DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction using characters from the Supernatural universe. I do not claim any ownership. This work is solely for entertainment purposes and is not considered film or tv canon (not by a long shot).
Castiel walked toward the ramshackle inn. He was in high spirits and feeling particularly cocky.
"Innkeeper! A drink of your most expensive!" Castiel said.
The man regarded him blankly for a moment and then, with a supremely bored expression walked over to where he kept his kegs. "Yes, yes ... show me your money, whelp."
Castiel quickly shook the coin purse. "Copper my friend!" He glanced around. "And one for anyone who will join me in a toast!"
Two cloaked men sat at one of the tables. They turned toward Castiel. "Let's hear your toast, boy."
Emboldened by the alcohol and his own luck, Castiel took his drink and turned toward the men. He spoke easily as he approached.
"We drink to a special man, my friend ... someone who has seen the inside of the dungeons of Aquila and lived to tell the tale."
One of the men chuckled. "Then you drink to me, my young friend. I have seen those dungeons."
Castiel regarded the man curiously. "A blacksmith, perhaps? A stone cutter? A carpenter like our Lord, even ... but a prisoner from inside Aquila?"
The man pulled his cloak back to reveal the helmet of the Captain of the Guard. Crowley smirked. "I never said I was a prisoner."
The other men with him threw back their own cloaks to reveal themselves as guards – one of them was Crowley's second, Lucifer. Castiel felt all the blood in his body freeze.
"Ah, Castiel ... if you had stuck to the woods, you might have stood a chance."
Castiel nodded while walking backwards. "You're right, of course."
Crowley looked almost bored as he said, "Take him."
Castiel stood still for a moment longer until Lucifer reached out to grab him and then his paralysis fled. He ducked quickly and dove under the nearest table. Lucifer and the guards threw table after table aside as they pursued Castiel. Lucifer roared at a table of terrified peasants to get out of the way. A hunched figure huddled at the table. Luc turned and snagged its cloak.
"I said, get out of the -" Luc's voice died in his throat as he realized Castiel had been hiding there.
Castiel rolled over the table on his back and delivered a savage kick to Lucifer's jaw, sending the guard sprawling. He staggered into the grip of another guard, but they were not prepared for the thief slender and extremely flexible body. He slid out of the grip of the guard and ducked beneath the legs of several guards running toward him. Castiel leapt over one of the tables just as Lucifer lunged at him.
Scrambling under the platform that held the tables, Castiel belly-crawled to the other side. He emerged and saw another guard heading toward him. With an annoyed grunt, Castiel climbed onto the lattice that stood over the tables, festooned in vines and grapes. He balanced on the withes and ran to and fro trying to find a place that would allow him to jump down.
The shouts of the guards faded as a clapping drifted through the air. Crowley, who'd watched the entire fiasco from his bench, looked at Castiel with a bored expression. He pointed to the ground. Castiel measured his chances and reluctantly leapt down to the dirt. A gloved hand, belonging to Lucifer immediately snagged his hair painfully and pulled him standing.
Castiel refused to give in ... he drew his dagger and slashed out at the guards surrounding him. Lucifer grabbed his arm as Castiel dragged his blade in a wide arc. Walking up amused, Crowley barely had time to jerk back as the knife cut the air in front of him. He did not pull back far enough and a line of red appeared just under his left eye. Castiel gasped and dropped his dagger in shock. Crowley ran a gloved finger along the cut and examined his own blood staining the tip.
"I—I am so terribly sorry," Castiel began to stammer.
"Kill him," Crowley said.
Castiel whimpered as he was dragged across the courtyard to a post and held tightly against it. One of the guards smirked and lay the edge of his sword against Castiel's neck. The young man closed his eyes.
"May God have mercy on my -" Castiel began to shout.
The guard never completed his swing as a crossbow bolt buried itself in his arm. The guards turned in shock to see who had fired the arrow. Crowley raised an eyebrow as he regarded the new arrival.
Standing at the gate to the courtyard stood a young man dressed in black. He regarded the scene before him calmly and kept his crossbow held in front of him. Another guard tried to attack from the side, but the man simply shot him with the crossbow and kept looking at Crowley. He motioned to Castiel.
"You," the man said in a low, rough voice that made Castiel shiver. "Out." He indicated the gate with his crossbow.
Castiel did not hesitate. He walked out of the courtyard with a dazed expression on his face. Crowley held up a hand to keep his men from pursuing. As Castiel drew up to the man, he handed Castiel the crossbow and drew his sword. Castiel took the weapon and ran, dropping it on the way. Crowley walked toward the man.
"One of my men told me you were back ... I cut his throat for lying to me. Pity, it appears you are that stupid."
The man looked amused and turned to leave. A sword slashed out and he easily parried it.
"Captain Winchester ..." the man who'd attacked said the name with some humor.
The man in black smiled. "Charles ... " He approached the man with an easy grin, remembering easier days when Charles had been one of the soldiers under his command. Some in the guard had called him 'Chuck', but the Captain never liked the nickname.
"Captain ..." Crowley said disdainfully. He planted a boot squarely in Chuck's back and shoved him forward.
The man Chuck had called Captain was a consummate soldier. He had approached with his sword outward. It was this blade that Chuck was impaled upon when Crowley's kick sent him stumbling. The man in black caught Chuck's body and stared in grief-stricken disbelief as the life drained from his eyes. Pulling his sword free, the man faced his killer. Crowley laughed. He stopped laughing when the man's gloved fist sent him sprawling.
Captain Winchester realized quickly that he was going to have to fight his way free. He hoped the boy had made it to freedom. Moving swiftly, Winchester grabbed a handful of horseshoes from the blacksmith's rack and threw them into the guard attacking him. The man fell and the Captain was suddenly confronted by Lucifer. He dodged Luc's sword and used the man's momentum against him to send him sprawling into a nearby door.
Crowley was staggering to his feet when the man grabbed his chainmail and hauled him upright. Crowley stared into hazel eyes burning with fury. They were also full of an internal debate – Crowley smirked as Winchester released him. He stopped smiling when the man delivered a firm kick to Crowley's midsection that caused him to fall backwards – into the blacksmith's fire. Crowley's cape instantly burst into flames.
Winchester walked out of the courtyard. The other guards did not attempt to attack him and he regarded them with disgust. He whistled and his horse appeared.
"C'mon, baby," He murmured as he mounted the stallion. "Let's go find the little one."
Castiel was hurtling headlong down the main road, his fear having made him reckless. He felt, rather than heard, the pounding of hooves behind him. Turning, he saw the man in black about to ride him down. Castiel yelled in fear as he tried to run faster. Winchester leaned over as he rode and easily snagged Castiel's tunic, hauling him up and across the saddle.
The thief saw one of Crowley's men closing a gate across the main road. Winchester merely dug in his heels and his steed gave an extra burst of speed. His mouth quirked as he heard the frightened screech from his passenger as they flew over the gate. A kick out to one side incapacitated the guard.
Looking behind them, Castiel saw two riders in pursuit. They were about to open the gate and continue the chase. Then .. an amazing sight - a hawk, with gold-dappled wings dove straight for them. His talons extended, he flew directly into the face of one of them, unhorsing him. The hawk screeched and flew away as if nothing untoward had happened.
"Show-off," Castiel's rescuer murmured. He'd turned to see the hawk delaying the other riders so that they would have a clear path to freedom. Castiel wondered what insane hell he'd fallen into and would he be able to survive it.