Artemis and Caspian: The Spy

Chapter Three

A shadowy figure slinked out in the cover of darkness, the dim light of the moon glistening on the back of his ragged black cloak. Ducking through the narrow servant's door that led to the main courtyard, he pressed himself flat against the cool marble wall of the castle and listened for the sounds of heavy footsteps. A few guards were begrudgingly patrolling the towers above him, their exhaustion giving themselves away with the noise they were making on the marble floor. After a few moments of silence, the man managed to run expertly under the guards and across the courtyard, slinking cleanly through Meridan's great golden gates. Adept to the shadows, he softly ran in between houses that were crumbling apart at their very foundations, made humbly from hay and wood from the forest. The man tread lightly on his feet to avoid nosey, waking peasants, slipping through the dark alleyways of the lower town like a phantom in the dead of night.

It was eerily silent, too silent to make any stupid blunders. There were a few stragglers still milling about past sundown, mostly drunk, a few going home after mistakes that were made. The intruder, still unfamiliar with his surroundings was overly weary of the windows he was passing, many just an open hole in the wall that could hear a mouse skittering across hay lining the door like a makeshift porch. Some had candles still lit on the sill, the slight breeze in the air making the fire dance like women of the night. The people of the lower town were known to be overly cautious and rowdy with strangers, a suspicion planted in a plethora of superstitions from charlatans who claimed they could talk with the gods. This was obvious to the stranger by the way they kept their idols perched upon the window sills. They were small trinkets made from silver and gold to ward off bad spirits or backstabbing rotten wretches, which he supposed he was. The strange man even dared to stop long enough to look at one of these talismans, dressed like a god keeping watch over a small thatched house. The man came to the conclusion that whoever had sold the sleeping man inside this idol was an even bigger sham than he was. Everyone from his birth home knew better than to trust a shaman that wasn't Celestian born. Although others existed in all five realms, they were notoriously unreliable. The man was closing in on the dark forest beyond the rim of the town when he saw light glinting off a sword. Cursing, he slid into a dim alleyway, holding his breath. The tipsy guard twirled his sword haphazardly around, singing an old folk song, his laughs echoing noisily through the courtyard. The man rolled his eyes and pulled his cloak tightly around his face, waiting for the perfect moment to run. The guard clumsily tripped over a foot and continued walking, his sword glinting like a beacon in the light misty fog. When he heard the loud footsteps fade the man took his chance, breaking for the borderline of trees, slipping into the night.

...

Morning snuck up on the man when he reached the outskirts of the vast Celestian forest. Sure no one had followed him, he pulled his cloak over his head, silently entering the woods. He expertly navigated through the thicket of trees, creeping through the darkness, at home amongst the shadows. Eventually, he came to the great tree, heavily armed with Guilamontian guards. He snarled in the treetops, baring his teeth. There were no words in any language to describe how much he hated those men. Dropping down from the treetops he held up his hands in a salute dripping with sarcasm.

"Relax. It's just me."

The Guilamontian soldiers lowered their swords and the man entered unharmed into the castle. Lord Cerberus sat on Lady Azura's throne, casually letting his legs hang off the armchair, clearly reveling in his latest victory. The man reluctantly dropped to one knee.

"My Lord."

Lord Cerberus smiled. "Ah yes, my pet. You may rise," The man clenched his jaw but did as he was told. "Did anyone give you any trouble?"

"No one, my Lord," the man said, shaking his head. "Meridan's lower town isn't heavily guarded. It was like a ghost town, almost empty."

The news made Cerberus sit up. "How odd." He stole a look with Duke Arioch and knew he was thinking the same thing. King Tristian would never leave his precious realm unprotected for any reason that wasn't dire.