as he spoke, but when he started leading her away and towards the tower on their right, Sakura hid a victorious smile.
Right-handed, though he probably handles a bow with his left. Strong back, likely very agile for his age.
And then-
Bingo! Weak right leg, probably from an old injury. No noticeable limb, but he keeps as much weight off it as he can.
Sakura smirked under the hood of her cloak. Now that could prove very useful, indeed.
"Come, little flower," he said, and she allowed herself to be led towards an opened door on their right. Warm light spilled from it, and the moment they stepped inside, the warmth of the torches lining the walls brought a flush to Sakura's cheeks.
A middle-aged man dressed in black from head to toe hurried over to them and bowed low. "My Lord! Welcome back, My Lord. How may I be of service?"
"Balan. We are in fine company tonight. Please make sure the young lady is bathed, dressed and in comfortable quarters. She is our honorable guest. Nineve, this is Balan, my manservant. Should you require anything at all, he will ensure all your needs are met."
Balan bowed his head. "At your service, My Lady."
Though his manners were impeccable on the outside, Sakura did not miss the disdain that crossed his face for but a moment. No doubt he recognized her manner of dress as one befitting common girls, and this manservant obviously had a lot to day about his Lord's choice of…partner.
"Thank ye, sir," she said, doing an intentionally clumsy curtsey.
"See that she has everything she asks for." Turning to her, Lord Agrarrok took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles. "I shall call on you later so we may get better acquainted. I simply cannot wait to peel away every single one of the layers that hide beneath that pretty face of yours."
The look he sent her was lecherous at best, and she fought the urge not to gag at the unwanted contact. "Of course, M' Lord. As M' Lord commands."
Satisfied with her answer, he turned to the manservant. "You know what to do." With one final bow, he went back out, the sound of his footsteps drowned out by the mud.
"Please, follow me, My Lady."
Turning her attention to Balan, Sakura followed him up the staircase and into a narrow corridor that was a little too dark and a little too cold. With his back straight as a steel rod, the manservant remained silent as he led her through an ajar door and into a wide hallway that branched out into more hallways and staircases. It would be difficult to make a complete mental map of the layout of this place, but Sakura decided not to dwell too much on that.
What she needed was a bit of time to think about her next move and a plan that would allow her to locate the missing girls and get them out safely.
If they are still alive…
The thought was grim, and it left a sour taste in her mouth.
Still, reality did not change according to her ability to stomach it, so that was something she had to figure out quickly enough if she were to do something about it.
"This will be your room."
Balan's gruff voice broke her out of her thoughts and she stared warily at the door as he unlocked it with a master key. Stepping to the right to allow her to walk inside, he cleared his throat in the overly formal way one would expect from a Lord's personal servant.
"A maid shall be with you in a little while to help you bathe and prepare yourself for when Lord Agrarrok calls upon you. Until then, rest, My Lady."
He bowed stiffly at the waist and left without waiting for her reply, shutting the door behind him. Sakura half expected him to lock her in, but she relaxed when she heard no key turning.
Her room was spacious and surprisingly warm considering how cold that first hallway had been. The flame in the hearth burned brightly and she kneeled beside it, hoping to dry the sodden lower half of her dress. Two large windows overlooking a small courtyard allowed the moonlight to slip through the drawn burgundy drapes and a bed large enough to accommodate at least two people was pushed up against the wall.
For just a moment, Sakura considered resting for a while, but she immediately squashed the thought. The maid would be arriving soon enough, and she had a whole lot of planning to do.
Sitting in the chair beside the window, she peeked at the parts of the castle that she could see. The small courtyard was empty and dark, with only a few torches to provide light. It was obvious this was either infrequently used or some type of training pen that the men abandoned after sundown.
I'm on the other side of the castle then. Perhaps there is a back gate?
Even though she didn't know all that much about the building of castles, she doubted a fortress like this one would offer such escape routes. Her best bet would be to aim for a servants' doorway. This place had to have at least three dozen servants to maintain it and judging by Lord Agrarrok's obsession with presenting himself as an actual noble, it was rather doubtful that he'd allow the staff to use the same entrances as the soldiers and himself.
Absently, she started playing with her hair and beyond her control, her mind flew to Lady Avarre's brothel and her….
Teammates? Companions? Friends?
Arthur had surely told them of her urgent departure with the Blacklegs, and she had no doubt in her mind that Bill would have a lot to say about that.
She chuckled, her lips curling up in a fond smile at the thought of the rebels, only to drop a moment later. If they knew what was good for them, they'd use this opportunity to leave. Grab the horses and escape under the cover of night while she kept the Blacklegs occupied. Perhaps she'd manage to catch up later, perhaps she wouldn't.
Maybe she could run up ahead of them to haunt the main roads, a fleeting murderous shadow that'd clear a path for them, only to disappear right after. Arthur had made his sentiments on her presence quite clear, after all.
Her heart clenched at the thought of the man, though she couldn't quite decide what hurt the most: never seeing him again or crossing paths only to have him regard her as a stranger.
Well, whose fault is that, you pathetic coward-
A knock on her door broke her out of her thoughts and for that she was grateful. Pushing thoughts of Arthur and the rebels out of her mind, she stood from the chair and cleared her throat. "Enter."
The heavy door opened, and the small figure of a woman walked inside briskly, holding two large buckets of water. "My Lady, I have come to help get you ready-"
Sakura's eyes widened in shock. "Mage?!"
TBC
Oomf! This chapter was long overdue!
Not gonna lie, the pandemic and quarantine did take their toll on me. My workplace had to shut down and then a friend of mine had a bit of a health scare so I kinda drifted away from this story and some of my other fics. I'm getting back to them now so expect more frequent updates!
Anyway, not much happens in this chapter but things will pick up, so I hope you still enjoyed this.
If you have a minute to spare, drop me a review. Reading your thoughts always makes my day.
I hope you're all safe and healthy!
Until next time,
Lots of love!