Chapter Eighteen: Run!

"Okay, plan B," Riku said lowly. "We need to find your mom."

Right, I thought as I nodded. Riku motioned for me to stay silent, and he continued to grip my hand as he led me out of the shadows and into a main hallway again. Still the lights were off. The members of the coup who were trying to overthrow me and my Mom in the middle of the night were trying to do it quietly.

The coup just started within the past two hours. I assumed that their first movement was when they came into my room and nearly killed me. They shot at least two dozen arrows into my bed when they thought I was lying there. But they were wrong; my Dad snuck into my room and hid me away just before they came. Now, Riku and I were trying to find a way to stop them. But any of our allies were now dead. This was so freaky. How was this happening?

These people were after my mom and me; that was the whole point of a coup. So we needed to save her if we could. If they ambushed her like they did me and she was asleep…Hope was lost.

"HEY!"

"We've been spotted!" Riku hissed, tightening his grasp on my hand. "Run!"

"Run?" What good was that going to do? They were going to raise the alarm and then we'd have a lot of men on our tails. But at the same time, we were close to my mom's suite. We needed to get to her before anything else.

That was Riku's logic. Instead of explaining it to me, he continued grasping my hand as we ran down the hallway. Just a little bit further and we'd be with my mom. Or so we figured.

"Eep!" I squeaked just as Riku dragged me around a corner. Arrows shot down the hallway past us from the people who were pursuing us. They weren't just PERSUING; they were trying to kill us!

"Steph, I'm going to go ahead to your mom," Riku said. "Incapacitate them."

I nodded to Riku in silence as I summoned my bow and arrow to my hands. After a moment, he ran down the hall to the room at the end where my mother was residing. I wondered briefly why he didn't tell me to run ahead to my mom and he left me to face the danger, but then I assumed that he thought this was the safer option. If there were people in my mom's suite, it could turn dangerous quickly.

Three men came speeding around the corner, all of them with swords in their grasp instead of the bows they previously held.

"Stop!" I cried, placing an arrow in my weapon. I backed up slowly as I launched it at one of the men, the arrow hitting directly where I aimed it: his shin. The next, I aimed for his thigh, and for the last man, I managed to get one right in his kneecap. They weren't killshots, but they would stop the men from pursuing us. Were they the only ones, though? Probably not. That was why we needed to hurry, before anyone else came.

Leaving the men in the dust, I turned and ran down the hall. The door to my mom's suite was left open because Riku was already inside. I didn't hear any noise just a minute ago, so maybe no men were here yet. Running through the open door, I looked around for any sign of my mom or Riku. I didn't have to look long.

There, by the couches, both of them were standing. Unharmed. A breath of relief left my lips as I walked over, my bow hanging loosely in my hand from earlier. "Mom," I breathed, stopping by her and Riku. "You're okay."

"She's unharmed," a new voice said from the other side of the room, making me jump. Riku and I spun around to look, though Andrea already knew who was there. The person remained in the shadows, his tone dark just like his form. "For now."

"Who are you? Show yourself!" I cried, summoning an arrow and putting it in my bow as I aimed it at them. If they knew anything about my skill with a bow and arrow, they would be intimidated.

"There's no need for that," Riku said lowly to me, setting a hand on my shoulder. "I could never forget that scent. You know that, don't you…Gregory?"

Gregory hmphed, stepping out of the shadows and revealing himself. "I can't fool you, can I, Riku?" the man asked with some amusement. His words only got Riku's growl as a response.

My response, though was full of shock. "G-gregory? Why would you…I thought that you were…our friend," I squeaked. Was he really evil? Riku tried telling me for so long that he was still in Darkness, but I didn't believe him. But these days, Riku was right about a lot of things and I was wrong about so much more.

"You thought wrong, Princess," Gregory said simply. "I will explain it to you at the proper time. But for now, you are coming with me."

"She's not going anywhere with you," Riku growled defensively.

"You don't have much say in the matter," the evil man replied with a laugh. "There is no exit from this room. In the hall you just entered through, my men are waiting to escort you all to your prison cells."

Prison cells? He's not going to just kill us? I thought. As Riku shot off a smart remark, I heard my mother whispering in my ear. "Steph," Andrea whispered. "You need to run. You and Riku need to get out of here."

"What? What about you?" I whispered back, startled at what her implications were. We couldn't leave her behind! Not when there was so much danger here. Gregory was totally unpredictable now that he showed that he was on the other side.

"I'll be right behind you," she said lowly. "I'll hold them back until you and Riku are clear."

"Mom…"

"Hey, what are you two whispering about?" Gregory barked at us.

"Why should we tell you?" I shot back, noticing my mom elbow Riku and start whispering to him as I distracted Gregory. "I let you into my life before and you ended up betraying me! How could you, Gregory."

"I could do it quite easily," he responded apathetically. "There is a purpose behind everything that I do."

"You mean a selfish purpose," I spat in disgust as my mom whispered something to Riku about a window they could break out through.

"Details, details," Gregory said with a shrug. "Now, I am quite curious about all the whispering that's going on." Upon seeing my stunned expression, he laughed. "You could not have assumed that I was oblivious," he stated with amusement.

"You didn't need to be oblivious," Queen Andrea said. She took a step forward, giving me a small push so that I was back closer to Riku. "Just not able to hear." Her next words were directed towards me and Riku. "Now, run!"

Riku grabbed onto my arm immediately, pulling me in the right direction. "Run!"

That was all I needed to hear. I turned quickly and ran along with Riku, into my mother's bedroom. "There!" he cried, suddenly summoning his Keyblade to his grasp. He chucked it at the windows, the weapon spinning vertically as it crashed through the glass and completely shattered the window. But that was when I remembered…

"We're on the second story!" I cried.

"Doesn't matter. Jump!"

Riku released my hand as we both ran, jumping at the last minute to not only make it over the windowsill, but also to make it outside as quickly as possible. My mom could only hold off Gregory for so long; she had to hurry to make it out of there and escape with us.

I rolled when I hit the grassy ground, my landing not the smoothest. But neither was Riku's. He grunted roughly when he landed, though he quickly got up to his feet and encouraged me to do the same as I pushed myself off my hands and knees. "Get up!" he cried. "To the right!"

To the right? What was over there? This must have been what my mom was whispering to Riku about. I trusted her, just as I trusted him. We sprinted off to the right, dodging the shrubbery that was in this garden area just outside my mother's window. Nobody followed, not yet. But they would pretty soon. Gregory made no sense to me. First, he had his people shoot to kill us, but then he said he was taking us to prison cells! It made no sense…

Instead of focusing on the thoughts, I looked ahead to see what Riku saw: the stable and one, already saddled and ready for us to go. There was a man waiting by them as well, the same man who apparently saddled them for our escape. He was the last person that I would have expected to be bold and put his life on the line. "Hurry, hurry!" my tutor, Mr. Bottomsworth, cried, waving us towards him as we continued running.

Riku and I reached the horse at the same time, the silver-haired teen hoisting himself up on his horse easier because he was taller than I was. Regardless, as I took a few seconds to get up behind him, Mr. Bottomsworth spoke to us.

"They'll chase you into the woods," he said, keeping my horse calm as he held the reigns. "Your only hope is to outrun them and find a place to hide."

"What happens after that?" I inquired as I continued panting from the run.

"There is no way of knowing. Stay alive. That is all that you can focus on right now."

"Wait, what about my mom?"

"Steph…she's not coming," Riku said.

"What?" No! She promised that she was coming!

"There's no time for this. Go!" Mr. Bottomsworth cried, stepping back and hitting the rear end of the horse. That spurred on the creature immediately. Rearing back, I was forced to wrap my arms around Riku's torso tightly so that I didn't fall off.

The horse was back on its four feet within a few seconds as Riku tightened the reigns and turned him to run into the woods. But he wouldn't be the only one running.

"There they are!"

"Stop them!"

"Don't let them get away!"

Looking over my shoulder just as the horse entered the woods, I saw a ton of guards with automatic crossbows running through the courtyard after us. Some of them went to arrest my teacher, but most pursued us. And then behind them…I gasped, eyes wide. Soldiers on horses. We were in major trouble now.

"Hold on tight!" Riku ordered, the horse speeding up yet still managing to dodge a tree that was previously in our path. I did as he said, wrapping my arms more tightly around his waist as I pulled myself closer.

"They're right behind us, Riku!" I warned him.

"I know. We'll have to outrun them and find a safe place to hide. Yah!" he cried, the cry being directed at the horse as he forced him to speed up even more. But this was the fastest that we could go; we needed to be able to avoid the trees.

I kept my head low, as Riku occasionally had to duck in order to avoid low branches. But since I was shorter than he was, I was alright as long as he was. While he focused on the forest, I turned my head and examined our pursers. They weren't right on our tails, but they were within a dangerously close distance. "Riku," I started.

"Is there any way that you can knock them off our tail?" he panted.

I shook my head even if he couldn't see it. "If I let go of you at this pace, I'd fall off."

"Okay then," Riku said with a small nod. He didn't sound overly disappointed.

"You have a plan?"

"…Yeah."

I didn't like the tone behind that, but it didn't matter. I didn't even bother asking about it, sensing that Riku was focusing completely on the horse now. On the bright side, the other soldiers couldn't shoot us because of the fast pace and the swerving path that we were tacking. Heck, it wasn't even a real path. It was just whatever spaces were available between the many trees.

The first open area that we saw was a round area with no trees in our way. For some reason, Riku stopped in the center of it. "Let go," he ordered. Without hesitating, I did as he told me to do. He swung his leg and got off the horse, stumbling a step to catch his footing before he held out something for me. "Take the reins."

"Wait, what are you doing?" I asked as, again, I did as he told me to do.

"I'm sorry, Steph," he said. "I promised you wouldn't get captured, and I intend to keep that promise. You need to make it out of here."

"Riku! I can't-" I couldn't leave him behind! He…I loved him! And if I left him now, he could have been…killed.

"Yes you can. Trust me, I'll be okay. I'll find a way out of this situation." Then he, much like Mr. Bottomsworth, smacked the rear of the horse. The horse ran forward without my permission, running into the trees. Unable to help it, I looked over my shoulder to see Riku summon his Keyblade to his grasp. He was going to fight them…and lose.

Riku disappeared from my sight as I also disappeared from the sight of the soldiers who followed us. They were focused solely on Riku, who was taunting them and drawing their attention with harsh, biting words. I hoped this wasn't going to be a sacrifice of his life. I hoped he was only sacrificing his freedom temporarily.

*…*…*…*…*…*

Riku

"C'mon, come at me, I dare you!" Riku practically snarled, grasping his Keyblade tightly by his side as he shifted on his feet again. He was surrounded by soldiers on horses, who were pacing around him. If he managed to make it out of this situation somehow, it wouldn't be by hurting the horses; they didn't do anything wrong. It was these stupid soldiers who were serving Gregory.

"You hold a lot of confidence for somebody who is surrounded," a man on a horse said, amused. His face was hidden behind the helmet that he wore; all the soldiers wore helmets that shielded their faces from view. Even if he saw his face, he wouldn't recognize him. Riku was certain that he never met any of these soldiers before, because they reeked of Darkness.

"You hold a lot of confidence for somebody facing a Keyblade wielder," Riku responded lowly. That made the man fall silent. "I'm sure you've heard about what I've done to Gregory's brothers."

"Doesn't matter," the man said gruffly. "You're coming in with us. Period." He pulled out his crossbow and shot it off at Riku immediately, though the arrow didn't land.

"Dark shield!" he cried, lifting his free hand and cast the one-sided shield, turning it as another man shot off an arrow at him. While they were shooting, he sensed somebody with a sword sneaking up behind him. It was an attempt to knock him out quietly. "Not gonna happen!" he yelled, spinning around and swinging his Keyblade at him.

With a cry, the solder was knocked back so that he was kneeling by the horse he had been. But it didn't matter. The arrows were initially the diversion, but the soldier became the diversion as soon as Riku let his shield fall. An arrow pierced his back, to the right of the spine but not against the bone of his shoulder-blade. He grunted roughly, lifting a hand as he yanked the arrow out of his back. As soon as he held it in front of him, he realized that he had a problem.

The arrow had some of his blood on it, yes, but it was had a green liquid on it. He didn't know exactly what it was, but he felt himself get lightheaded immediately. And it wasn't because of the sight of blood; it was because the liquid that tipped the arrow was some kind of poison.

He stumbled a step, tightening his grip on his Keyblade as he looked around at the men who were simply gazing at him. They were waiting for him to fall unconscious. "Just…like that?" he managed, his voice weaker. The poison was taking effect quickly.

"Just like that, knight," the leader said simply, though his tone held amusement.

That ticked Riku off. He turned and through his blurring vision, he managed to channel some strength. He pulled back his Keyblade and threw it straight for the man's head.

It missed and pierced the tree behind him.

That was the last thing that Riku saw before his vision blacked out completely and he fell to the ground, his consciousness disappearing completely.

The next thing that Riku saw wasn't a pleasant sight at all. But before he saw that, he heard a voice calling to him. Gruff, firm. "Wake up," the voice ordered, sounding hazy to the teen as he fought the drug that knocked him unconscious in the first place. He furrowed his eyebrows, curling his hands into light fists while also feeling the pressure of shackles against his wrists. Where was he…?

"Hey," the male voice said again. At that moment, Riku felt a hand slap him across the face, hard. He grunted, panting a breath as he forced his tired eyes open. Blinking a few times, he didn't have much time to take in the surroundings of his prison cell. To his right, Queen Andrea was in a cell. She too had her hands in shackles tied to the wall, above her head.

And right in front of him, Gregory stood. "Gregory," Riku growled, pulling his arms to try and get off the wall. But the shackles were too tight around his wrists. At least he was able to stand on his own two feet, not just hanging from the wall. "Why didn't you have your men kill me? You know I'm going to cause you trouble…"

"On the contrary, Riku, I have a reason for keeping both of you alive," Gregory said with a small, devious smirk. "For now, anyway. You won't have purpose soon."

"What purpose do we have now?" Queen Andrea asked from her cell. Never before had Riku seen such viciousness in her eyes, the determination to break free from this prison. It was a shame she wasn't in the same cell as him; they may have been able to help each other if she was.

"It's simple, really," Gregory said. "Today, you two will be playing the role of the 'damsel-in-distress'. The Princess is too kindhearted to leave you two to rot in prison, so she will return on her own accord to 'save your lives'. So thank you both, for saving me the trouble of hunting her down myself."

Riku growled in fury, again pulling at his chains again. They only allowed him a few inches away from the wall, not close enough to actually hurt Gregory in any way. "She wouldn't fall for that," he declared lowly. "Steph's smarter than to come back without a plan and fall into your hands." Was Gregory seriously forgetting that Steph came up with a brilliant plan a few days ago to evade Riku, who was a great tracker? Gregory was underestimating her.

The villain only laughed. "Come now, Riku, you know that no plan of hers can save her from me," he stated. "I have an army on my side, and she only has two fools who managed to get themselves captured right away. Or should I say three?" he asked, shifting his gaze to the cell next to Queen Andrea's. That was when Riku first saw the other prisoner: Mr. Bottomsworth. "For such a wise man, Benjamin, you proved to be a very foolish teacher."

"Yes," Benjamin Bottomsworth agreed sadly. "You could say that I've been the biggest fool of them all. I had all the resources at my disposal to see if you were true, but I blindly believed that your heart had changed. And I led the Princess to believe the same." The tutor shifted his gaze to the Queen then, though Riku had a hard time seeing the movement because of the alignment of the cells. "Forgive me, Your Majesty."

"You won't be able to call her that much longer," Gregory said with a hmph, looking to the queen.

That simple sentence startled Riku. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, Keyblade wielder, before I answer that question, I have a few to ask you." He paused, eying Riku. "Have you seen many action films, with the villains revealing their evil plans to the heroes quite easily because he believes that he will win?"

"Y-yeah…?" What kind of a question was that?

"Well, I'm going to skip that part for now. Not because I am afraid of failing, but because I do not wish to repeat myself when the Princess arrives."

The only response that Riku, Andrea, and Benjamin could muster were growls.

"And anyway, I have another surprise for her, and you, at that time. Until then, you'll need to be patient. Hang tight." He smirked at his own joke before he turned, his guard opening Riku's prison cell and letting him walk out before letting it shut tightly. The lock clicked on the old style metal-barred cell as Gregory and the guard left the room completely. That, Riku figured, gave him an opportune time to ask the Queen some questions.

"Any idea what he's talking about?" he asked her.

"None," she responded, shaking her head. "I have no idea what surprise he has planned…"

Speaking of surprises, Riku thought of one that he faced earlier. "Your Majesty…" he started softly. "…Did you know that they tried to kill Steph in her sleep?"

Shockingly, she nodded this time. "After Terry left her room, he came to find me and warn me of the danger."

"T-Terry? Steph's Dad?" Riku asked in shock. He thought the man fled the scene, but apparently he didn't right away.

"Yeah. He tried to tell me so much in a short amount of time. That he was sorry for not coming sooner, and that he couldn't stay, but he wanted to remind me of something, and that that something could possibly save our lives today."

"What is it, Your Majesty?" Mr. Bottomsworth asked from his cell, as curious as Riku was. The words that Queen Andrea said after a few moments, though, left Riku absolutely perplexed and dumbfounded.

"He said…I used to be a Keyblade wielder."

*…*…*…*…*…*

Steph

I managed to escape the guards that were pursing me, by some kind of weird miracle. Hiding in the trees on the other side of the river, I managed to overhear a few conversations. Apparently those on horseback were called back to the castle, and now soldiers were wandering on foot to try and find me. They weren't crossing the river for some reason though. They believed that the guard they had set up earlier would have caught me if I crossed, but I didn't even see that guard. I must have gotten lucky and slipped by him.

Still, I had bigger problems now. I started walking deeper into the woods again, away from the castle as I held onto the reigns of my horse. I had to figure out what to do next. But what were my options? I had to go back to the castle; Riku, my mom, and probably Mr. Bottomsworth were there! If I didn't go back, Gregory would hurt them somehow.

"But I'm just one person," I groaned softly to myself. I didn't stand a chance against all the guards that Gregory would send at me the moment I was within sight.

Maybe I could have stolen a guard uniform and put it on and snuck back into the castle, but then I figured that wouldn't work either. Once one guard saw me, he would call the other guards.

But maybe I could recycle that idea! I suddenly had another one, and I knew that it was my only hope. Reaching into my pocket, I prayed that I had the item that I needed. "Ha!" I laughed softly in victory, stopping myself and the horse as I gazed at the item. It was the latest technology, or so Riku told me. He said that it allowed people to communicate to each other from different worlds, as long as the other person also had this special phone. And I knew that they did. Speed-dialing the only number that was available, I pulled the phone to my ear.

When the person on the other side picked up after the third ring, he voice on the other side of the line expressed surprise. "H-hello?"

"Sora," I breathed, relieved that he picked up. "I need your help."