Trickery
Noir, Blanc, and Prince Loki were in the same park Noir and the prince had first met in, discussing and planning the break-in and break-out of the stockades.
The prince had taken some documents from the palace library, and showed the nekos the building plans for the prison, along with a map of the surrounding area. Loki and Blanc were still being rather cold to each other, and Noir was starting to get tired of playing referee in their bickering.
Blanc was making a suggestion now about how to get in, and Loki was glaring at him, arms folded over his chest. "No, but don't you see? If we approach from this side," Blanc stabbed at the east part of the map Loki had brought. "Then we will have shadows on our side, because they'll be going that way. Which gives us more cover. And then we can get inside faster because of this little side entrance here," he poked at a part of the building plans that indicated an entrance on the north wall. "And there's bound to be fewer guards away from the main entrance."
Loki shook his head immediately once Blanc finished speaking. "Won't work, Street Cat. Your friend will be contained all the way over here." The prince tapped the southwest corner of the building on the plans.
"I still don't see how you know that," Blanc narrowed his eyes at the prince suspiciously.
Noir sighed heavily and bowed her head. "If you had been listening before rather than checking that the maps weren't forgeries, you would know," she sighed. "Because I know. Because I was listening."
Loki smirked smugly at the fact that his little neko thief was defending him.
Blanc threw Noir an accusing look. "You're siding with him?" he gestured to the prince.
Noir looked affronted. "I'm not siding with anyone… we're trying to get something done, and you being mulish isn't helping is all."
Blanc clenched his jaw. "Fine. Explain, Your Royal Majesty," the white neko ground out, glaring at the dark-haired man.
Loki sighed heavily. "They hold a slave auction whenever the cells are getting full. If the auction is tomorrow, then obviously the cells are all nearly full. Since your friend was captured earlier today, then she is evidently in one of the last cells to be filled."
"And the cells are filled systematically from the front entrance on the west side, from the northwest corner, to the northeast corner, and then down to the southwest corner," Noir finished.
The prince threw her an appreciative look, and smiled slightly when she blushed and returned her gaze to the maps. "It'd be far better to enter the jail as close to the cell as possible," he continued. "It lowers the risk of being seen by prisoners or guards patrolling the corridors. So… approaching from the east and entering through the north entrance is out of the question," Loki finished.
"Fine. Then…" Blanc considered, poring over the plans and maps again. "If you're so clever in planning breaking the law your father sets down, then you do the planning, Highness." He finished with a huff, sat back on his heels, crossed his arms, and gave the prince a challenging look.
Loki threw the boy a quick glare and bent over the papers spread on the grass. "Well… The entrance closest to the cell is the front one. But the guard will be heaviest there. Now… I could easily draw them away with an illusion. On the other hand, the locks are probably the most complicated and heavy on the front entrance, so… Would one of you possibly be able to steal the keys from a guard?" his eyes flicked to the two thieves questioningly.
"No need," Blanc said with a quick smile at Noir.
Loki raised an eyebrow.
Noir smiled slightly. "Living on the streets, I've become pretty handy with a lock pick."
Blanc threw her a look, recalling when she had said those same words three weeks ago, talking about the key to the prince's heart. Noir grinned at him, shaking her head to indicate that her friend should not mention that time three weeks ago. Loki just looked mildly confused, not quite understanding what his little neko found so amusing and her friend found so silly. He guessed it was some kind of inside joke.
"Are you sure you'll be able to pick the lock of the front entrance doors?" Loki inquired.
Noir merely nodded. "Are you sure you'll be able to draw the guards away?"
Loki nodded in return.
Noir and Blanc looked slightly skeptical. "How are you going to manage to draw four men away without giving yourself away?" Blanc asked. "What if they catch you?"
"They won't," Loki said, frowning slightly at the pair of nekos. Even the neko girl looked a little unsure. "You don't believe me?" he asked, giving her an accusatory look.
Noir blinked. She felt like she was getting pulled back and forth by her friend and the prince, both vying for her approval and support. "I…" Blanc gave her a questioning look, as if daring her to claim she had wholehearted trust in the prince. "I… don't know, Majesty…" And now the prince was giving her a bitter look, like she had betrayed him. Noir sighed in exasperation.
"If I showed you proof that I can draw them away, would we agree on this plan so far?" Loki asked.
Noir pursed her lips and nodded, but Blanc just raised an eyebrow skeptically.
Loki threw him yet another glare, then glanced to Blanc's left side and concentrated. An indistinct figure, clothed in black, with its face hidden in shadow, appeared, sitting on the grass calmly.
Blanc gasped in surprise and jumped up, scrambling away. The shadowy figure stood and took a step after him… then it turned and ran away, disappearing into a mist of black smoke, then dissipating into nothing.
Both the nekos' eyes and mouths were open wide in shock.
"Convinced?" Loki asked, feeling slightly smug.
Noir smiled, gray eyes twinkling. "That's your illusion to distract the guards?"
He nodded.
"I think it will be perfect," she announced. "And once we get Marron, I think it would be prudent to leave out a side door. By that point, the guards you distracted would be back and possibly searching for us."
Loki nodded in agreement, then glanced at the white neko, eyebrows raised. "Agreed, Neko?"
Blanc bit his lip, obviously still disliking the idea of working alongside the prince. "I suppose."
That night, three figures, clothed from head to toe in black, slunk through the shadows towards the stockades. They pressed themselves to the wall of a building and peered down the street towards the front entrance of the stockades. Indeed, there were four guards slouched in front of the door, looking half-asleep on their feet.
"What if we're caught?" Blanc asked for the millionth time. "It'll be us in trouble, and not him." he jerked his head back towards the prince.
Loki scoffed quietly. "Please, Street Cat. You think my father would let me go unpunished if I was caught helping two neko thieves spring another from jail?"
"Both of you, shut your traps!" Noir snapped, finally losing her temper at the quarreling boys.
They fell silent, a little surprised by the black neko's snapping at them.
Blanc glared between the prince and Noir, disliking the situation. Loki couldn't help but smirk. His little neko was amusing when she lost her temper. Kind of… cute.
"Now," she muttered. "Are we ready to do this?"
"Yes," Loki murmured.
"No," Blanc mumbled at the same time.
Noir turned back at them and glared. "Are you going to stop being rude to each other, you two?"
"Yes," Blanc sighed.
"No," Loki muttered.
Noir narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "Blanc. Your Highness. This is important. Quit bickering. Your Majesty, you offered your help, and we shall be happy to take it. Blanc, we shall accept the prince's help graciously, and rescue Marron. And we are not going to get caught, we are not going to blame the prince for anything that goes wrong, and we are not going to keep insulting each other, or argue. The more arguing, the more likely we're going to be caught," she hissed forcefully.
The boys were silent.
"Understood?" Noir asked.
"Yes, Your High and Mightiness," Blanc said sarcastically.
Loki shot a look to the white neko. There really was something wrong with him. He really didn't like him. But it was his little neko thief he was aiming to help here. "Understood," he murmured.
Noir sighed, trying to keep her temper at the two boys down. "Alright then… Your Highness, your part's up first."
Loki nodded once and crept a little closer, narrowing his eyes at the wall just above the guards. There was a moment of silence, and then there was a rustling sound as a figure in black appeared over the top of the wall. Loki frowned in concentration, and the figure edged down a few yards from the guards, and then dropped down with an audible thump that startled the guards out of their stupor. Loki waited for the guards to catch sight of the black-clothed figure before making it dash away into the shadows.
"Oy! There! Get him! He's escaping!" one guard shouted, and then led the charge of the others after the figure. Little did they know that the figure they were chasing had already dissipated into black smoke that melted into the shadows. Loki smiled in satisfaction. It had worked perfectly
Noir grinned. "Fantastic, Highness. Thank you," she breathed quietly.
Blanc threw her a mutinous look, obviously disapproving of her approbation for the prince. "Aren't you supposed to be picking the lock?" he asked darkly.
Noir pursed her lips and stepped forward, reaching into a pouch on her belt as she explored the heavy lock with the other hand. She smirked. This was kid's stuff. The lock was more impressive-looking than it really was impressive. Intimidating to look at, but not at all daunting to a skilled lock picker like herself.
"You might want to hurry," Loki said, sounding a little doubtful. "Those guards will soon be back. Are you sure you can pick it quickly eno—"
He was cut off as the lock popped open, and Noir thrust it towards him. "Yes, Highness, I'm rather sure," she said smoothly.
Loki took the lock from her numbly, amazed at her speed and accuracy. "You picked that lock in… seven seconds."
Noir smiled proudly and slowly pulled open the front doors. Luckily, they were well-oiled, and the hinges didn't creak. "That's why I tell people to get a dog."
They filed inside silently, Loki carefully slipping the padlock onto the inside of the door so that any guards would be locked out of the front entrance. Even Blanc nodded in approval at the move.
"Right," Blanc murmured, taking a torch from a wall. "So then… we're guards, yes?"
Noir nodded immediately, though Loki blinked. "That means, if anyone asks, we tell them we're guards," Noir explained. It was simple and a daily occurrence for her and her friends to merely say they were something, and the others would automatically understand the charade they were to play. The prince wasn't so used to committing crimes with partners. He nodded in understanding and pulled on the hood of his black cloak, not wanting to be recognized by anyone. "So," the neko girl said firmly. "To the southwest corner of the prison."
The three moved quietly through the halls, apprehensive and alert for any sign of danger for them. The only possible danger was the occasional prisoners who weren't asleep, peering out of their cells at them. To these individuals, they would quietly bark an order to get to their bed and go to sleep before they were whipped. Simply being regular prison guards, doing their hourly patrols.
They reached the last door on the right and peered inside. The two nekos had started to become nervous; they still hadn't found Marron as they drew nearer to the end of the hall. But now they saw a familiar figure huddled in the corner on the bed, staring at the barred window high on the wall.
She started and looked up abruptly as the three figures drew closer. "Oh, gods," Marron whispered. "Please, don't tell me it's already time. I thought I would have at least till dawn," she whimpered.
"Marron," Noir hissed, gripping the cell bars and staring in at her friend. "It's me, and Blanc." She paused for a moment before adding, "And Prince Loki, too. We've come to get you out of here."
Marron's brown eyes widened. She jumped from the bed and dashed to the door of the cell. The three friends did their best to share in a group embrace through the cold iron bars that separated them. Loki felt terribly out of place, awkwardly hanging back as the three nekos celebrated their reunion. He felt like an outsider now that their group was whole again.
Noir pulled away with a deep breath of relief. "Don't worry; I'll pick the lock on your cell, and then we can go." She reached into the pouch on her belt again, and selected an appropriate pick for the cell door lock. It sprang open a few seconds later, and the girl in brown rushed out, embracing the girl in black once again with a quiet breath of relief. Noir hugged her friend, feeling so much better now that the group of three were reunited.
Loki cleared his throat awkwardly as he heard footsteps in the distance. "Erm… Bandit? I hate to interrupt, but… I think the guards have managed to get back in, and are looking for whoever drew them away."
The three nekos exchanged looks and nods.
"Right," Blanc said. "Which side entrance are we leaving out of, then? Think the nearest is the one on the south side."
"Sounds like a plan," Loki nodded, agreeing with the white neko for once. Much to Noir's relief.
"Of course it sounds like a plan… what else would it sound like? An insult?" Blanc scoffed rudely.
Noir cuffed him over the head immediately. "No, but that certainly did," she scolded. "We've got to go."
Blanc rubbed his head, took Marron's arm, and led the way down the hall.
Loki glared after the white neko. Naturally, he just went right back to insulting him as soon as he had gotten what he needed. Stupid thief. And yet somehow nekos wondered why they were so hated.
"Your Highness?"
His little neko thief's voice drew him out of his reverie. "Hm?"
"Aren't you coming?" she asked, gesturing after the other two nekos. "Come on."
He sighed and nodded, moving to her side and going down the hall together. He was appreciative of her, at least.
The two paused as they drew nearer to the two nekos in the lead. The two abruptly scrambled backwards and pressed themselves against the wall, beckoning for the prince and Noir to do the same. They did so, and saw a group of soldiers ahead, marching through the halls quickly, on the hunt for the intruders.
"Fantastic," Blanc muttered. "They're bound to be guarding all the exits now. What do we do?"
"You're asking like I know," Loki retorted.
Blanc scoffed. "No, I'm asking like you don't know. I wasn't exactly asking you; I knew you wouldn't have any ideas."
Loki, offended, opened his mouth to snap something, but stopped dead as he saw the white neko's eyes widen in surprise.
At the same time, all four saw the soldier who had snuck up behind them. With a smug smirk, he had a knife poking at Blanc's back. "The neko talks so loudly, I could have stabbed him in the dark," he remarked scathingly. The soldier then took a breath to shout for his companions, but the thieves were too fast to allow that to happen.
Marron wasted no time in sweeping the man's legs out from under him, just as Noir cuffed him over the head. The man was sent sprawling on the floor, and Blanc managed to wrench the blade from his grasp before it hit the floor with a clang. Noir was the one who dropped to the floor and clamped her hand over the man's mouth, preventing him from calling for help.
Loki was stunned. All three thieves had moved without hesitation, and without any verbal communication. Yet they had been perfectly coordinated in taking down the guard.
Noir glanced up at Blanc and nodded. The white neko returned the gesture, then hit the guard on the crown of his head with the pommel of his own sword. He passed out promptly, and the three nekos sighed and stood. Blanc looked smug at the slightly stunned expression on Loki's face. Noir just smiled a little self-consciously. Marron was busy looking around for any more trouble.
"Now then. Where were we? Sneaking out?" Blanc asked.
Loki smirked slightly. "I thought we were busy talking so loudly we could have been stabbed in the dark?"
Noir snickered, but Blanc just glared and began leading the way again, sticking to the shadows.
They reached the junction in the hallway that would lead to the southern exit and paused.
"Where are the other guards?" Marron asked worriedly. "Surely they're not all searching the prison?"
"I don't know," Noir murmured, listening carefully. There was nothing to hear; all was quiet except for very distant marching of guards.
"Well, then, let's not just sit around waiting to get caught," Blanc shrugged and rounded the corner, leading the way to the door.
It was unlocked, and Blanc rested his hand on the handle, glancing over his shoulder at the other three. "Ready?"
They nodded in agreement, Loki still glancing backwards suspiciously. Shouldn't there have been more resistance? Shouldn't there be someone…
Guarding the southern entrance was a group of ten guards, standing just outside the door as Blanc opened it. The neko jumped back in surprise, and the others scrambled back as the warriors leered at them. One sounded the order to seize them, and then all ten men charged at the shocked group.
Note from LoquaciousQuibbler: Gah, what say you we all corner Blanc in a dark alley and give him a couple good kicks? Bring a couple baseball bats and yardsticks, too… All those in favor say aye… "Aye." Lol anyways.
So we have managed to get Marron out of her cell… but now they're all cornered by a group of guards that more than doubles their group. What shall happen? We'll see.
If you guys can find the two slightly tweaked movie quotes in this chapter, PM me and tell me what movies you think they are from (or review, I suppose). If you get them correct, then I shall announce your awesomeness to the world in another author's note.
Please favorite, follow, and review or PM me; I would greatly appreciate help with plot in this story… since I originally had no direction for this story, your guys' suggestions will help direct this story as it goes.