Ring of Power

Chapter 8: The Escape Plan

Pyramus had bound Emerald's hands behind her back and gagged her with a short piece of rope.  He pulled her cowl down and walked her through the village gates. 
The patrol had let Xavier go, since he gave them what they wanted.  He came out to see what all the ruckus was, and was shocked to see Emerald.  She was pushed through the town by Pyramus.  Her leg had dried blood on it from the fight last night and she looked tired and worn out.
​ Xavier was shocked by Emerald's beauty even when she was dirty and worn.  This was the first time he had seen her without her cowl and felt a pang of guilt hit him hard.
Pyramus looked proud and felt like a king.  The whole town began to believe him and swore they would never doubt him again.  He made sure they were convinced that this was the same outlaw from eight years ago.
​ Emerald was looking down most of the time, but when she looked up, she saw Xavier and his guilty eyes.  She looked back down as pain and anger filled her entire body.  A tear rolled down her cheek as she thought of his betrayal and broken promise.  She hoped he was satisfied and that he would remember this for the rest of his life.  He was a criminal.  Why did she ever trust him?
​ The Guard Patrol led her to the castle and took her down a series of long, twisting hallways.  Soon they were going down a long set of stairs.  When they reached the bottom they were in a dark, stone hallway lined with prison cells.  They took her all the way to the back and threw her in an empty cell.  They un-bound her hands and put the shackles around her wrists, and then they removed the rope from her mouth.  They closed and locked the door behind them, leaving her alone in the dark cell.
The cell was not very big.  It had a bucket in one corner and a small metal bed in the other.  The bed had one thin sheet and a pillow on it.  There was a small window toward the top of the wall that had metal bars standing horizontally in the stone.  It let in a thin ray of sunlight, but it was becoming dark.
It had been hours since Emerald had seen another person.  A guard had barely opened the door and set down a plate of food.  The food was stale and was barely filling.  She waited; hoping someone would come and tell her what was going on, even if it was bad news it was better than knowing nothing.
Suddenly the door opened and someone walked in.  He was covered from head to tow in small cuts and bruises. His hair was a mess and his clothes in tatters. She was happy to see another person, until she realized who it was.
It was Xavier.
She backed into the corner of her cell and pulled her knees close.  She wrapped her arms around them and put her head down, not wanting to see him nor talk to him.
Xavier just looked at her for a while; he didn't know what to say or how to say it.
Finally, he just said, "I'm sorry."
He waited for a reply and when he got none, he turned toward the cell door to leave.
"Why?" Emerald asked quietly from the corner, "Why did you tell them?  I trusted you."
"I had no choice—" He began.
She jumped up, angry. 
"What do you mean you had no choice?!?!  You just told them everything you knew to save your own skin?  Did you ever care about me?  Did you ever consider me your ally or even your friend?  I guess not because look at where we are standing, Xavier.  You always have a choice."
"They tortured me, alright?" he said, holding out his arm so she could see the cuts along it, "They just wouldn't stop until I gave them what they wanted.  It took them awhile to get me to crack.  I feel awful!  I didn't have a choice.  I'm sorry I suffered for you, to find out you just gave up.  What happened to the mysterious girl from the forest?  She's definitely not here, in this room with me."
He looked at her and she looked back.  Neither of them knew what to say to the other.  Emerald sunk down to the floor, tears running down her dirty cheeks.
"You're right, I'm sorry" She said sobbing, "I'm not the same girl and I never will be.  I was just so distracted.  I came to the village yesterday and saw them carry you away.  I let down my guard and now I'm going to pay the ultimate price for it."
He looked at her, his anger fading into sorrow.  He didn't know what to do.  Then it clicked.
"They want to kill you in three days' time.   I think we should disappoint them, get you out of here.  I owe it to you."  Xavier said smirking.
"You could get killed."
"I would do anything to help you.  You are the only friend I have.  Plus, I want to get out of this village anyway."
"How are you going to do it?"
He paused, he didn't think of that.
"Well, they let me down here to see you, didn't they?  So if they let me down here again, I can bring some stuff with me.  I will get you out, no matter the price I pay, I promise.  I know what I did was wrong and I want to help make it right.  If you still trust me I want to help get you out of here.  You don't deserve any of this."
She forced a grin.  She hoped he would stick to his word.  Can she trust him again after what he has done?  It wasn't his fault after all, but what if he got caught a second time?  No, she would train him once she was free so he couldn't get caught.  For some reason, she had this feeling like she needed to trust him.  So, she would.
     She nodded her approval and Xavier turned, knocking on the door to tell the guard he was ready to leave.  The door opened and Xavier left the cell; the door closed and once again she was alone in the dark cell. 

The next day Xavier went to the market and looked for anything of use to him and his plan.  He bought some wire, wire cutters, and a short rope.
He made his way back to his house to create an escape plan.  He put the items from the market in a small bag and hid it under his jacket so it wasn't visible to on-lookers.
As the sun started to set he ran the plan through his head for the millionth time that evening.  He wanted to make sure he knew precisely what he was doing and when he was doing it.  He wanted to make sure they both survived the escape.
He left the house and headed toward the castle.  He saw no one on the way there.  Most commoners were asleep or in their homes for the night and not many people wandered the castle grounds during the day, let alone at night.
He snuck into the castle and through the long halls.  He had to concentrate to remember the way to the dungeon shown to him by a guard the other night.  He got to the staircase that lead to the dungeon and quickly descended the steps.
Once he got to the bottom, a guard took him down to the end of the hall and let him into the small, dark cell.  He waited for the door to shut before he started to speak.
"I have what we need." Xavier started; a small sign of doubt in his voice.
He looked at Emerald concerned when he saw her sitting in front of him.  She was beaten and bruised, blood covering most of her arms and back.  Her hair was mangles and lines from tears were evident on her cheeks.
     Emerald was happy to get a chance to be free, but she didn't know if this plan would work.  Pyramus had come and asked her questions and he didn't like not getting answers so he then relied on his weapons to get the answers for him.
Xavier took his bag out from under his jacket and he removed the wire and wire cutters.  He cut a small section of wire and shaped it to match the lock on the shackles, trying to get them to unlock.  After fighting with it for a while, it finally unlocked.  He smiled and moved to the other one. 
Once Emerald was free, he helped her stand up off the floor and sit on the bed.  Pyramus asked her questions and she either answered them all or got whipped, beat or cut.  He now knows her name and a few other unimportant things he cared to ask about.  Xavier would have to help her more than he anticipated.
He ran and jumped up to reach the window in the wall.  Luckily the bars were rusted so it didn't take long for the wire cutters to break them. 
He found a tree stump near the window and tied one end of the rope to it.  He then threw the other end down into the cell and he went back in to help Emerald.
He helped her to the rope and helped her climb up and out into the castle gardens, not far behind her.  He helped her walk through the castle garden and toward the opening in the wall that lead into the village.
Almost to the opening, they heard shouting in front of and behind them.  There were men on the castle walls and on the walls near the opening.  They blew a horn to alert the rest of the guards. 
Xavier picked up his pace and headed for the opening.  They were almost there when Emerald tripped and fell to her knees.  She was very weak from no water and little food and didn't know how much farther she could go.
"Save yourself.  I'm too weak, I can't go much farther.  Go on without me."  She said trying to catch her breath.
"No.  I'm not leaving you.  We are almost there."  He lied.
He pulled Emerald to her feet and practically dragged her to the opening in the wall.  Once through, he felt searing pain in his left shoulder.  When he looked over at it, he saw an arrow tip poking out of it. 
He hurried to the wall near his house.  He jumped up and climbed over the wall with the rope like he did in the dungeon.  He helped Emerald over, ignoring the pain in his shoulder.  He then ran into the forest, dragging Emerald along.
He kept going as she directed him to her main fort.  Once inside they sat down and caught their breath. 
Xavier grabbed some water and cloth and started toward Emerald when she put her hand out to stop him. 
"You first."  She said, nodding toward the arrow protruding from his shoulder.
He shook his head and continued to clean her wounds.  Once he was satisfied that she was all taken care of, he looked at his shoulder and the arrow in it.  He broke the tip off the arrow and Emerald quickly pulled it straight out.  She cleaned and bound it for him.  Then once they were both taken care of, they laid back and fell asleep, not wanting to think of the danger they just got themselves into by angering the guards and the King.