Myst: Hey everyone. Sorry we took a bit long with this.
Freak: We had a case of attention captured by other people's stories.
Myst: But, thanks to yeahIwentthere69, we have a short chapter out.
Freak: We would have made it longer, but we thought you people suffered waiting long enough.
Myst: So we do not own Disney. Nor Prince Gwydion. He's from the Prydain Chronicles.
Freak: So go ahead and enjoy the chapter.
Chapter Five
~Kyra~
Kyra laid on her side, fruitlessly sawing at her bonds with a metal nail viler she found in her pocket. Gwydion hadn't said anything to her except that 'Horned Freak' would most likely kill her. She tried to explain to him that she got here by accident, but he just kept silent as the grave. Things were not going well. And on top of that, she was getting tired.
Her arms ached so much and her eye lids felt so heavy. She started to drift off, forgetting about getting free. Kyra closed her eyes and snuggled into the folds of her arms.
'Wait a minute.'
Her eyes snapped open and swiveled to her hands. They were free. She sat up abruptly, still staring at her hands. "It worked!" she breathed, feeling a bit giddy. Looks like her hard work and skills learned by keeping her nails perfect (one of the few girly habits she has) finally paid off. Rubbing the rope burns on her wrists, Kyra stood up with renewed purpose.
Now all she had to do was find that secret panel in the floor and get out of this place. Going on hands and knees, she searched for any clue of the passage: a loose rock, a breeze, anything. It would be so much easier if that princess was here, just to lift up the stupid trap door. What if it can only be open from the outside? In her frustration, Kyra pounded on a random stone.
Thump!
Her blow caused the small part of the floor to sink crookedly and possibly broke her hand. But she focused on her discovery, lifting it out by the crevice and placing it beside her. Down below, there wasn't much light and getting down didn't look like it would be easy, but she'll have to take her chances.
Kyra was about to jump down, hanging her legs over the edge when she remembered something.
'The prince.'
She turned her head back to Gwydion who was fast asleep, looking like a puppet with his strings tangled up. What would happen to him if she left him behind? Would he die, go through unspeakable torture? She couldn't just leave him to die in this awful place.
Exhaling deeply, she got up and went over to him. On closer inspection, he didn't really look like he was of royal blood. The clothes he wore were a plain shirt, brown pants, and a traveling cloak. The pendant around his neck stood out though; a simple golden disk that she assumed represented the sun. Kyra examined his restraints, seeing that it had a small keyhole on each wrist manacles. Trying to think of how to prick the locks, she grabbed the top part of her head and felt something metal in her hair. Taking it out, her hand held up a bobby pin.
"That'll work," she whispered, and started picking at the lock.
Gwydion opened his eyes, blinking when he heard a clink and his wrist falling to his side. Baffled, he turned his head to see the girl already working to free his other hand. "What are you doing?"
"Getting us out of here," she answered, twisting the pin around the lock.
"Why?"
"Because I got tired of waiting for someone to rescue us."
"No, I mean-why are you helping me?"
"Because we are in this together and I can't just abandon you here." The clasp came open and Gwydion rubbed his sore wrist. "Look, I know you don't really trust me for some whatever reason. But we are in the same situation and if we have any hope of getting out alive, we need to work together. I still need to find my brothers, and you probably have people looking for you, so please. You don't have to trust me, just escape out of this hellhole with me. What do you say?"
He looked at the young girl, surprised. Then he smirked, taking her hand she offered to help him stand up. "Alright. Deal."
"Good." She dragged him over to the hole and swung her legs over the edge. "Let's get out of here already."
Then she let herself fall down.
~Garnet~
Adrian landed the solar surfer in bamboo fields outside a small town, hiding it somewhere secret. When he came back, he and Garnet walked an hour until they were inside the town.
"So what exactly are we doing?" Garnet asked, gazing around the buildings and structural architecture as they walked almost as if they were strolling through the village. Meanwhile, Adrian kept his face hidden under a fedora with only his mouth showing.
Adrian halted, checking left and right for any preying eyes that could be watching. Then he reached inside his cloak and brought forth what looked like coiled rope. "I'm meeting up with a client, as I have said before."
"Client?" Garnet raised an eyebrow.
"Yes." With a loud clap, he brandish out the rope. It wasn't rope, it was a whip!
Garnet stared in amazement as Adrian lashed the whip towards the top of the wall and the secured itself to a latch. Adrian braced his feet against the wall and climbed up, silently. He swung himself over the edge and coiled the whip back into his coat.
Garnet snapped out of it when he realized Adrian forgot him. "Hey! What about me?"
"You are going to wait for me until I come back," Adrian instructed. He didn't forget him, he wanted Garnet not to follow.
"That's not fair!" Garnet protested. "I want to come, too!"
"No," Adrian shook his head. "It's just some business I have to do on my own. Not with a kid." He pointed at some crates nearby. "Hide in those boxes and don't say a word. I'll be back."
With that, he ducked into the shadows, disappearing from view. Even though Garnet was miffed, he couldn't help but think Adrian was like a younger version of Indiana Jones with Assassin Creed mixed in. 'It would have been cool to meet Mulan and Mushu, though,' Garnet thought with a sad expression. Hands stuffed in his pockets, he went over to where Adrian directed him to and noticed how it piled up almost to the top of the wall, close enough for him to climb up. Garnet smiled mischievously.
~Adrian~
Meanwhile, Adrian made his way over the property to the garden like a shadow, the night windy with a gentle breeze. Crossing under an arch, he saw a young woman sitting on a bench under a cherry blossom tree, its branches swaying in the breeze.
"Fa Mulan."
Mulan looked up to see a dark-clothed teen standing before her. He bowed respectfully to her. "My apologies for being late, I had some difficulties in obtaining the royal artifact."
"You didn't get hurt, did you?" Mulan asked concerned.
Adrian brought out a wrapped package from his bag. "It was nothing I couldn't handle. Here, make sure the Emperor gets that."
"Why not give it to him in person?" Mulan asked, holding the package. "You have done so much for China; finding lost artifacts, catching highwaymen, even stopping that assassination once. The Emperor would very much wishes to meet you."
Adrian bowed his head. "I do not wish to be rewarded nor known. My actions are for my own purposes. But tell me, is there anything else I could do?"
Mulan gestured for him to sit beside her. "I've heard something about robbers scouting the road in the mountains."
Adrian sat. "I'm listening."
~Garnet~
While Mulan was talking to Adrian, Garnet had gotten himself over the Fa's wall and was exploring their property. He was crossing over a bridge when he saw a little temple on a slope hill. The Guardian Temple.
'That's where Mushu lives!'
Excited, Garnet ran across the nicely trimmed grass and into the beautifully carved temple. Inside, tombstones stood around the walls with a gong lying abandon on the floor. There were no ghosts, but no Mushu either. Garnet frowned and picked up the gong off the floor, examining it. Then he yelped when he saw his reflection.
He was glowing.
The gong fell to the floor with a loud BOOM. A shimmer filled the silence as the tombs started to glow. Garnet ran before the spirits saw him, tripping on the last step and scampering to his feet. He stopped behind the statue of a dragon to hide, panting.
'What just happened back there? Why was my reflection glowing?'
Swallowing, he slowly lifted a shaky hand into his line of vision. And saw...no glow. His hand was completely normal. And so was the rest of him.
"Who's out there!?"
Garnet whirled around to see a red dragon marching out, ranting and raving.
"What 'cha doin' bargin' into the temple and wakin' the whole dead up? If it's you, Little Brother, I'm gonna whack you upside the head. I oughta-" Mushu froze when Garnet came out of hiding. They stared at each other in disbelief. Garnet smiled meekly and waved.
"Hi?"
Then the little dragon went berserk. "MUUULLLAAN!"
He speeded past the boy and past the archway, calling the young warrior's name. Deciding that he better go before Adrian finds out he disobeyed orders, Garnet rushed to back to the wall.
~Kyra~
Beneath the castle of the Horned King, Gwydion and Kyra crept along the catacombs. Firelight flickered along the walls as if they were dancing with cobwebs hanging from the ceiling. They walked over debris and could hear rats scampering about. Kyra gave a shutter and gritted her teeth. She does NOT like rats. Gingerly, they crept down a stone staircase, lightly shifting their weight in an effort to not make a sound. Somewhere on ahead of them, a faint noise sounded.
"Shh!" Prince Gwydion urgently said under his breath. He grabbed Kyra's arm and dragged her behind a wall. Right when they were safely hidden out of view, a large door down the hallway opened.
"What was that?" Kyra whispered, more to herself than to him. Gwydion curiously peered around the corner and saw three heavily armored brutes marching through it. Gwydoin heard Kyra gulp next to her and turned to face her.
"Oh wow! Those guys look so much bigger in person," Kyra's voice had a hint of panic.
"Err... I don't know what you're talking about, but those guys have enough weapons to stop an entire raid," Gwydion replied.
"Don't suppose you have a plan to get passed those guys?" Kyra asked quizzically.
"Well, I was hoping you would have an idea," he grinned back.
"Hey! I already got us out of the dungeon. It's your turn to start pulling the weight!" Kyra snapped back, but still managed to keep her voice low.
"Ok, ok," Gwydion chuckled and then said more seriously when they heard the guards' footsteps approach, "I'm going to create a distraction. And when I do, I want you to run through that door and find a way out."
"But what about you?" Kyra sounded concerned.
"I'll be fine. Don't worry about it."
He then stepped out from the shadows and revealed himself to the guards. One shouted and they all followed him, chasing him back up the stairwell and down a corridor. Kyra was sad to see her new friend go, but when she no longer could hear the shouts from the guards, she briskly walked down towards the large, doubled doors. It led into a small room that had hay scattered along the floor, a smaller chandelier with small candles hanging down from the ceiling, and a wooden table off to the side. Kyra almost screamed when she saw her bag on the table with a small, green creature roughly rummaging through it.
Freak: If anyone can guess who has her bag, will get a digital cookie. Whatever that is.
Myst: As you can see Luke didn't show up, and probably won't for next chapter.
Freak: So review. It encourages us.
Myst: Otherwise, we take forever to update.
Freak: And thanks again to yeahIwentthere69. You rock!