The New Prince

Chapter 26

Chapter 26:Spiral Down to Darkness

Lucky. That was the word Maryann used to describe herself. Two days, and so far no one had found her. At first, she thought the castle's labyrinth of hallways would prove troublesome to her. However, as she avoided those who were after her and learned certain areas, she felt happier that the castle seemed to be a maze to even the people that inhabited it. After a time of hiding around in areas that seemed unpopulated, she realized that she would not do herself any good out in the open; she had to do something to stay incognito. It was then that the woman noticed the vents in the ceiling connected throughout the castle. They were large enough for her to crawl in and make her way throughout the castle. She forced herself into them.

When Maryann found out that the Voltron Force was being held captive in the dungeons, she knew she was the only one who could help them. After all, she was a Garrison soldier. The professor wasn't on active duty, but she had taken her oath and sworn to serve and protect her brothers and sisters in the military. They would do the same for her. This was her chance, probably the only chance, to prove to herself that she was capable of more than adding and subtracting formulas.

The professor realized that she would have to make her way to the dungeons by crawling through the vents. The other routes were too heavily guarded. Thankful that she could guide herself through the openings that distributed the air around the castle, she laid out her plan. First, Maryann would need food in order to survive and she didn't have the luxury to leave the vents unless she absolutely had to.

The professor made her way to the kitchen's first and quickly grabbed as many things as she could, stuffing them in a small sack she had found inside a cupboard. Before she made her way up again to her secured temporary home, she found a dark colored marker by the wall of the kitchen. Seems like the Drules don't trust the slaves with datapads, she thought, noticing the antique supplies that the slaves used to organize their work. After she collected everything she thought she needed, she lifted herself back up into the vents. The advantages of being held captive in a large castle, she reminded herself as she crawled back up, the idea of walking around in a dingy and cold vent was not very comforting.

Once up, she used the markers and marked the areas so that she would know how to return and not lose within the labyrinth of the vents. Luckily, every few feet the vents exposed through its metal rails the area for which she travelled.

After, learning the path and calculating the times she could travel without raising suspicions, Maryann began her search- her destination, the castle dungeons.

VVVVVVVVVV

They began scaling the exterior walls of the twenty story building almost immediately. Keith began first, followed by Lance, who climbed closely behind him. A thick fog rose around them as they began their ascent. Lance noticed how the humidity from the fog covered the windows. They were lucky that neither of them would be detected that way. Unfortunately, this same fog covered the metal walls with the thick moisture that made it easy to lose balance.

"Keith, slow down!" he harshly whispered. "It's too damn slippery out here!"

"Keep moving Lance." Keith ordered, ignoring his friend's advice. It was then he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head that made him lose his balance for a moment. Lance quickly climbed up and held onto him before he lost his grip on the wall.

"Are you alright?" he asked, concerned.

Keith kept his eyes closed for a moment before slowly opening them and then looked at his friend with the same cold stare as before. "I'm fine. Keep moving."

"Keith…"

"I didn't tell you to stop!" He snarled. "Forget about me and just continue. We have a mission to accomplish."