"Misty" I cried, collapsing into her arms. Ignoring the passing stares and curious looks.
Misty looked at me and trembled, dropping her sword with a clang.
"I killed him" she whimpered. Her eyes brimming with tears.
"Yes, you did" I answered, pulling away and clutching both of her hands.
"He deserved it" She whispered, looking down at his cold, dead body.
I nodded but said nothing. Something told me not to press further, if he was anything like his master Jeffrey... he could have done anything to the women of the castle throughout his years here
Instead I just pulled her forward, away from the scene of the crime and down the hall, still holding her soft pale hands in mine.
"Where have you been?" She asked me once we were out of sight of the body.
I stopped and turned to look at her but again said nothing.
I could still remember the sting of pain and the metallic smell of blood. The strange things that transpired with the dagger and then having to leave Beowulf to fend for himself. It was almost too much to bear and if I thought about it long enough I knew I would crack and breakdown. I had to hold off my emotions until later. When we were all safe.
We continued together, hand in hand through the castle, being wary of the crowds and the people in them.
A large sigh of relief burst from Misty and she ran ahead of me pulling me with her.
"Just down these stairs" she said as we came to the large curving stone of the grand staircase.
It was the same staircase Jeffrey had led me up when I had first arrived.
That's when the thought hit me...could I could back though to my own world? The entrance to the strange servant tunnels were at the very bottom of these steps that Misty now pulled me down.
Soon my eyes were greeted with familiarity. The large carved throne, the illustrious tapestries all layered in a dark foreboding smoke of fire.
The once grand doorways were surrounded by screaming women and children. Crowds of people ran down the steps after us only to discover what we were seeing.
The doors were locked and Sir Jeffrey Greys men stood before led by a familiar broad shouldered thug. Xavier, who brandishing a spear, held a crazed look in his black eyes.
"No one shall leave" He screamed, his dark raspy voice causing the room to go silent, "You shall all be sacrificed to the fire for the great queen's magic".
"Xavier has gone mad" Misty whispered to me through the gasps and cries of the outraged crowd, "We must leave this room without him noticing".
My eyes darted to the tunnel doors, surrounded by unknowing and panicked people. There was no guarantee that it would be the way out or that I would be able to get back home, even with the dagger.
It should have been a tempting risk but somehow I found myself more inclined to follow Misty, hunched over and back up the once welcoming staircase.
Did I even want to go home? Or was not knowing if everyone I had met was alive and safe driving me back? I wondered silently, convincing myself that I couldn't leave Misty to fend for herself, despite the fact that she was obviously more capable in this world than I could ever be.
Shaking myself back to reality, I noticed Misty was taking me up another flight of stairs we had only a few moments ago fought out way down.
"Where are we going?" I asked, pushing my body sideways through a gangly group of young women.
"There is a servants entrance near the lady in waiting's sleeping quarters. We can escape through there and make our way to my father's farm on the outer edge of the castles battlements."
"I can't" I gasped, running out of breath. I was unaccustomed to so much running around. I was an office worker for god's sake, not a triathlete.
"It's not much farther, we can make" Mistys eyes were wild with excitement, her cheeks flushed a rosy gold. "I have never been so close to seeing my father."
From the look on her face, I could see that she hadn't seen any of her family in a long time. Did Morgana even let her servants leave for the weekend? Did they have weekends in the 1400s? Something told me no.
"I can't Misty. I have to meet someone."
She stopped and turned to look at me, her eyes meeting mine incredulously. "Who?"
YOU ARE READING
Child of Time: The Pendragon Line
FantasyArcher was an ordinary girl with a strange name. She was a creature of habit and never strayed from the monotony of everyday life and never thought about who she was or where she came from. Until one morning on her way to work, cutting through the l...
