Soldier in Blood Splattered Uniform
Chapter 8
Within minutes, Skye, Ben and Toby faced an old building. From the outside, the place looked large and possibly inviting – yet, upon closer inspection, from a sliver of visibility through the boarded up window, Skye saw that the wallpaper was shabby and tattered, and the interior appeared dismal and well-worn. This was the orphanage.
Toby was in shock. "Logan really lets people live like this?"
"You'd know if you hadn't trotted off for an extended holiday," Skye snapped, despite only really seeing the miserable state of Bowerstone Industrial herself when she left the castle.
Ben focused his eyes on the floor, quickly realising it was much easier if he didn't intervene.
Toby shot her a look, but didn't respond. They walked closer to the woman they assumed to be Linda – whose fiancé they were searching for.
Her low spirits were representative of the gloomy Industrial atmosphere. "If you want to stay here too then you're out of luck."
"We're here to rescue your fiancé," Skye said.
The woman's face brightened significantly. The sight alone made Skye's eyes begin to swell with tears. She'd give everything to get her fiancé back – Skye knew she must do everything in her power to help with that.
Linda took the three to Ferret's hideout, situated close to the orphanage.
"Open up," she shouted, banging on the door.
"Linda," a man drawled. "Have you got the money?"
"Yep, it's with my 'associate'."
"Three of them?" He sounded disapproving.
"Do you want my money or not?" Linda quipped. The man grumbled but didn't say anything else.
Skye, Ben and Toby followed Linda into the house. Initially, it appeared to be a normal house, hardly a hideout for a mastermind criminal.
The man pointed towards a trapdoor at the back of the room. "He's down there."
That's more like it.
The trapdoor led to a massive underground lair. Barrels, kegs and tables were scattered across the room, giving the place a dingy, and drunken bar vibe. The mercenaries sat at the table gave them murderous glances, doing nothing to help their savage and barbaric stereotype; Skye felt immediately uncomfortable.
Nigel Ferret appeared in the doorway at the end of the room. He was a short, stubby man who greatly resembled an overgrown hobbe. His disparaging smirk was plastered on his face.
Probably in an attempt to shorten all time in Nigel Ferret's company, Linda quickly tells him she doesn't have the funds.
Within minutes, the trio find themselves fighting off a horde of brutish mercenaries.
Once they had killed the last one, Linda traipsed over to the door.
"Ferret, all of your men are dead, let us in or you'll end up like them," Linda threatened. She really came out of her shell.
"It's open," came a voice tinged with fear and dread. Ferret wasn't so cocky without his men.
The room they walked into was wide and expansive; it was clear that the set up Ferret had going on definitely wasn't minuscule. The thought made Skye's stomach churn.
"He's down there," Ferret said, his beady eyes flickered to a large hole going underground. Fantastic.
Linda looked heartbroken. "Please, go and get him."
With the look of desperation in Linda's eyes there was no way Skye could say no.
Ben was the first to drop down, and landed on his feet with a thud. He saw a boy, roughly about his age, dressed in noble clothes, cowering in the corner.
The boy was startled. "Wh-who are you?" he stuttered.
"We're here to help you get out of here," Ben said, moving closer to the boy.
Toby was the next to jump down the shaft. "Where's her fiancé then?"
"Over here," Ben called, appearing from the corner.
Upon first glance, Toby gasped when seeing the boy. His footsteps froze, his eyes narrowed in confusion. "You're the fiance?"
"Toby?" the boy whispered. "W-what are you doing here?"
Ben's eyebrows raised. "You guys know each other?" Small world. It seems everyone's full of secret revelations.
Toby didn't hear him. "You're engaged. To... Linda." He shook his head as if to bring some clarity to the situation. "Of all the things I wasn't expecting, that's high up on the list."
Another thud was heard as Skye jumped down the hatch. "Have you found him?"
The boy's mouth gaped open, and his eyes widened in shock. When Skye came into view her facial expressions mirrored his.
"Awkward," Toby chuckled, looking from face to face.
Ben remained confused. "What's going on?"
Seeing that neither Skye or the boy were going to speak, Toby took it upon himself. "Well, you see," he begun, clasping his hands together. "Skye and Elliot here know each other from way back when we were kids. They we what you could call 'childhood sweethearts'. How cute." His tone was laced with mock and sarcasm. "I mean, I always thought they'd be the ones to get married, and would be popping out royal babies every few years, but apparently since I left things have changed - and now Elliot's engaged to Linda."
Skye didn't appreciate Toby's commentary, and any other time she may have punched him in the face, but currently she was finding it difficult to breathe.
"Skye, I-I, I'm sorry," Elliot struggled to get his words out. "I didn't mean for you to find out like this."
"Down a sewer after being kidnapped by a ferret?" Toby cut in. Skye shot him a look equivalent to a cannon being fired. He shut up.
She finally summoned up enough strength to speak. "Do you blame me for what happened?" her voice quivered as she spoke, barely a whisper.
Elliot looked down, unable to vocally confirm what she knew anyway; it desolated her.
"We should probably get out of here," Ben said, doing his usual trick of saving the day.
Toby grimaced, unable to understand what was going on but keeping his mouth shut nevertheless.
The walked on further in silence, encountering a few waves of hobbes in the meantime.
"So," Toby said, finally breaking the silence. "What's actually going on?"
Skye huffed, her anger at Toby continuing to shine through. "We're in the sewers, trying to get out. I'd have thought it was obvious."
Toby flashed her a sarcastic smile and a rude gesture with his fingers. "I meant with you two, smartass."
She tensed, unable to string up the courage to tell him what really went down with her and Elliot. She was ashamed. Humiliated. Guilty. The choices she made that day in the castle have haunted her every night onwards, and have apparently done the same to Elliot too. It's not like she could blame him, it was her decision and he had been roped into it. However, she thought he had genuine feelings towards her; she didn't think he'd move on as quickly as he had.
Elliot's eyes flickered towards hers but she refused to make eye contact. Whilst avoiding his eyes she glanced towards Ben's face, and somehow, she found comfort and solace in that.
"At the castle, Logan... Logan forced me to choose between killing El-" she couldn't say his name, "killing him, or executing a group of protesters. I think you can guess which decision I made." She looked down, not wanting to gauge any of their reactions.
Whilst Ben understood her guilty feeling of regret, and knew it would be so easy to hate her for what she did, he also knew that if he was in the same situation he might've done exactly the same thing.
Toby gaped, unable to process what was going on. "You let all those people die for him?"
Ben gave a harsh, abrupt choking sound, stopping Toby from continuing. She'd suffered enough. "To force that decision on you is horrific - we had no idea Logan had become that cruel."
"Neither had I," she whispered.
Elliot sniffled, everyone's attention focused on him.
"I am sorry Skye," he sighed. "I wish it had never happened like this."
She gave a short nod, incapable of saying any more.
"We could have gotten married, and had kids, and had a really happy life," he said.
Skye gulped. "Why are you saying this now, it's not like anything can be done to change what happened." Her voice broke at the end.
Elliot breathed deeply and heavily, taking his time to answer. "Maybe we still can."
"What?" she said, through a sharp intake of breath. Toby and Ben remained quiet and still, pretending they weren't listening, even though their apparent discomofort was written all over their face.
"It's your choice, Skye." He looked desperately in her eyes.
"Are you asking for me to choose for you? Between Linda and myself?"
"Well," he scratched his head. "Yes."
She laughed, a cold and harsh sound ringing through the tunnels of the sewers. "You don't seem to like what decisions I make."
"This is different," Elliot said.
"Go back to Linda," she seethed. "Do. Not. Tell her about any of this. She seems like a good woman, and she loves you, though God know why." Skye turned on her heel and stalked off towards the door at the end of the sewer leading back where they had come from.
Ben and Toby shifted, exchanging uneasy glances.
"That went well," Toby chuckled, whilst Ben gave him a stern look. "Well, she acted friendlier now to Elliot than she has been to me all day."
Once they emerged back into the room where they had left Linda to stay and watch Ferret (who had done a spectacular job, considering Ferret had done one and run off,) and rushed their goodbyes, eager to be out of that place.
It was raining; the sky reflected their moods - downcast and despondent. It was only Toby who appeared slightly chipper, however this was usually a facade to hide the true extent of his miserable feelings.
Ben didn't know why he felt sad, he supposed he was leeching off the dispirited atmosphere that was circling Skye like a melancholic tornado - definitely heightened by the already abysmal and forlorn surroundings of Bowerstone Industrial. He needed to go to the pub.
Obviously, he was not an insensitive arsehole, and didn't proposition this to the others in case they were too upset. (Although he was unsure how anyone could be too upset to go to the pub - that was usually the first place he took his sorrows).
There was also the matter of his uncertainty of where all their friendships lay. He was fairly certain he and Toby were back friends (though whether they were friends enough to go for a drink together - who knows). As for him and Skye - he had no idea. They had just been fighting alongside each other in the sewers, which Ben had to admit he really enjoyed - if it was possible to enjoy slicing hobbes' heads off in the company of someone else. He also felt the subconscious urge to shield her from sadness, although he genuinely didn't know why. She was old enough and strong enough to fight her own battles - yet Ben just felt happy at helping her along the way. What was he saying? She was a princess, and had two temperamental older brothers who could possibly kill him - or at least give him a hard kick in the balls which may be just as painful, and he had no idea what the third brother was like. Ben needed a trip to the pub a little more than he originally thought.
Skye broke the silence. "Well, on the bright side - I earned enough guild seals." Toby looked confused but Skye didn't care enough to fill him in.
"So does this mean we go back to Page?" Ben asked. Looks like the pub is out of the question, then.
"Hmm, I suppose so. Hopefully she likes me a bit more now," she said, beginning the walk to the headquarters. Back to the sewers again, charming. "Let's just forget to mention this little escapade to Walter."
Ben nodded in agreement, and jabbed Toby when he didn't respond.
Toby rolled his eyes. "Fine," he huffed. "But his reaction would have been funny."
Skye scoffed. "Forgive me if I don't share your sense of humour, brother."
He narrowed his eyes but didn't reply.
As they rounded the corner to the rebel headquarters, the trio bumped into Major Swift.
"Good day to you all," he said, his moustache twitching, "I'm just going to the castle to speak with Logan."
Uh oh. Meetings with Logan were never good – Skye could tell from the incessant shouting she heard occurring in the castle whenever Logan met with anyone. He never really listened to them anyways, he just did whatever he wanted. Immediately, Skye feared the worst - what if Logan realised that Swift was part of the revolution? She calmed herself, Major Swift was an intelligent man, and he would obviously know how to handle himself.
"And apparently," Swift paused, becoming aware of the hostile emotions between the group. "Your other sibling is attending too. What was his name?"
Skye's sharp intake of breath bounced off the brick walls, her eyes widening. Toby, however, appeared indifferent, his nonchalant demeanour revealing nothing. If Skye didn't know better she'd think he didn't care.
Major Swift clicked his fingers. "Ah, James,that's it! Ah well, I'll be off then, see you all later."
Skye rounded on the two men. "James? What is he doing at the castle?" she said, the worry in her voice threatening to escape, her mind screaming thousands of possibilities at her, though none of them seemed plausible.
"Calm down!" Toby begun to raise his voice. "Why do you have to think the worst in everyone? Maybe he's trying to help!"
"Helping, like he helped by running off to Brightwall Academy and being a coward instead of facing up to things like everyone else," she sneered. "Obviously, you would understand, considering your own actions were nothing short of cowardly."
"Shut up," Toby seethed. "You think you're so great and perfect because you stayed. Well I didn't want to! Being in that castle was nauseating, and I would do anything to never go back."
Ben stood awkwardly between the two of them, unsure of what to do.
Skye looked away, unable to make eye contact with Toby. He was right, their childhood in that castle was awful – from the outside everything looked perfect and great but all that glitters is not gold. Still, as much as she acknowledged royal life was horrendous, abandonment was also pretty crap, and she didn't take well to being left behind by half of her family.
"I still don't like what's going on," Skye finally said.
Toby turned his back on her. "You never do."