LOST

Chapter 19- Cellars

Celestine

Hudson's eyebrows rose to his hairline. His eyes shone with concern and fear for a second before whipping to Aiden.

"You bloody traitor!" he barked. All of us fell silent, cowering under Hudson's livid gaze. Aiden, however, looked undeterred. His lips formed a thin line and his eyes showed off his carelessness.

"How could I get past the gates of the most secure training camp in Kythia?" Aiden said, shoving his hands in his pockets with ease. "Or is it that you don't trust your soldiers?"

Hudson fumed, glaring at Aiden but it was clear that there was no way Aiden could've done anything like this, considering the sheer amount of security in this place. Hudson sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb as his eyes landed on me.

"We must get the Princess to safety," Hudson said in realization.

"Not just the Princess," Aiden snapped. "You must get all of us to safety."

"Yes, of course," Hudson coughed.

"But how? We barely have a few hours before this place swarms with Kythian soldiers," I spoke up. "Real Kythian soldiers."

"Shall we take them to the cellars?" Hudson asked the soldier on his right. The soldier simply nodded.

"What cellars?" Courage piped up curiously.

"You'll see," Hudson said. He looked at every trainee.

"I will have all of you escorted to the cellars where you'll be guarded until the King and his troops leave," Hudson said in a voice of steel. He summoned a handful of soldiers and they led us to the woods inside the camp. I quickened my pace till I was walking along with Karthur.

"But why all? Why not just keep us there?" I asked him quietly.

"Because there is no guarantee that the other trainees won't talk," Karthur explained. "If Hudson trusted all of them, would they be training for the initial trials in the first place?"

I nodded in agreement.

"But then what are the cellars?" I asked. Karthur simply shrugged.

"You're supposed to be his best friend," I pointed out. Karthur shot me a sideways glare. That shut me up.

The soldiers led us to a random spot in the woods. The trees were dense and the only light that lit our way was coming from the lamps we were carrying.

One of the soldiers stepped in front. He banged his foot on the ground three times. His black uniform shone in the faint glow of the lamps.

Just then, three knocks resounded from beneath the ground the soldier stood on.

The trainees looked at each other in confusion.

"Trident," the soldier said. Saying so, he stepped aside. 

Suddenly, the ground beneath him collapsed, giving way to a stone stairway. There was a sound of collective gasps from everyone around. The soldiers started making their way to the ground. Questions were brimming in my mind but I kept my mouth shut as I followed the rest of the people. The stairs were old but sturdy. Cobwebs were hanging around but that didn't bother me much after living in the Kythian dungeons.

The scent was murky and sweet at the same time. As we descended the stairs, I noticed a glow coming from within a huge hall at the end. As soon as I stepped off the last step, a gasp escaped my lips. The hall was the size of the throne room back in Satian. There were tables around, potions and odours brewing in the atmosphere.