The End

66 - The Price of Poison

A/N - Trigger Warning - this chapter contains reference to a character's history of abuse.

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66 – The Price of Poison

The narrow tunnel spread out into a wide cavern. Harlequin sped through it, her ears pricked for any sign of danger. It had been a quiet journey, for which she was very grateful. The tunnel had been smooth, unhindered, and it had joined what appeared to be an old nest for a water dwelling pokemon such as floatzel or swampert. Whatever it was, it had been big.

The ground sloped downward, becoming more damp the further she went. Water reached her paws and she paused, staring into the dark, shallow water. This was the lake. She had to keep her head above the water, and when it got too deep, duck and keep heading up.

She gave herself a nod and waded in until the water reached her chin. She took a deep breath and kicked herself beneath the surface, then darted upward. It was deep. That cavern had been dug deep beneath the lake and a small panic filled her chest. Her lungs felt like they were going to burst and she kicked harder, pushing herself closer to what she hoped was the surface.

But what if she was going the wrong way?

She panicked again, and a stream of bubbles left her mouth.

No. She couldn't panic. If she panicked, she'd drown. She forced herself on, reminding herself she had a job to do.

Her legs kept kicking until the pressure in the water lessened and her nose broke through the surface of the lake. Her paws splashed against it as she pulled herself up and she took in a deep breath and looked around her, gasping. The moon was high above her, its reflection rippling violently on the surface of the water.

Fortunately no one had seen her. The lake was surrounded by thick bushes and just beyond them she could make out a herd of deino.

She let her illusion wash over her and pushed herself towards the bank. When she moved through those bushes, what they would see would be a disoriented, wet deino. One that had fallen in the river after wandering blindly into the bushes.

The ground on the other side was wide and bare, and in the distance she could see that dark castle with its long flight of steps. Her heart began to race. She couldn't give up now. Not while she was so close.

She gave the herd of deino a wide girth. If they smelled her, her plan would be over. Deviating away from the group wouldn't be odd behaviour, all things considered. Deino were blind. Blind and stupid. They might have a good sense of smell, but they couldn't even follow their own noses.

She stifled a chuckle and kept pressing on. Things were going well. If she managed to make it to those stairs...

A weavile moved into view and climbed onto the staircase. He paused and looked out at the courtyard, his ears and nose twitching. His eyes trailed over the deino herd, frowning at their foolish fight as they raked wounds onto the backs of their brothers. Then he spotted Harlequin – or a lone deino – strutting with confidence towards the stairs.

Harlequin berated herself under her breath and turned sharply, moving off her path towards the deino herd, then stopped, sniffing at the air. She then turned a full one-eighty and walked the other way. This seemed to satisfy the weavile as he turned and went back to the castle door.

Harlequin smirked and turned towards the stairs again. They were so close now. Her heart hit her throat as her paw touched the bottom step. There was no sign of the weavile. She assumed he'd gone into the castle to take on door duties.