Claire jolted up from her bed to the sounds of someone running up the stairs.
She was expecting it, but it still surprised her.
"Claire!" she heard Pierce's whisper coming from the other side of the room.
"Pierce!" she jumped off her bed and ran to the door.
"I have the keys!"
He put the keys into the door and twisted it.
Chk!
"Claire! They don't fit!"
"What?"
He started fumbling with the keys, trying to find the right one.
"Hey!"
The guards!
Pierce ducked and sat in the dark outside Claire's cell as she jumped back into her bed.
She could feel the adrenaline rushing through her.
"Dammit, no one's 'ere!" a guard yelled, frustrated. "Could'a sworn I heard somethin'!"
"We gotta keep searchin', or else we're screwed!" the other cried.
They scurried back down the stairs and started running away.
Pierce gasped in relief.
"What? Where were you?" asked Claire.
"They somehow didn't see me crouched at the corner of the room." he choked, and a small laughter escaped his mouth.
He started trying out each key, one by one.
Shlik!
"There!" Pierce almost yelped with joy.
He opened the door and quietly closed the doors.
"Okay, let's go!"
Claire fumbled back to her bed and shoved the brick out of the way, revealing the outside.
There were several guards roaming the building, but their lamps were too dim to actually make out anything.
She climbed through and looked down to check on the ladder.
She had Pierce move the ladder so it would sit right under the hole.
She climbed out and started making her way down the ladder, and Pierce followed from behind.
We finally reached the bottom!
Claire put her fingers on her right eyelid, and swiped to the right with expertise.
They both turned invisible.
"Make sure you don't let go of my hand!" she whispered.
She began to make her way down the rooftop, following the wall beside them.
They reached the end of the wall and quickly walked down a set of stairs.
"Alright, lead the way now!" she whispered.
Pierce came down to the bottom of the stairs, leading her down underground and revealing a tunnel. He found the secret exit that he had created that led outside the castle.
He had created the small tunnel so that he could get out of the castle to explore the outside, but that was before one of the guards caught him outside.
He hadn't left the castle since he was ten.
He finally arrived at the end of the tunnel.
He turned around and looked at Claire.
The spell was beginning to wear off.
"You go first."
"Okay..." she stepped out.
The tunnel led out to the side of a creek.
"We're free!" she yelled, hushed.
Suddenly, a bright light shone on them.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?"
The spell had worn off.
A guard ran down the side of the hill, chasing after them.
"Run!" Pierce yelled, and they ran into the dark woods.
