Disciple of Fire

Chapter 11: The Escape

Oswin peers out his bedroom door, having taken time to carefully remove the boards and quietly set them aside. Hrithika's eyes stretch out cartoonishly through the crack in the door and look in either direction simultaneously.

"All clear." She whispers. They dash out, running to a nearby servant's entrance and slipping in just as a guard rounds the far end of the corridor. Hrithika leads Oswin through the narrow passageways, taking him as far as the servant paths can to a door outside the castle. As they traverse the walkways, reaching a four-way intersection, Hrithika holds a finger up to her lips and in a soft voice says, "Stay here. I'll be quick." And with that, she disappears down the left path. Oswin begins twiddling his fingers, checking down every path to ensure no one sees him. After a few seconds, a maid appears at the far end of the hall, Oswin jumps behind the corner and peers around. Before she reaches the intersection he's hidden behind, a cloth is thrown over his body from behind, covering him fully. The maid passes by, Hrithika resting her arm awkwardly on Oswin in an attempt to cover him, chuckling nervously. The woman doesn't mind, continuing whatever task she is set on.

Oswin whispers through the cloth to Hrithika, "How exactly is this any less suspicious? I'm not exactly a small person."

"Well obviously not, but it's better than someone seeing you and going 'Ahh! The King is sneaking away!' and chasing us down, don't you think?"

"... You do know I'm your King, right?"

"Did I not just refer to you as the King only two seconds ago?"

Oswin inhales sharply through his nose and lets out a long, deep sigh. "So... how am I supposed to see where I'm going like this?

"Don't worry, I've got you." Her arm stretches out under the cover and takes Oswin's hand, guiding him forward slowly down the halls. Oswin reddens slightly, not used to gentle physical touch, unsure of how to respond. He creeps behind Hrithika as they turn down different corridors, soon reaching a point where Hrithika stops. "We're at the closest point now. I'm going to step out and check the hall, wait here for a second." She drops his hand and exits into the hall, Oswin waiting impatiently. A sudden bump into his back startles him and he freezes, not knowing what to do.

"Who blocked this door? I have somewhere to be, damn it." The unknown person had a man's voice, but Oswin knew that voice, it was one he had known for years, it was his childhood friend, Kendrick, Shit, what do I do... Hrithika should be back any second. "What's even under here?" Kendrick starts raising the cloth just as the door swings open.

Hrithika reaches under and takes Oswin's hand again, pulling him forward out the door, but Kendrick's grip on the cloth rips it off Oswin. Hrithika shuts the door before Kendrick can recollect himself, and begins pushing Oswin to run down the hall. Kendrick stumbles out the door, catching a glimpse of the King's attire as he slips out of the doors to the lawn with Hrithika on his heels.

They dash through the intricately laid raised flower beds, taking cover behind different statues and fountains to hide from patrolling guards. They must be on high alert, I've been gone for a good while. Hrithika ushers Oswin from cover to cover as they approach the main gate leading to the noble district. Hrithika stops behind the last of the cover and looks toward the gate, seeing a handful of guards standing in front.

"This will only take a minute, stay down."

Oswin nods and scrunches down lower, Hrithika goes bounding over the statue and the sounds of thudding metal follow quickly after. A hand snakes around the corner and grabs Oswin's hand, who nearly jumps backward but instead gets dragged out of cover and pulled up to the now-empty gate.

"Uhh, Hrithika, what happened?"

"They're sleeping for a little while. Don't worry, they'll be okay."

"Oh... Okay."