Weather Control

Chapter 5

That night, I lay awake thinking. If I could get my hands on more knives and maybe even a sword, the chances of me saving my brother were considerably higher. The only place I knew to get a weapon though, was the weapon room. I could steal them in the morning, when we went back to the room, as I assumed we would, but I hadn't gotten to have much fun recently. 

I checked to see if everyone was asleep. I couldn't tell. I would have to move around the room to find out, and then anyone who was awake would have noticed. I grabbed my bag of things from the foot of my bed and prayed to the gods my picks were there. The door to the weapons room was probably locked and I didn't want to take any chances. I found them shoved in the bottom of the bag in a much smaller bag. It was tied with red yarn. Kim's yarn. So I had forgotten my picks then. Kim must have remembered and assumed I would need them. I loved that boy.

I tested the knob on the door, the only exit. If it was locked, I wouldn't be able to get out. It locked from the out side, but it was unlocked. I ghosted through the halls and down the stairs. I was careful not to make a sound. There were probably guards somewhere, I just had no idea where. 

The doors to the weapon room were locked, as I expected. The lock was easy, and soon I was inside. The windows that normally brought light into the room were dark except for the light from the half-moon. I found the daggers and drew one of them. The moon's light bounced off of it and I grimaced. I selected another. It didn't reflect the light as much. I slipped it into one of my boots. I found another knife and a sword. I wasn't necessarily good with one, but it was much more useful than a throwing knife. I quickly strapped it to my back.

I shut and re-keyed the door. I could go back to my rooms, but that was too boring. There had been no excitement yet. So I snuck into the kitchen, unlocking the door. I closed it behind me in case anyone walked by the door. Someone awake at this hour was not someone I wanted to run into. I walked through the doors the kitchen staff were going through earlier.

I found myself in a dark tunnel. I couldn't see my hand in front of me it was so dark. I didn't have a lantern, so I put my hand on the wall and followed it like a maze. The first door I found was locked from the other side. The next door,  found after a minute of walking, made me smile. It was wide open. The room inside was huge. It was like the dining room of a palace. It had huge pillars of what appeared to be clouds. There was a huge table that could seat at least fifty people. The was a dance floor and a small stage I assumed was for the musicians. Another door was wide open across the room. I grinned. It was perfect. 

Right before I crossed the doorway, I realized what might be happening. It was perfect, and most perfect things were planned. I couldn't afford to be caught. The Commander never said we weren't allowed out of the rooms, but I thought it was implied. If I didn't, I wouldn't be sneaking around as I was if I thought otherwise. 

Just as I thought this, I heard voices. And they were getting louder. 

"You need to consider the opportunities." one of them said.

"We can't afford to pull out of this now," the other voice said. I knew that voice. I had heard it on several nasty occasions. It was the king. I cursed. The last we had talked, he wanted to kill me. I didn't know if he would recognize me, but if he did, the thought of getting caught was getting more and more sickening. 

"We are obligated." The king was saying. " Our agreements can not be undone. Backing out now could mean a war in the short future, and we do not have the proper equipment to defeat them. When they are holed up in their title thing they call a castle all winter, what do you think they do? They simply sit around planning for war. It will be a war we will lose."

The voices were practically outside the door. I scrambled to find a place to hide. Running was another option I could use, but, to be honest, I didn't like running away. It seemed to cowardly. But at the moment, there appeared to be no places to hide. 

The first voice spoke again. "They won't follow through. The prince is not getting out of that prison alive until they have successfully–"

I saw a boot as it stepped crisply onto the floor in front of the door way. I ran.

I whipped through the door I came through before, and, keeping my hand along the right wall, I didn't stop until I came into the kitchen. I treaded quietly through the kitchen and shut the door behind me. I walked up the stairs, trying to control my ragged breathing. 

I was reckless and it almost cost me. I stood outside the door leading to the room we slept in. I checked for the daggers in my boots. They were gone. They must've fallen out in my mad dash to the kitchen. I shook my head. I had been so stupid. And yet, it was so much excitement all at the same time. 

I went into the room and clicked the door softly behind. Before laying down, I tucked the sword in its sheath underneath the bed's canvas mattress. I sat down on the bed and set my boots carefully underneath the bed. I pulled the picks out of my pockets and set them back in the bottom of my bag. 

Laying on the bed, I realized how tired I was. After a day of training, followed by sneaking around, I was ready for sleep. As I drifted off to sleep, I remembered the earlier conversations with the king and the other man. The prince was alive. I wondered if he knew his sister, the princess, was more likely dead. 

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