Sentria: The Knight Prince (Book 1)

Chapter Twenty: No Time

I couldn't eat anything at breakfast. The eggs, biscuits, and pork set before me got cold, for I was too worried about the captured Eldwyn to concern myself with hunger. I excused myself halfway through and left Prince Lucas for my chambers where I sat at my desk for hours staring at an empty space on the wall. I tried to summon the best answer to my predicament; King Marbury assured me that no harm would come to Eldwyn and I had reason to believe him. He wasn't one to lie, but I still wanted Eldwyn with me. I couldn't feel at ease without him.

A servant knocked upon my door, making that the fourth one in as many hours, and asked if I needed anything. I refused the offer once more, sending him away with a wave of my hand. King Marbury was attempting to ply me into a state of comfort and I didn't want to be made comfortable. I wanted a resolution. I wanted my relic.

I stood up in place and grabbed onto the wood desk, staring at the crimson carpet with Stargonian stitching as if it would provide me with better answers than the wall had. There had to be something I wasn't seeing. Some missing piece just beyond my field of vision. It would be at least another three days until Captain Ral returned with word about the tower, and even then, he might not have known what I knew about the Oblivion Witch. Her face still stalked my dreams like an adamant hunter. Waiting would be the diplomatic course of action but that doesn't guarantee favored results.

I sighed and left my room in a hurry, deciding that any action was better than inaction. I walked through the town to the dungeon, hardly thinking at all, letting my and stood before the main guard standing outside holding a spear that was taller than he was.

"Halt," said the husky guard, bowing his head. He held his hand out with his palm up toward me. "Under direct order of King Marbury, not a soul is allowed into the dungeons."

"Am I just any commoner?" I asked, staring him directly in the eyes. "Who am I?"

"...You are High Prince Darren, my lord." The guard sounded far less confident than before.

"I am High Prince Darren Colress of the first family. My family name outranks that of any royal in the realm and that includes King Marbury." I took a step toward the man. "If I outrank your king, how is it that you would even deign to question where I can and cannot go?"

"I'm sorry, my lord," He said and bowed his head again. "Please forgive me."

"Move aside," I said hoarsely, like I had just eaten a pile of bark. The guard took a step to the side and I walked into the dungeons with my head held high.

It was quiet inside. If I hadn't seen the prisoners myself, I would have thought that this black iron prison was empty. I had been to dungeons where the sounds of wailing men could be heard from miles away. In Stargon's dungeons, the captured quietly sat or slept, resigned their fate.

It was dark, despite there being torches hung about the walls. There was a young guard in the corner who waved at me, then put his hand down once he realized that that was improper. He must have been new. I went to the last cell and saw Eldwyn sitting on his cot and staring outside the barred window as if he was as free as the birds outside.

"Eldwyn," I said to him pleadingly, gripping the bars.

He turned to me with a smile and said, "Knight, how are you?"

"How am I?!" I looked around. "Look at where you are. You are imprisoned."

"We're all in cages of a sort," he said shrugging. "There's not much difference. As long as my mind isn't caged than neither am I."

"But you are caged, Eldwyn. Trapped like a rat." I gripped the bars tightly, as if I could bend them with my fury.

"I am well. They feed me and I have a place to sleep. That's better than many."

"You are a guest of the High Prince and...my friend. This is unacceptable."

"But there is more to it..." Eldwyn got up and walked up to the bars. Even in the dim light of this dank dungeon he looked marvelous, like the whitmore flowers that grow in caves without the warmth of sunlight. "The tower."

"Yes...the Oblivion Witch," I replied.

"And you believe in this prophecy now?"

"I do," I confessed. "I feel it in my heart. If we don't destroy her, she will burn the realm until we are nothing but ash. She must be stopped. Captain Ral and his men don't know what they are up against—no one does and time is not on our side. I don't have enough facts it to convince King Marbury of your innocence and to explain how I know about it. He won't accept my belief without evidence. It will have to be up to us."

"What are you saying, knight?"

I walked away from him and went to the guard in the corner. He kept his hand on the hilt of his sheathed sword as if he had expected prisoners to break free at any time and attack him.

"High Prince Darren," said the young guard with an endearing smile. He bowed to me hastily.

"Is this how they properly greet their High Prince in the Stargon Kingdom?" I asked. "You are to kneel before me."

"O-oh. Yes, my lord." The young guard kneeled, closing his eyes, and I responded with a swift knee to his jaw. He fell back unconscious and I took his sword and the keys attached to his hip. The prisoners rustled to life from the scene and I returned back to Eldwyn's cell, sifting through the keys.

"Darren..." said Eldwyn breathily.

"Quiet, Eldwyn. He will be fine. We must be away with haste." I unlocked his cell after my fifth try and Eldwyn hugged me immediately. His embrace was warm and for a moment I was taken away from this disparate place. "I said there isn't time." I pulled him away and we ran to the entrance. I turned to Eldwyn. "We must get past the guard. If I engage him in battle, it will draw too much attention."

Eldwyn nodded to me and we slowed down as we neared the guard at the door with his back to us. Eldwyn ducked low and lifted his arms to his chest. He pushed his arms forward, aiming at his legs, and swept the guard's feet from under him. He hit his helmeted head on the concrete and as we passed him we could see that he was knocked out.

"Put this on." I unclasped my cloak and put it over Eldwyn's head to hide his identity. "The stables are nearby," I said, pointing and we quickly walked eastward with the crowd of people. If we ran, we would draw too much attention to ourselves.

The people inside the stables were too preoccupied with their tasks to notice us and we passed by  well-groomed horses of fine breedings until I came to Brio. He looked at me with appreciative eyes and I petted his face.

"Brio," I said as he nuzzled my neck. I looked around first and then opened the gate, then quietly mounting my steed. Eldwyn reached his hand up and I lifted him behind me. "Hold on tight." Eldwyn held onto my waist and I shouted, "Hyah!" We leaned forward and Brio raced off like lightning, past the stables and the stablemen who had only just realized what was happening. 

We left the stables and continued towards the east gate. We flew through the streets and the guards atop the wall spotted us and blew their horns, alerting everyone that there was trouble afoot.

"Can you open the gates?"

"I suppose we will find out." Eldwyn released his hands from my waist and the wind whipped around me. A powerful gust sent the gigantic doors swinging open and we sped through them.  I turned around and watched as the distance grew between us and the Stargon Castle, hoping that it had all happened so suddenly that our headstart would provide us a great advantage. 

As I faced frontwards, I noticed that I had been smiling. For so long I had wished to be back home in the southern realm with people that loved and respected me, but after all that I had gone through, it was the truth of the forest that I desired most.