Chapter Twenty-Four:
When Rowena had found the Queen in her cell, they had both stared for a moment in quiet shock.
"Rowena," The Queen had said. "I thought - has Prince Chuck not turned you against me? It's been years since you were my Remedy Woman and you never came to my aid."
Rowena fought back her embarrassment. "Your brother fired me, Your Majesty. I believed what he told me - that it was under your command. He said I was clearly unfit since your illness was getting worse."
"My illness," spat the Queen. "He was poisoning me slowly over time, until I was weak enough to trap. He sent you away so you wouldn't figure it out."
"I'm sorry, I didn't know," said Rowena. "I would have helped if—"
"Never mind that now," Amara said. "We are short on time; the Prince could return here at any moment. If you wish to help, help me now. Get me out of here."
And so Rowena made short work of the padlock with magic, and the two hastened to make their exit.
"If I'm to get my powers back, we will need some ingredients for a spell in the storeroom."
"I'll get you there," promised Rowena. Then the witch removed her hooded cloak and offered it to the Queen. "But in the meantime, wear this. It may help to keep anyone from recognizing you."
The Queen had agreed, and the two went off to search for ingredients that could unbind her powers.
Benny was on a search too, but it was not going well. He had no idea where Castiel had got to, which was odd because, last he knew, the fallen angel barely had the strength to stand.
As it happened, Sam found Benny again before either of them found Castiel.
The first thing Benny noticed was the blood coating Sam's shirt, and the way he was holding his fist against it. "You alright, brother?"
Sam smiled. "I'll be fine. You're looking better," he said, nodding at Benny's own stomach wound.
Benny shrugged. "Vampires heal fast. Azazel?"
"Dead," Sam confirmed. Morbid as it was, they couldn't help but smile.
"Good to hear," Benny said. "Now, about the rest of this plan. I know you guys wanted to fight, but after everything, I think running is our only chance."
Sam nodded. "If we even can run. Not sure where we could go that Chuck won't find us. But you're right, we have to try. We'll need a quicker get-away. I saw the stables out back, maybe we can ride out on some horses?"
"Let's go see, then look for Castiel and Dean. I really hope Cas has found him by now, you know he won't leave here without out him."
Sam knew it was true. They decided to head back out, and by sheer luck or because they'd already handled most of them, they ran into no guards on the way. The stables too were unmanned , and together Benny and Sam brought out four horses.
There was a black one that was quick to become Sam's favorite, with its trusting eyes and easy nature. He pet its head and it blinked contentedly.
"There were some trees near the gate," said Sam. "It'll be a better place to stow the horses until we can come back to them with Castiel and Dean."
Benny agreed, and the two had started towards the front of the castle with the horses in tow, when a sudden sound of shattering glass erupted from somewhere above them. It was followed immediately by a crash directly in their path. An indistinct object had fallen to the ground, and warily they went to investigate.
It was a mess of splintered wood, but still they could just make out the shape it had once been. It was the remains of a dresser drawer, mixed in with shattered window glass.
"What the—" Sam began, but Benny turned his head upward. A figure stood silhouetted in a window frame, three floors above them.
It was hard to see since the person was backlit, but Benny's sharp eyes missed nothing. "I'll be damned," he said. "It's Dean."
Though Dean had suspected that Cas was looking for him, he didn't think it was smart to wait in the very room in which Chuck had placed him.
He didn't want to make it easy for the god to get to him.
The door's magic lock was beyond Dean, but he had started to wonder about the window. Chuck had been in such a frantic hurry to zap Dean back here, it was quite possibly an oversight.
And so Dean tried the window lock to no avail, but when that was a bust, he couldn't help but revert to his natural instincts. He was still a hunter, and hunters got things done.
He stripped his mattress and tied some of the sheets together, then tied one end to the sturdy leg of the bed. It wasn't likely to get him all the way down to the ground, but it would get him lower, and he might just have to risk a rolled ankle if it came to jumping.
Then he pulled one of the drawers from his dresser. It was a finely crafted and stately piece of furniture, so of course Dean didn't give a damn about it. He dumped the clothes from the drawer quickly, then surveyed his target. He lifted the drawer into his arms, and with a great effort, he heaved it with all his might against the window.
The glass exploded outward and the drawer went with it. The sound of shattering was music to Dean's ears - he had worried that Chuck might have made it impenetrable. With renewed purpose, he carefully began knocking out some of the remaining glass and threw one end of the sheet out the window.
It was then that he heard a sound to stop his heart. It was a heavy thumping against his bedroom door.
Oh crap, Chuck, he thought.
Then he came to his senses. Chuck wouldn't need to knock or to try and break down the door. Still, he kept his hands on the sheet in case he needed to scramble out the window for a quick escape.
"Who's there?" he called.
"Dean? Dean!"
His heart nearly stopped again. He knew that voice!
All plans forgotten, he ran to the door. "Cas? Cas, is that you?"
"Yes, it's me. It's so good to hear your voice, Dean. I've come to get you, but I can't get through this damn door."
Dean placed a hand on the door as if to reach through to Cas. He had no idea that on the other side, Cas was doing the same.
"Listen, Cas," he said. "The door ain't gonna happen. But the window in here will get me outside. Can you meet me on the grounds? Then maybe we can get out of here before Chuck comes around."
There was a pause.
"Cas, you alright?"
"I - yes, I will meet you outside. Be careful, Dean."
"You, too," said Dean.
Then he hurried back across the room. He gave the sheets a tug to test them, and when they held firm, he began his precarious climb out the window.
Dean reached the end of his 'rope' alarmingly fast. He was still a full floor and half up and dangling.
"Dammit," he said, wondering how much damage he was going to do to himself by jumping down.
"Don't worry, man, I'll catch you," came a voice from below.
Dean looked down and was shocked to see Sam the Giant and Benny the vampire below him. He very nearly thought it might be better if he just climbed back up the way he had come.
Of course, that wasn't an option.
"Is this how you'll kidnap me again?" Dean shouted down angrily.
Sam blinked guiltily up at him. "We're sorry about that, really. But I swear, we're on your side now. We've been helping Castiel storm the castle."
Skeptical as he was, Dean couldn't help but believe it. It seemed unlikely that Cas had gotten through the castle alone. Dean thought it over and then decided taking a chance on Sam would be better than just jumping and praying for the best.
"You can really catch me?" asked Dean, just to be sure.
Sam clutched his wound slightly. It seemed to be bleeding less, and he still felt strong enough for this.
"Yes," Sam answered, and opened his arms in waiting.
"Alright, count of three. One, two...three!"
Dean let go of the sheets and dropped like a stone, but Sam was there as promised to catch him in his giant arms.
"Uh, thanks," said Dean awkwardly, and he was very glad that Sam set him down quickly.
Sam returned his hand to his own stomach, and it was then that Dean noticed Sam's wound. "Man, should you even be walking?"
"I'll be fine," Sam replied. "Now if only we had Castiel..."
"Cas is on his way down," said Dean suddenly. "He was at my door but couldn't get through. He said he'd meet me on the grounds."
"That's a relief," said Sam. "With these horses, we may actually stand a chance of getting away." Sam nodded towards the horses, which Benny still had by the reins.
"Baby!" Dean exclaimed, hurrying over to the black beauty that Sam had favored.
The giant joined Dean at Baby's side, and gave her a stroke along her mane. "She's a great horse," said Sam fondly.
Dean beamed at him. "She doesn't usually like strangers."
"I'll consider myself lucky then," said Sam, with a kind smile back.
"Um, fellas, shouldn't we get to the gate to meet Castiel?" asked Benny. "Quick get-away and all that?"
Dean and Sam nodded their agreement. Dean took Baby's reins himself, and the group made their way towards the front of the castle.
By some miracle, things were looking up.