Chapter Thirty-Five
In the hallway, the noise of fighting is much louder. It sounds as though a storm is raging inside the castle, which I suppose there kind of is. I creep silently down the hall and peek around the corner to look downstairs. My breath catches at the sight. Immobile bodies are strewn about the floor, each with varying degrees of wounds, their blood staining the wood floor and the white walls. Those still standing are engaged in combat, swords clanging, guns firing, fists flying. It's chaos, and I want to scream.
There's a crash as a body hits a wall. I snap my attention to where Axel is now crumpling against said wall. He brings a hand to his forehead and I see him grit his teeth in pain. There's a large, burly man stalking towards him, a heavy looking tomahawk drawn and ready to strike.
"Axel," I whisper, drawing my bowstring back quickly. I take aim and a deep breath to steady my shaking hand. The man is mere feet from Axel; my heart races as I release the arrow. I close my eyes briefly but snap them open just as quickly. There's blood on the wall next to Axel, and his eyes widen in shock as the large man crumples down, the arrow sticking from his temple. I sigh in relief, and Axel's eyes search me out. Upon catching sight of me, he smiles brightly and gives me a little salute.
"Are you okay?" I mouth. He nods. I give him a smile before hurrying past the stair case to continue down the hallway. I reach the hidden stairwell that leads into the throne room hall and throw open the door, my bowstring drawn in case someone's hiding in there. No one's there, and I lower my bow but lift it almost immediately afterwards when I hear footsteps behind me. I spin around quickly, about to release another arrow, but am met with the sight of Axel. A breath escapes me in a hiss, and I lower my weapon again.
"Shit, Axel, you can't just sneak up behind someone like that," I say.
"Sorry. I didn't exactly think about what I was doing. Thanks for not shooting me. Nice hit on that guy, by the way," he replies. I glance back down the stairwell impatiently.
"Thanks. Now isn't the best time for idle chit-chat, though, in case you haven't noticed."
"Yeah. I just wanted to know where you're going."
"Throne room. Larxene and her personal guards are there," I mutter quickly.
"You're going alone?" he asks incredulously.
"I don't exactly have the time to form a little support group seeing as how they're all busy trying to keep themselves alive."
"Well I'll go with you," he says. I shake my head.
"That big guy unarmed you. What do you expect to do?" I ask. He bites down on his lip.
"I could lead a guard or two out of the room for you," he says. I roll my eyes.
"Axel, that-" I pause. "Uh…that might work," I mumble. "You run up, push the doors open so they think I'm there, hide in a nearby closet, and I shoot from the stairs. I'll have to get into the throne room right after, though to take out the last guard before I have Larxene alone, but that…that's about our only option, isn't it?" I ask rhetorically. I sigh. "Alright, let's go."
We head down the stairwell together and peek down the hallway at the bottom. Everything's clear. I point out a good place for Axel to hunker down after kicking the door open, and he nods before creeping up to the door. He looks back at me, and I nod, ready. I pull back to remain unseen, hear the noise, and pull my bowstring back as Axel runs back past me to the anointed hiding spot. Seconds later, I hear tentative footsteps make their way down the hall. They get closer and closer, and then the silver haired man comes into view. Without a moment's hesitation, I release the arrow into his skull and watch him fall.
"Xemnas?" a voice calls down the hall, sounding shocked. I know he's not going to be dumb enough to come down here; I also know it'll only take him a moment to notice the arrow sticking out of Xemnas's head. I'm proven correct when I hear him hiss, "shit."
I jump from my spot, another arrow at the ready. I take the quickest aim possible and release another arrow right as a lance whizzes by my ear and another slices through my thigh. I hiss and groan in pain, but am thankful the first missed. I look up in time to dodge another lance. I pull another arrow from the quiver and shoot it off, this time hitting the man with sideburns, Xaldin, in the chest. I smile as he goes down, the arrow having plunged through his heart. He glares at me angrily before his eyes glaze over.
I ready another arrow, expecting Saix to appear any moment, but time passes without him coming to the door. He and Larxene are waiting for me to come to him. Axel appears next to me, the three lances in his hands.
"You okay?" he whispers, eyeing the wound in my leg. I nod.
"Fine. You sure you want to come in there?" I whisper back.
"Yeah. I'm not letting you go in there alone." I smile and take a second to plant a kiss on his cheek before heading cautiously towards the room. Axel is right behind me, both of us poised for an attack. We both step through the doorway, and I see Larxene sitting nonchalantly on the throne. She grins widely at me, a malicious glint in her eye, and something feels wrong. I furrow my eyebrows, but don't get a lot of time to think before the doors slam shut, a foot makes heavy contact with the small of my back, and I go toppling a few feet away. There's a clatter as arrows fall from my quiver and I hear the lances wrenched from Axel's grip. I quickly pull myself onto my hands and knees and look behind me. Saix has Axel's arms locked behind his back and a knife to his throat. A sadistic smile is playing at his lips while a look of terror and fury dances in Axel's eyes.
"If you don't want to see his blood all over this floor, you'll leave those arrows on the floor," Saix says smoothly. I stand, holding my hands in front of me to prove them empty. I can't help myself as I glance down at his shoes.
"New shoes?" I ask flatly. He glares at me, but doesn't say anything. I smile at him. "I told you that blood would never polish out."
"Don't test me," he hisses, pressing the blade tighter against Axel's throat. I clamp my mouth shut, not taking my eyes from that knife.
"Iris," a falsely sweet voice says from behind me. I bristle at my sister's tone, but don't turn to face her. She chuckles softly. "Turn around, sis; Saix isn't gonna hurt your little boyfriend unless I say so." I grit my teeth and turn around to face her. She smiles, her nose wrinkling just slightly. "Well didn't you turn out to be just the pretty little thing. Too bad about your nose and that hideous scar." I glare at her.
"I'm probably still a right sight better than you," I say venomously. Shit, Iris, shut up! Piss her off and Axel's dead. Luckily, she just laughs.
"Well, that won't be a problem much longer if you don't listen to me. Listen, Iris, you're messing with some plans I have here. You have a few options, though. The first one is you can help me out with my plans. In fact, you'd make quite the interesting plot twist," she says airily.
"And the second option?" I ask, balling my hands into fists. Her smile widens.
"You and everyone you've brought with you die."