Eclipsis: Water

Chapter 37

Kōri led Alara and Ondine towards one of the side exits of Lune, as they were less patrolled. He made a show of pushing them forward if they passed any Moon guards, and both Alara and Ondine made themselves stumble to look as though it had been a lot more forceful than it was. Thankfully, as Kōri's rank of Colonel was already very high, no one questioned why he was leading two Suns. When they were close to the wall, he stopped them, pulling them into the shadows.

"Do you see that guard? That's Cherith." He whispered, pointing to show the sisters. "The door to leave is where she is. But there's a chance I won't be able to leave with you."

Alara frowned, copying his whisper. "What? What about Rin?"

Ondine wondered who Rin was, but she didn't ask. She knew there was no time to be wasted, especially when they were so close to leaving.

Kōri exhaled in a sigh. "I want to try and find Rin, of course, Alara, but if this doesn't work, I have no choice but to stay here. If the King comes looking for you," At this, he turned his silvery-white eyes onto Ondine. "He will ask whoever is guarding the cell next to your's. He will find out from Himani that I told her that he ordered me to bring you to him, along with Alara. He will know I helped you both escape, and went along with you. I will never be able to return to Lune."

Ondine looked to her sister for a reply. Something must've happened in their journey from Sol to Lune, for she saw sadness in Alara's expression, not hate that he was a Moon.

"We need to stage it like you went against your will, then," Alara replied, looking at her younger sister to see if she agreed.

Ondine nodded. "A kidnapping?"

"Okay, that could work. Do you want to explain further?" Kōri asked.

Alara turned her head in the direction of the guard, Cherith, who was currently leaning against the wall, half-asleep. "Ondine and I will take you through the door, but you need to look as though you are struggling. We will threaten Cherith so she will step aside. When she lets us through, we will knock her out, so when she comes-to, she can run and tell the King that you were took by force. If we don't knock her out, it's likely other guards will be sent after us, and we only have one shot at escaping, so we need to make sure we get away without anyone closely following us."

Ondine nodded twice to show she agreed with her sister's plan, as well as to indicate she didn't have anything to add.

"That just might work," Kōri inhaled deeply, a smirk materialising on his face. "Well done, fairy. Good plan."

"Of course it's a good plan," Alara scoffed. "I came up with it."

Ondine looked between him and her sister. Were they...? Flirting? She wasn't completely sure. Regardless, she made a mental note to tease Alara about it later.

The sisters discarded the objects binding their wrists in a nearby bush, and Kōri handed back the sword to Alara. It was relatively easy to sneak up on the guard, who was now completely asleep: eyes closed and quietly snoring. The trio exchanged looks to make sure each of them were ready, and Alara nodded at Ondine to signal starting the plan. At this, she swiftly snatched the weapon out of Cherith's limp hand, pressing a hand firmly against the guard's mouth. Cherith's eyes were wide as they adjusted to her surroundings. She tried to move, but Ondine pushed the back of head further against the wall, the taken weapon at her throat.

"If you scream, I will kill you," Ondine hissed. She didn't dare look over at Alara to check she had said it well enough, in case Cherith called her bluff. "Nod if you understand."

Cherith nodded slowly, wincing as the tip of the blade pressed into her skin.

"I'm going to remove my hand from your face," Ondine continued. "If you so much as make a sound, I will kill you."