Ten Arrows

Chapter 6

There wasn't much to do once I was taken back to my cell. The Prince hadn't posted anyone to watch me, so there was nobody to talk to, nothing around that provided a distraction.

Despite being a fairly social creature, solitary confinement has never bothered me much. Then again, once you've lived through a two-year quarantine with nothing but books and your family's graves to keep you company, spending a couple of days inside a jail cell is pretty much a walk in the park.

And so I spent most of my time relaxing, just enjoying the peace and quiet associated with having nobody around all day long. The only interruption came around mid-afternoon, when one of the palace's prison guards came around with my rations for the day.

Prisoner rations, he told me, were identical to the rations that were served to the rest of the palace knights. Today's dinner turned out to be a tragic affair consisting of a rock-hard wafer of black travel bread, a decanter of water, a thumb-cup of rose hip jelly, and a stew made of salt pork, cheese, corn, and white beans, all of which had been cooked together in the same pot to save time. Despite my better judgment, I actually tried a bit of the stew.

I really need to trust my better judgment more often. I mean, I'd heard that Crown Knights were a hardy bunch, but really, I had no idea they were that hardy.

Eventually I shoved most of my 'dinner' into an unoccupied corner of my cell where it wouldn't hurt anyone, and then stretched out on the floor, trying to get comfortable. When I wasn't napping I was staring up at the ceiling, recalling everything I could about my audience with Tenarreau, making certain I hadn't missed anything.

Aside from my periodic whistling, the hours passed in perfect silence. The shadows from my barred window lengthened, cast interesting patterns across the floor, crept over to the far wall of my cell in order to make even more interesting patterns on the bars opposite the window, and then disappeared entirely as night fell. The whole thing was kind of poetic.

When I finally estimated the time to be around twelve bells, I got to my feet, spent about ten minutes or so stretching, and then got to work.

The first thing I did was stare at the stone wall and consider my options. I had seven caches of tools for breaking out of my cell - five hidden in various places inside my cell, and two just outside of it but well within reach. I'd smuggled them inside the night I was arrested, because I'd discovered long ago that being locked up in a jail cell is a much more tolerable experience when you know you can leave it whenever you like.

My eyes fell on the long, nearly invisible strip of material that was wedged up along the floor where it met the wall, which had been part of my cloak trim until very recently. When folded in half, it became as sturdy as an inch-thick wooden pole, and was long enough allow me to reach my cell's outer lock, located about two feet beyond my reach. If I combined that with the explosive putty that was currently masquerading as a large gemstone in my cloak brooch, I could easily disable the locking mechanism and open my cell doors. The only problem with that solution was that it was messy and permanent - the lock for my cell would be useless afterward. That wouldn't be a problem if I were merely trying to escape, but the guards had to find me here the next morning, sitting in my cell, as if nothing unusual or out of the ordinary was going on.

See, the plan wasn't to break out of jail. Not exactly.

Think about it - if the guards came in the next morning and discovered an empty cell, I'd probably just find myself in even more trouble with Tenarreau. And besides, where could I go if I did break out? It wasn't like I could just pack up Tucat Keep and leave Harael, was it?

No, they had to find me waiting patiently in my cell, like I'd never left. Which of course meant breaking out, then breaking back in, all without leaving a trace. Destroying the lock would be done as a last-resort sort of emergency only. So, one option down, several to go.