Motley (#Wattys2016)

22: Pigeon Feathers

Trying to find Satoru in this giant castle was close to impossible, like trying to find a knarl amidst a sea of hedgehogs. Although Michi knew most of the rooms where a person could be hidden, they were unsuccessful in finding him. They were attacked multiple times by the Rose Marquis, never by the Ivory Prince himself. "You probably killed him," Nori said to Kei cheerfully, but even so, she was worried along with the rest of the crew that they might see his red eyes pop out at them from around every corner.

"We'll never find Satoru," Reiko groaned miserably. "Let's just ditch him and get out of here."

"Where else would he be?" Ryota asked Michi. "Anywhere else in Colla Voce where they might hide him?"

Michi thought for a moment. "I suppose they could have taken him to the jailhouse... I can't see why, but it's always possible they caught him when he was sneaking out like Nori said."

"Then take us there," Nori demanded.

The princess shook her head. "I don't think we can. There are probably guards stationed all around the palace walls."

"We can make sleep missiles, right?" Reiko said.

"I don't think so. The Ivory Prince probably wouldn't station guards who didn't know magic. They would be able to block our spells," said Masa.

"Then we'll need some kind of long-distance weapon," Nori thought out loud, "so we would be able to take them all out at once. And something that's quieter than a gun."

Michi's eyes suddenly lit up. "A bow-and-arrow!"

"Of course, but none of us can shoot one," Kei said.

She grinned. "Oh yeah? Let's go to the armory and find one!" Michi was eager and sprightly running to the armory, the rest had trouble keeping up. She opened the door and revealed a large room that looked like a cellar, except instead of liquor bottles on the walls there were weapons of every kind. "My father taught me when I was little. Even when he stopped teaching, I learned on my own how to shoot a target." She certainly knew what she was doing, because she found a perfect-size longbow and a quiver of arrows with pigeon feather fletching.

"Are you sure about this?" Nori said. "I mean, you really can hit a target?"

"Trust me," Michi said. Everybody ran after her back down the hall and up another spiral staircase. By the time they had reached the top of the stairs, Masa was quite out of breath. It was a very small circular room with four long, thin slits for windows. Nori could barely fit her hand through the gaps. Dust could be seen drifting through the air within the tiny slats of sunlight.

"Is this another dungeon?" Kei asked. "It's a weird location."

"No. This is the tallest tower in the castle, and it's made specially for archers. See, you have a clear view of all sides of the castle," Michi explained. "Nobody can see us up here. And even if somebody shoots back, they probably won't hit me because of these small windows."

"It's tradition. All castles are built with one in case of an attack, right?" Masa asked her. Michi smiled at his knowledgeability.

"This is my plan; we can scout out where the least amount guards are. Then, I can try and hit most of them with the arrows and you can get past to the prisonhouse. I'm sure you can find it with Kei," said Michi.

"Sounds like a good plan to me!" Nori said.

"Michi, do you mind if I stay up here with you?" Reiko asked her. "I want to practice my rock shooting skills."

"You can shoot rocks now?" Michi said bemusedly.

"If it has to do with rocks, Reiko can do it," Ryota said. "She can hit someone right on the head twice in a row in the exact same spot."

Reiko frowned. "Yeah, and I'll do it again if we ever get out of here, ya traitor bastard." Ryota paled slightly and coughed nervously. Reiko rarely swore if she could help it.

"Reiko, you have my full permission to beat this cretin up once we get out of here," Nori told her confidently.

"If we get out," Masa corrected.

"I don't mean to be rude, but if you want to save your friend, you need to hurry and get out," Michi told them. "Kei, try going out the east exit where they bring in shipments of food."

He nodded to her and beckoned for the others to follow him down the spiral staircase. The group was stopped abruptly by a couple people in Rose Marquis uniforms. "Michi!" Masa shouted. At a frightening speed, two arrows were shot and landed squarely in the soldier's chests, giving them only time to shout angrily before they fell. The pigeon feather arrows were easily distinguishable.

"Niiice," Ryota said. "That was efficient." Michi gave us the thumbs up. They all were shocked at how innocent the princess looked even after fatally wounding two people.

"Most people use goose or turkey feathers for their arrows, but smaller lighter feathers are best for me. They're lighter and have more aerodynamicity," Michi explained to Reiko, Ryota and Masa, who seemed fascinated.

"I wanna try archery sometime," Reiko said. "Could you teach me?"

"Come on, stop dawdling. There's no time to lose," Nori said, stepping over the two bodies on the floor, but Kei held up a hand.

"Hang on." He grabbed one of them by the front of their robe. "Do you know who Satoru is?"

"I- I don't know..."

"He might have been at the edge of the city," Nori offered.

"There wasn't anybody who left the city alive," he said sinisterly. "We made sure of that."

Kei let him go. "There's no point going to the prison," he said dully.

Everybody was silent. A few of them glanced quickly at Nori to see her reaction, but she was determined to be expressionless. "He died a coward. Don't feel sorry." A lump formed in her throat. Satoru had always been there for her; he was her first real friend besides Amaya. Did that make two friends she had indirectly killed, Amaya and Satoru? "Look, let's kill the Prince and get out of here." She pulled her coat tighter around her. "Split up and find him. I'll be the one who finishes him off."

Nobody dared to protest. They followed her out of the tower quietly. There was an unspoken agreement to not speak as they each took separate halls at the base of the tower, and also that Nori would be the one to find the Ivory Prince first.

There was no consensus, however, that Nori would beat him or not.

*x's song: Love Runs Out by OneRepublic*