Moonlight flowed in through the open windows, casting a ghostly sliver glow down the halls. The floors sparkled with light caused by both the moons rays, as well as the flickering torches mantled onto the wall. Guards were stationed at every entrance, corner and tower, more than there usually was, which was to be expected due to the occasion that was taking place tomorrow.
Prince Alaric was due to be crowned king in a few hours, it was far past midnight, yet the sun stayed hidden behind the horizon for now, letting the moon be seen, if only for a few more hours. While the future king had been said to be inside his chambers, taking a well deserved rest as guards flocked outside his door.., that wasn't exactly the case. Royal guards were indeed outside his door, but the question was were they even awake?
Earlier on a kind maid had offered them a drink to award them for their duties, which contained a bit more rum and valerian to their general knowledge. It took time but eventually one by one, they ended up against the wall or floor, in a deep slumber. And once they did, the prince, cloaked in black, crept from his room and passed the sleeping knights, cautiously hurrying down the hall, he wasn't too worried about the chance he would bump into more guards, since he had ordered the maids to deliver that certain drink to everyone they could. But there always was the possibility, and he still hadn't exactly thought of an excuse to tell if it took place.
If he did get caught he could try to wriggle his way out of it, he wasn't king yet therefore his orders would be overtrumped by his mother, and speaking of his mother she would defiantly be notified about this, and that was the main outcome he was trying to avoid.
Overtime Alaric became more confident with his strides, Sure that no one had any clue of his disappearance, nor had anybody heard the sounds of his footsteps as they echoed off the wall. His brown eyes took in the palace he grew up in, the white gleaming walls with arched windows, beautifully designed pillars and flying buttresses that could be seen from outside the window. As a kid he's always seen it as magical and amazing, long corridors he and his siblings could run down until their hearts contempt. But now, all he saw was unnecessary architecture for the sake of showing off.
Eventually he had made it to the stairs that led down to the basement, guarded by a steel door, the walls and architecture still looked wealthy and gorgeous around it. But he knew the farther down he went, the less shining new walls he would see.
The Solás castle was old, centuries old, most of it build upon older structures, so many times that it made an entire labyrinth under the castle. And Alaric's intentions were going to lead him deep down into it.
He unlocked the door with the key he had stolen from the keep earlier on before he went to 'sleep', with the help of a squire he had manage to convince to help him. It didn't take much, no bribe, no promise, just a fun game of distract the guard and steal the key. It didn't matter what age Alaric was, he still much like a child at heart who could charm all with his words. Besides the kid needed some fun in his life and a break from all his knightly training in his opinion.
Alaric then began his descendent down the stone spiral staircase, his black cloak trailing swiftly behind him, just the right length that cut off the possibility of him tripping over it. His palm glided across the cold cobblestone bricks, earning little scratches and pricks, yet, it didn't exactly seem to bug him that much. His free hand started to play with the pin that was clipped under his disguise. The pin that was worn by the crown prince. It was made out of gold no less, and bore the symbol of a lion with a fiery mine that was often said to resemble the sun, imprinted on it. Which was probably why the lion was Solás's national animal, as well as the animal that has been stated to be the one that represented the sun spirit.
Alaric had been wearing it for so long that he had made quite the habit of fiddling with it whenever he became nervous or restless, and this was one of those times. He knew why he was down here, he knew why he had to be down here, he knew what he was looking for and he knew why he couldn't be caught, and if he was it would ruin the whole thing.
He sucked in a breath as he continued the climb down, he had passed about five doors, each of them either leading to a separate room or an older section of the castle.
