Rough Seas

36 - The Bells

Tom opened his eyes, not quite sure as to why he was awake. It was dark in his room, the sun having just barely crept over the horizon. And yet he was awake. Frowning, Tom turned over, shutting his eyes and trying to go back to sleep. If he was asleep, he didn't have to deal with Dianite, or Furia, or Rupert injury. He could just hide away and pretend like everything was fine. But he couldn't fall back asleep. Groaning, Tom opened his eyes, squinting slightly out of the window that overlooked the city. A soft breeze brushed over him, and Tom was even more tempted to just turn over and let himself rest. Gods did he need it. The buildings were bathed in a soft light, mist from last night still curling through the streets. But that wasn't the thing that startled him. Weaving through the city, just as the mist did, soldiers with banners of gold and purple marched through the streets, heads held high. Watching them slowly advance forwards, Tom realized almost immediately what had caused his rude awakening. The bells. Dianite's temple had bells, along with many of the guard towers near the border of the city. If the bells were ringing than... Shit.

Tom ripped the covers off of his bed, quickly changing out of his nightshirt and into proper armour. He stumbled, trying to get his boots on, hopping on one foot while he tugged at the laces. Scrambling for his sword, Tom practically burst out of his room, rushing past soldiers and upset civilians alike. Tom was on a mission. He had to go get Rupert. Rupert, who had suffered more than Tom could comprehend, Rupert, who was quite possibly the bravest man Tom knew. Rupert, who would be reunited with his fellow Ianitee followers in a few short hours if Tom was able to get to his cell on time. He prayed he could make it. He would have to. For Rupert's sake.

-

Everything was numb. Well, maybe that was better than the opposite. He had just spent so much time in pain and afraid that it was a blessing that he felt nothing. Rupert shifted slightly, trying not to move his head too much. It had been about a week since.... Since.... Since Furia had... Rupert realized that he was shaking again, and tried to clear his mind of what had happened. Tom had patched him up. He was as good as new. He would be fine.

Mouth curling into a frown, Rupert tried to ignore the hurried footsteps racing past his cell door. If he could go back to sleep, maybe Furia would leave him alone for longer. He could be safe when he slept. Ignoring the furious whispers (which was really just the guards talking normally. Seriously, how much were these people trained?) Rupert tried to relax. He allowed his mind to drift, thinking back to the last couple of days. Tom hadn't visited him often, but Rupter wasn't that surprised. Before the... incident, Tom had been telling him about how the Ianitee's were being hostile, which meant that he had to have more meetings with Dianite and Furia. Although he felt bad for Tom, Rupert wouldn't have wanted to be in his place. Dianite was... off-putting, to say the least. Fuira was just plain scary. He didn't know how Tom could stand being around either of them on a daily basis. Shivering, Rupert pushed those thoughts out of his mind. If he could sleep now, he could wake up later in the day. That meant that Furia was less likely to pay him a visit. Sleep. He could do that.

He was just drifting off when the door to his cell practically slammed open, hurried footsteps making their way towards him. Rupert cringed when a hand shook at his shoulder, groaning at the rough treatment. Oh well. It seemed like he wouldn't be going back to sleep after all.

"Rupert, wake up!" A familiar voice hissed at him. Rupert opened his eyes, (well, just the one, now) seeing Tom's worried face standing over him. Tom looked terrified, which only made Rupert start to feel on edge. Something was wrong. The younger man sat on the edge of his cot, hand still resting on his shoulder.

"Wha's happening?" He mumbled, sitting up with a slight wince. Tom glanced behind himself, as if someone was listening in in their conversation and boy, was that creeping him out.

"The Iani- Your people," Tom corrected himself, "are marching in as we speak." Rupert froze, instinctively tensing up. "C'mon Rupert, we've got to-" Tom was cut off by a distant explosion. He swore under his breath, before standing, tugging at Rupert's arm. When Rupert didn't immediately start moving Tom let out an almost desperate sound. "Rupert, please." Tom said, voice cracking a little in the middle of his sentence. For the first time since he had woken up, Rupert took a look at Tom. A real look. He had bags under his eyes, and his hair was flattened and messy. Desperation mixed with worry showed in his eyes. His armour was put on messily, too tight and too loose in all of the wrong spots. He looked like he was a recruit, a newbie, not Dianite's champion. Even his sword wasn't buckled in properly. Tom looked like shit. "Please." Tom begged, his voice almost a whisper. "Please, I need you to be safe." Rupert felt his heart ache at the sight of Tom, practically begging him to get up, to go with him to wherever the Dianitee was planning on taking him.

"Alright." Rupert said, grimacing as he stood from the cot, not missing the way Tom's shoulders dropped, a relieved expression on his face. "Lead the way."