The King's Remorse

Surprise!

I stop pacing in circles around my cell as I hear shouts. I press my face up against the bars, but they're inset an inch or two from the hallway, so I can't see anything.

Chains clink against the floor as a fight breaks out and someone cries out in pain.

"Move it," A Guard or Soldier growls. A voice grunts as they stumble. At least I think they're the same person. 

The sound of footsteps grows louder until I can see six figures. Three Soldiers, two Guard, and someone in chains.

The chained figure ducks under a Soldier's arm as he tries to shove the figure into the cell opposite mine. I catch a glimpse of the figure's eyes from the torchlight as they whirl around to punch the Soldier in the stomach, and there's murder in their eyes. The other two Soldiers rush forwards to restrain the figure as the injured warrior steps back, an arm wrapped around his stomach.

"You'd be dead if it weren't for these chains," The figure snarls as they're finally locked in the cell after another few minutes.

"I disagree, but I'll see you in the morning for your meeting with My Sovereign, His Excellency, His Honor, His Highest of all Highnesses, King Garonda XIV." A Guard waves as he walks back down the hallway with an arrogant smile. Two of the Soldiers nurse black eyes and broken noses, and the other Guard cradles a snapped wrist in his hand.

"That was quite a fight you put up back there," I say after a few minutes.

"Indeed it was," comes the reply.

Wait. That voice sounds familiar. Wait, wait, wait. How is Dove here?

"What's your name?" I force my voice to stay even. The figure laughs.

"I'm your brother, Wolf. I'm Dove." They chuckle.

"W-Wha-What? How?" I take a few steps back from the bars of my cell.

"I was the bird."

"Ha. That's impossible."

"You have wolf ears, claws for fingernails, and now fangs. Me being able to turn into a dove doesn't seem all that weird to me."

"Fair point." My canine teeth have grown, and my upper canines protrude from my mouth like vampire teeth. Goodness gracious. I poke one of them with a finger, and it comes back with a droplet of red.

"So are we just stuck in here, or what?" I gesture to the cell trapping me. It's a rhetorical question, but I want to hear it from my brother.

"Yep, though we'd probably be able to just kick down these walls in a month or so if they forgot about us." Dove leans back from where he's sitting on his bed to scratch at the wall. Bits of stone crumble beneath his fingertips.

"We'll be dead in a month."

"They won't forget."

"How do you know?" I frown.

"King Garonda XIV wants to kill us."

"Oh."

"Yeah. The Guard and Soldiers won't disobey him."

"So we'll be dead tomorrow?" My voice trembles.

"We'll escape."

"How can you be so sure? We're trapped in cells right now, and King Garonda XIV has an entire army of Guard and Soldiers at his disposal!"

"Trust me. We're getting out of there alive."

"How?" I make my way to the bars of the cell and wrap my hands around them. Rust falls to the ground in flakes.