Disciple of Fire

Chapter 9: The Path

 Almost as if two opposing armies were charging into battle shouting war cries, the children swarmed the tables in the center, climbing over each other to grab the juiciest parts of the meat, tearing into every last platter of food. Viralia screams at the top of her lungs, her seething rage toward Oswin boiling over. But her scream pales to the sound of hundreds of shouting children. She dashes into the hall after noticing the King had slipped out again. Ohhh, no. Not this time you don't.

Hrithika trots down the hallway, lost in thought. A burst of wind next to her snaps her to attention, and she twists her head around, "Oh, there goes Oswin." She shrugs and continues galloping down, getting spun around as another gust of wind blasts by. "Aaand, there goes V." Reorienting herself, Hrithika bounds down the hall.

Oswin was halfway down the last couple of corridors when Viralia shouted in the distance, and looking over his shoulder, he watched as she rounded the far end he was running from. Her speed was incredible, starting to close the gap quickly between them. Reaching the end of the corridor with a hall going either direction, Oswin grasps the corner pillar, swinging his body around to the left with his momentum, and continues on, maintaining his running speed. A large crash behind him lets him know his small plan worked, Viralia must have charged right into the wall. Another quick glance over his shoulder as he runs, he sees a cloud of dust and some rubble on the floor. Viralia leaps out of the hole in the wall and tears down the hall as if she were completely unphased. Oswin skids the top of his foot on the ground, stumbling forward, and scurrying to the end of the hall, shoving quickly through his living quarters doors. Turning around, he sees Viralia getting uncomfortably close to the entrance and he throws his entire weight into shutting the doors, slamming the lock down. As he rests his arms against the door, gasping for breath, a large slam nearly blows the doors open, sending Oswin backward onto the ground. He can't take his eyes off of the door, his breath caught in his throat, waiting for more pounding to come, but silence fills the room. Finally gasping out again for air, he plops back onto the floor. Thank god, I made it. As he lays down trying to slow his breathing, his mind begins to wander. How could Hrithika have dragged me all the way back to my room? There's no possible way she wouldn't have been noticed. Could she have a discreet Specialty? One that could hide someone in plain sight? Or maybe... he scurries to his feet and begins walking the perimeter of his room, looking over the walls carefully. One sweep and he finds nothing, and growing more frantic he begins padding on the wall, searching high and low, nudging shelves out to check behind, still turning up empty. He slumps over to the bed, sitting on the edge and burrowing his face in his hands. What am I doing? This is crazy. There's no way something like that would exist. He drags his hands down, stretching his face. Am I honestly debating risking everything I have now for this hunch? This... strange feeling? Who is that woman? Is she a member of the castle...? Why do I not recognize her... Oswin stands up, his foot slipping on a loose sheet of paper under the side of his bed, and he stumbles into the bedpost. A distinct click sound happens as the post releases effortlessly from its lock above. What was that? He recollects himself and takes a closer look at the bed, seeing that the post was released from the crossbar. Walking over to the other post, he glances to where the first one is locked, noting which way it moved, and pulls the second post back, another audible click sound following. Oswin takes a step back, looking over the strange mechanism. I knew it. I knew I wasn't crazy! Now... How does it work... Unsure of what to do, he pushes against the foot of the bed, but nothing happens. Okay... He moves back to the bedposts and pushes on one, a joint in the middle creaking slightly. Wait... Underneath? He grips the bottom of the bed, and plants his feet down, heaving upward. The bed tilts up seamlessly, the posts folding back and tucking away nicely under the top. A staircase reveals itself and Oswin stares with his jaw hung for a moment. Shaking his head, he steps down the first stairs when he hears shouting from outside his room doors, and it is getting closer. He slinks down the stairs, grabbing hold of a rope attached to the bottom of the bed, and yanks down the cover, being able to see just barely underneath the drapes. Just as the legs of the bed come to rest on the ground, the doors burst open and Viralia charges in, with two large guards in tow. She gauges the room and stops.