Invincible

Chapter 2: Flashbacks and Ferdinand

Zephyr landed softly on the dirt below him. Hazen's tower was located in the back of the castle, so he didn't have to worry about guards spotting him for now. He leaned his back against the cold stone base of her tower, his chest rising and falling in slow heaves, and shut his eyes tight. He pried one of his gloves off, bringing his hand up to his face. He peeked through the slits in his eyes at the stinging hand. It was bright red and shaking. Even through the thick black gloves, the rope still managed to burn his skin. He shut his eyes again, shoving the glove back onto his hand. Hazen needed him, no matter how painful it was.

He pushed himself off the stone wall, standing up straight again, his arms shaking at his sides. He took a glance above him, one final motivating look to the window where his princess waited for him, then with a heavy breath moved on. As he snuck around the side of the castle, the glow of torches became brighter. He stopped at the edge of the castle, pressing his back to the stone, just covered by the shadow of the castle wall. Peering around the corner, he spotted a man standing guard gripping a torch, his back turned to Zephyr.

Zephyr's breath hitched in his throat. He had snuck past plenty of guards on his way to Hazen's tower, but that had been in the safety of the castle, with plenty of corridors and secret rooms to hide in. Now, he was fully exposed, and with one wrong step, he would be thrown straight to the dungeon.

He drew his head back, resting it against the hard stone. Taking in a sharp breath, he stole another peek at the guard. His back was still turned. Zephyr took this as his chance. "Here it goes," he whispered, and just as he took a step out of the shadows, another guard came into view, walking down the dirt road towards the castle.

Zephyr's hand flew to his mouth to cover his yelp, as he sprung back behind the corner, tripping over himself in the process. The momentum of his backwards jump joined with the effort to not be seen, caused him to swing around the corner and smash his back into the castle wall. Hard. His other hand now slapped over his first one, muffled the groan that escaped his clenched teeth. He allowed himself to slide down the wall the remainder of the way to the ground. He landed with a soft thud, his back aching from the impact.

He sat frozen, his shaking hands clamped over his mouth, muffling his ragged breathing. For a few moments he sat, trying to decipher if the guards heard him or not. All that could be heard from the guards around the corner was casual chatter. Zephyr silently pried his hands from his mouth, deciding they weren't aware of his presence. He allowed his throbbing head to softly lean against the stone behind him.

He figured another guard shouldn't ruin his plan too much. He just needed to be quicker and quieter now. Something that the aching pain in his back would put a slight damper on.

He slowly peeled himself off the wall, clenching his teeth as his back yearned for him to give in and collapse. He stood as straight as he could manage, his knees slightly bent, hunching his shoulders to avoid the pain in his spine. He inched his way to peer around the corner once again, spotting the stables a few buildings down, across the road. He knew the back entrance to the stables, he just needed to get past the guards.

"Please be as stupid as I think you are," he whispered, picking up a stone he spotted from the ground. He launched the stone as far as his arm would allow him. It landed on the roof of the building directly in front of him, rolled down, clattering; and hit the ground with a soft thud.

Zephyr flattened himself against the wall as he heard the guards mumble in confusion. He heard light footsteps move toward the noise and without another glance, he rounded the corner and bolted behind the guards, across the road, and dove behind a small shed just as he was sure the guards were turning back around. He barely had a moment to catch his breath or pause for his aching back before he heard more confused but louder mumbles from the guards. He was correct, they had turned around, and they had seen him.