The Forgotten Prophecy

Chapter 19

'Oh, shit,' Ines cursed.

The prison alarm was making a blaring sound that could be heard in the entire prison. Backups would be coming soon, and Ines had to leave before they put a sword on her throat.

'Hurry!' she heard the old elf shouting, and then the prison bars started to bend, making room for someone to fit and slip through them. Ines didn't have time for their magic tricks; the first guard was already there to greet her. She fought him back and ran for the stairs.

Ines heard the elves close behind her. They were taking down their opponents effortlessly, but more and more guards were coming. She suddenly heard a scream. An elf had been killed. Ines didn't stop; she speedily climbed the stairs, run through corridors, dodging her attackers. She was nearing the exit.

The others were far behind, and she didn't care. As far as she was concerned, they could stay in prison for another hundred years. Ines ascended the last stairs and looked at the exit that could give her the freedom she so desperately needed. The door had been locked, and two guards stood in position, preventing anyone from escaping, but Ines had no choice. She charged at them.

She kicked and waved her sword at her opponents. They were too big for her to carry out a direct offense, for she was smaller and weaker; she had to use her agility and speed. Ines fought with all her strength, striving to finding the right moment to go for the door. She was holding her shield against one's weapon, when she saw from the corner of her eye another sword coming dangerously fast towards her head.

She tried to move away, but the other had her pinned under her shield. Her luck had run out, so she waited for the pain to come. She shut her eyes in fear. Seconds passed, and still nothing happened; the blow never came.

'Are you gonna stand there or are you gonna escape?' she heard an all too familiar voice whisper right beside her ear.

She immediately opened her eyes and saw Matthew looking at her with a hint of a smile on his lips. She stared at him dumbfounded. She couldn't believe he was there.

'Matthew! What are you doing here?'

'You really thought I would leave you unprotected?'

Ines beamed at him; she was happy to have him by her side again. Matthew stared at her face and didn't move.

'Thank you,' she told him blushing.

Their happy reunion was cut short, when yelling and clacking sounds emerged from the stairs. A soldier spotted them and with a desperate scream he ordered the others to stop them. They had to go.

Ines rushed to unlock the door. With trembling hands she took the keys from the unconscious guard, and opened the lock. The soldiers came rushing in the room. Matthew fought the first few, but they were too many.

'Let's go!' she shouted at him in small panicky voice.

'No, you go. I'll hold them off!'

'Matthew!'

'Go, Peter! I'll come find you. Go!'

The elves burst in and pulled her out the door. Ines glanced at him one last time and let the elves drag her away. She put as much distance as possible between her and the palace. She kept looking behind her to check if she was being followed, but thankfully no one was there. Her mind was racing. She couldn't bear the thought of Matthew being in a prison cell.

'That was easier than I thought, right?'

She turned around, her face contorted from rage.

'Are you serious? This is all your fault! If you hadn't been so reckless—'

'There was no other choice,' Landos cut her off. 'We had to act fast.'

'You are too valuable for us to compromise your safety,' the old elf added.

'I lost my partner! He wasn't valuable enough, huh?'

'We lost 3 partners in order to drag you out.'

'You must always be prepared for any loses.'

'You might be used to giving up on your partners, but not I. That man risked his own life to save me.' Ines squeezed her eyes shut, fighting back the hot tears that threatened to run down her cheeks. She had been so reckless and selfish; she always put him in danger, and he was always the one to take all the arrows for her. Right then, Ines realised that she couldn't afford losing him. He had grown on her. 'I'm not going to sit here and pray,' she said in determination. 'I will go and get him myself.'

She ran back at the palace. This time she wouldn't leave alone. Matthew is a soldier, he must be in the military prison at the castle, she thought. She would have to go higher up the compound.

As she was trying to come up with a plan, she heard footsteps from behind and glanced over her shoulder. The old elf and Rakron were tailing her.

'What the hell are you doing?' she whispered.

'You cannot do this on your own,' the old elf answered.

'Someone will see you!'

'Not if we can help it.'

Ines was growing tired of their nonsense. She ignored them and went on to the prison. This time it would be easier, because their attention was focused on the outlaws, not the soldiers who had been imprisoned for disobeying the army's regulations.

She found an entry that was unguarded and stealthily made her way to the cells. As she turned a corner, a soldier suddenly bumped into her. She froze and expected him to demand the reason she was there, but the soldier kept walking, as if he hadn't seen her at all.

'You might want to thank me now,' the old elf taunted, making Ines roll her eyes.

She entered the cell rooms one by one, the soldiers not seeing her thanks to the elf's magic. She was losing hope, but then, when she was about to give up, she finally noticed Matthew sitting in a cell. He clearly was exhausted, and his face was covered in bruises. He heard her entering, and his eyes flickered to her. 

'Peter! Are you out of your mind?' he stuttered.

'I probably am.' Ines smiled; she was surprised to find herself feeling a bit relieved to have found him. But how will I get him out?, she wondered. While she was still puzzling over it, Rakron stood in front of the prison bars. Matthew immediately shot up, his expression a mixture of worry and anger. When the elf touched the bars and bended them enough for Matthew to pass through, his face relaxed.

He shuffled towards the gap and exited the cell. He went straight to Ines, took her face in both his hands, and gently shook her. 'You are such an idiot,' he grinned at her.

'We stay close. I won't leave you behind this time.'

Together they secretly exited the prison, the night protecting them from being seen. As Ines walked beside Matthew, she felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She couldn't look past the idea, though, that they had been dragged in a very messed up situation.

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A/N:  Thanks for reading! Feedback is always welcome xx

Phrase of chapter:  τῆς παιδείας τήν μέν ῤίζαν εἴναι πικράν τόν δε καρπόν γλυκύν / the root of education is bitter, the fruit is sweet  - Isocrates