A/N-Thanks to all of my reviewers! You make my day…week…month…year…
Disclaimer- My dog ate the disclaimer.
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Kalasin knew exactly what to do…well, not exactly. It was more improvisation that anything else. But she had her basic guidelines of what to do, and decided to act upon them. Dying physically was better than dying mentally, alone in a room for who knows how long.
She wasn't physically strong like Alanna, she wasn't as magical as Daine, and she wasn't nearly brave enough as her mother and Buri. But the one skill she did have was pure stealth, which she had needed when she was younger. At the time when she was little out of the toddler years she would sneak down to the kitchens, and steal numerous cookies. The thought of that brought a rare smile to the princess's face.
The first obstacle the young girl knew she would face was obviously the door. Only a few feet from her know, it looked harmless enough. But it was holding her captive. Damn it, she thought. I feel so…hopeless!
She mentally kicked herself. If she discouraged herself now, there would be no hope when more was required. Taking her long hair (which hadn't been cut or brushed in a long time) she shoved it down the back of her brown, old tunic. That was one thing that had changed…her clothes. Approximately a few days back she had been brought that same tunic, and a skirt which was grey and smelled like cheese. But it was better than before, which was the simple nightgown she had worn for however long she had been there.
She walked closer to inspect the door, although to be more specific, the hinges. Since the door opened inwards, the hinges faced her. They were remarkably new, to Kalasin's disappointment. Her plan would not work.
Until that moment, Kalasin had not paid much attention to the height of the door. It was only three feet taller than her. Glancing back at the desk and chair in the other corner, she did a double-take on the chair. She guessed it was…a good three feet off of the ground.
The idea struck her so fast it hurt her brain. She had no idea why she hadn't thought of it before.
It wouldn't take long to set up, or do for that matter. With her feet pit-pattering against the cold floor, she quickly dragged the chair to the left, her left, of the door. She stood on it, and waited for the moment to come.
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After Junika had left, Lukiem ran as fast as his long legs would allow to Kalasin's chambers. Who knows, he thought. Kalasin might have escaped, and there
is only one Kalasin.
Of course, he knew it was just about impossible for her to escape, but anything to make him feel better was greatly appreciated.
He opened the door leading to her rooms as fast as he could.
The door swung wide open, and if there had been a third person standing in the far corner of the room they would have seen this:
They would have seen an absolute furious Lukiem at the door. They would also see Kalasin standing on a chair beside the door. But Lukiem of course, did not notice the girl, due to the fact of the door obstructing his view.
The viewer would notice Kalasin silently hoist herself up and over the door when Lukiem ran in.
The person would also ponder why when presented with a major setback, a one person can think about that one and only thing. Lukiem was like this, not noticing the empty chair beside the door. But he did notice the lack of Kalasin.
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At that precise moment, three dark figures, hidden within the shadows of the moon high overhead ducked into a stable. The shadows played their tune as the light the moon was giving off slowly disappeared as clouds passed overhead.
The three people, whose bodies belonged to Numair, Varice and Unikum, quickly made their way to the far back of the stable. The horses whinnied as they passed by.
The gate creaked as Unikum opened it. "In here," he whispered.
Varice went through the gate first, followed closely by Numair, then Unikum. The latter bent down, found the secret latch, and pulled upwards. The darkness that plunged upwards at them was remarkably terrifying. Taking a deep breath, Unikum said nothing and went slowly down the hatch. Varice, shaking like a mouse cornered by a cat, followed him. Numair went last.
He didn't notice that he forgot to close the latch behind himself.
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Kalasin, heart beating five times as fast as usual, ran quickly throughout the dark halls. She noticed that there weren't any guards patrolling, so she assumed that she was no longer in the palace. At that point, she stepped on sharp pieces of…something, which dug deeply into her tender feet. She wished for shoes, but knew such luxuries were not available.
At that point, Kalasin realized she had no idea where she was going. Just…away from Lukiem. That would be best, getting away from him.
The halls blended into each other, with no distinguishable features. The princess wanted to panic, but the small piece of logic remaining within herself told her not. Five minutes of frantic running later, she heard voices. She went flat up against a wall, which was a juncture point. To her right was a small connecting hallway to another main one. It was in the main one where the voices were coming from. She heard three. One of them sounded unbelievably familiar, but as Kalasin was becoming so frantic she couldn't place it.
She wasn't aware of her heavy breathing.
Still against the wall, hoping whoever was on the other side would not harm her, she waited, but surprisingly did not hear anything. Nothing, not a sound. She didn't want to show herself, for fear that she did not know if the other people were friends or enemies. She guessed, due to her luck, that they were enemies.
She was wrong.
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Running through the halls, Numair, Varice and Unikum tried talking at the same time.
"Just around this corner…" Unikum said, gasping for breath.
Varice suddenly stopped. "Listen," she whispered.
Varice obviously had good ears to hear what she did at that moment. Listening closer, Numair found he heard hard, labored breathing on the other side of the hall he was in. He didn't know if the person on the other side was a friend or enemy, so he motioned to the other two, and they peeled themselves to the wall, ad slowed their breathing. They heard nothing, so he hoped the enemy had gone away.
Only they didn't know it was Kalasin on the other side of the hard, cold wall.