Entering The Forbidden

Prison Cells and Runaway Horses

*Skylar*

"So if you flirt with the guards and distract them then I can grab the keys", Izzy whispered through the darkness to me.
"No. I'm not flirting with the guards", I replied feeling my cheeks turn red. In the dark where I knew no one could see.
"Come on. It's better than fire", she responded moving closer to me.
"You can't force anyone. Your plan will fail anyway", Raziel spoke up from across the cell.
"Well this is a pleasant change of scenery", Will spoke up from where he was lying on the floor. He had just woken up from when the guards had hit him over the head.
"It's a prison cell!", Izzy practically yelled at him.
"I was trying to be sarcastic like all of you", Will replied turning his back to us as soon as a guard came over with a torch to unlock an opening to throw us bread
"Quiet. Here is some bread. Then go to sleep", the guard ordered us. Izzy grabbed the bread and threw pieces at everyone. She saved the biggest two pieces and brought them back to our spot against the wall under the window
"Here", she said giving one and eating hers.
"Goodnight", Raziel said as the light faded away.
"Night", we all chorused back.
"Guess I won't be sleeping", Izzy softly whispered into my ear as she finished shifting for about the twentieth time.
"Here lean on me", I whispered back, "we can lean on each other."
"Thanks", she mumbled back. Izzy shifted and rested her head on my shoulder. I then put my head on hers. I smiled to the darkness. Soon we all drifted off to sleep.

I woke with a sound of someone kicking the metal door.
"Really Raziel", Izzy said above me. I turned my head to realize that it was in Isadora's lap as she sat crossed legged with her back against the wall. My long legs were stretched out to the side.
"Princess do you really think I purposely kicked the wall", Raziel replied dryly.
"Well you did know you were by the wall. So yeah", Izzy replied. Raziel huffed and turned his back to us. Iz looked down towards me. Our Elven eyes were the only ones adjusted to the pitch black space around us. We made eye contact.
"Sleep well Iz?" I asked in a whisper.
"As well as anyone could in a dark, wet, and hard prison cell", she replied with a smile.
"This is one of the first times you didn't wake me", I whispered back. Moments like these made me forget she was really a princess. She seemed like a normal everyday elf.
"Someone's coming", we said in sync. We stood and crouched on either side of the door. Our fellow cell mates remained asleep. Our internal clocks told us it was to early for breakfast so it was and unplanned visit. A dim light began to grow from under the door as the person approached. Isadora's smile grew as the door was quietly unlocked. I knew she still had her prized daggers in her boots if she needed them. She crouched ready to pounce as the door opened. With the sudden light it took my eyes a second to adjust.
"I thought this was going to be fun", I heard Izzy groan as she straightened up next to Viviana.
"Oh hey Viv", Raziel said rubbing his eyes and sitting up.
"I figured you could use my help", Viviana said.
"What's going on?" Will asked sitting up.
"Hercules here decided she wanted to play hero", Izzy said.
"Oh that reminds me. These are yours", Viviana said handing over Izzy's well used training daggers.
"I'll be back. I have to go gut someone alive" Izzy said.
"Then you won't have my help getting out of here. I have everything planned. You guys ready?", Viviana spoke as she returned all of our weapons and packs.
"Up", Raziel told Will standing.
"Whatever you do keep quiet", Viviana turned to look at us as she climbed the stairs out of the dungeon. Izzy and I took up the back of the group with our daggers and bows as we made our way into the well lit castle. Viviana stopped for a second so her eyes could adjust but I could sense Izzy, like myself, wanted to stay moving. Our eyes didn't need time. We wanted out of the castle.
"The guards should be rotating for the next 5 minutes. So we don't have to worry about that. Just escaping in that little time", Viviana informed us.
"I'll put a spell on our boots so they will stay silent", Raziel said.
"Just move", Izzy almost growled at the group as we began to run through the halls. We ran through the halls we traveled through to get to the dungeon and new hall Viviana lead us through. We traveled up and down flights of stairs to avoid being seen. On more than one occasion we had to dive into random rooms to avoid capture. Most of the time these rooms were empty but one was full of twenty sleeping guards. We quickly turned and left them behind.
"Almost there", Viviana spoke. It had been 7 minutes since we reached the main castle and more guards and servants were entering the corridors.
"Let's hurry", Izzy said by my side. We were itching to pick up the pace. We were basically jogging while everyone else struggled to maintain a decent pace.
"Here", Viviana said making a sharp turn and pushed a door open. We were greeted with cool dawn air and the site of a horse stable.
"Thanks Vincent", I heard Viviana mutter.
"Where are our horses?" Will questioned.
"I couldn't find them. They were all backups anyway. This is the best I could do", Viviana said mounting a horse.
"Well Horsekiller ours have been ours since they were yearlings. They are not just 'backups'. So I suppose that one is yours", Izzy growled.
"Yes he is mine" Viviana replied the anger in her voice rising.
"Don't worry. Our horses are smart. We will have them by sunset", I leaned over and whispered in Izzy's ear. She smiled. We mounted our 'replacements' and took off at a gallop out of the castle grounds.