Chapter Twenty-Two: In Which Kalys visits the Dungeons Again

Celie had never been more grateful for how strong and fast Rufus was. In the four hours they had ridden, they had made it past Sleyne City already. She hadn't realized how much faster griffin riding was in the long run. They had first in Sleyne City, to gather supplies for the night; as Pogue thought it best to sleep outdoors. She was glad he always carried money on him, though he admitted that had been mostly because her father had just given him his pay for the week at dinner. She always forgot Pogue got paid.

Now they sat in front of a fire with the griffins, rubbing their hands together, and Celie pulling her cloak around her. She was still in shock at the story, and her eyes wouldn't leave the dancing flames. She felt very numb, so much so she wasn't even a bit upset that she had left the Castle while it was being defended. She snuggled against Rufus harder, burying her fingers in his fur. She realized Pogue was also staring into the fire, also looked upset, and also was leaning heavily on his griffin.

"At least Lilah and Lulath are safe," she murmured, though without much conviction. Her parents and brothers were still trapped in the Castle, not to mention the rest of the griffins.

"Oh, Celie, it will be alright," Pogue said, looking up at her from across the fire.

"I certainly hope so."

...

Rolf groaned. His head was pounding, and his face ached. He felt rather sticky, and his fully closed cheek was laying on something hard. After he regained consciousness, he realized that it was a stone and he was laying on a stone floor. The dungeon floor. He sat up, relieved to see Kalys groaning on the cot above him. She had a bruise on her cheekbone, but there was thankfully no blood. That Rolf could see.

She slowly opened her eyes, looking up at him. She looked alarmed, though that was probably because he had dried blood all over the left side of his face. She sat up, turning so her legs hung off the cot. He sat down next to her, and she leaned her head on his shoulder. He could feel tears wetting through his thin tunic sleeve, and he tried to hold back his own.

"Don't make me cry," he whispered. "It will really hurt."

She sat up, looking at him, and then around the room. He watched her, attempting to swallow the vile taste of blood in his mouth, as she got up, kneeling beside a bucket and bringing it to him. He peered into it, surprised to see it was clean water. He watched as she ripped off a large chunk of her gown, dipping it into the water. She cupped his cheek as she gently cleaned the wound, continuously dunking her homemade rag in the water.

"That's about as clean as I can get it," she said softly.

"Thank you."

They sat in silence, looking out of the dark cell to the dim light outside of the bars. Rolf could hear a lot of thumping going on above him, and he assumed there was an attack on the Castle. He was too groggy to think; and the intense pain in his head wouldn't leave. He hoped his family was safe, but other than that, there wasn't anything else he could do.

"Oh, Kalys, I'm so sorry," he mumbled, taking her with him as he flopped onto the cot.

She rested her head on his chest, halfway on top of him in order not to fall of the cot. Rolf put a gentle hand on her stomach as she buried her face into him. "That seems to silly now." Her voice was muffled in his tunic, which Rolf knew had blood all over it.

"Well if I hadn't been friendly with someone I shouldn't have, then you would have gone to dinner, and we wouldn't be stuck in this jail cell, now would we?" He said gruffly, trying to move his arm from where Kalys's body had pinned it to the cot.

"Oh, I would have found you, my dear."

Rolf swore as they both sat up quickly to see the elderly wizard. Kalys scowled and stood up. Rolf jumped up beside her, gripping her hand. It had been awhile since he'd seen Casper, not to mention the episode down the in dungeons with him and Kalys a few months ago. Casper grinned.

"My, my, you two look quite the mess. I told them to be gentle; it seems they didn't listen." He licked his wrinkly lips, and Rolf watched, disgusted, as his eyes flicked over Kalys from top to bottom. "Perhaps you would like to stay somewhere more comfortable, my Hathelocke princess."

Kalys crossed her arms over her pregnant stomach. "No. I want to stay here. But some more clean water, a bucket with soap in it, would be appreciated."

Rolf watched, surprised as the old wizard smiled and nodded, before leaving. He looked at her, astonished. She just shrugged.

"He thinks I'll cave into the temptation of the offer he'll make me soon. He'll meet my demands. Also, he's trying to get us separated so he can kill you; but he won't kill me." Kalys sat down, patting the seat next to her. "Take off you tunic, and wash off all the blood on your neck and chest. It's rather sticky and uncomfortable."

"How can you be so certain that he won't kill you?" Rolf asked, though he obeyed her and lost the tunic. He grabbed the wet piece of her gown, shivering as the cold water hit his neck.

"Because he wants the baby too much," Kalys said. "He can't kill me while I'm still pregnant, and he wouldn't separate me from my nursing baby."

Rolf frowned, preparing himself as he moved the cold cloth over his chest. "Couldn't he find a wet nurse after the baby is born?"

Kalys shrugged again. "He could, but Hathelockes are very superstitious about separating a nursing baby from their mother. It's one of the reasons they were so angry with the Arkish, because they would separate griffin eggs."

"That's one of the reasons you don't want a nurse," Rolf said quietly, attempting not to sound accusatory.

Kalys glanced away, blushing. "I didn't lie before, but that's a reason, yes."

He was going to ask her why it was such a big deal when Casper came back, opening their cell door. He carried the two buckets of water, setting them down by the first one, which was half full still. But significantly dirtier.

"Now, my dear, is there anything else I can get for you?" Casper spread his hands, a wicked smirk on his face as he looked at Kalys.

"No, not at this moment," she said confidently, impressing Rolf considering how self-deprecatingly she talked about her speaking skills.

Casper let himself out of the cell. "Remember, my precious Kalys, who the Castle belongs to."

"Wait," Kalys squeaked. "I want medical thread and a needle, please."

Casper turned, scoffing at her. "For who? This Arkish boy who calls himself a prince? Really, Kalys, do think about it."

"I did," Kalys said commandingly. "And I want to stitch up the gash before he dies of blood infection. I know you had the serum put in the wound."

Rolf looked at her in surprise. "The what?" he hissed, but she just shushed him.

"Why? You need this little princeling to die to get what you want. He doesn't deserve such kind treatment from you." Casper's voice sounded so sincere, Rolf almost sided with him for Kalys's sake. Then he cleared his head.

"I want the father of my baby to die peacefully, not by the skin of his face melting off," Kalys said gently. "He deserves as much. Now bring me what I want."

"Very well," Casper complied stalking off.

Rolf turned to his wife. "What the hell is going on?"

Kalys looked at her fingers. "You'll be fine; I hope. I just have to reopen the gash on your face and thoroughly cleanse the wound."

"Otherwise the skin of my face will melt off?" He asked, hearing his voice crack by the end of it. "Are you going to kill me?"

Kalys narrowed her eyes. "We have three hours before the process begins. Approximately. And no, I'm not going to kill you. Why would I do that? I am educated in cleaning and stitching wounds if that's what you're worried about."

Rolf, though wasn't mollified, sat down on the cot heavily. He nodded, looking up at her.

"Rolf, if I was going to get rid of you, I would've stabbed you during the heat of passion." She had probably meant it in a soothing way, but it did not soothe him. It made him more jumpy.

"Remind me to never sleep with you again," he muttered, disturbed by the dark thought.

Kalys rolled her eyes, patting her swollen stomach. "Fine by me."

Casper returned with a the things she needed, which Kalys inspected carefully. She flashed him a smile that bothered Rolf and watched as he left again, whistling.

"Lay down on the cot," she instructed, coming over to him, along with the bucket of soapy water. She set down the needle, which looked very large in Rolf's opinion, and ripped another piece off her gown. She then dipped the needle in soapy water, cleaning it with the cotton. She then swung her leg over the cot, straddling his stomach. He grunted and she glared. Then she softened. "The poison shouldn't be dissolved yet; it's why your gash blistered so quickly, and it looks yellow. Sword wounds shouldn't blister. I just need to drain it, and then clean it again."

"How did it even get there?" Rolf asked.

"I should've known. He put it in the first bucket of water."

"The water I just cleaned myself with?" If Rolf was honest, he was starting to grow slightly suspicious of everything Kalys was saying. Or that this was some nightmare he needed to wake up from.

"You'll be fine. It's only infectious when put straight into the blood. I didn't realize he'd put it in there until after he said something about the Castle, so I didn't know. I'm sure there will be plenty of water left for you to wash off again, though. Now close your eyes and don't open them until I say, unless you feel inclined to go blind." Kalys pressed his eyes closed before he had the chance. "This is going to hurt."

He cried out with he felt the tip of the needle rip at the skin. He would've opened his eyes if Kalys hadn't had her firm hand on them. He could feel burning liquid on his skin and he heard Kalys hiss. Then he felt cold water and nearly yelped again. The soap stung intensely, and he arched his back, but Kalys sat her weight completely down on him instead of resting most of it on her knees.

"Relax, Rolf," she whispered. "I need to clean this out, and you're not helping."

He gripped the cot as she continued, the sting almost unbearable. He kept his mouth tightly closed, though he ground his teeth a few times. It burned worse than the time Rufus had poured water infused with black blister on him, and that had hurt. He could feel soapy water on his eyes and face, and then crisp, cold clean water, and Kalys released the hand on his eyes. She pressed something warm and dry to him, after another ripping noise and he sighed. She brought his hand up to hold the cloth against his wound and she swung off of him.

He watched as she dunked the needle in the soap again; cleaning and and drying it thoroughly. Before long, she was straddling him again, and this time Rolf braced himself. He had gotten stitches multiple times, something he hated, but had been necessary. Those times had also all been by a trained physician, not his pregnant wife who claimed the skill. To say he was nervous was an understatement. But she pulled through, Rolf not feeling anything he didn't remember as not normal.

"Come wash your tunic," she said briskly, undoing the laces at her bodice. She slipped the gown off before tearing it right down the middle. She looked at him grinning. "And that is why I only wear cotton and rip a tear in it the moment I get it. That way I can take it apart."

Rolf stared in amazement at his shift-clad, full term pregnant wife. Sweat on her brow, and curls sticking to her ears, she was practically glowing. That's when Rolf realized it; this was her element. She finally knew what she was doing. There wasn't any small talk, or fancy speeches, or having to use manners. This was surviving. That's what Kalys had been doing her whole life; simply surviving. And if there was anything Castle Glower needed right now, it was a crown princess who could survive.

...

Celie nearly collapsed into Pogue's arms. She steadied herself on Rufus, thinking she could hold herself up. Then she really did collapse into Pogue's arms. He grunted something before picking her up, and she rested her head against him. she tried to murmur her apologies, but Pogue told her to be quiet and just rest. She could feel him tuck a blanket around her as she slowly drifted. Rufus huddled around her, warming her a bit. Just as she drifted off though, she had an idea.

"Pogue!" She jerked up and watched as he did the same. "We need to get back to the Castle. I have an excellent idea."

...

"Have we checked the dungeons?"

Bran watched as his mother began to shake. The solider looked very nervous. They had managed to barricade themselves in Bran's rooms, though there wasn't too much fighting going on at the moment. It was like a game, waiting to start again. The Sleyne army had gathered in the south side of the Castle, and their attackers, the north. It was almost evenly split. After the original defeat and surrender of both sides, they had gathered up, each marking their territory. It was almost an even split; it reminded Bran of their midsummer games with the village.

"Your Majesty," the guard wheedled. "There is no possible way to get to the dungeons. Those who have tried have been shot down with arrows."

"Well, than that settles it," Bran remarked. "We now know where Rolf is."

His mother dismissed the guard before sitting down. She swore to herself, putting her head in her hands. "Lilah is the only one safe! I have my eldest in the midst of a war, my youngest off griffin riding into the most warlike country in the continent, and my son trapped in the dungeons!"

"Celina," King Glower started to put a hand on his wife, but she pushed him away.

"You sent Pogue Parry off to defend our fourteen year-old daughter while she flew over to Vhervhine to deliver a vital message while we were being attacked, Owen. I don't want to hear from you."

Bran pursed his lips. "Mother, Cecelia will be fine. Vhervhine is an ally, though they are rather warlike. She has Rufus, Pogue, and Arrow with her. Besides, she's always come back whole before."

"She had the Castle! Or the Ship! And-and she had Delilah with her," the queen was sobbing now, and Bran knelt to take his mother's hands in his.

"Delilah was always baggage, Mother," he pointed out, though he felt terrible for saying it.

"Don't be rude to your sister," she snapped. "Lilah kept her from the crazy ideas of the boys."

"Hey, she'll be alright," he soothed, and she nodded, wiping at her tears.

"But even if Cecelia and Delilah are alright, that still leaves Rolf-and Kalys to worry about," King Glower said gruffly, and his wife burst into to tears again.

Bran sighed. "Casper will keep Kalys alive. She's too valuable to him. Let's just hope Kalys is smart enough to keep Rolf alive. In the mean time, I need to see what Thalia has found out."

Bran whisked himself away, knowing Queen Celina needed to calm down before she could be of any help, and King Glower needed time to think. He rested his knuckles on the table where Thalia was working summoning tests.

"It doesn't make sense," she was saying to Lord Sefton. "The magic levels are so incredibly high; but not anywhere near the army. It's not us; neither of us have been using any magic."

Bran swallowed. "That's because everything is happening in the dungeons. Casper has set up a workshop; Arkwright's down there too. It's the whole operation. If we get down there and storm it, they're done for."

"That's where Prince Rolf is, isn't it?" Lord Sefton asked, and Bran nodded grimly.

"We believe so. We just need a find another way into the dungeons that's not from the north, and we'll have them." Bran threaded his fingers through his hair, looking at Thalia.

"Before it's too late," Thalia added darkly. "Before he kills Ro-"

"Yes," Bran said tightly. "Before he kills my brother."

...

Rolf sighed heavily as he pulled his clean-and now finally dry- tunic over his head. Kalys glanced at him from whatever she was doing; currently it was trying to rip the bodice off her dress and laying down the skirt. She looked like she was thinking very hard before glancing up at him. She stood up then, coming over to him, squinting at his face. He rolled his eyes.

"The good news your face would've started peeling off by now if I had missed some of the poison," she commented, smoothing down his hair.

Her own hair was freshly braided, and her face was clean now. Besides the bruise on her cheek she looked well-enough. She hadn't hit despair like he had, so that was good for forming plans he supposed.

"How did you know about the serum?'" He asked, running both hands down her arms.

"It's a very common killing method among Hathelockes. It's a special formula that had been used to kill traitors, griffin killers, any Arkish who they could get their hands on. Basically you apply it to an open wound and the skin around it begins to dissipate chemically. It was usually used for torture in small amounts, but Casper was going to have you die a slow, painful death with the massive amount he poured into the water," Kalys explained, examining the stitches again. "I knew there was something off about it when your gash started to scab over, but then when Casper told me something about who the Castle belonged to, I knew."

"So the Hathelockes had a special magical serum they used to torture the Arkish with?" Rolf asked, about to rub a hand down his face before realizing that would probably be very painful. Not as painful as his skin melting off, but still up there on a list things he didn't want to try.

"I don't defend everything my people did," Kalys said, sitting beside him. "They were angry; the Arkish took everything from them, and they retaliated. It was still wrong, but they were warriors, all they knew was violence."

Rolf stayed silent. He didn't want to think about being ruthlessly murdered because of his race, like he had just been now. He wouldn't mind Arkwright being killed in a slow, painful way, but that was because Arkwright was evil. It had obviously been a very messy war; one that they were still picking up the pieces from. Magic was always so fantasized; everyone wanted to be a wizard. But it was also very dangerous; it drove people to greed and monstrous things.

Kalys sighed, going back to the skirt. "Can you hand me the dagger tied under the cot?"

Rolf blanched. "What? You have a dagger under the cot?"

Kalys frowned at him. "Yes, now do it quickly, I don't want to be seen with it."

He felt under the cot, pulling out the sheathed, Grathian dagger Lulath had given him. He tossed it to Kalys and she thanked him. SHe began to saw at the bodice and Rolf wondered why she was doing that. He also wondered how she had gotten the dagger in there.

"Before I was attacked, I thought I heard something. Preparing myself I took the dagger you keep in your wardrobe and put in the front of my bodice," she explained, not looking up from her task. "I stuck it under there when you were washing up. I didn't want Casper to see it. That's why I resorted to my hands when I started ripping my gown."

"How did no one notice?" Rolf asked incredulously, once again, impressed.

Kalys smirked. "Rolf, one of the advantages of having a rather large bust, is you can get away with sticking reasonably large objects in undergarments without being noticed."

Rolf nodded. He'd always known Kalys was smart and prepared, but never this much. He felt rather unworthy to be her husband in this moment; a spoiled prince who had spent four months in depression because his wife was pregnant. Now he she was, ready to give birth at any time, telling him that she had just extracted alll traces of poison from him, and that she had snuck a dagger into their jail cell by simply planning ahead.

"What are you doing with your bodice?" He asked curiously, looking at the thing that she had thrown against the wall with a great deal of joy. It really was a very short ont, the sash ended right above her stomach.

"I'm using the skirt as a blanket," she answered. "It's cold down here, and to be honest, I don't know how long we'll be down here. I'm not leaving the jail cell, you'll be killed if I leave you, so I'm preparing."

Rolf nodded slowly. "It's why you demanded new, clean, warmer water. You're planning to have the baby in here."

Kalys nodded. "It's a very real possibility. We can't just wait to be rescued, it's not how life works. I always prepare for the worst; it's how I stay alive."

Rolf swallowed. Everything about her seemed to make sense. The way she worked, the way they fought, the reasoning behind all of this planning. It's how she was still breathing. An immense guilt rose up in him for fighting her on it; he should've figured it out by now. Instead he'd been stuck in his own close-minded head insisting on his own way.

"You know, speaking of planning ahead, we have time to think of a name," Kalys reminded him and Rolf shrugged.

"The closest we have is Malkin William Bryce," he said. "And Eleanor Cecelia."

Kalys sighed. "I like Eleanor, and I would like to name her after Celie, so I think that's a good one. But Malkin is a name I refuse to use."

"Why?"

"You know exactly why Rolf," she responded. "I'm not naming my son after a griffin, not to mention a griffin who ate people."

"Oh alright," he responded. "But we're coming up with a name, now."

"Of course."

...

Celie knew Rufus needed a break from flying, but she also knew she needed to get back to the Castle right away. If everything Pogue had told her was true, her family needed her. The Castle needed her.

"I'm sure Bran has figured it out," Pogue told her, though his voice sounded very unconvincing.

"He wouldn't have known. I just found the new way into the dungeon before dinner. And-and that's where Casper would set up, because that's the only way he would go unseen," Celie said, and her hands shook with panic. "We need to get there as soon as possible."

"I know, Celie," Pogue soothed. "But Rufus almost collapsed. We got the message to an official, which was faster than handing it directly to the king."

Celie made a frustrated noise with her throat. She should've just stayed inside the Castle and let Pogue take the message. She grumpily said that under her breath and Pogue heard.

"I wouldn't have let you stayed if I had to rip you off of Rufus," he commented. "My job as a knight and your royal guard for a little while was to keep you safe, and letting you go back into a besieged castle would've violated it. To add to that, I would've disobeyed my king."

"But now I'm stuck out here in Vhervhine while my family is all being murdered, and an evil wizard is running Sleyne." Celie was nearly yelling and she startled Rufus.

"You'll have Lilah," he said gently. "If that all happens, then me, you, Lulath, and Lilah can run back to Grath and live there."

Celie looked up at him. "You're not going to just tell me not to worry and everything will be alright?"

Pogue looked down at her, frowning. "I don't believe in such comforting methods. It's unhelpful and unrealistic. Besides, you hate being babied."

Celie beamed at him. "I appreciate that about you."

Her annoyance with Pogue for being right about the griffins subsided, though her anxiety was still shooting up. She tried to tell herself that there was no point in worrying; it wouldn't get her any closer, but it was hard. She couldn't even formulate a plan for when she got back, because she had no idea what had happened in the last day and a half. Pogue said they'd be back in a day if they rode hard enough, but Celie wanted to be home now. She didn't say that though, because she was acting childish and didn't want to embarrass herself.

"Isn't it weird?" Pogue said, and Celie looked up at his tan face.

"What?" She frowned. Everything was weird right now.

"It all built up to this," Pogue explained. "For nine months it's just been building up to this moment. In fact, it's been building to this time since you found the figurehead."

"What do you mean?" Celie asked, biting her lip, trying to think.

"Well, everyone thought the Ship was a wedding present, and the Castle wanted it built to find the unicorns. When you found the griffin figurehead, the Castle revealed it's plan to want a Ship. And the reason it wanted the Ship was so we could sail into the Well and get Kalys, who is now having the baby that apparently started this whole mess."

"Technically it was building to this moment when we put the Castle back together, cause that's how Casper regained his strength," Celie pointed out, and Pogue nodded.

"True," he said. "Wow; that's a lot of building to right now."

"Khelsh was pretty random," Celie said. "He doesn't really have a lot to do with all of this."

Pogue laughed. "But now we're in Vhervhine? Maybe a parallel?"

Celie smiled. "It's not that complicated. I hope."

"It's always more complicated."

...

Rolf sighed, staring up at the ceiling. He felt rather rude sharing the small cot with Kalys when he could easily sleep on the floor. But she had insisted, and so here they lay, Kalys halfway on top of him, head on his chest, wrapped in the skirt part of her gown. It couldn't have been comfortable for her, and Rolf was just considering moving to the floor so she could spread out a little bit when she shifted, sitting up.

"We never figured out a name," she whispered, and Rolf chuckled in the darkness, running a hand over her forehead.

They had supposed it was nighttime. The lights around them had dimmed, and the thudding up above him had slowed down. It didn't really matter though, they had nothing to do, so sleeping could be alright. Kalys, apparently losing her calm, composed demeanor buried her head in his chest, and began to cry like she had at the very beginning of this. He rested his head on top of hers, wrapping an arm around her back.

"It's going to be alright," Rolf whispered. "The Castle will pull through. It always does."

She nodded, pulling him as close as she could, though it was rather awkward due to her protruding abdomen. He gave her a kiss to the forehead, though the pressure sort of hurt his cheek, moving so he could lean against the stone wall. She wrapped her legs around, so she was completely on his lap. It was a nice feeling, and Rolf leaned his head against the wall, closing his eyes.

There was a peace about the room, suddenly, despite their situation. It was okay; they had time. Even if Rolf was executed in the morning, he knew Kalys would live and for some reason that was enough. He wondered to himself if that was true love that he'd felt. Sure, he'd said it, but here it was being put to the test. He would give his life for the woman he was holding in his lap, whose hair he was gently stroking. Not because he was a gallant prince who had a chivalrous heart, but because it would be his only option.

"Kalys," he said softly. "I love you."

She sighed, and then whimpered a bit, sitting up. She looked him, her eyes wide. Her hands slid down his chest to her stomach. He glanced to her pregnant abdomen and then back at her.

"I think I just had my first contraction."

And that's a wrap! I only have three more chapters planned for this! Isn't that crazy? Wow, to be honest when I uploaded the first chapter, I never thought I'd finish. Until next time,

-geeky34