Happy, Before Friday Thursday.
Enjoy this chapter at your own expense.

My Queen, my Duty, my Life

Blödhgarm POV
It had been three weeks since the climactic battle; a battle that had gone so very wrong that Blödhgarm had a hard time imaging any way that it could have gone even more wrong than it already had. What he had seen, heard and felt at that battle would haunt him for the rest of his life, of that, Blödhgarm was sure.

Blödhgarm was not unaccustomed to war and death. He had after all participated in both the Fall and the Rider War, so he had seen much death and destruction, but this battle had been something entirely different from those times.

Not even when Galbatorix and his Forsworn had laid waste to the elven army during the final days of the Fall had Blödhgarm witnessed destruction on such a scale as there had been during this one battle.

No, it had not been a battle at all…slaughter, yes, that was a more fitting name for what had happened that day, the day when Alagaësia had fallen to darkness once again. All but a few thousand of the souls that had been in the Alagaësian army could now call that battlefield their final resting ground.

The dragon riders had also been almost completely wiped out when the earth had erupted; although Blödhgarm was fairly sure that he saw a few of them make it out alive, though most of those had then been captured immediately afterwards by the foul lethrblaka.

As for why Blödhgarm was still alive, that was simply because he had pleaded and begged his queen to remain behind with the reserves, which she had eventually agreed to do, and since his place was at her side, he had been with the reserves as well when it had happened.

The enemies had not even given them an ounce of time to mourn or pay their respects for the recently deceased, before their riders had surrounded the few divisions that had been kept in reserve. A few had initially struggled and tried to continue the fight, but after they had all been ridden down in a matter of moments, everyone had just given up and surrendered.

Elves, humans, dwarves, urgals, lords, ladies, royals and commoners, they had all been treated as one and put in chains like simple criminals. The enemy had only let a small group of humans and dwarves stay behind to bury the bodies, or what was left of them, before that traitor to Mercury Iridium had marched his army all the way to Ilirea, with the prisoners in tow, and had demanded their immediate and unconditional surrender.

It had come to no surprise to Blödhgarm when the city had surrendered almost before Mercury had even finished his demands, as it was clearly evident on the faces of those that had surrendered the city that they had heard of what had happened, and if they had not, then the sight of Mercury's prisoners, where all of the still living royals from the various races had been paraded in the front, would surely have given them reasonable ideas as to what had happened.

And so it had come to pass that Blödhgarm found himself sitting in the dungeons underneath Ilirea Castle, where he shared a cell with the former elven ambassador, Vanir-elda, whom no one had heard from since the traitor had made his surprise attack in Teirm.

An iron collar with inverted spikes and a small amethyst at the back was placed around each of their necks, which tied them to a wall opposite from one another with just enough of a chain that they could stand and walk a metre in either direction, though not enough for them to reach each other.

If either of them tried pulling too much on the chain, the spikes would dig into their necks and likely kill them, and though Blödhgarm had wanted to try magic when it had first been secured around his neck and the guards had left, Vanir-elda had advised him that it was not a good option to try either.

"Stand up, both of you", a guard shouted through the iron door, and only after they had both done so, did he enter and put down two trays of some murky looking soup and some hard rye bread, before he inspected each of their collars for signs of tampering.

Grunting in satisfaction that they had not been tampered with, the man joined his partner, which had been standing ready just outside the door with his hand ready on the hilt of his sword, before both of them left to repeat the process at the cell next to Blödhgarm's and Vanir-elda's.

"They are nothing if not punctual", Vanir-elda quipped, as he reached for the food that had been delivered.

"I will take your word for it", Blödhgarm replied as he too reached for the food, though more hesitantly than Vanir-elda.

Vanir-elda had been a prisoner for far longer than Blödhgarm had, as they had only been cellmates for less than a week now, so it was no wonder that he would know the guards' habits better than Blödhgarm. It had also been Vanir-elda that had informed him that there was no reason not to eat the food that they gave, as he was sure that no meat was spent on simple prisoners, and he was even surer that it had not been poisoned to inhibit their magical talents.

The dark magic in the amethysts did that perfectly well, so why waste further resources on the matter?

"Why did they even bother transferring you here from Teirm?", Blödhgarm asked politely as they ate, "the stars know that it is crowded enough in these dungeons with just the prisoners from the battle, so why add more people to an already overcrowded dungeon?"

"I do not know", Vanir replied thoughtfully, "I think that it might have to do with the escape, but I cannot be sure".

"What escape?", Blödhgarm practically jumped at the news, which could have led to some nasty cuts on his throat if he had been unlucky, "you mean to tell me that someone managed to escape from this?"

If there had been one escape, then Blödhgarm was sure that there could be another, and that thought gave him courage, courage to try and actually think of a way to get out of this and rescue his queen. Perhaps all was not lost yet…

"I overheard it from some of the guards back in Teirm", Vanir-elda answered, "apparently, Loivissa-elda somehow managed to escape in the dead of night shortly after Mercury left Teirm. The ward was furious and sent out search parties, but none of them ever managed to capture her".

"Do you know how she did it?", Blödhgarm inquired eagerly.

"No, I only know what I overheard from the guards, but from what little I know, it seems that they are just as confused as to how she escaped as I am", Vanir-elda said as he shook his head sadly, "according to what I overheard, it was like her chain and her cell door just unlocked themselves and she disappeared without anyone ever seeing her leave the dungeons. They started using these collars shortly afterwards, but it still does not answer how she managed to overcome the previous obstacles".

"What was it like before her escape?", Blödhgarm asked curiously, as it might give him ideas as to how to escape this imprisonment.

"Far kinder", Vanir-elda replied almost wistfully, "we just had a chain secured around one of our feet and the amethyst was simply placed in a cage out of our reach. Back then, we did not need to watch our every move to consider whether it might accidentally kill us".

That was another thing that Blödhgarm had noticed about this prison; there was nothing that stopped you from killing yourself. If you wanted to commit suicide, all you had to do was to continue pressing against the chain, and then the spikes would take care of it for you.

It was almost like the traitor was taunting them; all but telling them that if they so wished it, then they were free to end their suffering one way or another. The other way of course was trough forsaking their homeland and pride and declaring themselves loyal subjects of the Alliance.

Blödhgarm would be lying if he said that he had not thought about the former option of ending his imprisonment, but the small hope that he might somehow find a way to facilitate his queen's escape from these dungeons was what primarily kept him from going through with it.

"Have you ever thought of other ways that one might escape in?", Blödhgarm inquired softly after they had both finished eating, "perhaps ways that required two people to be successful?"

"I had a few ideas the first month after my capture", Vanir-elda shrugged noncommittally, "none of them were more than farfetched ideas even before they tightened the security. After that, I sort of gave up and just hoped that you guys would be quick in defeating Mercury and freeing me".

That was not exactly comforting news to Blödhgarm, and the two descended into awkward silence for a while after that. The only disturbance during that time was when the guards came to relieve them of their trays, which were carefully checked to see if anything was missing, followed by another collar checking, before they were once again left to their own devises.

On the morning of the next day, Blödhgarm scratched a new number into the wall behind him with his claws, so as to allow him to keep track of how many days that he had been captured in here. It was as he was finishing the last curve that an idea sprang to mind.

"Do you know how far these bolts go into the wall?", Blödhgarm asked eagerly, perhaps too eagerly, as his voice came out higher than he had intended.

"Around 7 to 10 centimetres if they have regular imperial standards", Vanir-elda answered with a shrug, "why?"

Hmm, that deep. It would take some time, but it might be doable, Blödhgarm mused, before he turned to Vanir-elda and said, "I think that I might have an idea as to how to get us out of here".

"If it involves trying to dig out the bolts, then I would like to remind you that not only would we not have anywhere to dispose of the gravel, but we also still need to get past a solid iron door", Vanir-elda said with a sigh, before he held up his hand for Blödhgarm to see, "even if you managed to dig everything out without their notice, I would still not be able to copy you, as I have regular nails, so it would take a decade for me to accomplish".

Blödhgarm had to admit that what Vanir pointed out was correct, but his blatant dismissal of Blödhgarm's idea also told Blödhgarm that the former ambassador had given up on ever escaping from here. Who knew when the time would come when he gave up on other things as well?

"Let us, for the argument's sake, say that I manage to free us both. Would you then know how to escape this castle, or where the queen might be kept?", Blödhgarm tried to inspire some form of hope in his cellmate, as the plan that was beginning to come to life inside his head, hinged heavily upon his cooperation.

"If we were somehow freed, then I am confident that I would know my way around good enough to elude capture for a while, though it will not be for long if I am by myself, but I have no idea of where the queen would be kept", Vanir answered with a shrug, "why, what are you scheming?"

"If I can find a way to dispose of the gravel without the guards' notice, then I might have an idea that could be the start of a jailbreak", Blödhgarm revealed, "but I need your help to pull it off. Will you help me, and the entirety of Alagaësia?"

A spark of life seemed to return to his cellmates eyes, and though it was still faint for now, it was a vast improvement from before.

Vanir took a while to think things over carefully, before he finally nodded his head in accept and said, "I will. Even if these should prove to be my last actions alive, then I wish for them to be to at least be of some help to free you and the elven nation from Mercury's hold".

It was good enough for Blödhgarm, whom quickly began to explain the outlines of his escape-plan, though he omitted certain bits for now to make sure that Vanir would do as he said. His friend might never forgive him for this deception, but Blödhgarm felt that he had to do things this way. There was no other choice for him, but there still was for Vanir.

After outlining his plan, Vanir agreed that it just might be possible, but also made several inquiries into matters that Blödhgarm had not initially thought of, and together, the two finally began to formulate a plan that could actually be put into action.

It was Vanir that proposed that they hide the gravel among the contents of the bucket that served as each of theirs lavatory, but they had to make sure that there was not too much mixed in it, or else, someone might notice.

Though it was an Alagaësian human that emptied their buckets each morning, they could not be sure that he would not rat them out for some reward from his new masters.

With Blödhgarm's claws, the work went far quicker than it otherwise would have, and they had ample reason to hurry, as Vanir had explained that it was custom for the entire cell to undergo a thorough inspection every other week, and if they had not escaped before that happened, then they would surely be found out.

Eight days after the plan had been begun, Blödhgarm was able to pull the fastening on his chain out of the wall, but so as to make sure that the guards did not notice, he made sure to put it back in as quickly as it had come out.

The two stayed in their cell until the guards once again showed up like clockwork to bring them their meal. As always, the guard that went inside the cell, checked Blödhgarm's collar first, before he moved over to Vanir.

Blödhgarm had to resist the urge to try anything while the human's back was turned, as his dökkálfar partner stood ready in the door. It would have been suicide to try anything against such an opponent when he was not armed.

Just as the guard was about to finish checking Vanir's collar, Vanir moved as swift as a striking snake and headbanged the guard that was checking his collar. Blödhgarm remained rooted in place, though with an adopted look of surprise, as the other guard drew his sword and hurried over to pacify the threat, not sparing Blödhgarm more than a cursory glance, as the two guards would be out of range from his chain.

What the second guard had not expected was for Blödhgarm to pull out the chain from the wall the moment that his back was turned, after which he made quick work of the second guard by pulling his head back and digging his fangs into the man's throat, acting in much the same way as the forest cat, whose mane that he had copied.

The first guard barely had time to register this before Vanir snapped his neck with his bare hands. After both of them had been disposed of, Blödhgarm searched the second one for the key to unlock the other cell doors, while Vanir used the sword of one of them to break his chain, which unfortunately also broke the sword.

"I find it incredible that that actually worked", Vanir commented as the two began moving out of their cell.

Blödhgarm was carrying the other sword, while Vanir had to make due with a dagger. Though they both wished to free the other prisoners in the other cells, they had learnt their lesson from when Vanir had to break his chain with one of the swords, and they could not afford to lose the other one this early into the escape just to free one other prisoner, which was why they were hoping to get the collar key from the ward's office before anyone noticed their jailbreak.

They met two other guards on their way, but though they tried to take them down quickly, the sound of warning bells soon began to ring throughout the dungeons. Evidently, one of them had been able to warn the others telepathically.

"Which way to the ward's office?", Blödhgarm asked Vanir as they ran past yet another intersection.

"The next staircase should lead down to it", Vanir replied beside him, "but if we go up, then it should lead out of here".

"Then this is where we part ways, my friend", Blödgharm said as they stopped at the staircase, "I will go and try to find the queen, but you must escape and find the Shadeslayers. I saw one of them escape from the battle, and you have told me that the other has escaped as well, and if there are anyone in this world that can find a way to free us, then it is them".

"No!", Vanir objected strongly, as Blödhgarm had known that he would, "your life is more important than mine, so if anything, it should be I that should search for the queen and you that should go aid the Shadeslayers".

"My duty lies with the queen's life, that cannot be changed, and as her close advisor, I know for certain that she would order you to obey me now. Do you wish to disobey the queen by staying here?", Blödhgarm heavily used the sense of honour that had woken Vanir from his despair, but they had little time to waste here, so he had to be as quick as possible.

"…I understand. Be careful, Blödhgarm-elda", Vanir said with gritted teeth, as he finally bowed his head in acceptance, before he turned around and disappeared up the staircase.

Blödhgarm took one last look at the promise of freedom, before he turned downwards towards all but certain failure. He had known that the chances of him actually succeeding in finding and rescuing the queen were slim at best, even if the alarm had not already been sounded, but despite the grave odds, he knew that he simply never would take the other path while knowing that his queen was still captured.

In the end, he was captured in an ambush just outside of the ward's office, never having even laid eyes on the key that might unlock his queen's freedom, yet alone found the location of her cell. The guards stripped him of his stolen sword and beat him until he could not even stand, before the ward finally barked orders that Blödhgarm did not hear for the ringing in his head.

They dragged him up some stair and down the corridor that led to what Blödhgarm remembered as the royal chambers. The heavy oaken door was opened and a guard went inside for a brief period, before he came out again and ordered Blödhgarm to be brought inside.

The inside of the room was just as spacious as Blödhgarm remembered from his few visits, but The Empire's banner, which had once hung proudly behind the desk that took up the centre of the room, was now replaced by the banner of the Silver Wave Alliance, which was a blue ship that rode on high silvery waves.

Standing in front of the desk was the traitorous bastard himself, with a female dökkálfar that held a leather-inbound folder in her hands, standing slightly behind and to the side of him, and, what Blödhgarm assumed to be his chief bodyguard, standing at the other side.

A hissing sound initially drew Blödhgarm's attention away from the other occupants of the room and towards a large black cat-looking animal that looked very much like it wanted to tear out his throat right this moment. It figured that a man as twisted as Mercury would keep such pets.

The hissing stopped with one look from the creature's master, before Mercury directed his gaze unto Blödgharm and eerily calmly said, "now now, Blödgharm, why would you go and do such a thing when we treated you so well?"

Blödhgarm was not sure what he was most angry at, the words coming out of the traitor's mouth or the tone that he said them in, but none of it really mattered anyway, as he was only interested in knowing one thing, "what have you done to the queen?"

Instead of answering his question, Mercury calmly walked over to the desk, where he opened a long wooden container on it and withdrew what Blödhgarm recognized as the two parts that would make a dwarven hûthvir.

Mercury assembled the weapon with ease and began to twirl it around like one would a regular staff, only this one had a sword blade attached to both ends of it. Blödhgarm was almost certain that the traitor would never answer his question, when Mercury's voice, though bored as it sounded to be, broke the silence that had descended upon them, "do you know what this is?"

"Yes, it is a hûthvir", Blödhgarm answered easily, as he saw no point in denying his knowledge of it.

"Correct, it is a hûthvir", Mercury agreed, as he kept playing with the deadly weapon, which could severely injure anyone in the room if he slipped even just a little, "but more importantly, it is also the symbol that was sent to me earlier this day to signal that the last of the dwarven kingdom has surrendered to my forces".

"What does that have to do with my queen?", Blödhgarm asked irritated, as he saw no point in this conversation.

"Well, you see, when I showed the elven queen the sword of Gilderien the Wise, which was the elven kingdom's equivalent of this hûthvir, she became rather…upset and…unwilling to conduct a civilized conversation about the future of her realm", Mercury answered eerily calmly, "I am afraid that I had to terminate the discussion rather abruptly, though she should begin her return-journey to Ellesméra any day now, where she will once again be reunited with her late mate".

"You murdered her?!", Blödgharm shouted as realization set in, and in a fit of strength that he did not know that he had in him, he somehow managed to break free from the holds of the two guards that held him and lunge forward towards the traitorous backstabbing madman that had dared to lay a finger on his queen.

His fangs were bared and ready to sink into flesh, and his claws were out and ready to tear open the flesh of this monster, but in a movement that was almost too fast for Blödhgarm to follow, Mercury somehow managed to turn an end of the hûthvir in his direction.

The force of Blödhgarm's own lunge was what impaled him upon the deadly weapon, and as the weapon was held outwards, Mercury was too far away for Blödhgarm to lay a scratch on his person, though he supposed that he really did not have all that much left in him anymore, as the blade had expertly pierced his heart when it had gone in.

Mercury seemed to know this as well, as he swiftly retracted the blade from Blödhgarm's body, leaving Blödhgarm to fall forward without the strength to do anything else, as the puddle of blood grew bigger underneath him.

"Have this cleaned and added to my collection", Blödhgarm thought that he had Mercury say, as the hazy figure of Mercury handed a hazy-looking hûthvir to another hazy person.

"What should be done about the other escapees?", someone asked as Blödhgarm's life slipped away. They did not even bother to acknowledge his presence anymore, as everyone, Blödhgarm included, knew that he would be dead within moments.

"The female poses no threat", Blödgharm heard Mercury say, as his eyes finally drifted shut, "as long as we have her dragon, she will not do anything, and as for the oth-"

Blödhgarm never heard got to hear what would happen to his friend, Vanir.

Yeah, so...that ends Blödhgarm's story as well...

Anyone else up for cake right now?