Maybe (COMPLETED)

Chapter Forty One

Publishing one chapter a day! Mwa mwa!!

I was really weirdly listening to this song on repeat as I wrote this chapter... no idea why...

Babyy xx

Isaak's P.O.V

The next day and night went by both painstakingly slow and shockingly fast. Before I could blink, Saga announced we were less than an hour away from where we would get off.

We all got together and ate some dried meat and fruit. The sun had not risen yet, but there was a shadowy light cast around. Archer and Saga were eerily quiet and dismal. They kept sharing looks with each other, but they weren't romantic glances; more knowing and understanding.

"Does anyone know what the inside of the castle looks like?"

"Yes." Saga replied quickly. "I've been there. Thought I'm not sure where they would keep Ash." He took and overly large breath as he thought. "Either the dungeons, or in his own room. I say we should split up."

"So serious, Saga." Archer muttered.

Saga shot Archer a glance. "But Isaak, and Wolf. Especially Isaak." Both of us mortals glanced up at the seer. "Remember, this is real. It is not a game. We are going straight into enemy territory, possibly into a trap. Many, if not all, of the people you meet from now on will be happy to kill you." His brown eyes dug into mine. "Remember this."

Saga allowed a moment for his words to sink in. And did they hit me hard.

I could die today. Any of us could. I may have to kill someone today. It's not a game; I don't have a second life, I can't pause it, I can't play again. I won't just lose some points or levels; I will actually die. I may never see anything again.

A wave of dizziness hit my head, and my chest felt hollow. I swallowed many times, trying to get rid of the stickiness in my mouth.

"I suppose one immortal with a mortal. Perhaps Isaak and I, and Saga and Wolf?" Archer suggested.

We all nodded.

Saga stood up, glancing at the land beside us. "I'll get us inside. Then we split up. The dungeons are easy to find for those who haven't been there, so you two can go there. Wolf and I will look in the rooms." He began walking. "Archer, let's stop here."

The two immortals worked silently and efficiently. It was then that I realised why they were acting so morbid. They had surely seen war. They had seen death. They knew what may come.

Soon, the boat was stopped on the river.

"Sorry, we're going to have to get a bit wet." Saga stated, very unapologetically. "We don't have a little boat to row across in."

We threw our shoes to the dry riverbank, and then, we all jumped in.

It was colder than I expected. The water instantly seeped through my clothes, and the cold made me numb. I struggled to breath against the sudden change of temperature. Willow grabbed me by the wrist, helping to drag me to the ground. I spluttered and shook as I clambered awkwardly out of the water's freezing clutches.

Saga shook himself like a dog. "Phew! That was a bit chilly!"

"A-a-a b-b-it-t?"

He turned to me in shock. "Wow."

Archer held his hands to me. An odd blue light whirled from his palm, wrapping around my body. The warmth heated me from the inside out. Within seconds, I was completely dry.

"Ooh! Me next!" Saga held up his arms like a child. "I'm so jealous! How do you do that?"

Archer smirked as he dried Saga, then Wolf, and then himself. "Because when it comes to my fire chorren, I'm not a crazy pyromaniac like you. I can control it."

"Pfft. No need to get so cocky." Saga muttered as we all pulled on our boots.

In another moment, the carefree atmosphere morphed into one of uncertainty and doubt as we made our way through the forest. I clutched the weapon at my side, finding comfort in its nearness. Zelda Storm. My mother. I savoured the warmth of the sun on my face as it rose. I will save Ash. I must.

We wandered through the sleepy town, unnoticed. When we made it to the castle's wall, Saga took us down another path. We entered a small, abandoned house, and then through another door. Our footsteps echoed through the dark passageway, until another door appeared in front of us.

"What is this?" Whispered Willow.

"Can't you tell? A secret passageway!" Saga grinned. "I made it with a friend, many years ago."

"Of course you did." Archer sighed in disbelief. "Because you're just that old."

Saga winked. "Yes, I am that old. Do you doubt me, Archie?"

Archer frowned. Willow looked confused. How old does it mean he is?

Saga opened the door, to reveal a kitchen. We went through, and when he closed the door, it melted into the wall. 

"Okay, my friends." We now stood in a hallway. "Time to separate. Archer and Isaak, you will go through that door, down the stairs, then take the first right, down another flight of stairs, take a right, and after going down some more stairs you will eventually find the dungeons. I don't know which section he'll be in, though, so have fun." 

I nodded slowly. Stairs, right, stairs, right, stairs. Sounds easy enough. 

Archer grabbed Saga's shoulder just before the seer turned to go. "Saga. Surely this has been too easy?" 

"Perhaps." 

"You're not going to get us killed, are you?"

Saga smiled. He leaned in, pressing his lips against a surprised Archer's. "I'll try not to."

With that, he turned and took Wolf up the stairs next to us. Archer stared after him for a moment, looking entirely confused and a bit longing. 

"Archer... the dungeons."

"Right..." 

As quiet as we could, we darted through the door, making our way down the stairs that met us. First right. Another set of stairs. 

We heard a sound ahead of us, and immediately froze. Archer peaked around the corner, and then held us both against the wall. We waited for what felt like an eternity. Every step I heard of the person coming nearer shook my already unstable heart. 

In an instant, Archer was standing above a dead body with his sword drawn. 

I gaped at him. 

"Let's keep moving. If someone finds this guy, it's going to become a fucking ants' nest."

On we went. Another right, another set of stairs. Are we going around in circles?

"Archer-" I turned to face nothing. "Archer?" 

Where did he go? I spun around again. My heart was beating in my throat. I looked around the nearest corridors, but they were all empty. He had been running so quietly, I hadn't noticed him go. He can't have just disappeared. It's not like he would've left me. I took one step up the stairs, hesitant. I heard him on the stairs. It was after then.

But he was nowhere to be seen. There was nowhere he could have disappeared so quickly. I tried to steady my breathing, placing a shaking hand on my erratic heart. 

I stood in the middle of the corridor, absolutely frozen. "Archer?" I risked calling again, softly. 

"Isaak?" A voice floated from somewhere. A shiver run up and down my whole entire body. It wasn't Archer's voice. "Isaak, is that you?"

DUN DUN DUNNNNN!!!