Alfred had never seen a castle up close before, at least not one that wasn't some sort of crumbling relic, and so had not really known what to expect. A large expanse of stone and marble, maybe, reaching up beyond the highest tree with servants running between the many doors as they followed the orders of the king and queen and princesses and princes, like in the stories people would read him when he was a kid. He couldn't deny that, despite the situation, he was a little excited to see such a sight.
Gilbert forced him around the towering wall with the jab of his sword, and soon Alfred was stood in front of a giant gate, iron and locked tight, at least half the size of the barrier surrounding the castle. Two towers were put on either side with what Alfred assumed to be sentries up at the top; one of the men waved to someone on the other side when they spotted Gilbert, and with various groans and clanks the gate shifted slightly before parting completely.
Alfred craned his neck and stared.
A castle larger than he could possibly have ever imagined loomed ahead, a large and smooth path reaching to the depressing grey, the structure almost seeming to contemplate him from afar. Had it not been for the men standing guard, Alfred would have thought the castle was completely empty. It was silent, cold and judging, and Alfred could have sworn he felt the temperature drop ten degrees when he crossed the threshold. There were no trees within the walls, no grass or any sort of wildlife, only the knights who regarded Alfred cautiously in case he made a move to escape.
The gate slammed shut behind him, and Alfred felt a building sense of unease along with the realisation that he was trapped in such an obviously inhospitable place.
Either he was used to it or just didn't have a reason to feel the same dread as Alfred, as Gilbert immediately forced his prisoner forward again with barely any pause. Alfred lowered his head and continued walking.`
The castle grew closer and closer, Alfred not realising he had slowed down until he felt the point of Gilbert's sword. Just about every fibre of his being was yelling for him to leave, but what could he do? Even if he got away from Gilbert, the surrounding knights would easily overpower him and miraculously getting past them would still result in him being trapped by the wall.
"Maybe if you..." Kiku started, but he immediately trailed off. After all, what could he possibly suggest a weaponless and defenceless Alfred should do?
With a sigh, Alfred set his sights on the opening castle doors.
There was no chance to marvel at the large room, the marble floors and staircase nor the knights' crest hung wherever it was deemed necessary as Alfred was immediately hurried down a corridor down the left. He could only glance out the passing windows and wish the goddess had given him the power of flight, which would have been extremely useful in such a situation as well as awesome.
Knights were stood along the hallways, one or two occasionally nodding to Gilbert but otherwise motionless. To Alfred, they only served to make this strange castle even more intimidating—after all, considering they still had the giant wall and the sentries, what normal human could stay so guarded and still in the face of no obvious danger?
Whoever's in charge here must be really paranoid, Alfred decided, and he contemplated asking Gilbert about it, but then he was sharply forced to turn to the side. Down a set of cold steps was a door, down in the shadows; it didn't take long for Alfred to figure out that this was the entrance to the dungeon, his home for hopefully only a night. He could clearly feel his heart sink.
"Here we are," Gilbert said, obviously grinning, and started to undo the ropes around Alfred's wrists.
Just as his captor seemed ready to force him down, there was a call of "Gilbert!"
Both heads turned to see a man hurrying towards them, dressed in pale armour that seemed more suitable for a fashion show than a battle. Silky blond hair fell to his shoulder, and Alfred wondered if whoever this was had stepped straight out of a L'Oréal advert.
"I'm glad I found you," the L'Oréal man said, speaking with a French accent (Does this world have some parallel equivalent of France? Alfred couldn't help but ask himself. Thinking about it, Gilbert sounded kind of German...). The man paused with a frown, then sent a smile to the knights by the walls and said, "Could you go somewhere else? We're a private and very important conversation."
The guards were obviously troubled by this, but the strange man must have held some authority as it only took a few seconds for every single one to comply. Soon the hall was completely empty save for the three of them, Alfred feeling just a little invisible as the conversation continued.
"Francis?" Gilbert looked a little surprised. "Hey, can't you see I'm doing something important here?"
"Something more important than me?" Francis said, smirking, though his expression soon turned serious. "Did you get the, ah, ingredients?"
A look that could have been described as sheepish if this wasn't Gilbert quickly found its way onto his face. "Oh..." he said in a drawn out way. "Right. I thought I was forgetting something."
Francis pursed his lips. "Well, this is a problem."
"Hey, not my fault! I caught this suspicious guy around that ruined part of Eldoon. What's more important? Going to buy some herbs and stuff that I could get anyday, or catching a possible spy?" As if to prove his point, Gilbert once again jabbed the sword at his prisoner's back. Alfred grit his teeth.
"I didn't say it was your fault—though it completely is—I'm just a little worried as to how a 'certain someone' will react to this. He's been a lot more irritable with you lately, and hearing this definitely wouldn't improve his mood."
"Since when have I ever cared about what he thought? Besi— Whoa, what?!"
Whatever Gilbert had been about to say was cut off with a yelp and a series of curses as Alfred barged into him. The conversation was interesting, though there was no doubt that the American's presence had stopped them from delving into too much detail, but that wasn't enough to stop Alfred from making a mad attempt at freedom. The moment Gilbert seemed to have almost forgotten about him, he dodged past the sword and rushed at the albino man.
The attack had come from seemingly nowhere, and with no time to prepare Gilbert immediately fell back, knocking Francis with him to the ground in a sprawled out heap of groaning limbs and armour. It took a second or two for Alfred to realise that, yes, his not-thought-out-at-all plan had actually worked.
At his feet was Gilbert's sword, most likely dropped after losing his balance. Before there was any time for the other two to get up, Alfred grabbed the handle, a little surprised by how heavy the sword was, and ran as fast as his sore feet would allow.
It occurred to Alfred that he had absolutely no idea where he was going, but he couldn't turn back now. He could hear shouts from behind him, most likely Gilbert and Francis raising the alarm. If he didn't hurry, the knights would catch him and lock him away for a lot longer than one night. He continued on, wielding his only weapon in a probably incorrect way.
Just like most things, however, the curved shaped hallway soon came to an end. Instead of any other possible routes such as left or right, Alfred was faced with a large painting hung on the wall, showing a stern looking man with blond hair much longer than Francis'. Alfred was fairly sure the picture was mocking him.
"Dammit..." he muttered. "Dammit! Seriously? A dead end? I'm the hero! I'm literally working for a goddess! Why does the universe hate me so much?"
"Alfred-san! The painting!" Kiku suddenly spoke up in an urgent tone. "There's a hidden door under the painting. You might be able to get away or hide there."
"Wait, really?" Alfred blinked. What kind of Deus Ex Machina was this? "How'd you know?"
"There's a map of this castle's interior under the 'Items' tab and— Is this really what we should be talking about? Hurry!"
Alfred practically jumped forward, and upon inspecting the wall there did seem to be a section that was darker than the rest. There was no handle, though. How was he supposed to—?
He could hear the guards much more clearly now, especially Gilbert's distinct voice. They were way too close for comfort, and if he didn't hurry...
Panicking, Alfred yelled, "God dammit! Open!" before desperately charging at the door.
If there was one thing Alfred hadn't anticipated, it was that his escape route of hope was actually a push door. He found himself still running after only a brief impact, stumbling to a stop as the door swung shut behind him.
"Oh," he said.
"Go up!" Kiku said suddenly, and Alfred turned to see a long spiralling staircase. "At least one of those guards must know about this room. You need to get away!"
"Are you sure?" Alfred asked, frowning. "I mean, wouldn't going up just trap me?"
"Well, maybe it connects to the rest of the castle. Even if it doesn't, you might be able to hide somewhere. Please, Alfred-san, you have to hurry!"
He didn't need any more prompting. Ignoring his tired legs one last time, Alfred charged up the stairs as fast as humanly allowed, his feet hitting the smooth marble. Exploring a secret passage, brandishing a sword as he climbed to an unknown location—had this been any other situation, he would have felt amazing. But right now Alfred was pretty damn terrified, his heart pounding and his new weapon weighing him down.
At the very top of the stairs was another door, this one thankfully with a handle. Alfred stopped just in front, panting, leaning against the railing. Who knew video games could be so damn exhausting?
Alfred at least wanted a moment to catch his breath before going wherever the door would take him, but then a sound from below made his blood freeze. The secret door had just been slammed open, and then Gilbert's voice yelled, "I'll check in here!" There was no time to think, to plan, to rest—Alfred ran at the door and barged inside.
The first thing his escape driven mind noticed was that there were no other doors. A dead end. The second thing he noticed was the interior, the room's circular shape,the giant bookcase that spanned the entirety of the walls and leaving no space for anything else, not even windows, except for the door. On one side was a large and neat bed, and on the other was a chair and table.
Someone was sitting in the chair.
It was a man, only slightly older than Alfred. He had at first looked up with an irritable expression, the quill in his hand pausing above a book, but then he realised that this wasn't whoever he had thought it was. His eyes widened and his rather large eyebrows furrowed together worriedly, an expected reaction considering a bruised and panicked stranger had just run inside while brandishing a sword. It was a wonder he hadn't screamed. Alfred didn't have the chance to promise he wasn't some crazy murderer, however, and upon figuring that the bed would be both obvious and a ridiculous place to hide, he he pressed himself against the wall, right next to the door that had clicked shut, and hoped for the best.
Not a second later, the door flew open, stopping around a centimetre from Alfred's nose.
"Arthur!" Gilbert called. "We've got an escaped prisoner. Have you seen anyone weird?"
The man, Arthur, still seemed a little dazed. "What—?"
"Wait, seriously?" Gilbert muttered after apparently quickly glancing around the room. "But he must have come here. There was no where else for him to run. Dammit, he took my favourite sword too... Oh," he said to Arthur, suddenly sounding a little awkward, "and, um, we're going to have to postpone the potion thing. Just go back to your writing or whatever—we'll take care of this." And with that and a series of hurried footsteps, the door fell shut.
Alfred sighed, finally allowing himself to relax, sword clattering to the floor.
Footsteps moved close to him, and Alfred looked up to see a pair of narrowed green eyes. Arthur was stood in front of him, holding the book from the table as if he wasn't sure whether to use it as a shield or a weapon.
"Who the hell are you?"
—Chapter end
Finally, yay! ^0^ I started this chapter a while ago, and though I kept telling myself I'd continue it I just couldn't find the will to write... I've returned with a new chapter, however, and I hope this one is okay :D We've finally got the appearance of Arthur, and as long as Alfred keeps himself hidden he just might be able to escape. Things are looking up... or are they?
(Funny thing: I wrote the bit where Alfred knocked Gilbert and Francis down and picked up the sword, but then I remembered, "Wait, weren't his hands tied behind him back?" and had to go back to add something about that in...I'm sorry if any of this seems rushed or unrealistic ^^')
Well, please review and tell me what you think ^_^