Why, I adore this chapter as well. It's total Dan Brown action sequence (except prob without all the plot twists every other sentence)
Song for this Chapter: Ahh. I'm torn between two, and both of them work so well! Hide and Seek → Imogen Heap. And Everything → Lifehouse. You can just listen to both. :D
Chapter 43: Hide and Seek
In the last chapter…
Romeli's nightmares grow worse, until she feels desperate to figure out what it means. When she cleans out her bookshelf, she notices the book 'Interpretations of the Modern Dream', in which she realizes that it was not a nightmare, but more of a message from the Gods. She realizes that they want her to go back and get the chest which would ultimately help her find the meaning of her scars. Which meant going back to Scanra.
She rallies up her friends (in a strange way) and they talk in the tombs. She tells them what's goin' down. Of course James is furious, and Romeli and him became bitter towards each other. At least he was talking to her. Romeli talks to Maryann about her adventure, and also goes to Neal. She discovers there that the scars on her neck could not be healed by magic.
Then she leaves.
She had been flying for around two hours since her escape from the Tortallan palace, and still the rushing adrenaline that coursed through her veins did not fade. Before the initial liftoff, she was convinced she would panic, and the actual action of leaving would make her realize she was over her head. For whatever reason she hadn't turned around yet—and wasn't planning to either. This was real—all of it.
She was going back to Scanra
At the current moment she had no idea where the heck she was. And usually such a statement would have been slightly nerving, but to her at that very moment, she was not very nerved at all. In fact, Romeli's nerves were lacking of so much nerve, she would have laughed if it weren't for her current dragon form.
Of course, two seconds later, Romeli realized that her lack of nerve was not because of her robust bravery, but rather because of her still coursing adrenaline.
After promptly dawning upon this, she dived down and peeked her head out from the thick cloud cover to spot where she was. It was night, and the clouds did little to cover her already camouflaged appearance, but she hid above them nonetheless. Her eyes dazed down to the ground, unaffected by the darkness that would have normally engulfed them.
It was no surprise that a large pond and five blobs of trees were no help to her.
Well as long as I'm going north, she thought coolly as she went above the clouds again, I'll eventually run into the Alps and figure myself out from there.
So as Romeli flew over a sea of clouds, sometimes gliding through them just for sheer pleasure, she pondered how she came to be flying over a sea of clouds, sometimes gliding through them just for sheer pleasure.
And, being quite the honest person that Romeli was, she couldn't help but admit that this whole thing was rather…well…stupid.
She was stupid.
And not the stupid as in lacking academic intelligence, but more of a common sense stupidity. If there was one other person in the realm willing to return to the place of their nightmares, but in an even worse state, what with a ravaging civil war, she would throw a Carthakan Fiesta.
Of course, Romeli was not in the least proud of her bold and unique character. In fact, the only characteristic of herself that she could think of right now was…stupid.
Fortunately, Romeli found that she did not have the heart to dwell on her incompetence, for her mind began to drift to perhaps not nearly as important, but far more interesting things.
Such as James.
At the thought of his name, a wide range of emotions overcame her. The most dominating one just happened to be confusion.
What was peculiar about the whole thing was that one minute they were literally ignoring the other's existence, and then it was like he was attempting to pretend that no quarrel happened at all.
Reading James in the good old days was much easier than now. And, looking back on it, the days weren't really old at all—she had met him less than a year ago. Time merely seemed warped with a decade stuffed between them.
Life in general, before her captivity, was much more relaxing. Every day they would just hang out with their friends, absolutely content. Sure there was a war waging, there was the Prophecy, and every other minor conflict she had been faced with—but they still had each other. It was a sturdy foundation.
Then she just had to die.
And sure the whole 'forget you to stop the pain' idea was reasonable. Sure, it was flattering, in a cruel sick way, that he would even attempt to do such a thing. But why? Wasn't he stronger than that?
Of course when she woke up and they fought over the matter was when she dubbed it ridiculous. And their friendship—all of her friendships since her return—were never the same.
The foundation was there, but it was weak.
Well she had to admit that she was trying to mend her relationships, and it seemed to be doing a lot better. It was a challenge to be social for extended amounts of time—especially after such a long period of trusting no one and living undercover.
It made her wish that things could just go back to the way they were—before Scanra.
But the more she dwelled on how fun the past had been, the more she realized how much she had grown since then. Her captivity gave her that much more strength and power then she did before. It put her one step closer to her real goal. That was the only thing that was supposed to be important.
The beef.
And so Romeli's mind drifted back to the current matter once again, which happened to be the fact that she was flying over to a mid-revolution Scanra to get a majestic trunk while dodging the Guard.
The adrenaline was rushing in again.
Though winging it was the current plan, she didn't seem sure of herself. How would she enter? How much time would she have once she used her Gift? Was the trunk still in the same room? Would the guard be bent on her capture, or let the grudge go? How much time would it take her?
Instantly, every scenario entered and left her head. The factors were endless and the possibilities even more unpredictable. And it was also at that same instant that she realized learning them all and preparing herself was impossible—she had too little time. Instead, she was forced to take it as it came—and hope for the best.
I think this is the most ridiculous thing I've ever done!
And that was when she spotted the Alps. They rose above the clouds, like the nobility of the sky. As she clearly remembered, Rathausak was cleanly tucked in the valley of them, like the Alps were a military guard.
She was here.
Though technically the mission began when she ran out of Corus, this was where the real business began. The second she went under those clouds, she was in enemy territory.
Despite being in dragon form, Romeli breathed out heavily. So this is it. Just be calm. It's a day of hell and you're back again. I am an efficient machine—I am a spy.
And here she dove under the clouds and tucked into the bends of the Alps, narrowing the distance between her and her destination.
OOO
She figured the landing would be a challenge in itself, but never did she think it to be this hard. When she felt the palace coming into view, she transformed from a dragon into a small northern sparrow—completely usual to any Scanran who would happen to see her.
Romeli ignored the sudden nervous sensation when the palace came into view. The temptation to stop and stare at the marvel that she had returned to so soon was strong, but she pushed it to the back of her mind for a later time.
What was the current problem was not that she was here in the first place, but that she didn't know how to get in. She couldn't just run up to the doorstep and expect a welcome party, and transforming into her human form without a pair of clothes was out of the question.
The only solution was a window.
Romeli swung around a building as she thought deeper.
Option one: pick a window, sneak into it, hoping that it's a closet bursting with clothes, food, and a secret escape to a place where no one was bound to find her.
Option two: pick a window, and hope that it's the one to Maggur's office where the trunk still is.
Either option seemed doomed to fail, considering how many windows the palace contained, and especially because—
She paused.
Mithros!
The room with the trunk doesn't even have a window!
Her frustrations were beginning to rise. This seemed impossible. How was she supposed to get into this place without getting found out? Ridiculous…absolutely…
She froze again.
There was one window.
She knew exactly where it was, for she flew out of it many times as a slave. It was not particularly extravagant, and therefore not in the least obvious. Nonetheless, it was ingrained in her mind. That window and its accompanying room was her getaway.
The Firelily Suite.
The only setback was that hopefully no one was staying there—which would certainly create the slightest of problems.
It was worth the risk.
So she dove in closer, narrowing the already fractional distance between her and the palace wall. She was soon nearing its lengthy Southern face, which faced the opposite of the palace's protective and intimidating Alps behind it. Her first destination was on the north-west façade, right above the notable gardens. She had to turn left and then reach the northern side to find what she was looking for.
She completed a steep turn, her wingspan digging hard to the left as she nearly collided with the wall and traced the western side. The tips of her feathers nearly brushed against the rough wall as she glided down.
It took her only seconds to scale the eastern face. When she was over the maze of gardens, she spiraled up, beginning to rival the height of the palace itself, as she leveled her height with her destination. For the first time in her whole travel, she absolutely refused to look down at what was below.
For whatever reason, she had a feeling she'd be staring at the stains of her own blood.
Her horrific thoughts were soon interrupted by something much more captivating. The window stared back at her—almost like it had been waiting.
Well, until she realized that getting inside was a whole situation in itself.
Ah shoot, she thought, now perched on the window sill, staring straight at the tightly sealed window in front of her. Once again, she began to weightout her options.
There was transforming into herself. The idea of it—balancing on the narrow sill, lacking of all dignity while kicking the window through—was incredibly risky. Not to mention one lingering possibility—this room, one of the most lush and hospitable rooms in Scanra, was no longer hers, and therefore was most likely occupied.
She could also transform into something much smaller and play her cards from there. It would take a much longer time, but as far as she knew, time was not a factor.
Not yet.
Either way, the second idea was much more favorable. Falling to her doom again was something she did not want to result to, whereas taking extra time to achieve efficiency was.
That decision made, she transformed into the smallest creature she could think of: an ant.
In her gut, she knew being an ant was a poorly made choice. The spring weather was foreign for the species. Not to mention the ant wasn't even native in such cold climates.
Little did she know, whatever form she took would mean nothing when she would enter that room.
At that precise moment though, she was scurrying down the sill until she would face an acceptable crack to slip through.
Finding somewhere to enter was the least of her troubles. The miniscule size awarded her with microbic eyesight that would make any creature jealous. As she tucked herself into the first hole she saw, the compact-sensation that resulted did not even faze her.
What she saw when she entered however, did.
OOO
Good…Gods…
If Romeli could have closed her eyes, she would have. Unfortunately her ant form did not give her such a grace, and so she stared.
If that's no some serious sex, I don't know what it is.
Needless to say, there was undoubtedly company in the room. She was suddenly relieved she hadn't chosen to transform into a human and kick the window through.
Despite the appalled thoughts running through her head about the fact that people before and after her were doing the dirty on that same bed, she moved on with her mission.
She began her great trek by moving on the wall, parallel with the carpet, towards the closet to the wall perpendicular to her. The white-washed surface was smooth and easy to crawl on, due to the tiny, sticky hairs on the bottom of her feet.
A moan broke across the room, interrupting her focused train of thought.
Gods, she thought as she crawled faster. Get me out of here.
Needless to say, the current situation had just topped the charts of her most awkward moments. And though this was certainly a situation she had never been faced with before, it was definitely saying something.
Romeli raced on in the opposite direction of the topic of interest towards the rather large closet still a ways away from her.
Another moan.
Shut. Up!
Romeli crawled faster and kept her eyes on the nearing door.
It took her a total of five minutes to reach the crack under the door, when, if this had just been a lazy stroll in her human body, it could have taken her five seconds.
Either way, she had arrived. The dive under the crack welcomed her to what she had been searching for.
Well…sort of.
Romeli transformed back into her normal self and shook her legs and arms. The room was large, making the dead cool air feel strange against her bare skin. Though she was absolutely positive she'd have no intruders, she still felt incredibly exposed and shaken—she was actually doing this.
I'm in Scanra right now.
Oh never mind that! She told herself sternly.
Instead of working herself up over the most ridiculous thing she had ever done, she turned to the actual contents of the closet. It was bursting with clothes.
Or lack thereof.
As she searched through the dozens of clothes, hanging from their designated places, she found one thing in common:
None of them were appropriate.
Each piece of clothing was either a promiscuous skirt or conspicuous top. Sometimes she would even come across a dress that was a mixture of both.
Of all the people I could come across in this room, it has to be the Scanra whore, she thought, completely disheartened. But she also knew she had no other choice. Finding another closet in another room would take way too much time. Clothing right now was an unimportant factor—she needed that chest.
Beggars can't be choosers, she thought fiercely as she picked the first thing that caught her eye. It was a black dress, though it looked like a long shirt as she held it out in front of her.
Romeli slipped on a pair of underwear and a bra and then rushed to pull the dress over her. It fit snuggly and surprisingly, comfortably, even though it wasn't in the least a modest length. At the moment, she hardly cared—it would serve its purpose. Quickly, she swerved towards the shoe shelves.
Her eyes bulged.
You have got to be kidding me.
They were all high heels. All of them. There were no slippers, no boots, nothing.
Romeli. There is no time for this. Who cares? You don't need shoes.
She froze at this.
No…I actually do.
It was a haunting truth, but it was also one she could no deny. The palace was full of wooden floors and rough stone. It was a callous place and running around with no shoes was more injuring than not. And considering she had no idea what would face her now, or where she would go…no shoes was a death wish.
Romeli sighed and grabbed the first one she saw. It was a pair of black heels. They were strappy, and high, but they fit. She stood up and found herself face to face with her exit.
Romeli breathed in heavily. Oh Gods.
So this was going to be it.
From this point on, she had no escape—not until she succeeded her mission. There was no magic, no oasis, no transformation. Absolutely stuck. And even worse, she was in open view of everyone. She would be racing down hallways, only praying not to be seen.
This is suicide.
She leaned her head against the oak door and began to follow her breathing. It was labored and panicked, but the reason was justified. Never before had she attempted something as big as this.
Okay. Okay, I got this, she told herself. Just sneak out of this room, and figure things out form there. She nodded.
Her hand rose to the doorknob. She found her knuckles had turned white from gripping it so hard—most likely to keep her hand from shaking.
She turned the knob slowly, grasping the peaceful feeling of the cool metal slide beneath her fingers. It was the last sensation of serenity she would feel in a long time. The bottom dropped as she slowly pushed the door open. It wasn't a short distance to the bedroom door. But all she had to do was slip out of the closet and slide out of the exit.
Romeli opened the door slightly further. And further.
The door creaked. Loudly. Right when she stepped outside into the open. She turned and faced the couple with horrified eyes as she waited for her worst fear to come true.
There was an extended silence and the couple froze and crawled out from under the sheets.
When their pairs of eyes met hers, she knew it would take a miracle to get her out of this. The two of them stared at her, obviously disoriented. They were young, maybe even newlyweds. From the looks if it, the woman's clothing matched her personality.
Think, Romeli, Think!
"Ach so!" she smiled sheepishly, feeling proud as a blush crept up her skin. She fumbled quickly through her hardly fluent Scanran, while trying to pull off an acceptable accent. If she were to speak Common now, the consequences would be disastrous. "Es turok Lediok. I'm sorry. Ich warok…"
The woman's eyes bore into her. She spoke in a heavy Scanran accent. "Was kipinyoyok trolok klosok gehabtok? What were you doing in my closet?"
Romeli looked back at it and frowned. "Deinok…ach so! Das heirok ist deinok klosk! Oderok. Deinok nichtok so dieserok Kastle, so. I'm guessing you don't know very much about this castle then."
The woman looked confused. "no. Mich et meinok Mannoklok sind Feirkok. We are on our honeymoon."
Romeli looked pleased with herself. "Just as I thought. You see, the Scanran palace has dozens of secret passageways."
The man suddenly seemed fairly interested. "Secret passageways?"
Romeli nodded. "Exactly. You should feel quite honored, as well. One of them happens to be from the kitchens, right to this very closet."
The two of them exchanged looks of excitement. The woman was the first one to speak. "But I have been in that closet many times. I never saw any passageway."
Romeli smiled. "That's the beauty of it. They're secret. Once you find them, the feeling of victory is amazing. Now, if you would excuse me. I must be on my way. Happy searching!"
The couple watched her as she walked confidently out of the room and shut the door behind her. They exchanged a second glance and then raced towards the closet.
OOO
Romeli nearly collapsed as she leaned against the outside of the door. She almost laughed. A visualization of the couple tearing up the closet in search of something that wasn't there had hit her. But the humor of it all wasn't enough to slow her down. Her mind pushed her back to reality, and she realized where she was.
Completely exposed, and out in the hallway.
The idea of searching through one of the biggest palaces in the realm with green hair and no magic without getting caught seemed ridiculous.
As far as she knew, the chest was still in Maggur's office, located in a nonpopular area of the palace in the lower levels. If she remembered correctly, it was in a hallway not to far from the dining hall.
If only there actually was a secret passageway from here to the kitchens.
Either way, she left the bedroom and its inhabitants behind her, and began to walk as quickly as she could down the hallway, hoping her memory was dependable enough to get her in the right direction. Her walk was innocent and yet determined. If she were to break into a run, she would draw more attention. At the moment she took advantage of the fact that no one yet knew she was here except for a clueless newlywed couple.
It felt immensely strange, walking down a hallway she knew she was never supposed to return to again. The sensation was comparable to the feeling of returning to an abandoned home after years of never visiting it. The house was empty, and yet the memories were still there, and always would be. This hallway, this place, was packed with memories. She remembered running into D'mitri here, and sneaking around as a cat on a mission only three floors below. And her eventual doom. That was less than a month ago.
Haunting.
Footsteps behind her alerted her that another person was in the hallways. She slowed her steps and immediately all thoughts evaporated as the cogs in her head began to turn. A lump of fear built in her chest that she could not shake away. The sound of the steps were too close. If she hid, she would be even more suspicious than now. The steps were fast, perhaps even determined, making her suppress shakes of nervousness.
This can't end like this.
It would be ridiculous, she thought as she walked forward. On the outside, she knew her features did not portray her inner panic. Her footsteps were calm—common.
The steps grew louder. From the sound of it, they were a mans, heavy and solid, unlike the lighter footsteps of her own. She began to pray. If they were the steps of anyone she knew, she was doomed.
A man walked past her, obviously with a place to go. He gave her a tip of his hat and was off around the corner.
The wave of relief that hit her almost made her cry.
I can not…this is…ridiculous.
And despite the possibility of actual danger finally sinking in, and the factor that dozens of people would pass her before the day was through, she skipped down the stairs and made her way through the next hallway—this time, nearly at a run.
She went past the hallways quickly, and straight down another flight of stairs, not bothering to look back, but instead focusing on the aspect of getting in and out of that room as soon as possible.
Then she froze.
Someone else was coming. She could sense it.
Fortunately, she knew that this time she had enough time to hide. Romeli looked around the hallways quickly. It was completely barren except for the multitudes of paintings, and old table, and dozens of chamber doors that most likely housed the palace's most stately of people.
Feeling the footsteps of the mystery person draw nearer, she lunged under the table, curling into a ball as much as possible. The hiding spot was dreadful. It was small and hardly covering. Romeli began to second-guess herself. Could there be a better hiding spot to run to before it was too late?
Despite her doubts, she stayed where she was. Little did she know it was one of the best decisions she had ever made.
The feet came into view, and she froze—unwilling to move an inch. They were sturdy and black. Obviously worn by someone who knew what he was doing. She squinted her eyes further as the shoes stopped right across from her towards the bedroom door. For some reason she thought those shoes were familiar.
At first she got the haunted sensation that it was D'mitri. It looked like D'mitri. The tight black trousers and light, yet sturdy shoes…
"Choran, open the door, dammit."
Her heart immediately fell. She knew now why he was so recognizable. He was not D'mitri, but he was close enough to being so that she knew who he was.
It was Fredrin, his older brother.
And even though a melancholy feeling began to fill her, she was also awakened to the possibility of something else.
Here she was, pretty much set up to the perfect opportunity to see what was really going on. If anyone knew the current situation in Scanra, it was Fredrin. He made her sick. For he and Maggur were a team, and he therefore was in on everything he did to her.
Fredrin walked into the room after someone opened it to him. When the door shut closed again she rushed out from under the table and pressed her ear to the door.
"…The state of Scanra is nothing to be concerned about." Fredrin's voice was smooth and calm.
"Agreed, Sir. But what about the spies. Maryann…"
"Don't talk. About. Her." He told the man coldly. Romeli couldn't help but grin. The thought of Maryann's exposure made her feel prideful. It was the two of them alone—and they changed a country. "All of Tortall's spies will be extinguished in time. They may have won the girl back again, but they're now in the middle of a losing war."
"But how can we do anything about it? We have no law. We have no king."
Romeli heard a pause for a long time.
"…Yes…" muttered Fredrin. "But trust me when I say that Scanra has nothing to worry about. We will have a king in time."
"How do we know that…"
"Trust, Choran. Everything will work out. I am working on a plan this very moment. Soon enough, Scanra will be just how it always has been."
There was another moment's silence.
"What about the girl. Romeli."
Romeli froze.
There was a laugh. "Romeli is no issue. She is stubborn, and I hardly doubt she will help the Tortallan King either. We know she is alive, but that is all I can tell you."
"I see…"
"Yes. Now if you excuse me, I must be off again. I'll be back later with further news, but I have many errands."
Romeli backed away from the door. Right when she was about to make another lunge under the small table, the door began to open.
Shit.
She pressed herself against the wall as the door swung towards her, praying to the Gods that luck would be on her side and neither of the men would see her.
Fredrin walked out quickly, not bothering to close the door that concealed her as he started down the hallway. By the time the other man, Choran, closed the door, Fredrin was halfway down the hall, oblivious to who was behind him.
Despite the temptation to follow him, Romeli reminded herself of her true mission. She now knew the current position of Scanra. Great. But it was not her true motive—she had to move.
She waited until Fredrin was more than out of sight before commencing again. He was the last person she wanted to be seen by.
The race began again as she went down staircase after staircase. Her heart was thumping heavily as she looked before each corner and raced down another hallway. Each floor brought her closer and closer to her goal.
At last, she found herself by the kitchens. There was a hallway just to the left of it that caught her eye. That was it—she remembered now. Romeli took a quick look behind her before making her way down the hallways and towards her destination.
But where was it?
The hallway was home to few doors, and she knew with a glance that the ones she passed were not it. The hallway was long though. Perhaps if she went a little farther…
Romeli froze.
Of course she couldn't find the door. To enter Maggur's office, there was no door to find. Not one that she could see anyways. Her memory flashed back to the moment when she found his office. The door was concealed with magic.
She groaned inwardly. This certainly didn't make things any easier. And though she knew now that the door was here, she still did not know where. And how am I supposed to know where? My spidey-sense?
That hardly seemed accurate.
Each time she came up with a new idea, she mentally crossed it out. Failure. Frustration began to rise within her, and she began to walk along the hallway wall, tracing it desperately with her fingertips, as if she would somehow trigger its visibility.
So close. She was not about to fail because of this. It was not only absurd, it was out of the question.
Use your Gift.
Her mind kept on bouncing back to that single idea. She could easily use her Gift. Once second, and she would cast a censory spell powerful enough to enable the sight of the door, blow off its alarms and be inside.
One second was all the Scanran Guard needed to know that she was here.
Her heart fell. But did she have any other choice? She was risking just as much exposure standing idly here in the open hallway. The chest had to be in there. Where else could it be? Once she got in, she'd take it…and run.
"Wing it."
Romeli almost laughed, but her heart was too tight to make a sound. Whave's idea was her last shot.
Scanning the hallway, she took a big breath and keened her eyes for anything that would appear. In an instant she whipped out her Gift and focused it on dislodging the single other magical presence in the room. She heard a small pop and turned her head to the far right. A door had appeared, surrounded in orange light that characterized its warding spells.
At a sprint, she slid across the room and blasted the spells with the force of her own Gift. They gave in immediately, leaving Romeli face to face with the regular door that it once was. She slipped inside quickly and shut the door behind her.
Maggur's office.
Gotta move, gotta move, omg, gotta go.
She could nearly see the Scanran mages look up alarmed from their work, awakened by a magic they thought they got rid of months ago.
Shit.
Completely ignoring the first room, she turned her head to the second door—the door that held everything she needed. She ran to it quickly, nearly slipping on the hard floor in her death-trap heels. Gripping onto the doorknob to regain her balance, she ripped it open and walked into the small room deliberately.
Romeli did a double-take.
No way. No, no no. What? Just no.
Had she made a wrong turn. Was this the wrong room?
But as she looked around, she knew she wasn't mistaken. There was no way she had made a wrong turn. This was it.
It was just empty.
Romeli wanted to fall on her knees in defeat. This couldn't be happening. But there it was—not there at all. The only remain of the room was the skeleton of what it had contained. The shelves, the table, the bookcase. But the meaning was lost. The trunk was lost.
So where do I go now?
Despite the fact that she knew the guard was after her, her shoulders drooped defeated. Where did she go now? What lead did she have? The palace was huge, and in her enslavement here she only knew where a few places were located. Finding the trunk now seemed disproportionally ridiculous—it just wasn't possible.
She could practically hear the footsteps of the soldiers come down the hallway.
So what? You're just going to give up?
Romeli sighed heavily. Was there any other choice? She had no idea where it was located. There were no clues. There was nothing. She had to go back and follow what James had said to her before she left in the first place.
"Find a different clue. Research something else."
Perhaps he was right all along. Perhaps there really was nothing for her here. She was wrong, and it was too dangerous.
Too dangerous?
Whave's voice echoed through her.
"What else do you have? You go over there, and you fight and do your best. That's all you can do, isn't it? Be smart and strategic. If you use your Gift, then you use your Gift. And if something bad happens, then you get the hell out. You've done it before, haven't you?"
Romeli almost laughed. Whave was right. She did it before. She'd been through much worse.
Much worse.
So what did she have now? She could fight them—she could take all of them. Let them come. But right now, she had to figure this out—and fast.
The room was empty.
That meant that all of those items were gone. Nearly everything in this room. And therefore, everything in the room had been either moved or destroyed.
She froze at the word: destroyed.
No. They wouldn't do that. Sure, Maggur was dead, but they wouldn't destroy priceless artifacts of history. Especially considering they were artifacts of one of history's most scandalous topics.
They weren't destroyed, they were moved. They were in some other place anywhere in the palace. But where?
A sense of curiosity dominated her and she opened the door and peeked into Maggur's main office. Interesting. That room was still in tact.
She frowned deeply as she closed the door again and began to pace. That room was as it always was, and this one was not. The people, whoever they were, moved everything in this room—everything about her—for a reason.
Why?
Her eyes fell on the space where the trunk was once located, eyeing it bitterly. Life would be so much easier right now if it was just there.
But it wasn't. Only the engraving of the dusty outline of its bottom was the only clue that it had even been there in the first place. The wood that had once been under it looked new compared to the rest of the floor. It had obviously been there for a long time—.
Romeli's thoughts froze there.
It had obviously been there a long time.
A long enough time for it to have been moved fairly recently. The outline of dust that had once marked the trunk proved her theory correct. If it had been moved a while ago, the lines would have not been so prominent. They were fresh.
The trunk was moved after Maggur's death then.
So…this means…what? Why would they move it? To make space for the new king? That seemed hardly applicable.
She found herself staring at the lines of dust again. It wouldn't be surprising if they moved it a day ago, maybe even a few days and nothing more. It all looked so…new.
That's when it hit her.
A few days ago. A few days ago marked a multitude of things, but most importantly, a few days ago was her Hero Ball. The day Tortall decided to publicize the fact that she was alive.
It matched. She knew it did. There were spies in that ballroom. They told Scanra that she was still alive, and Scanra, in turn, moved everything in this room somewhere else.
But that still didn't answer why.
Unless…
Realization dawned upon her.
Unless they knew she would come after it.
Romeli's heart began to beat quicker.
They knew she would come after it, so they moved it. They didn't want her to find out whatever was in this room. They still cared about the ideals that Maggur carried.
They still wanted her.
Romeli bit her lip. Perfect. This mission was daring, yes, but it was also supposed to be relatively simple.
This was not simple.
Well now I know why the moved everything, she thought hardly. But I still have no idea where it is.
Where would they put something like that anyways? A closet? A bedroom? An abandoned bathroom?
Well, if they really didn't want her to reach what she needed, they would put it in the last place she would ever go.
The men's room.
She almost laughed. No.
D'mitri's room.
Maggur's room.
They were good ideas. The idea of entering either of them was chilling. Then again, she didn't know what would be so bad about it. The last thing she would want to see was their bodies, not their bedroom. It wasn't like they would be lying there…
That was it.
Their bodies.
That was the one thing that haunted her stay here. For if she would be surrounded by so much death, she would collapse.
The tombs.
Romeli shivered. It made perfect sense. She had killed D'mitri. She had killed Maggur. She practically killed James—and to Scanra, they thought she had killed him. They would never imagine her wandering through a place where so much guilt could easily override her.
She knew the trunk was there.
Romeli ran a hand through her hair and stared at the door. At the moment, she would be completely cornered, if the Scanran Guard walked in on her. She had to move, for she had the faintest idea that it was too late to dodge a confrontation.
She slid out the door, and put her hand on the door to the exit. It turned under her hand.
Too late.
The door swung open and she jumped back to avoid hitting it. There at the opposite side of the frame stood Fredrin and two Scanran guards. The look on his face would have lit a fire.
"So. I had a feeling you would come back. Not such a bright idea to use your Gift. Nice outfi—."
Romeli punched him in the nose, and he crumpled to the ground, blood spurting out between his hands as he held it together.
Before she could react, both guards were on her. One got a hold of both of her arms and held them behind her back. The other guard stood in front of her mercilessly. She heard Fredrin cry out in the doorway and almost laughed.
The guards were concerned by the smirk on her face.
Both her hands lit up in emerald light, and the soldier let go of her as he cried out in pain. Both of his hands were on fire. The other guard stepped back alarmed. Romeli twisted her wrist, and he sunk into the ground, his waist fused with the hard wood.
She gave Fredrin an easy salute as she walked over his body and ran down the hallway as fast as she could.
She had to move fast, for she knew that much more then two guards would soon be in her path.
If only she knew where the tombs were.
OOO
Romeli ran—and hard—towards where she thought her destination was. The hallways were a blur around her. She had no idea where she was—but she didn't care either.
All she had to do was go down, and she would find it.
Her heart was heavy as she sprinted around a corner and down yet another flight of stairs. The palace of Scanra was not merciful to its inhabitants and it was tiring to run through—which she had been for the greater portion of the night.
At the word night, weariness began to creep on here. What time was it now anyways? Three? Four? Had she really been at this for only a few hours? It felt like she had been here for much longer. Or perhaps it was the fact that she hadn't slept in a while—the weariness was dominating, but she pushed on.
Well she would have if it weren't for her blasted shoes.
I've had it up to here with you, she thought frustrated. No longer willing to give them another chance, she kicked them off forcefully, tripped, and was off again. Eventually, the shoes would have been her own defeat. They would have slowed her down—with the Scanra Guard right at her heels.
Romeli nearly laughed.
The Scanra Guard right at her heels.
She could imagine five guards stopped at the sight of her high-heeled shoes, wondering just why exactly they were there. One would scratch his head perplexed.
It was dark humor, and she ran faster.
As the hallways grew darker, and the walls stonier, she knew she was a last nearing the tombs. The temperature dropped significantly, making her shiver. It was the sign that she had at last reached the underground.
Not too much farther…
In fact, as she reached two more levels down, she came across a great wooden door that reflected what seemed like hundreds of years of history. This undoubtedly was the doorway to the tombs.
She reached her hand out to open the door.
It was locked.
"I'm so over locked doors right now," she whispered. A second later, what was left of the door was smoldering behind her in wisps of emerald fire. She walked further into the darkness, not bothering—and not wanting—to look back.
As she continued walking, the hallways grew darker, and in turn, creepier. The idea of being back in a tomb was not a fond one. It was worse enough when James dragged them all into one, but now… now she was alone—completely alone—in the country that she was previously a slave to.
She lit the empty torches around the walls with her Gift and walked further. It wasn't as bad now—but bad enough.
Surprisingly she hadn't come across a single guard her whole run over there, which left confusion in her mind. Did they decide to let her go? From the look of Fredrin's face, that was hardly the case.
Her thoughts drifted again, this time to the current problem at hand. She knew the chest was in the tombs, but where?
As she walked further down the hallways, she noticed that the organization of the whole place was rather impressive. It was easy to get the system down, even at a first glance.
From what she could see, the crypt did not reflect the labyrinth-stressed typical look, but rather an idea much simpler. The path she walked down seemed to be a main hallway with small rooms that held designated bodies stemming off of it.
By the looks of the grandiose archways she passed now, she knew there was no doubt she was wandering in ancient royalty.
Her footsteps echoed throughout the grand alleyway, making her feel like the walls were closing in on her. Now more then ever did she feel so alone. Last time she was here, she had Maryann. Last time she was in a tomb, she had all of her friends. And now…now she was in both and had neither—nothing. Alone.
Romeli walked on.
She froze as she heard something in the distance. At first she thought it was the echo of her own feet against the coble-stone ground, but her feet barely echoed compared to the sounds she heard now.
"Do you see her?"
"No. But she's down here. I know it."
Romeli's eyes widened. She quickly ducked into the room and slid around the corner. Now the Guard comes.
"Damn." The voices grew louder as the distance decreased.
"Yeah. Let's go quickly to the tomb. Maybe we'll get there before her."
The footsteps grew louder until she felt like they were on top of her. There were many people by the sound of it. At least ten. As they passed her, completely unaware, her nerves began to loosen.
This was good.
As long as they were ahead of her, she was safe. It was like a game of cat and mouse, only the mouse dared to follow the cat—and straight to the prize. Hadn't they thought that she had no idea where she was going? She shrugged it off and went around the corner, padding quietly down the hallway after them.
Minutes later she neared the distance between them. Two guards were posted on either side of a single archway. She ducked into a separate cell, hoping they hadn't caught a sight of her, as she pondered over her next move.
You don't have time to think, Romeli, she told herself. Just get it over with and take it. You can take them.
"Wing it."
Romeli jumped out from behind her cover and came at the two guards, both of her hands glowing emerald flame. She threw flames at the two of them before they could even react, and they collapsed.
When she ran into the room, two guards grabbed her while the others unsheathed their weapons. Romeli kicked one of her captors in the groin. He fell to his knees, freeing one of her hands, which she used to punch the other in the face. He groaned from the impact, but still held onto her.
She was about to use her Gift to get him off for good, when she felt something constrict her. When she looked down, she saw she was engulfed in blue flame.
Someone else in here was a mage.
She almost laughed. How naïve.
In an explosion of emerald light, she overthrew the binding, knocking her other captor to the wall and unconscious. The other soldiers stepped back at the dazzling light, temporarily fazed, but they brought their weapons back up again at the ready.
Well if they wanted to play at that game…she flexed and unflexed her fist.
Two soldiers came at her mercilessly, both holding swords. She nearly gulped, but swallowed back her fear and fought instead. She ducked down swiftly and tripped the both of them in an undercut turn. They fell to the ground simultaneously. Romeli bound them to the ground with her Gift and stole one of the men's swords.
She held it in her hand uneasily. Wait. I have no idea how to even use this thing.
About to discard it, she found herself on the ground—tripped. One of the men bound to the ground no longer was.
So he was the mage.
He was on his feet, too quick for her to register. Flipping the sword out of her hand, he brought it into his and brought the two swords he now carried to her neck.
"Surrender, Girl," he said darkly. "There's no use."
Romeli looked up at him with raised brows. "You have no idea who the hell you're messing with." With that, she bent the two blades with her Gift and shot him backwards. He threw both the swords out of his hands and unsheathed a dagger.
She smirked. Just what I've been looking for.
Romeli jumped up and came at him full throttle. He spun around her and attempted an undercut, which she blocked swiftly with a flash of an emerald shield. She dodged to the side and was about to make a punch to the jaw when he made a false turn and stabbed her in the leg.
She cried out in pain as she fell to her knees. She felt warm blood begin to ooze out of her thigh. Damn…she bit her upper lip to fight the pain. In her second of weakness, he kicked her in the side, making her fall to the ground.
"Give up yet?"
She glared at him. Romeli was more then aware of the other guards looking on. She would have to fight them too. Her leg felt like it was burning with pain.
"Never."
Grabbing the dagger, she ripped it out of her leg and threw it at him. She had wanted the weapon initially, and this wasn't exactly her first idea of how to acquire it, but it worked all the same. It flipped until it stabbed him in the chest. He crumpled to the floor as she got to her feet. Ignoring the ripples of pain, she ran to his body and grabbed the dagger, ignoring the pool of blood that was forming, both by him and her.
The other soldiers did not stand a chance. She wiped out two with her Gift and kicked another to the ground. As one ran at her, she stabbed him in the stomach and flipped him over her hip, ignoring the ripping of flesh under her blade. She threw the dagger into another's head, and punched one fatally in the jaw. As he fell, she caught him by the head and broke his neck.
Romeli was breathing heavily as she walked over a body and towards the trunk. Her leg was bleeding significantly, and she thought one of her ribs was broken. She felt blood drip down her chin from her mouth.
"Gods," she gasped as she fell to her knees in front of the trunk. "At last."
"No so fast Romeli," chimed a sly voice from the archway.
Romeli turned around. She knew the voice of that person without bothering to look. Fredrin stood just inside the room with another bunch of soldiers behind him.
Ah shit, she thought as she stood back up again with a wince. "What do you want?" she snapped.
Fredrin walked in closer. "To pay my respects, of course. You do know who lies here don't you?"
Romeli's eyes glanced to the side. She could barely make out the engraving of D'mitri's name on one of the many stone slabs. She tried to not think about it. "Some brother you are," she hissed coldly.
Fredrin smirked. "He betrayed his country."
"He was more of a man then you'll ever be."
He laughed at that. "Yeah. By breaking rules he surely knew. Now I have to work for my country twice as hard to pick up the slack."
Fury began to boil within her. She didn't care how much she hurt or bled. She wanted to kill him.
Romeli ran at him, both of her hands reflecting the power of her Gift in emerald fire.
Fredrin hesitated. Obviously he wasn't the one who fought—he just ordered them. Soldiers began to run towards them, but she punched Fredrin square in the jaw before they hit.
The rest was mostly a blur as ten or so soldiers simultaneously came at her. One tackled her and knocked her to the ground. She felt her arm start to bleed. One of the soliders must have made a swipe at her as she fell.
Romeli glared darkly at the man over her. She ripped the dagger he was holding out of his hands with her Gift. He grabbed both of her arms, pinning her to the ground.
"Bad idea."
In an instant he blew off of her and was rammed into the opposite wall where he fell, hulked over D'mitri's tomb unconscious.
The other soldiers backed up alarmed. She stood up on her feet, her whole body glowing emerald and flipped the dagger in her hand dangerously.
The most daring of soliders came at her, holding his longsword at the ready. A sense of fear ripped through her but she bit it back. A dagger against a longsword was a losing battle, but she fought anyways. The soldier swept his sword in an undercut. She gripped the dagger tightly with both hands as she blocked it. Barely. From the side she could see two other guards come at her.
Screw this, she thought as she blocked another blow and slit one of the soldier's throats. No dagger.
She threw it into the longsword soldier's head.
With no weapon, she was back to only the comfort of her Gift and her bare hands, already bleeding from the fist fights. When her hands began to glow green, the soldiers backed up again. Never before had she been so thankful for Numair's lessons, and George's instructions on street fighting.
She smirked at them. "What? Giving up that easily?"
There were footsteps behind her and then a burning pain in her shoulder. She spun around, dripping her shoulder in anguish as Fredrin stood up again. Romeli winced as she felt the knife embedded deeply in it.
"Give up Romeli."
The pain was excruciating and she wanted to cry out, but she refused. "A little thing like this won't slow me down."
Fredrin didn't look convinced.
Two soldiers grabbed her from behind. She cried out in pain as one twisted her injured shoulder around. The pain began to suck the energy out of her…she wanted to collapse.
Come on Romeli, she told herself. Just hold out a little bit longer…
The two soldiers behind her burst into flame. She saw Fredrin's eyes widen and she suddenly acquired the strength to move on. She tightly grabbed the dagger in her shoulder and pulled it out, ignoring the weak trembles that resulted afterwards.
Romeli gave Fredrin a dark look before whipping around and tossing the dagger into one of the soldier's chests. Two left.
They both came at her mercilessly, both with swords. She dodged the one to the left and gave the other a round house kick that sent him to the ground. Romeli kicked the sword out of his hand and was about to give him a blow to the head. The other soldier tackled her to the ground and punched her square in the jaw.
The taste of blood filled her mouth, making her want to destroy him. She flipped in a backwards summersault, flipping him over until she was on top of him. She punched him back.
"My Lord," yelled one of the soldiers to Fredrin as he nursed his head. "Is she really that important? Just let her go!"
Romeli froze. Had she heard correctly? The soldier under her took it as an advantage and tossed her off of him.
Fredrin looked at her deeply and she met his gaze with level eyes. He averted his eyes down to her neck.
He froze, but his expression slowly grew into a grin.
Romeli's eyes widened slightly. He knew what her scars meant.
Fredrin sighed, a grin still on his face. "You're right. She is hardly worth it." He summoned his two remaining guards and walked out of the room, not even bothering to give her a lingering look.
She frowned. That was strange.
Romeli turned and limped over to the trunk. It sat there innocently, and yet…almost…wisely. She shivered. Either the loss of blood was getting to her, or the trunk carried much more than the characteristics of history.
Her head turned slowly to where D'mitri lay. Once of the unconscious soldiers that she threw at the wall was still laying over it. She pushed it off with a heave and stared into the engraving of his name.
She almost started crying instantly.
It was a shame. It was horrible he had to be buried here—in a place he never liked, by a ruler who never gave him anything. He was buried a traitor when he should have been buried a savior. It didn't feel right—it wasn't right at all. And this was all her fault.
So the tears came and overwhelmed her. She fell to her knees and kneeled over it, pressing her cheek against the cool stone. "I. Miss. You." Each word came out in a gasp as sobs overcame her.
"The thing is, that from the bottom of my heart, I really truly love you. I would do anything, and stand up against everything for you, and I want you to know that. I just want you to know that no matter what happens in the near future, I will still love you. Even if it may seem that no one is beside you, and no one can help, I will be there for you. I will be there for you even if I'm not there."
She let the pain have a way with her for a time, but then she, along with her thoughts of D'mitri, were bit back and she stood up, her legs shaking.
And that was the last time she would ever cry over him.
Romeli walked weakly back to the trunk and stared at it for a moment. It looked heavy, and the searing pain in her shoulder and leg would not help. Her injuries were severe, and it felt like she was growing weaker by the second.
Use your Gift.
Gods I must be tired, she thought as she rubbed her temple. The trunk began to glow and was lifted off the ground. She kept her focus on the state of the chest as she exited the room and began her trek down the grand hallway. She kept her eye on the box as it floated easily in front of her.
Hastened minutes later, she at last came to the surface and quickly walked to the nearest window. She clenched her jaw as she brought the trunk up onto the sill and out of the window. It sat outside by her exit unpredictably, which made her heart jump uneasily. She had to do this fast.
With a running start, she jumped out of the window and transformed into her dragon shape. She picked up the trunk with careful claws and flew away from the Alps and Scanra.
The sun was beginning to rise, setting the clouds on fire. She flew quickly away from civilization and towards the great forests, hoping that being seen would not be on her list of problems.
Elegantly, she shot up above the clouds.
OOO
Corus had never looked so welcoming.
It was morning when she arrived—nearly a day sooner than she had anticipated. Despite being in dragon form, she knew she was still bleeding significantly. It was obvious from the lightheaded feeling that was beginning to dominate her. Darkness was beginning to creep into her eyesight.
I need a healer, she thought urgently as she glided towards the palace. Each flap of her wings made her weaker to the point of delirium. She landed on the grass next to what looked like the Healer Wing window. She opened the window gently and set the trunk carefully inside, soon followed by her bare human limbs as she jumped inside and wrapped a blanket around her.
Good thing Neal wasn't here.
But she had to find him. There was no energy to heal her own wounds. She limped to the next room.
"Neal?"
Neal was there tending to another patient. He looked up at his name, and his eyes immediately bulged.
He walked quickly over to her. "Romeli, your back so soon. Oh Gods that's a deep cut on your cheek."
Dizziness began to consume her. "Neal…got…trunk. Fredrin…with…scars. Scanra…" She fainted. Neal caught her in his arms swiftly.
He cringed as he saw the blood begin to soak through the blanket. Had she just fought in a war.
He picked her up carefully and set her on the cot next to the trunk, eyeing it uneasily. Something about it just wasn't natural.
But as Romeli lay there, she did not think about the contents of the chest, but rather the thought that she would mean it when she said she was never going to Scanra again.
Neal! You saved the day!
Replies.
Darkness-0: Gurl! I didn't stop there! Lol. Sure took me a while tho…unfortunately. I'm so glad you started reading it…it's a true honor. Yeah I don't like how I killed D'mitri off either. I was reading through the story again starting at the first slavery chapter and I actually cried when I killed D'mitri. I don't even know why I did it. It's necessary though. You'll find out why in the next few chapters.
Sun Doll: haha. Omg thanks for readin'. At least you reviewed right? Just the act of it makes my day. Awww thanks! (hug)
Silver-star-0: AHH! SILVER!! (hug). Lol. James is emo. That's okay. I think he becomes non-emo soon. For now. I guess. I dunno. Sort of planning this as I go. Yeah I know. When I thought of the going back to Scanra thing, I almost shot myself jk. Because I didn't want to write it. But it turned out pretty well I think. I resolved a few things…got the trunk. Lookin' good.
Akira Shinaichi: lol. You got your title. Thanks for readin'
X17SkmBdrchiczxx: lol. I torture him constantly. Ah well. Yes, I am evil, I believe. Otherwise I wouldn't be writing something so horribly torturous. Hopefully this chapter was action-ish enough for you. I thought of you when I was writing it. Lol. I love Neal—he's the comic relief. I guess you kind of need that in these types of stories.
Itachihater13: keep on moosin'. Lmao. Genius, you are. Sorry the update was sort of slow, but hopefully the outcome was good enough for ya!
May silverstream: lol gotta love the cliffhangers. Love writing them, hate reading them.
Arianna 56: lol. I think it's impossible to see Romeli going back. I didn't even know she was going back! Haha. Awwww. Thanks for giving up your early night. I feel so flattered right now. Glad you got an account. Ff is well worth it, even if you don't write. What was Maryann's reaction again? Oh yea. Lol. Silly meeeee. I'm glad you're hyper, I am too. My new year's resolution is treat everything like a party, so yeah. Woot. Rubbish student? Psshhh hardly. You read my story. You're amazin'. I think we can all relate to Romeli…that's what makes it awesome.
Princess of the Rogue: lol. Totally went for The Guardian. Thanks for reading'