Princey's Unexpected Journey

CHAPTER XIII

As the dungeon got dark with the setting of the sun, I instantly got a burst of bad luck. I felt like something bad was going to happen. The dungeon became eerily quiet with nightfall. Not even a fly buzzed, not even a mouse peeped. A breeze came through the cracks of the roof above, chilling me down the bones. Tonight was going to be a bad night.

    Or so I thought.

    I do not recall the time, but it was right around midnight or so when things started to happen. What kind of things? Well, there were strange noises outside, and they were not like metal pieces hitting against each other in the wind to make music. No, it sounded like...knocking. The worst thing was that the knocking persisted. It would not stop. It went on for what seemed like forever, and then it suddenly stopped. It just...stopped. I did not know what was happening until I heard gunfire. Someone was trying to break into the prison.

    But, wait. Why would someone want to break into a prison? Wouldn't the people want to get out, not come in? I was confused as hell, trying to think of which prisoner was good enough to start a rebellion, because it certainly was not me.

    The gunfire continued for quite some time. The other prisoners were cheering for the people, praying that freedom would come to them soon. I silently prayed to myself, hoping that I would survive. Or that I would die quickly. Whichever came first.

    Soon, the gunfire stopped. Footsteps were coming down the stairs that led to the dungeon. Everyone soon stopped talking, wondering if the person coming down the stairs was going to save them. I held my breath as I saw a shadow enter the hallway. They walked up and down the hallway, scanning the dark prison cells. When they made three rounds around the place, they started to yell.

    "Alright," the man bellowed, "where in the hell is Princey?" Everyone was silent, probably looking at each other in shock and confusion. The man sighed as he grabbed a torch from the wall and used the wall to start a fire. The light from the torch hurt my eyes.

"Now, I am going to ask you again: where in the hell is Princey?!"

    "Who is Princey?" one of the prisoners decided to ask.

    "You know...Manue-"

    "Oh, he's at the end of the hallway! He can't talk to anyone, though, for he-"

    Before the man had the chance to listen to the prisoner's spiel, he came running up to the end of the hallway. He unlocked my cell with a small piece of metal and opened the cell door quickly. The larger man pulled me into a tight hug. I could feel my back popping. It was a strange phenomenon.

    "Princey! Oh, I am so glad that you're still alive! When Frederick told us that you were a prisoner, I thought that you were a goner! Yet, here you are. You're...you're alive, son."

    When the man said the word, "son", I knew exactly who it was.

    "George," I responded weakly, "you came." George let go and got as close to me as he could. He looked at me dead in the eyes. I felt a chill roll down my spine. I was not used to making eye contact with a man this close to my face.

    "Oh, it's not just myself, Princey. You're lucky that you have us and the entire Groffton Kingdom behind your back."

    "Wait, everyone from the bar came? Everyone from the kingdom?"

    "Yes. They're waiting in the forest for us. Gilbert did not want to come, even though Thomas forced him too. He has a close friend inside of these walls. We have speculated over his well-being for a while after he was captured. After a while of not hearing from him, we feared that he was dead. Gilbert was his closest friend, so he didn't want to come and see his best friend's dead body."