*    *   *
Darian.

“How could they be gone?!” Thaddias exploded, pacing loudly on the stone floor.

“We’re searching, your Majasty, wherever they are, we’ll find them-”

“You’d better. The longer they’re missing, the more danger we’re in.” The King was panicked.

“Try to relax, your Majesty, we have the upper hand. Caspian and his men will be annihilated the moment we open whatever closet they’re hiding in.”

“No,” His tone has shifted, grown weary. “-they are far too clever for that… Curse that Caspian!”

“Yes, indeed sire, he is a little weasel-” The man, he assumed an adviser, purred.

“Shut up.” Thaddias snapped.

“Yes sire, sorry sire.”

Darian pushed away from the wall with a smirk. How that idiot had ever become a king was beyond him. He turned to his apprentace, who was guarding their backs, and tapped his shoulder, letting him know they were leaving. Herschel nodded and followed him, easily keeping pace beside him.

Once they were safely sealed in the dreaded tunnels once again, he spoke. “We must get word to King Caspian, Thaddias is in the castle, just as we suspected.”

“A pity you did not challenge my bet for the week’s rations.” Herschel commented as they made their way through the darkness.

“Why, do I look like I need to lose the weight?” Darian asked, his tone warning the young man to think carefully about his answer.

“Oh no, sir. I just thought that perhaps if you were a little smaller, that would be slightly underweight sir, then these tunnels may not feel so clastraphobic for you.”

Darian fought a smile at the crafty answer, but still felt the corners of his mouth twitching slightly. “Indeed.”

*    *   *
Caspian.

He’s nervous. Good. As the Black Knights gathered, he debated with himself over the next course of action. He could feel the nervous energy building as the group waited for his decision. Finally, he took a deep breath.

“Alright, men, this is it, our last stand. That is, that we’re aware of.” He allowed a small smile.

He moved to the map, where he had marked each of the safest tunnel exits into the castle. Before the war, every batalion was only aware of one tunnel entrance, a safeguard against rebellions.

But now time was crucial, so he was giving the men new knowledge, though these were far from all the entrances.

“We move out in threes, one man staying in the tunnels, the others setting up bariarers to ensure those grabbing the King aren’t snuck up on. If someone raises the alarm, your first priority is to protecting the tunnels, then getting your team out. If this occures, the third man will be carrying a trumpet. When the trumpet sounds, it’s time to go, success or not. The third man in your team will alert you to the trumpet. Meet back here, either way. Questions?”

The men shook their heads, silent. Caspian nodded. “Good. We move out as soon as it’s dark. Now, is there an extra suit of silent armour?” Hiram nodded, motioning to his own.

The men gathered their weapons, checking that it was tight while the King strapped on the gear…

*    *   *
Mardinez.

Darkness fell upon the land, adding the the darkness around his field of vision. Everything seemed to zoom in and out of focus, his senses fading as blood slid down his left side.

The arrow had gone through his left shoulder and into his horse’s neck, pinning him to the animal. He’d stayed like that, forcing his mount forward until the creature collapsed.

By that time, they were a safe distance from the barbarians, and he had snapped the arrow, freeing himself from the dying horse and leaving the arrow tip in the animal. Since then, he’d been stumbling towards Laotrem, praying he would make it there with the message before it was too late.

But now, hope was fading fast. He was dying. All around, the darkness was growing, the trees creating the barriers he kept walking into. He stumbled around in the dark, head swimming. Suddenly he tripped over something, landing hard on his face.

He hadn’t even been able to move his hands up to protect his head. Can’t move… Too tired… Tears filled his eyes. His family, his kingdom, was about to die because of him…

*    *   *
Darian.

Tunnels. Why couldn’t it be... something else, anything else? He forced the thought from his mind and followed Caspian and Herschel.

He could hear the sounds of feet above them, scuffling around the castle. The footsteps faded as they reached the trap door. This was it. Caspian held up a hand and listened carefully. Darian heard nothing.

The King held up three fingers, the amount of time remaining before all of the men would be in position, grabbing the handle of the trap door. Slowly, he ticked them off. Three. Two. One.

He pulled the door open and crawled out, signaling Herschel to stay. Darian folloed close behind, crawling out to find himself underneath a large bed.

Caspian peered out into the bedroom, then crawled out, signaling for him to follow. He did, and stared in shock at the glamour of the room they were in. But the King didn’t even pause, walking directly over to a large painting and tracing his hands along its sides.

There was a gentle click, and Caspian pulled the section of wall out, pushing it to the side, revealing a dark passageway. Darian stared in shock. He’d never been in this part of the castle, much less known its secrets.

It took him a moment to realize he was being left behind and he hurried to catch up, pulling the secret door shut behind him. The tunnel was short, and soon Caspian opened the false wall which let them into a second grand bedroom. Something about its decor told him it was his King’s room.

There, at the desk, Thaddias rifled through papers, searching. He’s after Rayndra’s secrets, probably looking for the secret rooms. The pair silently approached him from behind…

*   *   *
Caspian.

He could feel his heart racing as they closed in on Thaddias, Darian slowly drawing his weapon. Now he was less than a foot away! This is it, we will reclaim Rayndra! He glanced at Darian quickly, giving a nod- he leapt forward, grabbing Thaddias’s head and clamping his mouth shut swiftly.

Darian placed his blade at the resisting man’s throat, making him freeze. “Make one sound and I will not hesitate to kill you!” Caspian growled in his ear, feeling the man begin to sweat. “Understand?” He demanded.

It was a tactic to make the hostage agree, because the simple action of admitting you could be killed made it much harder to challenge them.

Darian pressed the sword harder against his throat, drawing a trickle of blood. Thaddias slowly nodded-BANG!

Darian spun around as the door hit the wall loudly, and eight knights rushed in! Immediatly Thaddias began to stuggle, taking advantage of the surprise. Caspian hung on as the man fought him, determined to keep their hostage.

Darian drew both swords, trying desperately to block the advancing troops. But he didn’t have a chance as the knights worked their way around him.

Caspian worked to keep Thaddias between himself and the knights, at the same time trying to get a grip on the King so he could draw his weapon. All he needed to do was get a blade against Thaddias’s throat, and he would have the upper hand. But his hostage fought hard, each working to keep the other offbalance.

Suddenly a blade sliced through the skin on his back. His knees buckled and he tried to recover, but it was too late- Thaddias twisted, elbowing him in the face.

Caspian stumbled back a step, turning to avoid stumbling right into an enemy. He drew his sword, ducking a blow as the knight who’d cut him adanced. The King swung up, blade striking the man’s arm.

He spun to face another as his fallen foe retreated, clutching his bleeding stump. Now Caspian was being driven towards the desk. Just then he spotted Darian being slowly surrounded. They don’t care if he dies. They want me.

He dodged a blow and spun around, not waiting for the knight to recover. He ran, leaping onto the desk, using it as a platform to launch himself into the middle of the fray, where Darian was fighting for dear life.

His feet narrowly escaped raised blades, which nicked a boot, knocking him offbalance. He landed on his shoulder, rolling to his feet quickly. “Got you!” He shouted over the rising sounds of blades clashing.

Caspian scrambled for a plan, a way to escape with victory. An idea half formed in his mind- “Darian, block the escape!” He said as loudly as he dared, seeing a slight nod. The pair fought back to back, trying to work their way towards the door.

If they could reach it, one of them could keep the men back while the other barracaded the door. Hopefully, with the door blocked to reinforcements, they could take out the remaining knights and capture Thaddias.

Just as quickly as the plan formed, he heard a sound that made his heart stop; air rushing from his partner’s lungs. Caspian glanced over his shoulder in time to see the warrior fall, doubled over.

Thaddias’s knight raised his sword to finish him off- Caspian flung his blade at the man, hitting him in the throat and sending him flying backwards into the wall!

He stood over Darian, blocking him from any attempts to attack, and turned to the two remaining men, three if he counted Thaddias. He drew his knife.

“Surrender now!” He ordered, voice growing rough from the day’s battles.

Thaddias laughed. “Oh young one! How nice it must be to think you can actually win.” He mocked.

“I suppose you wouldn’t know, seeing how your entire army was just beat by two men.” He retorted, careful not to mention that there were more in the castle. He’ll believe any small lie I tell, so long as I’m trying to intimidate him.

“Or was I?” The sound of swords scraping their sheaths reached his ears. Reinforcements had arrived. The fight, was over. Turning, he dropped his weapon and crouched next to his knight.

The man’s face was tight, skin pale, lips blue, and he clutched his wound weakly. Caspian pulled the robe off his shoulders and pressed it against the hole. Darian moaned, shutting his eyes.

He heard Thaddias’s voice in the backround, giving his men orders, but paid no attention. “Hang on.” He whispered. But there was no response. He lowered his head, unable to hold it up any longer.

His city had been destroyed, his men killed, his people were in grave danger, and now, his final battle plan had failed. I vow to protect Rayndra from all forms of harm… For the first time in his life, he understood how a King could give up, how a King could stop trying. He just didn’t have the energy.

But Thaddias wasn’t finished. Enemy knights grabbed his arms, hauling him up off the cobblestone floor. The floor that was now stained in blood.

His weapons and armour were stripped off, tossed to the floor. They want a hostage, then give it to them. He took a deep breath and raised his head, defiance already in his eyes. Thaddias met his gaze, trying to stare him down. For my men and my people, I will be a thorn in your side until the day I die.

The two Kings stared at each other for a long moment. Then Thaddias turned, though his words were as much for Caspian as they were for his general. “Bring in the cannons. I don’t want to see a single stone in its place.”
He turned back to Caspian. “Wherever your men are, they will be crushed like the scum they are.”

He didn’t flinch as Thaddias turned, walking out. The knights dragged him along. A sharp throbbing in his leg told him he’d recieved a wound without noticing. Now warm blood was slidding down into his boot, filling it with the sticky liquid.

He limped along, struggling to keep up as he was dragged out of the castle and into the courtyard. He was tossed roughly into a wagon and chained to it by his hands and neck. Enemy soldiers poured out of the castle, filling the courtyard.

Thaddias raised his sword, getting the mens’ attention. “We are leaving. Pilage and burn everything in our path.” As the wagon began its long journey, the sounds of cannon blasts filled the air, announcing to the world their victory...