Chapter 39 - Z
It was easy enough to get into the castle through the side gate, but getting through the courtyard again was proving more difficult. The guards had almost doubled, I assumed, because they'd all fallen asleep earlier. On that point, I wish I'd asked Calista if I could borrow some of those sleep arrows…
"When you think you have the chance, make a run for it," Dagran peeked over the low wall above the stone steps. I nodded and watched the closest guard, checking his route to see which direction gave me more time to rush to the centre archway. He walked passed us again and was almost to the far corner. I sprinted as silently as I could to the middle, narrowly making it before the guard turned around. I looked back towards Dagran and flagged him to follow before planning my next move. There was one more pacing guard in my way and another with his back to the door. It'd be close, but I could get passed him if I went quick enough. "You can make that," my brother whispered over my shoulder.
"Good thing he's not paying attention," I jerked my chin in the direction of the still guard. "I just have to time it." The pacing knight turned on his heel back towards the far corner and I snuck passed to the door as quickly and as quietly as I could. It was actually sad that they didn't even notice me opening the door to the Great Hall. Dagran followed on the knight's next round.
"Let's not rush this," he spoke softly, trying to keep the echoes in the stone hall to a minimum. "No matter how well guarded it seems, you'll find a chance."
I nodded and stuck my head around the corner to check the right hand staircase. It was clear so I walked cautiously up to the second floor. We needed to get to the living quarters, but the east wing was heavily guarded, due to Count Arganan's chamber.
"Zael, wait!" Dagran grabbed the back of my jacket and pulled me down behind the low wall just around the corner from the guards. "The Count's room has more guards than anywhere else."
"Yeah, no surprise there. What do we do? You've got a plan?" I asked, sneaking looks over the wall.
He nodded. "Just wait here," he gave my shoulder a pat before standing and walking casually around the corner to the Count's door. "Good evening, gentlemen. Listen, something urgent's come up," he spoke with authority. I couldn't hear what he said after that, but the guards quickly left their post, which was the first time I'd ever seen the Count's chamber unguarded. "It's all clear," his hand waved me on from behind the pillar.
"Dagran, how did you manage that?!" I was astounded. I hadn't realised he'd held such status with the Count, though I suppose he'd taken the lead in all negotiations and he had gotten us this far.
"Never you mind," he smirked. "Unlike you, I still have a pretty good reputation. It's part of the 'keeping a low profile' I mentioned earlier," he gave me one of those looks that reminded me I wasn't good at that kind of thing. I'll admit, I'm really not. I can't just sit still when something bothers me. Dagran, on the other hand, can come up with the craziest strategies to get to his goal, which saved our butts on more than one occation. "Come on, then," he turned the corner towards the bridge and pushed one of the doors open. "Okay, no-one's here. Let's go." I followed him out into the night air. It felt refreshingly warm after being in that cell and less stifling than staying in the tavern. The rest of the way was a straight shot to Jiral's room. It was so empty at night compared to the usual furore. "It'll be empty at this time of day. Let's find some proof quickly then let's get out of here."
"I can't wait to get this over with so I can relax for once," I mumbled as I pushed the door open, hoping to God that Jiral really wasn't in there. To my relief, he wasn't. Come to think of it, this was starting to seem just a little too easy. Eh, I'll take a break where I can get one. I mentally shrugged.
"You look over there," Dagran pointed to the left and walked over to the right. "Keep your eyes peeled for anything.
The first thing I noticed was a highly exaggerated painting of Jiral. Honestly, I thought he looked more like a pig than his portrait showed. "Dagran, over here," I called to him as my eyes caught a glimpse of a sword on the desk. "This sword has blood on it!"
He came up behind me and grabbed the parchment sitting next to it. "Yeah, and look at this letter," he held it out for both of us to read. "Business dealings with the Gurak? I knew it!" he growled.
"Zael! What are you doing here?" We both spun around quicker than lightning at the booming voice. The Count had come in with the guards from earlier.
"What's this? What's the problem?" Jiral followed just seconds later, concerned with why everyone was in his room.
Dagran took a step forward. "Count, I'll accept full responsibility for Zael, but first, please take a look at this," he handed him the letter. Count Arganan took it with a huff, then looked outraged.
"This sword emblem… It's Lord Jiral's!" one of the guards pointed out.
"And this letter is addressed to Jiral," the Count turned to face him slowly with a look of utter disgust. "Care to explain?"
"What?! Impossible! I've never seen it!" he shouted, but the guards had caught his arms already and started dragging him out of the room. "This is a set up! Unhand me, you fools! Get your filthy hands off me!" his voice echoed as they pushed him out towards the bridge. It was rather funny, actually.
The Count turned back to us. "Sorry about that, Zael. Although I do wish you'd avoid such low-class methods."
"My apologies, Sir," I bowed my head alongside my brother. "This was my idea," Dagran took the blame. "I couldn't stand seeing him framed like that."
"Well, at least Jiral and his cohorts won't be bothering us anymore," the Count crumpled the letter and threw it on the floor. "This will teach me to trust those who have nothing to show for themselves but their lineage." He was surprisingly calm, considering the situation. "I guess it's fortunate that all this mess was cleaned up before the war with the Gurak." He turned and waved back at us as he left the room, "Excellent work, Zael my boy. I knew I could count on you."
*** *** *** *** *** *** Back at the tavern *** *** *** *** *** ***
"It's a good thing that plan worked. I had a little deal to get you out if you got caught again, but it's hard to get favours from noble women, you know," Lowell joked.
Mirania gave both of us a large and tight hug. "I'm just glad you came back safely," she lingered a little before letting go of us. "I was worried."
"We should celebrate a job well done," Syrenne raised her mug. "Who's with me?"
"I wouldn't join her if I were you," Lowell threw his arm over my shoulder. "She's been drinking the lot tonight."
Dagran smirked and crossed his arms. "That's not much different than any other night then."
"Ya know, I can 'ere you," she hissed, glaring mostly at Lowell.
I laughed nervously at his expense before sliding out from under his arm, trying not to be near him when she started throwing things. "I think I'm actually going to turn in for the night. All of this has worn me out a bit." I nodded a thank you at my brother and started towards the stairs.
"Are you alright, Zael?" Mirania stopped me. "You still look a bit pale. Have you eaten today?"
"I'm fine. Just tired, is all," I smiled. I hadn't actually eaten since before Calista had let me out of the cell.
She tilted her head and frowned. "I don't like it when you act as though nothing's wrong. It tends to make me worry even more," she held my hand softly.
"I'm sorry. It's just been a long past few days," I kept up my fake smile, but she could always see right through it. "I think some sleep ought to do me some good."
"I won't stop you then," she paused for a moment. "He's still awake. If you don't want to talk, maybe he can at least help you get your mind off of it for the night."
I blushed a little bit, not knowing what kind of distracting she was thinking of, but knowing the kind of distracting I wanted. "Goodnight, Mirania," I gave her a quick hug before making my way to the room. I opened the door slowly and peeked inside to see if he really was still awake. He was sitting on his bed braiding his hair back. "There's no point in doing that," I joked, closing the door quietly. The stillness of the room was peaceful, just like the night sky. He put his arms down, letting his hair fall back down still half braided, and leaned forward on his knees.
"I suppose not," he smiled.
I sat next to him and ran my fingers through his damp hair to let it flow freely in front of his face. "You smell good," I lightly brushed my nose against his cheek.
"You smell awful," he said bluntly. "You should take a bath."
"You should have waited for me then," I was starting to feel self-conscious about it, but my urge to hold him was much greater than my need to bathe.
He leaned into my arms and rested his head on my shoulder. "I'm glad you're here," his smile was so cute and genuine.
"Did you miss me that bad?" I kissed the top of his head lightly, brushing my fingers through his hair still.
He looked away and threw on his pouting face. "Not at all. Who'd miss someone like you? Causing trouble all the time, making your friends worry, not that I'm worried," he added quickly.
"I missed you," I wrapped my arms around him tightly and pulled him down with me as I fell backwards on the bed.
He sat up quickly to reposition himself, pushing himself up with his hand on my chest. "You seriously smell like dungeon rats," he laughed with a slight pink tint to his cheeks. "But… I'm really glad you're okay," he laid next to me with his head on my chest. And his arm over my waist. I kicked off my boots and turned towards him. "You are okay, right?" he looked up at me with concern, but all I saw was his adorable puppy eyes framed by soft white curls.
"Can we talk about that later? I don't want to think about it right now."
He nodded and buried his face in my jacket. He was quiet for a second then coughed and rolled over quickly with his hand to his nose. "You seriously reek!" he laughed, but he didn't move away. I pulled him close, his back to my chest, and took in the scent of my salvation with a smile. "I'll let you get away with it tonight, but I'm going to dump cold water on you in the morning," he didn't laugh that time, which made me worry. I'm going to wake up to cold water, aren't I?