Chapter Twenty-Three: In Which Hathelocke Meets Arkish

Celie found her family in minutes. Pogue had brought her in through the south side after much debate, and she was safe. The griffins had been shot at by bows and arrows, but they had been much too high in the sky to come even close. As soon as they were seen, Bran scooped Celie up in an enormous hug and had kissed both her cheeks. Her mother and father had been more affectionate. Her mother kissed both of Pogue's cheeks, and her father gave him a tight hug.

Relief flooded through her knowing that her family was unharmed and that they hadn't been murdered. She almost began to cry with happiness. They were alright. She sighed, sitting in a chair, and Bran handed her a glass of water and she drank it gratefully. Thalia came by and Celie was surprised when the wizard gave her a hug and a smile, but she was glad. She was back.

"Where's Rolf?" She asked, peering around to see if he was at the end of the table making war plans and just hadn't noticed her. She took another sip of water, waiting to hear he and Kalys were visiting the wounded or something. When Bran wouldn't answer her, her heart began to race, and panic set in. "Bran, where's Rolf?"

She'd hoped Bran would shake his head, say something about not hearing her and tell him their brother was alright and just in another room with Lord Sefton. But Bran looked just as crestfallen as she felt in the moment.

"We think the dungeons," he whispered. "We haven't seen him in four days. Him and Kalys just disappeared."

Celie gave a little shriek. She shakingly set the water glass down. She felt Bran kneel beside her and Pogue put both hands on her shoulders. She looked up to see the knight look solemn and stricken. "Can't you feel with magic if he's alright?"

Bran shook his head. He gave Celie's knee a squeeze. "No."

"If you think he's in the dungeons why haven't we looked?" She asked, looking back and forth from Pogue to Bran.

"It would be suicide," Bran said. "Guards have already lost their lives looking. It's the most heavily guarded part of the Castle right now."

"Well, there's another way in," Celie said excitedly. "I needed to tell you. There's a tunnel on the south side of the Castle."

Bran looked at her before gesturing to the king to come over. He did and motioned for Celie to explain.

"Right before dinner, I was had landed by the sheep pasture with Rufus. Do you remember that one time when the Castle opened a wall so that the sheep could come in and they chewed all the tapestries? Well it was there again, so me and Rufus went in that way. But instead of connecting to the main corridor as it did before, it went into a tunnel. That eventually led to the dungeons. The door opened up behind a tapestry, so it couldn't be seen by the people in the dungeons." Celie watched as Bran grinned and her father slapped Pogue on the back.

Bran grabbed her face and kissed her cheek in a moment of excitement, something her mother did all the time. Celie made a face and wiped off her brother's saliva. Bran just kept grinning.

"Father, if we can storm this, we can take him down," he said, running over to pull out Celie's atlas.

Celie felt herself go lightheaded, and she was thankful her mother came to grip her hand. King Glower was muttering to Sergeant Avery and Bran and Pogue rapidly. Celie let go of her mother's hand to wrap it around her waist, trying to steady herself. Her mother was watching them, lips parted, eyebrows knit. They watched as King Glower, Bran and Pogue suited up with armor. Bran motioned for Thalia muttering something about the more wizards the better.

"We're coming with you," the queen said loudly, and Celie looked up at her mother in shock. Of course she had wanted to go, but she knew she'd have to sneak off or just stay here defeated. "Well, Celie is going to show the way, she will leave with Pogue once we get to the dungeons."

King Glower looked at his wife as he sheathed his sword. "Celina, I can't let you go with me. It's much too dangerous."

"I have graduated the college courses months ago, Owen. You need another wizard, and Bran knows it if you don't," she told him, her voice gentle but firm. "I'm not letting Cecelia down there, and Pogue is the only one I trust not to be outwitted."

She lowered her voice for the last part so none of the guards could hear. Celie wanted to pout, but she knew her mother was right. Besides, she was getting sort of sick of always being the hero at the end of the day. It made for a rather boring adventure. And she was tired from her journey. Very tired.

Finally, King Glower nodded his head, motioning for the guard to follow Celie and Rufus. Pogue and Bran (and Arrow) stood by her side, and she knew if they were meant with any danger she would be leapt in front of. She led them down and out of the Castle to the sheep pasture, her heart racing faster and faster. She took them through the turns of the corridor, knowing and remembering each twist and turn from four days ago.

She stopped at the last corridor and nodded to her father, her throat tightening as Pogue gripped her shoulders again. She felt tears well up in her eyes as she watched them march through the passageway into the dungeon. And for once, she didn't fight it.

...

Kalys hadn't expected it to hurt this much. It had been like this for hours, the pain just getting more and more intense. She let out a low moan, gripping Rolf's neck tighter. She rested her sweaty forehead on his shoulder, just trying to breathe. He would rub her back, murmuring things Kalys didn't take the time to focus on. As her breathing slowed as she got a break, she let herself fully flop against him, trying to store up rest for when it began again. And in a minute the jabbing in her stomach continued. She ground her teeth as she felt like her stomach was trying to rip itself into pieces. She felt like she was being stabbed over and over again.

Though her body racked with pain, she had yet to let herself panic. She could only focus on pushing through until the next contracting shudder went through her body. Her mind was simply focused on that, not that there was no one here but a clueless Rolf, that they were stuck in a dungeon, and an evil wizard would swoop in and take the baby. She forcefully tried to put that out of her mind as forcefully as she cried out in pain. Her chest heaved as she tried to suck in as much air as she could before another painful jab hit her.

With a cry, she felt a trickle of water down her leg. She groaned again, knowing exactly what it was. A gush of liquid followed. Kalys gasped, panic seizing her heart. "Rolf, it just broke. The water, it just broke. I don't know what to do, this babe is coming now." Tears fell very quickly and Rolf tried to comfort her, but she couldn't be comforted. She was having a baby in a prison cell, basically by herself, medically speaking. She gave out another cry.

She felt Rolf shift against her, lowering her to the ground, slowly. Her head hit the stone floor rather sharply, but she was in too much pain to more than notice the small bump. He knelt beside her, kissing her lips before standing up. She rolled to her side, gripping her stomach as she watched him. She let out another hiss when he pressed his body against the wall, whispering. Another intense wave of cramping hit her. She could feel magic coating the air as she ground her teeth, pressing her hand into the floor. It was thick as Rolf continued murmuring and Kalys tried so desperately to breath.

She didn't think she could be more panicked, though when Rolf turned his head, she could see the trance in his eyes. He took a step towards her, lowering his hand to her. His eyes were hazy, though Kalys's vision was blurry as he pulled her up to stand. She hovered there for a second, sucking in oxygen as she regained her balance. He led her to the wall that he had been talking too, and Kalys relaxed. Another contraction hit, and she pounded her fist against the wall, hard. A passageway opened.

...

Celie felt like screaming when her and Pogue returned to the corridor. Full out fighting had broken out; metal clashing against metal, and griffins hissing. She saw Cook lay a cleaver into some man's neck and she whimpered. It was very gruesome.

Her chest rose and fell as Pogue hurried across hallways until he opened a latch to a door and shoved her in. She dove into the wardrobe, and that's when Celie realized they were in his room. He yanked a sword and some armor fell out and he hurriedly strapped himself into it. He gripped his sword, turning to her.

"Someone needs to lead those soldiers. I need to go," he panted. "Stay in here with Rufus. There's weapons at the back of my wardrobe if you need them. Do not leave this room. I'm serious, Cecelia, don't be stubborn."

She nodded solemnly and gave her an awkward, brotherly embrace before leaving. She sighed, sitting heavily on the edge of Pogue's bed. She could hear the warcries and yells of men, the sound of weapons clashing, and arrows whizzing. It was awful. This was full-out war.

...

Bran nearly screamed as they searched the dungeons. Rolf and Kalys were nowhere to be seen, though there were soldiers mulling about at a workshop. He couldn't see Casper, but he couldn't really look hard either. King Glower was still searching the cells for any sign of Rolf, but there was only nothing. With a pang of panic, Bran realized the cell Arkwright had been locked in was empty, the door swung closed. His mother was there, looking into it.

"Owen, Bran, come look at this," her voice was quiet and Bran silently stalked out to look at it. Three buckets of water were on the floor, along with a large medical needle and thread. The most obvious thing about it was that there was a small passageway opened to it, turning to the left so they couldn't see where it had ended. The cell door was locked as Bran rattled it and he swore.

"Arkwright's out there," he mumbled and the king also swore. "Because we needed another evil wizard on the loose."

"No, Bran, look." His mother was pointing to something that had been tossed against a wall. Bran squinted at the blue thing. "That's Kalys's bodice."

...

Celie tried everything to escape. She knew Pogue would never forgive her, but she had to try and get out. She had Rufus, and the Castle needed her. Rolf needed her and she wasn't just going to give up and sit. She had strapped a dagger to her hip, though she knew she'd be useless in a fight, but that's what Rufus was for.

She screamed, though, when there was no way out. Pogue had locked the door from the outside, and she couldn't push it open. She had scoured the walls in his room, searching for a secret tunnel or passageway she could sneak out of. But it was to no avail. She was stuck.

...

Halfway through the passage, Kalys collapsed. She clutched at the wall, trying desperately not to cry. Her body hurt so bad she thought she was dying, and her mind was just trying to process things. Rolf hadn't said a word to her other than 'follow' and even now he was trudging ahead. She leaned over and retched the dry bread she had eaten last, the taste in her mouth awful to add to everything else.

Finally, Rolf stopped, and went back to her. With a strength and gentleness that Kalys knew the Castle could only provide, he lifted her into his arms, not even staggering as he walked. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she held onto his neck with one arm, his tunic bunched into her other hand. He was still in a trance, she knew. She let out a scream as he walked them straight into a warring crowd. There was blood everywhere, bodies falling, but Rolf continued to walk. SHe tried to get his attention, but he wouldn't look at her.

"Oh, Castle," she whispered. "Don''t let him doom us all."

...

"I'll go after Rolf and Kalys," Bran said. "You all need to shut this down."

His mother was nodding though King Glower looked like he was going to protest. Bran held up a hand, knowing he had to follow his brother. If he was honest, Thalia was just as quick and powerful as him, and his mother would be there. He knew Rolf was in serious danger, and he had to find his brother as soon as possible.

"Father, please, let me go after him," Bran begged.

"I'll send guards, or your mother, you're needed here," King Glower whisper-argued, glancing over his shoulder. "For all we know Rolf and Kalys are wandering around passageways. They don't need a wizard.

"The magic is thick coming from this cell. They're in serious danger, Father. I need to go after them," he explained. He felt like he could almost see the magic and it concerned him greatly. It was getting very hard to breathe and his wizardly intuition urged him to go after them now.

Finally his father nodded at him to go, and Bran began to pick the cell lock with a pin from his robes. His hands were shaking as it clicked around, though finally it pushed open. He strode in, stopping for a second at the cell. He was nearly breathing in a haze, and he knew what it was.

He realized he was shaking as he stood before the entrance to the passageway, chest heaving, though he'd only been walking. He took a step into the big, dark tunnel.

...

Celie tried pounding on the wall, but it wouldn't work. She was locked in there. She flopped across Pogue's bed, Rufus climbing with her. She began to cry tears of frustration, gripping Rufus's fur. It was so awful. She was worried sick for her brother, she couldn't do anything to help him, and the Castle wouldn't let her out. She glanced at Pogue's window, but it was much too high to jump out of. Besides, she couldn't get it open.

"What are we going to do?" She sobbed into Rufus and he put his wing around her. Fresh tears welled up, her gut swelling with guilt. She felt so awful that she couldn't help, couldn't be there, couldn't go search for her missing brother. "Oh Rufus, what if he's dead?"

She had been able to push the thought out of her mind for the past two hours, but now that she was alone, she couldn't help it anymore. Even the thought of her brother being dead made her start to cry harder. Her mind swirled with images of her brother's body, beaten and bruised.

"He would never be king," she whispered, rubbing at her eyes. "And-and he would never meet his baby, or-or rock it to sleep." Celie looked at Rufus mournfully, and he seemed to cock his head at her. "And Dagger would die of-hold on, where is Dagger?"

As if on cue, Pogue's wardrobe, which Celie had checked multiple times for doors, opened. Celie watched as the griffin slunked out of Pogue's wardrobe lazily. He looked up at Celie, looking remarkably like an annoyed Lord Griffin. Rufus butted at his head and his brother cooed back at him. Celie's eyes were frozen on the door. How had that happened?

A rise of hope filled her chest as she ducked her head past Pogue's clothes. She felt the back and then gasped. She pushed on it, like she had done four times before and it fell out. Her heart raced as she looked beyond. She called for both of the griffins as she crawled through the small space. It was just wide enough to hold Dagger, and Celie wondered if he'd chafed at all. She kept crawling and she could hear Rufus behind her.

She stopped though, when she reached the end. It was not a door she could pull out of, but instead, a peephole, like the ones she used to spy on Khelsh. Celie squinted, looking through the grates. She tried to shoo the griffins, but surprisingly, they were being as quiet as mice. Celie looked back, and what she saw made her eyes widen in horror.

...

Thalia felt like she was going to faint. She tried to stomach all of this, she tried to stay calm, but when Casper whirled his eyes to her, a pit of fear grew in her stomach. Her hands were shaking, as she pulled spells into her brain. She had a simple protection spell over her, something that would only buy her more time. She could see Casper was working on something, but there was no sign of Arkwright. Perhaps he had been in the cell with Rolf and Kalys and had escaped with them. Or took them hostage.

Thalia sucked in a breath, facing him. They all did; the king and queen, sergeant, the guards behind them. Casper laughed wickedly, calling for his own men. It was instant chaos; so much fighting, yelling, metal. She heard Casper yelp a spell at her, and she let her tongue take over as she recited one back. She followed him as he walked briskly around the dungeons, and they threw spells back and forth.

The man was so evil. Thalia watched as he threw spells, stirred a potion, and then poured some yellow bubbling liquid into a large pot of boiling water. He was muttering something, and he looked up at her.

"Oh, I can't wait for all of them to die," he whispered. "To watch the Arkish faces die a slow, painful death. For them to realize that the Castle always belonged to us. Always belonged to me."

Thalia's stomach twisted as the words pierced her brain. She couldn't move, and she knew she needed someone else. It's why Bran was always with her; he was too powerful, too controlling, too compelling. She could feel the darkness, the utter darkness surrounding them. Pure witch craft scented the air. Black magic was heating and Thalia was powerless to stop it. She could hear someone chanting; his voice powered throughout everything. She couldn't see, or feel, or move or hear anything but the words.

The words of darkness.

...

Kalys tried to get Rolf to snap out of his chance, or to at least wriggle out of his arms. They were like iron, and he kept walking straight through crowds. Soldiers of both sides would stop to stare, gaping at the prince. Kalys, herself was gaping at the prince. That and trying to get through the pain that kept shooting at her. The contractions barely stopped now, and she could feel pain shooting through her body. And Rolf kept walking.

She gripped Rolf tighter as he entered the Heart of the Castle. It was as empty as it was silent. It was very odd, only Rolf's footsteps could be heard echoing throughout the room. Rolf was starting to put her down, and Kalys let out a moan of pain as her lower regions burned.

"Good heavens, Rolf, what is going on?"

Bran slid to his knees beside Kalys and she squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to grind her teeth through another contraction. But she couldn't keep silent for this one either. As she let out a yell, the Castle rippled with her, and she tried to grip the ground. Bran was doing something and suddenly she felt herself being braced up. Looking up wearily, she saw Rolf, who was blinking rapidly.

Kalys saw black as an intense amount of pain ripped through her. She heard Bran yelp something about the Castle and then footsteps. She didn't know how much time had passed, but a cool rag was placed on her face. Without even thinking, she realized her body was taking over for her, and she gripped Rolf's hand. Her eyes were closed, attempting to get rid of the terrible blackness. She could feel herself pushing, bracing, screaming, but it felt like it was all a haze.

"Good, Kalys."

She could hear Bran's voice as she ground her teeth, and gripped At her husband's hand, pushing back against him. It was incredibly terrible feeling, and she felt like she was being ripped to shreds. She sucked desperately for air, sweat pouring down her face with each cry of pain.

"Keep going, Kalys," Rolf whispered in her ear.

With one last scream of pain and one last push of her body, Kalys saw black again. But then a piercing cry that was not her own filled the air.

...

The wail of a baby filled the Castle. Celie watched from the grates as Casper reeled back. He looked directly at her, though Celie somehow knew he could not see her. His eyes were blank and his fists were clenched. Lights flickered back on in the room and the horrible chanting were replaced with an infant's cries. Celie knew the baby was not in the dungeons, it's cries seemed to be radiating throughout the Castle. Celie could see Thalia standing next to the dazed wizard, and she hoped that the female wizard would do something quick.

Thalia screamed as a sword ran through Casper's body. Celie remembered what Bran had told her; if Casper was killed in a way like that, things could get very, very bad. Even now she watched as Casper went to his knees, his eyes fading. A bright light filled the room, and Celie felt very blinded. She looked back though as Casper's body began to melt into black dust, becoming a fast current. When Celie could see clearly again, she gasped.

Arkwright stood there, the sword in his hands. His face looked very sad as the black dust that had used to be Casper was absorbed by his body. Celie felt tears prick her own eyes as the magic in the room all swirled towards the Arkish wizard. He, too, fell to his knees. The color in him was gone, along with the magic.

Celie kicked out the grate, coming to kneel beside him. He looked up at her, his eyes turning beige.

"It was coming to me. I deserved this." The wizard coughed once. "I have no care in the world if you all have been saved, do not get the wrong impression. I just needed Casper gone."

Celie watched with horror as his body began to fade, his robes falling limp to the ground with no body in them. King Glower came up beside her and she squeaked. She looked around the room, seeing as there were no more soldiers besides Sleyne's. The men in black were gone, and the soldiers who Celie thought were dead were spluttering.

Then she heard the baby again.

...

Kalys heard Rolf's breath hitch, and she opened her eyes as Bran laid a screaming, bloody baby on her chest. Tears flowed as she cradled it against her, and Rolf yanked his tunic off to press it against the naked babe. Her fingers caressed the baby's head as she cried with joy onto it.

"Hello, little one," she whispered, nearly sobbing with happiness. "I love you."

She leaned back against Rolf, struggling to sit up. The infant was so perfect. Bran cut the cord, and Kalys heard Rolf sigh as he tentatively reached a hand to stroke their baby's head. After a few minutes of holding him, he made a sound in his throat and Kalys looked up. He looked hesitant, but slowly reached his arms out and Kalys reluctantly gave the baby up to him. Rolf's grin was bigger than she'd seen when the baby touched his skin, and she saw tears drip down his nose.

"Kalys, it's a boy," he said, cuddling the infant closer. "Oh, Kalys, I love him."

Tears began to rush down her face again, though she didn't know why she was crying so hard, and she leaned up to kiss Rolf, putting a hand on their son's head. She tucked to makeshift swaddle around him closer and rested both hands on the little body. Their son's body.

...

Celie tentatively walked through the hallways, her mother at her side. It was very odd; all the men in black were gone, disappeared without a trace. Soldiers and physicians rushed in, tending to the wounded. Celie gripped her mother's hand as the watched stretchers of wounded and dying soldiers be carried to bigger rooms. Thalia had gone with them, saying she would try to save the most urgent, while they found Bran to help her.

Celie had no idea where Bran was, she was just going to the Heart of the Castle; because that's where Rolf was. She knew it. Rufus and Dagger purred on either side of her and the Queen, and Celie felt very noble; especially because Lord and Lady Griffin were behind her. She smiled when she realized that the griffin family was all together, surrounding her.

When they reached the Heart, Celie stopped. She heard her mother gasp, and King Glower mutter something. Bran was packing up something, but no one paid attention to him. Rolf sat there, tears dripping down his face as he cradled a tunic wrapped bundle to his bare chest. Kalys was smiling down at it, her arm wrapped around Rolf's shoulders. Celie's heart nearly burst with joy.

Bran came up to them quietly, and Queen Celina smothered him in kisses. He squeezed Celie's shoulders, saying something to the king. Rolf looked up at Celie and grinned, motioning her forward. She cautiously approached, kneeling beside him. a little baby was opening his eyes, and Kalys fussed with the wrappings. He was a precious thing, dark curls for hair, and big brown eyes staring up at them. He let out a cry, opening his hand, and Celie cooed down out him. She had to admit; baby humans were much cuter than baby griffins.

"What is going on?"

A very distressed Lilah was at the doorway, and everyone turned to look at her. Lulath was standing at the door, eyes very wide, and Lilah looked like she'd been sobbing. She flung herself at Bran, who looked surprised, but embraced his sister, patting her back.

Celie sighed heavily. A lot had gone on.

dudes don't hate on me; I have no idea how to write a birth scene. I have two more chapters to write before I'm done...that makes me sort of sad. Until next time,

-geeky34