Dragon Prince: The Storm's Courage

Chapter Five: Twilight Escape

Shira yawned in bed and gotten ready for the day. She's gotten dressed a linen dark blue tunic with a tan-colored shirt underneath it and around her neck is her leather corded silver dragon pendant necklace and her moonstone bracelet. She has a pair of brown pants, along with dark brown combat boots and kept her hair in a pulled back braid.
She was cautiously eating breakfast, making sure it wasn't made by dark magic from Claudia. As she walked around the courtyard carefully, she saw some soldiers walking through the courtyard and on top of the castle walls.
But Shira saw Marcos talking to Claudia as she hid in the shadows and listened to the conversation.
"—I've heard Commander Gren say he will be in charge of the expedition of finding the princes," Marcos said to Claudia.
"Gren uh... quit the mission this morning. So Soren and I will be going to search for the princes," Claudia replied. "Plus, it will be easier since we'll be using the best tracking hounds in Katolis."
Shira soon slipped away from the chatting duo and went inside of the castle, with her thoughts spinning like a hurricane. Claudia was lying. Gren never leaves when given such an important mission from General Amaya. She always hesitates whenever she lies for her father. That means Viren has imprisoned Gren in the secret prisons. Viren probably has a plot that regards the princes and the elf. Shira's blue eyes flashed. I must find him and release him quick.
Shira had looked around warily when she saw a portrait with a girl holding a lamb. She noticed a strange, orange mark on the side of the portrait frame. Shira moved closer to examine it. It looked like a faded handprint and smelled like... jelly tart?
Prince Ezran. Shira rolled her eyes fondly, remembering that the younger prince had inherited his obsession of jelly tarts from the late Queen Sarai.
Shira placed her hand over the handprint and pushed the picture to the right. She narrowed her eyes when it swung open to reveal a dimly lit passage. Shira couldn't believe how adept she was at navigating the dark passageways — Shira had never even found these secret tunnels before. The secret tunnels were cold and crypt-like. Loose stones and a strange dim lighting from glowing crystals made the winding paths even more chilling.
Shira skidded to a stop in front of a stone wall, which confuses Shira.
"It looks like a dead end," Shira commented.
But she turned back to the wall and started to tap out a pattern on some loose stones that was covered jelly tart handprints in the wall. After a while, she stepped back from the wall.
"Hopefully it works," Shira said.
A moment later, the floor beneath the girl began to grumble and creak. Shira realized the code had initiated some mechanism and now the stone floor was grinding apart, revealing a long spiral staircase to an even lower level!
The girl raced down the stairs, and at the bottom Shira quickly dashed over to a small statue of a unicorn's head, feeling curious about it. She grabbed hold and turned it ninety degrees to the right, then pulled the horn down like a lever. The lever triggered the staircase to rise back up into the rocky ceiling and it shut with a loud kerthunk.
She could see rickety wooden shelves lined the stone walls. The shelves were covered in dust, cobwebs, and unpleasant artifacts — animals preserved in jars, mysterious magic diagrams, live spiders with eerily pulsing abdomens in terrariums.
"Oh, gross!" complained Shira. "What is this place?"
She heard a loud click and turned around to see the floor starting to shift. The floor shifted itself until it looked like a staircase leading somewhere dark.
"Can I get some food now?" Shira's ears perked up at the familiar voice from below. Commander Gren? What's he doing here?
"Commander Gren!" Shira called out as she got out the bottom of the steps and found him chained to the wall. "I thought you've left this morning."
"Uh, I did not, as you can see." Gren looked at her curiously. "What are you doing here?"
"I've overheard Claudia saying that you've quit the mission," said Shira. "She and Soren are both in charge of finding the princes."
"What? No! I was told by Viren that I was off the mission and he chained me up in this dungeon!" exclaimed Gren. "I have no idea where the key is and he hasn't fed me anything."
"I got some apple slices," Shira said.
"Anything would be good, thanks." Gren opened his mouth to allow Shira to place a slice in his mouth and quickly chewed it a few times before swallowing.
"Viren is up to something." Shira's eyes became filled uncertainty. "But I don't know what it is."
"That's not the only strange part of it," said Gren. "I feel like there's another reason for that. The boys were acting pretty strange and were taken hostage by a Moonshadow elf assassin." Gren sighed, but he seemed to become unnervingly serious and determined as he met Shira's eyes and said, "Shira. I need you to do something for me."
"What is it?" Shira asked him nervously.
"I need you to search for Callum and Ezran," said Commander Gren. "I need you to keep them safe from Soren and Claudia, and bring them back to Katolis."
Shira realized what Commander Gren was saying to her and exclaimed, "What!?" She was quickly hushed by Commander Gren and she spoke fiercely to him. "B-But, I'm not a warrior! Soren is a fully trained member of the Crown Guard and can take me down in a single blow! And Claudia has dark magic, who am I supposed to go up against that!?" Shira felt her hopelessness wash over her. "How am I supposed to help? I'm not that brave."
"You're much braver than you know, I've heard that you're one of the warriors who fought at the Breach. Please Shira, do it for the princes," Gren pleaded softly to her, easing her hopeless feelings. "Corvus is tracking the princes down. But if Claudia and Soren catch him, I have no doubt that they'll get rid of him to keep him from getting to the princes."
Corvus? Shira remembers him, a man from General Amaya's legion who is dressed differently than all of her soldiers the last time they visited the castle. He is a strong fighter and an even greater tracker, especially in winter. But she have never met Corvus face to face before.
"And what about Corvus?" asked Shira. "What happens if I cross paths with him?"
"Join him and help him track down the princes," Commander Gren said. "He'll be able to protect you from the assassin."
"Fine, I'll go and track them down." Shira let out a sigh, but she gained a grateful smile from Commander Gren. "But you do know I'm still working on the other mission that was given to me."
"I know. Good luck and be careful." Commander Gren smiled at Shira and she gently rubbed her cheek against Gren's chest, while he placed his chin on top of her head in an attempt of a farewell hug.
Little did they know, a certain Moonshadow elf was watching them from the small dungeon. A heavy look of sadness and regret had came over the elf's expression during the duo's awkward embrace.
Shira stepped back from their awkward hug and the two warriors met each other's eyes before Commander Gren nodded to Shira with a warm smile. Shira returned the smile, though her smile didn't reach her eyes.
She headed back to the hallway and towards the courtyard, Shira tried her best not to gain any attention from Viren's followers and headed towards her room. She felt her heart become full of newfound determination and hope, but she wasn't sure how General Amaya would feel towards her situation. Shira had gotten work by gathering supplies for her mission and headed back to the dungeons.
🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙
Night has fallen upon the kingdom, which is a great time to start an escape journey from prison. Shira had managed to pack all of her belongings and "borrowed" a blue nightingale flower from Viren's cabinet. She silently watched as Viren dragged the enchanted mirror from the lab from the wooden-beams overhead and headed towards Runaan's prison. That's when she squeezed the flower.
Shira covered her face with a brown scarf from breathing into the sweet, heavy scent. She watched as Viren tried to hold onto the enchanted mirror before his level of sleepiness have kicked in and he collapsed, fast asleep. Shira jumped down from the beams and went to the dark mage. She quietly pulled out the keys from Viren's pocket and headed towards Runaan, who seemed to be asleep too. Shira placed a hand over Runaan's chest, waking him up to see Shira freeing both of his wrists from the chains. His level of confusion was raised when he saw the dark mage and the cursed mirror.
"We have to be quick," Shira whispered to Runaan. "Your stuff is right outside."
Finally unlocking the final cuff, Runaan dropped his arms and began to rub his wrists, soothing the skin that was trapped underneath the metal. Shira let him place a hand on her shoulder and helped Runaan to his feet. Runaan couldn't help, but groaned after standing up for the first time after a couple of days. Shira quickly shushed him once more before pointing at Viren who was still asleep.
Runaan quickly quieted down before gently stepping over the sleeping man, but not before taking a glance at the ancient mirror. A look of disgust and almost fear shined through as he stared at the mirror. A look of confusion and wariness entered Shira's expression as she stared at it too, but there's more important things to worry about than a cursed mirror.
Once the two successfully jumped over the man, Runaan quickly ventured over to his clothes that were surprisingly nicely folded. His sword, and bow and arrows, were also with his clothing, which was very convenient. Runaan grabbed the clothes, while Shira snatched the weapons. She watched as he gotten dressed in his clothes and boots as well as he braided his hair quickly. Shira soon gave him his weapons, in which was placed back on his back and his side.
Shira gestured for him to follow her into the wall in the lab. She turned back to the wall and started to tap out a pattern on some loose stones that was covered jelly tart handprints in the wall. After a while, she stepped back from the wall.
Hopefully it works, Shira thought.
A moment later, the wall in front of them began to grumble and creak. Shira realized the code had initiated some mechanism and now the stone floor was grinding apart, revealing a long hidden tunnel to an even lower level!
Shira gestured for Runaan to follow her quickly. Runaan couldn't believe how adept she was at navigating the dark passageways — Shira had never even found these secret tunnels before. The secret tunnels were cold and crypt-like. Loose stones and a strange dim lighting from glowing crystals made the winding paths even more chilling. Though, she has to slow down several times to wait for him to catch up with her.
She turned back to the wall and started to tap out a pattern on some loose stones. After a while, she stepped back from the wall. The two of them both exchanged nervous glances with each other. A moment later, the wall in front of them began to grumble and creak.
Shira smiled proudly to see silvery moonlight filling the tunnel, and noticed that Runaan seemed happy when he saw it. The two of them looked down to see that they were standing on a cliff and a raging river is below them.
"We have to jump," whispered Runaan.
"I'm afraid so," Shira agreed.
With a burst of courage, Shira jumped off of the cliff and into the river. She'd never been underwater for so long. Her lungs felt like they were going to burst. Shira pushed herself out of the water, coughing and gasping for breath. She soon heard another splash from besides her. She looked to her side to see Runaan swimming next to her. The two of them both swam to the solid earth.
Shira collapsed on her side, struggling to catch her breath. But Runaan closed his eyes as he caught his breath, struggling to breathe from his swim in the river and his imprisonment. But his parental instincts kicked in when he saw the human girl's still figure.
"Shira." Runaan placed a hand on her shoulder. "Wake up. We need to keep going."
Shira coughed and looked at him wearily, but she nodded understandingly. She slowly, but surely gotten up. Runaan sighed in relief and the two of them both headed into the forest. Runaan led his human companion into the deepest part of the forest.
Torrents of light rain poured down the forests outside of the kingdom of Katolis. The raindrops sounded like pebbles beating the ground. Dark storm clouds swirled in the sky, flickering with silent lightning and rumbling with powerful thunder. It was late in the evening, the full moon peaked out of the departing dark clouds. The stars sparkled like distant diamonds in the sky, while the sky is like dark sapphire blue velvet that shimmered with the stars overhead.
Through the sparse canopy of leaves, the light of the full moon shone through in soft rays of silver. All the animals were huddled in their nests and dens, sleeping through the night with hopes that tomorrow's sun will bring back the warmth to the world. The only creatures that dared be out tonight were the fuzzy rabbits that munched on the leaves, not worrying about predators that might snatch them away, and a few skittering field mice, searching desperately for spare shriveled berries on the forest floor.
It wasn't long until Runaan had finally found a clearing. There's a few small caves and streams gleaming in the moonlight. He soon looked at Shira as she picked up the pace to catch up with Runaan, but her swim in the river has taken a toll of exhaustion on her. He led Shira to one of the caves and they both laid down on different sides from each other.
"Are you okay?" Runaan asked her.
"I'm fine." Shira remained silent for a moment as she struggled to catch her breath. Shira soon gained a worried look in her eyes. "Did something happen to the Dragon Queen?"
Runaan nodded and his expression saddened. "Yes. You could imagine the horror the Dragon Queen must have felt to not only lose her spouse, but lose the unhatched child she had cared for and loved."
"Do you know anything else about the Dragon Guard?" Shira asked him firmly.
Runaan's eyes turned from confusion to sadness. "No. The Dragon Queen fell into her eternal sleep not long after that. However, there were other Dragon Guards that we lost that day."
Shira's eyes widened. "More?"
Runaan sighed. "Yes. They were Moonshadow elves and they were Rayla's parents. They were our best and strongest of our kind so we knew they were up to the task. But on the days the humans attacked, they fled and have never shown their faces since." Shira quickly covered her startled gasp as Runaan continued to speak. "Their names were Lain and Tiadrin. They were like family and I can't believe they would do that."
Runaan's head lowered as he thought more about his previous friends. The anguish and betrayal that he felt were swirling in his mind and the thought of their impact of Rayla also took a tole. The only thing that took him out of it was a hand against his.
But his expression has soon resolved, but gentled at the same time as he looked at Shira. "Now, I believe it's time we head to Xadia."
Shira's head shot up and looked at him into the eyes."You're letting me tag along? I mean, I'm a human."
Runaan chuckled at the humans obscure question. "Of course. You're definitely not safe back at that kingdom, especially since you have rescued me." Shira couldn't help, but nodded understandingly. "Plus. Before I got captured, I found out that the Dragon Prince is alive and well. He is in the hands of Rayla and the two princes of the kingdom."
Shira smiled knowingly. "They'll take care of each other, I'm sure."
Runaan nodded. "Yes. I'm sure Rayla is going to lead those boys to the Storm Spire and give the egg back to the Dragon Queen. Hopefully, we will be able to find them along the way. But first, we must head back to my village. I need the others to see that I'm alive. Ethari especially."
Shira's smile grew at the thought of the elf returning home to his family and friends. But also the new adventure that awaited for the two of them in Xadia.