Meet Me in the Garden (DSAF royal AU)

Chapter Twelve - Sweet Briar [CW]

For the fourth time, Dave woke up in the lonely, empty bedroom that once belonged to Jack, now his until further notice.

After willing himself out of bed, about an hour or two earlier than he was used to, he looked outside and noticed the sky was an inky black, but the very first slivers of red were beginning to creep into the horizon. The stars, however, were still very visible, leaving Dave to sit and stare in awe. They were a lot prettier on the castle balcony, but the sight was calming nonetheless.

A minute later, he realized the reason behind waking up so early, and brought himself to take care of his usual morning activities. Peter said he would leave with Dee late in the night, so he knew neither of them would be in the house. Grabbing a quick bite of some leftover bread, Dave made his way down to the main part of the tavern.

As expected, Charlie was downstairs, passed out on the bar. She looked the most calm Dave had ever seen her, but he knew it wouldn't last long. Things needed to be taken care of, and they needed to be taken care of today.

Dave shook her shoulder, and she began to grumble, frustrated that whatever fantasy world she was in had to come to an end. Blinking her eyes rapidly, she looked up at Dave, and her eyes dimmed once more, as if the realization of what had to be done had ruined any trace of a good mood her dreams had put her in.

"Charlie. Get up." He whispered, taking a seat next to her. "We have to leave soon."

She yawned, fanning herself with her fingers. She quickly popped her knuckles and wrists, ridding of any tension in them, and stood up, drowsily making her way towards the back of the counter.

After about a minute of rummaging through the lower cabinets, she leaned back up, holding a bottle of hard cider in her hands, raised above her head like a prize. Charlie began to pour herself a glass, and shot Dave a questioning look, as if to ask if she should grab one for him too. He shook his head, he'd need to have a clear mind for the day.

What felt like hours passed, although it had only been ten minutes, waiting for Peter to return from dropping Dee off at Steven's. When he came through the door, Charlie immediately slid her glass across the bar, leaving Dave to narrowly save it from cracking on the floor.

"William—... Dave," Charlie called out. "Let's just... get this over with."

Dave nodded solemnly, standing up before walking towards the door to meet Charlie and Peter.

The sooner this was over, the better.

-----

The journey to the castle had been easy; nobody in their right mind would be up this early for anything. Traversing through the castle was another story, however. It seemed since Dave left, Henry had upped all security, guards at almost every corner. It was like he wanted Dave back as soon as possible, just to show him whatever horrible thing he had cooked up as a punishment.

The trio had managed, and were now standing in front of a large door with god knows how many padlocks. However, Charlie hadn't come unprepared. She pulled out a chain of keys from her dress pocket, being careful not to make a bunch of noise through unlocking the door.

The door creaked open slowly, letting a chill of musky, old air blow into the room, like it had been waiting for release since the moment the room was built. Grabbing a torch off the wall, Charlie began to descend down the stone steps leading to the cellar.

It seemed like the stairs were endless; Dave was just about ready to lose all worries and just make a dash down them, not worried about any potential injuries, when Charlie abruptly stopped to set her torch down, but not before blowing out the flame.