Nobility of Knights

Lachlan crept inside, closing the door as quiet as he could. The stone walls seemed to amplify his every move.

"That kid won't stop just like that! I mean, getting attacked by a griffin would definitely hurt. But for love, silly boys destined to get their hearts broken would do anything." A passing guard told his mate as they patrolled a nearby corridor. Great, Kenneth obviously was here too. Lachlan and Kenneth used to be best friends, until Meredith suddenly became so beautiful. Lachlan still couldn't understand why he hadn't noticed before. His sister Bonnie had said something about puberty, but Lachlan wasn't paying much attention at the time.

"I still say we should of followed the guy. He's probably gone to get his friends and they'll launch an attack on the castle !" The guard was adamant. "Listen. You are paranoid ! Forget about the knight okay ? He looked like an untrained boy in armour. Nothing to worry about. " The guard's friend began to get annoyed. Lachlan started to piece the information together. Kenneth had tried a previous attack and clearly failed. Lachlan couldn't help but smile at the thought of a griffin pouncing on Kenneth. However he needed to remember that the griffin was in the castle, as he faintly recalled something about griffins having extremely acute senses. All the guards probably heard about Kenneth's attempt to break into the castle and suspect something will follow. But, Lachlan remembered, the guards on watch near him thought it must be a joke. That would mean if he and Kenneth teamed up, they would have the element of surprise. Lachlan shook the thought away, knowing it was impossible for them to work together. He'd have to do this his way.

Lachlan ducked out from behind the crates he'd been hiding behind, walking silent as a mouse. Briskly he wove his way through the castle, passage by passage, corridor by corridor. Lachlan had spent half of his life here, as the stableboy. Kenneth had promoted him to a knight after he bravely stepped forward to fight in one of the bigger battles between England and Scotland. Kenneth had always been like a big brother, even though they were only one year apart in age. Lachlan almost missed him.

He halted quickly, realising it was a bad idea to think deep thoughts whilst trying to creep into a heavily guarded castle unnoticed. Another guard passed, appearing not to notice a hunan shape in the middle of a tapestry. Lachlan made a break for it, dashing down the hall, making for the kitchen. The guard turned abrubtly, yelling instructions and shouting for backup as he tore after Lachlan. "Intruder in the southern wing! Intruder in the bit with all the paintings!" he yelled, attracting lots of attention. Lachlan didn't turn around, simply running and avoiding various attempts to catch him. He turned a sharp corner, stopping quite suddenly. The guards were smarter than he thought, trying to corner him from both sides. "Sorry guys, I need to be going." Lachlan tried talking as if he was totally supposed to be there. They all moved simultaneously, crossing their spears like a barrier. Lachlan laughed, their movement reminding him of a play he'd watched somewhere. Lachlan did some quick thinking, deciding to catch them out. "Sooo um, does anyone know where the big English guy is? Oh duh, never mind you are all English!" Lachlan played for time, talking nonsense really. "Shut up and state why you are here." a guard growled at him. "Woah okay bro, calm down. Lighten up! I just came because ... uh ... I needed to see if ... um .. the rumours were true that ... um ... the English really wore red underwear!" Lachlan said on the spot, proud of himself for thinking so fast. A few guards lowered their spears a bit to check if they actually were wearing red undergarments. Lachlan seized his chance, dropping to the ground and roly-polyed out of his 'cage'. Sometimes the tricks you learn as children really come in handy! He leapt up, taking a different route to the kitchen, trying to throw off the guards. He managed to run fast enough to get himself one corridor ahead. Spotting a large cabinet, Lachlan squeezed inside, hoping the guards wouldn't notice the door ever so slightly ajar. To his relief they ran straight past. He edged out carefully, checking if the coast was clear before jogging back the way he came. This was not going to be an easy rescue mission.