Stalemate | A Rise To Power

𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅ ◈ ⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

The celebrations went on long after dark, the sounds of drunken laughter echoing through the night. He had slipped in with a group of dancers when they had arrived and managed to break away to duck behind a bush unnoticed, his bow in his hand and mud concealing the colour of his hair. He hadn't moved since he had arrived and watched shadows dart around by the windows and people moving around the gardens while trying to ignore the stiffened in his body.

He waited as the castle filled up. He waited as the servants went around doing their work. He waited as the temperature dropped.

He was aware of a shadow nocking an arrow from behind a rosebush and firing it at the castle, the arrow sailing through the air and missing its target, a girl shadowed by the receding light. An arrow flew out from nowhere in response and soon the shadow had fallen, lying in a pool of their own blood.

Will waited and was silent.

He waited even when his whole body was cramped and his throat parched and dry, craving a drink. Hunger also ate away at him, but he was still. He felt himself drifting into sleep and slowly succumbed to his weariness. His position was concealed enough that only someone looking for him would have found him.

It was pitch black by the time Will woke up and snuck out, certain that most of the guards would be more interested in watching the outside of the castle than the inside. Plus, the darkness hid him well, and most of the servants were inside.

He walked until he could see the tower that Caius had told him about. There was a single candle light flickering from the window at the top. The rest of the windows were covered by curtains or dark.

Will took out Caius' knife and an arrow and began to climb, digging the blade and arrow into the gaps between the stones. It was dangerous, and he had a rope with him that he had stolen from a traveller to keep him up. One end was tied around the knife, the other around his waist. His arms shook slightly with the strain and he forced himself to keep going, his only thought of the humiliation he would feel if a guard on the battlements turned and noticed his movements in the dark. From there, he'd just be a little spider, a pesky insect for them to shoot down.

His arms were aching as he made it to the window, which was open wide, and peered inside to see a figure curled on top of her quilt. He knew who it was as soon as he saw the thick and wavy auburn hair sprawled out around the figure. It had lost its redness, Will noticed, and was more of a brown colour. A simple shift covered her thin body, hanging to her knees with loose sleeves and a low dip, and she was staring into darkness.

Will anxiously stepped in, suddenly regretting it. All he wanted to do was to run and leave. He hadn't thought it through, and his face was burning, unsure of what to do if she told him to go.

He found himself just staring at her, unable to make himself believe that he truly was in front of her again.

"Audrey?" he asked, unable to stop himself.

The figure turned, and Will quickly noticed the movement of her hand as she went to hit him. He dodged just in time.

Will quickly threw his hands in the air. He could now tell that it was Audrey... the intelligent blue eyes, the light skin.

Dead eyes, hollow and unhealthy. Just a shell of a girl that he had once aided in archery.

"Will?" she whispered. "What... no, they sent you away..."

"Well, they tried." He kept his hands out. "I'm stubborn."

"Leave me alone," she said, her voice a plea as she backed away, her eyes delirious. "You're not real. You're not..."