Welcome back readers! Glad to see the anniversary update went over so well. Hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter as well.
Anniversary went awesome!! And here is another chapter to enjoy!
On with the story!
Chris and Jordan were not having much more luck than Shawnee on their search. They had been through countless halls with no sign of Brenna or guards of any sort. The place was silent as tomb, which seemed a little odd for a prison.
They turned a corner and found themselves in a large chamber where there were several guards seated at a table, passing the time and talking. One of them looked up at the boys and frowned.
"Who are you?" He asked them bluntly. Chris and Jordan shared a look and Jordan took a step forward.
"We're here to change shifts with you by orders of the King." The guard gave them a suspicious look due to their uniforms but nodded regardless, waving to his fellows to follow him. The two boys didn't breathe until the last guard had left.
" 'Here to change shifts…' " Chris snorted in disbelief.
"How stupid can you be to believe that?" Jordan shrugged and the two of them sat down, unable to think of something else to do. They sat there for a few minutes before Chris spoke up.
"I'm bored." He said. Jordan looked at him and shrugged before leaning back on his chair and resting his feet on the table.
"Well there's nothing else to do." Chris looked around and his eyes settled on some barrels in the corner. He smirked, walked over, and set one on its side. Jordan sat upright again and watched him.
"What are you doing?" Chris ignored his question. He rolled it into the connecting hallway and shoved it with his foot, sending it rolling in the same direction as those guards that had just left. A loud yell sounded and echoed down the hall along with a crash as the barrel caught up with the departing guards. Chris laughed and got another barrel. When he got back to the hall with it, the guards were standing halfway along the hall, dripping with water (for that was what was in the barrels), and looking particularly furious.
"You there! Stay where you are!" He yelled and led the angry guards on the attack. Chris stuck his head around the corner and called to Jordan.
"Get off your ass! We've got company!" Jordan stood quickly, knocking over the chair, and the two of them drew the swords Shawnee had given them (after she had taken them from their owner's rooms along with the uniforms they now wore.) The guards stopped charging when they saw this before regaining composure and drawing their own swords.
The boys looked at each other before Chris let out a yell and the two of them charged the guards. Chris began swinging as soon as he reached the first one, using the hilt more to club them to the ground than actually fighting with the blade.
Jordan had ducked through the charging group and was now behind them. He was a little off balance as he spun back around and his sword sliced against the back of the last guard's legs to which he let out a howl and dropped to the ground. The fallen guard called to one of the others who had yet to get attacked by either of the boys.
"We need more guards. Find them!" The guard that had been ordered gave his superior a nod before dashing past Jordan, trying to get to the ramparts of the prison where there were more guards.
Shawnee peered around another corner to see another long hall and sighed, her shoulders dropping in despair. She walked around the corner, not even bothering anymore to try and keep quiet, slightly dragging her feet. She rounded another corner to find herself in another hallway except that this one ended in a spiraling staircase that led higher into the prison.
She tiptoed to the bottom and tried to crane her neck around to see if she could see the top but found the view hard to get at and very painful on her neck. She pulled back into the hall and rubbed at her neck as she thought about her next plan of action.
'To take the stairs or to not take the stairs… That is the unfortunate question.' She frowned and placed her foot on the first step when she heard voices from above and getting louder by the minute. She gave a small squeak and looked side to side nervously. There was no where for her to hide. She looked up again fearfully, the voices only a couple turns in the stairs away.
She gripped the hilt of the sword and pulled it from the sheath slowly, trying to keep as silent as she could. Two guards came down the stairs and stopped when they saw her. She ducked her head to hide her face and went to walk past them up the stairs, sword still drawn but tucked with her hand underneath her coat.
"Hey! Where are you going?" One of the guards called to her as she moved a few steps past them. She stopped but didn't speak. The guard came up behind her and lightly tapped her shoulder.
"I asked where you were going." She spun and sliced the sword through the air, leaving the guard with a diagonal slash across his chest. He looked at her in shock but was soon sent rolling down the steps, crashing into his fellow, and the two of them remained still and sprawled at the bottom.
She leaned back against the wall, a little shell shocked from what had just happened before returning the sword to the sheath and climbing the rest of the stairs. She looked left and right once she reached the top and found the hall empty. She slinked along the stone hall, her hands shaking slightly, until she heard a few whispers of conversation nearby.
"Why are we still standing here? That wench is not going anywhere!" One voiced whispered, sounding rather annoyed.
"It is because the King told us to that's why." Shawnee sighed, not enjoying the prospect of taking on both of the guards. But at least she now knew where Brenna was and felt a small blossom of pride within at finding her without the help of the musketeers.
'Score one for us! Now if I can get her and the boys out of here safely, there's no way they can keep being so suspicious of me!' She adjusted her coat over the old black tunic she wore and rolled her shoulders to try and even out the weight of the second baldric over her shoulder and its attached sword.
'The sooner I get this off the better… Wearing a double set is heavy!' She pulled her hat down over her eyes and walked down the hall, her steps heavy with dread. The guards paused in the midst of their conversation and looked up at her approaching form.
"Hey there! You're not allowed up here!" One of them cried. She kept walking forward. The pair of them took a few steps towards her.
"Did you not hear us? Halt right there!" Shawnee smirked under the shadows of her hat and looked them square in the face.
"I am allowed to be here." She said; her voice deepened. Before she could continue, a guard came sprinting up the stairs, a few small cuts freshly opened on his face, his expression one of great panic.
"Those kids are here! They're downstairs trying to find that wench up here! All the guards are to come down and try to stop them!" The two men looked at each other nervously, trying to decide who would stay behind.
"Do not worry. I'll stay behind while you go and deal with those stupid brats. You had better hurry before the King finds out about this!" The three guards became panicked and were practically tripping over themselves to get back to the staircase. One of the door guards turned and threw her the key for the cell for safe keeping before following his fellows down the stairs. Shawnee resisted the urge to burst at laughing at their stupidity.
"How on Earth can some people be just so damn dumb?!" She chuckled and pushed the key into the lock and turned it with a sharp click. Brenna sat up as she walked in and frowned.
"What do you want?" She didn't recognize her with the hat pulled down and wearing the stolen coat.
"Brenna… It's me!" Shawnee flipped the hat off and gave her a bright smile. Brenna jumped up and hugged her tightly for a few seconds before pulling back.
"It's about time you got here! What took you all so long?" Shawnee smirked and began taking off the coat.
"When you're dealing with idiot musketeers, everything takes twice as long." She joked. Brenna stared at her in shock.
"What are you wearing? And where'd you get that uniform?" She asked in surprise. Shawnee froze and got a really awkward expression on her face.
"They're… borrowed." She stated simply. Brenna frowned and crossed her arms.
"Sounds more like stolen to me."
"Borrowed, stolen… Either way, we're still using them." Shawnee said with a shrug and tossed her the black tunic emblazoned with the golden crosses and the second baldric she had been wearing beneath it. "Throw the baldric on first then the uniform." She said as she pulled the coat back on.
"I know what to do Shawnee. I'm not helpless." Brenna said after throwing the baldric over her shoulder and resting the sword at her hip before grabbing the tunic and pulling it over her head. Shawnee came over and straightened it a bit so the folds fell properly into place and gave a satisfied nod.
"There. Now that you're disguised, let's get out of here." The two girls left the cell and Shawnee went to lock it when a shout came from the far end of the hall at the staircase. They looked up to see Louis standing there in a fury with two guards flanking him.
"Seize them! Do not let them leave!" He yelled angrily. The guards drew their swords and charged. The girls shared a smile and drawing their own swords, charged right back. The two pairs met and one guard swung his sword in a horizontal slice, aiming for Brenna's head. She ducked and punched out with the hilt of her blade, catching the guard full in the stomach and dropping him.
The second guard tried a vertical slice against Shawnee to which she slid to the right and tackled him against the wall, slamming the back of his head against the stones. She let him go and he slid to the ground unconscious. Louis backed up a few steps now that his guard had been taken out and the two girls approached him with smirks on their faces.
They looked at each other, nodded, and each laid a hand upon one of his shoulders before giving him a great shove, sending him sprawling on the hall floor before taking off down the stairs.
"Let's get out of here!"
And with that, this filler chapter is finished. Only two more left to write before the story is finally complete!
Awww... Already? Then again, I wouldn't want to be trapped in Bastille forever. *shivers* Scary thought... Anyway, anything else D'Artagnan?
Thanks go out to IgnotusAngelus, Kimyco, TurtleJustice, and Lady of the Deep for their reviews. Glad you liked the anniversary chapters!