Falling For His Charms

CHAPTER 44

Sophie stared into the cold eyes of the Neverseen member. She glared at him, so much hate in her gaze that it could have killed him. He, he was one of the people that had stolen Bex and Rex from her. Because of him, she had no idea where they were or if they were alright.

"Hello. We are going to have to take something from you," Said Sophie, her voice cool and murderous. Fitz must have noticed how much anger was coming from her; he put his arm around her shoulder for good measure.

"That depends what it is. I may not be able to give you what you want," He sneered.

"What we need," Said Sophie, "Is your cloak. Quite simple, isn't it? Give it now, or you'll regret it."

The prisoner laughed darkly. "What are you going to do, tickle me? You're just a weak little girl. There's nothing you can do."

Sophie reached her hand through the cell bar, grabbed the man's collar, and brought his face closer to hers. "Oh, I can do many things that will hurt quite a bit; I guarantee that."

He visibly paled.

She looked so ready for the kill that Fitz and Alden had to pull her back, away from the prisoner. "Now," Alden told the man, "I will need that cloak, understood? You will have it returned to you... Eventually."

Glaring at the King, he slowly took of the cloak, gritting his teeth in fury. He passed it through the bars, and hesitantly let go of it, as Fitz grabbed for it. Sophie gave a short nod, and the three of them turned, not looking back at their prisoner.

They walked back to Alden's office, closing the door behind them. Fitz threw the cloak on his desk.

"Alright, so we may have to check for pockets, on the outside of the cloak and on the inside," Said Alden, taking charge of the situation. "If we find anything, anything at all, we must figure out what it's purpose is, understood?"

Fitz and Sophie nodded.

The three of them got to work, checking pockets, both inside and out. At first, no one seemed to be able to find anything, and Sophie found herself starting to loose hope. Well, that was until she felt her fingers brush something other than the black material.

"I found something!" She said excitedly, pulling out the object. King Alden and his son both dropped their parts of the cloak. Sophie seemed to be holding... A journal?

It was very small; it was about the size of her hand. The cover was a beige colour, though it was quite old and the pages had started to yellow. Slowly, with trembling fingers, she opened the journal.

"Is that... A map?" Asked Fitz, his eyebrows furrowed. It appeared to be a hand-drawn map, possibly a base of sorts. Words described the areas of the map: i.e. a file room, meeting room, prison?!

"That must be where Bex and Rex are!" Exclaimed Sophie, her voice nearly an octave higher than usual.

"Possibly... Though, why would the Neverseen member carry a map of their headquarters during a mission? It simply does not make sense..." Thought Alden out loud.

"Maybe he's the daft group member? The one who isn't intelligent enough to go on the important missions, but enough to go on the less valid ones?" Proposed Sophie.

"That may be a reason; though you must remember that this group seems to have many tricks up their sleeves. The prisoner had said that you were an important part of the plan; wouldn't he have more backup for a mission with such high priority? Maybe this is a distraction."

"You may be correct, Father," Said Fitz, "though perhaps Sophie's right. Maybe this was one fault that our prisoner made, and this is the true map?"

"I am not certain of what it could be," Said Alden, frowning. "But we must be vigilant. It could be anything-"

BANG!

The sound of something large breaking in the distance reached their ears. Meeting each other's wide eyes, they listened quietly.

BANG!

This time, the sound was closer; along with the bone-chilling sound of glass breaking. Both Fitz's and Alden's hand instinctively went towards their swords, but they did not draw them from their scabbards*. Sophie tried to look around for something she could use to protect herself... Looked like she would have to stick with telekinesis.

"Sophie, please, stay behind me, " Said Fitz, who pushed her behind him. She nodded, even though he couldn't see her. Alden sheathed his sword, and slowly made his way to the door. Waiting a few seconds, he opened it: silence.

"Alright, we need to move. Follow me, both of you. We need to go figure out what those noises were."

As told to, the two young elves followed the King, who ordered a few castle guards to come with them, in case of the worst scenario.

BANG!

The sound echoed through the halls once more, louder than before. Sophie felt a surge of fear; what was happening?!

Then, another guard ran up to them, from the direction of the loud noises. She looked quite alarmed.

"Sir!" The guard said, addressing King Alden. "Sir, it's urgent!"

"Yes?" Asked Alden.

"The prisoner, Your Highness - the high security one - he escaped!" She exclaimed, looking horrified. "We heard very loud sounds, and then he began unlocking the cell with his mind, sir! We tried to stop him, but he knocked out many of the guards... We now believe that he is letting more members into the castle!"

Sophie and Fitz shared a look. This was bad; really bad.

Another BANG! shook the castle, even stronger than last time. Alden dismissed the guard, and turned to the dozen or so guards that he had gathered.

"Prepare all lockdown security, and gather all the guards in the castle. Make sure that everyone else in the castle, including maids and butlers, are all taken down to the safe room immediately. Separate the tasks. Now, go, go, go!"

Then he turned to his son and Sophie. "Fitz, go find your mother and sister, and take Sophie with you. Sophie, your family will be rounded up with everyone else in the castle, I promise."

She thanked him, and she and Fitz sped down the corridor, determination in their eyes.

*For those who don't know, a scabbard is the sheath that you would put your sword or dagger into. They are usually made of leather or metal, and can have many details on them, or be pretty simple. Sorry if I used the word earlier on in the book, and didn't explain what it meant:)