Bandit Queen

Chapter Five

The intruder bell began to ring and the sound of hard footsteps pounding grew closer and closer to them. Lia's heart raced, any hope she had of escaping had faded away.

Percy, however, refused to give up! He unsheathed his sword and charged at Baldy, knocking him off his feet and onto the hard floor. His head bashed against the solid concrete, knocking him out cold. He was out cold.

Lia stood there stunned.

"Come on! We have to leave! Move," yelled Percy as he grabbed her hand.

They sprinted through the jail, detouring around approaching guards left and right. That was, until they came upon a dead end. Lia and Percy turned around looking for another way, but the guards were already running down the hall.. Lia's breath caught in her throat. This was it, she was going to die.

Percy looked around the space before pointing to the rafters that held up the ceiling:there was enough space for people to crawl on top of them. He picked Lia up by the waist, lifting her so that she could grab the wooden board. When he tried to jump up himself, it was too high for him. He couldn't reach.

"Grab my hand," Lia hissed.

"There's no way that you can hoist me up. Stay quiet up there while I fight them off," he ordered, pulling out his sword once more.

"What? No. They will kill you, Percy. Grab my hand or I will jump down there to help you fight. I am not going to watch you die."

"You, idiot. You'll end up on the floor, anyway. You'll fall trying to pick me up."

"I saw them come down this way," spoke an approaching guard from the other end of the hall.

"Then it doesn't matter. I'll be on the floor. They're coming, so grab my hand, dammit."

He sighed and reluctantly reached up to grasp her hand. Lia got up to her knees so that she could lift with everything that she had. She would stand, but the ceiling was too low. Slowly, she backed up, bringing him with her. She looked to the left  and saw the approaching torch light. She gave one last pull. They both fell forward onto the board, Percy on top of her. Thankfully, before she had hit her head, he had placed his hand under it, cushioning the fall.

A guard rounded the corner only to find no one. He threw his hands into the air, letting out a scream of frustration before three others appeared behind him.

Percy quickly brought his hands up around Lia's shoulders to conceal them both the best that he could. They laid there flat and hardly breathing to avoid being spotted.

"I saw them come down this way! I did!"

"Do you see them anywhere?" the tallest questioned.

"No, but I know what I saw," the guard insisted

The short and stubby one replied, "You've clearly had to much to drink, Harold. Come on!"

"But..."

"We don't have time for this. Move out!" said the middle aged but buff one.

"You have to trust me."

"I did and look where it got us! Now you can clean the chamber pots for a week!"

"But, sir!"

"A month? Do not say another word."

Harold rounded the corner with his head low like a scolded child. The other guards snickered behind him, relieved that they wouldn't see that job on their chore list for at least another month.

Lia turned her head away from the guards to where Percy lay on top of her. She  turned a bright shade of red. She'd never been so close to someone of the opposite gender before. It was... strange. She knew of how much danger they were in, but at the same time, felt so safe in his arms. She found herself secretly wishing that he wouldn't let go, but knew they had to escape.

Percy held Aurelia close to him. He had held other girls before but it felt nothing like his. His heartbeat grew faster around her compared to others that he had met. It gave him the most peculiar feeling. Although he knew of the danger that they were in, he never wanted to let go of her. He just wanted to keep her safe in his arms, but he knew they had to escape.

So, he let go.

"I'll jump down first and then help..." he suggested but before he had even finished, Lia had jumped down on her own, landing with a thud.

"Suit yourself." He sighed, a little disappointed at the missed opportunity to hold her again.

"What?"
"Nothing. Come on, let's get out of here."

Lia nodded, reaching out to grab his hand. He took it before running towards the kitchen door knowing that no one would be there. Because who would loiter in an empty room? Let alone an empty kitchen.

Once outside, they sprinted towards the woods. Lia was already out of breath. She'd never had to run so much before. She much preferred walking.

Percy noticed her heavy breathing and slowed the pace.

"You're out of shape," he noted aloud.

"Not all of us have trained to be guards, you know." Her words were bitter, and she pressed her lips together in a straight line. That was rude.

A sharp pain flared up in her tummy.

"Now you cramp?" she muttered to herself angrily.

"If you're going to be such a snowflake, I'll carry you."

"I'm fine." Lia refused to give up so easily, pressing on through the aches.

She hated the thought of relying on someone when she could do it herself. Especially around someone like him. Trained and cocky. She wanted him to see her as an equal and not some dainty sixteen year old girl.

"Good for you. As long as you can keep up," he said, again disappointed at another missed opportunity.

"Don't worry, I can!"

"We really need to figure out where to go." Percy looked around, realizing they weren't moving in any direction for a particular reason.

"We're going to the healer's camp, of course. I need to ask my mother, well... who I thought was my mother, some questions."

"The guards will go straight there since they know that you're a healer. It would be foolish to go back to your camp, now."

"I guess it's a good thing that they don't know which camp I'm from." Lia rose her eyebrows and shone a sly smile at Percy, who shook his head and looked away to hide his own. "Plus, if they don't go there regularly, there's no way that they'll be able to find the entrance. Especially in this darkness."

"Are you sure you want to risk it?" he asked frowning, staring into her determined emerald eyes.

"I need answers," she stated, unsure of herself.

"If the guards find us, we will be killed. Are you really willing to risk that?"

Lia nodded her head.

"This may be the last chance that I will ever have to speak to my my family. That's a risk that I'd take a million times.."

The pair jogged southeast. It was an easy six mile trip through the forest, but it was late. Only the full moon shone down on them to let them know where they were heading. The distance wasn't especially long, but to them it seemed much longer that it was in reality.Her sixteenth birthday had ended by now, without any celebration or joy. Her only present would be escaping with her life and even that wasn't  promised.