The Fallen Prince: A Prince's Mistake

A Fall From Death

It wasn't over. Before attempting a bold escape, I used some leaves and wet mud (Rumare, the woman responsible for teaching me about independently surviving, told me that it helped wade off infections) in the forest beside us for helping the wound. As me and Archie ran back into the main festival area, we spotted more enemies glaring at us before attacking. Not much happened at the festival fight – except some boring duels.

One time, two men attacked us, so I bent down, and Archie rolled over my back. He took down the left guy, and I kicked the right guy's throat. Other than that, we would just swipe the many ankles of soldiers with our weapons rather than fighting them. After leaving the festival, we were part of a massive chase. Eventually, the men we had made fall to the floor gathered in a massive group – at least three dozen angry men, intent on killing their king. We definitely couldn't have taken them all down. So, instead, I decided we should get to the tavern so I could make an insane plan. 'The tavern! We need to find a room in the middle of the building!' I yelled at Archie.

He nodded as we took a sharp turn left, confusing some of the chasers.

*

After doing countless turns and twists, the two of us – alongside the bloodthirsty lunatics ten seconds behind – had reached the tavern. We stormed into the doors, and I heard the glass make a slight crunch sound because of the pressure. I ran for the stairs while looking at a floorplan above. It showed the position of all the rooms, and I saw room 125 in the middle of everything. 'Room 125! The key!' I yelled at the receptionist – who was the same woman.

Nervously and frantically, she grabbed a key from her drawer (which I imagine held all spare keys). Archie ran up to her and, because I was still sprinting, I only saw the boy stop and grab something before following me. As if we were little kids chasing each other, we ran up the spiral staircase, the sound of running footsteps behind us. I was surprised we hadn't got dizzy from the constant circles, but we made it to the middle floor quicker than I expected. We took three deep breaths and continued sprinting. The floor had more turns, like a labyrinth. I heard the footsteps slowly die down, but that didn't stop us from running at our top speeds. I saw a door that seemed to be in the middle of all the rooms that were facing the tavern wall: room 125. 'Now what?' Archie asked.

'The key?' I whispered.

He looked at me like I was speaking another language. 'What key?'

I threw my head back in annoyance. 'The key from the desk? What did you grab?' He unravelled a scrunched-up piece of paper with an address on it. 'Seriously Archie?'

'We don't need a key,' he retaliated. He hit at the door in a powerful kick. The hinges split, and the door flew crashed onto the carpet. We ran inside and saw a family of four on the bed, eyes wide. Next to them was a baguette and croissants. 'Would you mind distracting the people outside?' asked Archie.

I saw the dad roll his eyes. 'We're not endangering our lives for you!'

I snickered. Archie stared at them before muttering, 'Worth a shot.'

I ran to the window and smashed it with a chair. 'HEY!' the mother yelled.

I ignored it and looked at Archie. 'Ready?'

'For your plans? Never.'

I jumped out the window, Archie following behind. The wind roared in our ears, ruffling our hair. As we neared the floor, we went into a forward roll position, and did the move as we reached the floor. The fall damage was completely reduced, and we got up. I looked up at the window and saw three men leaning out of it. Once they saw us, they slapped the windowsill and disappeared. 'I've always wanted to do that,' I muttered.