Hiraeth

{7} Breaking in

"Hurry. Hurry!" Conan half-whispered at his comrades while ushering them through the over-grown shrubbery surrounding the Kingdom walls. Fable and the other horses whinnied at them, furious that they couldn't go with them on the quest, but they needed to be left behind. Dorian just hoped they were still there with their stuff after this was all over.

Wordlessly, Conan encouraged the humans through an ancient wooden door in the cobblestone of the wall. They all slipped in unnoticed and completed the short sprint to the castle walls. They were in. The uneven stone building pressed into their backs, forcing them to be more exposed than they would have liked but they had no other choice.

"The whole palace is surrounded, there's no way we're getting inside," Conan tutted.

"Then figure out something else, dipshit," Dorian snarled through gritted teeth. Conan gave him a look and his eyes softened slightly. "Sorry."

Immy looked confused at the boys but couldn't for too long because she was promptly shoved further around the wall by Holly. "Shit, move! Move!" she hissed as the shadow of a man crept across the grass in front of them, meaning that he was only around the jagged corner. Another step and they're dead. No one moved, no one breathed, no one even swallowed.

"Phil?" a masculine voice called from the other side of the castle.

"Yeah?" the man around the corner replied.

"Did you take the tuna from the cart?"

"Yeah, I ate it, why?" The shadow shuffled to face the voice.

"That was mine!" the man shouted.

"Was not!" Phil returned, irritated.

"It was, I called dibs."

"You lying son of a bitch-"

Heavy footprints trailed away from the shaking group and the shadow slowly retreated, signalling that Phil was gone.

"That was close," Holly breathed.

"Too close," Immy agreed.

"What do we do now?" Dorian asked shakily.

Everyone thought for a second. They couldn't be stood there for much longer. If only-

"I know where to go," Immy whispered triumphantly, "follow me."

Without a second thought, she took charge of the pack and began leading them behind houses and through gardens. They had to be quick but silent - as there were guards everywhere. Patrolling, chatting, watching. Every turn. They were all dressed in black and wearing masks over their mouths with a striking purple symbol on the right-hand side. When they got close, they could work out that it was a cloud with some swords and writing. Thankfully, they weren't that close for long as Immy seemed to know exactly where she was going and the most discreet way to get there. Her sheep were following blindly, tripping on tree roots and wondering if their leader could slow down to a natural jogging pace.

It didn't take long until they stopped. Immy crouched in between two houses and the others followed suit. She pointed across the square at a rather grand building surrounded by columns and bushes, signalling that that was their final destination.

"Across the square? Are you mad?" Adam voiced and was quickly shushed by the others.

"I know, okay?" the leader reasoned, "but it's the quickest way. And we can make it." Everyone looked at her for an elaboration on the bold statement. "We're further away from the castle, so there's less guards. And I've seen some people just walking around, despite the guards, so maybe if we're inconspicuous, we can make it?"