Forced into Fantasy
Chapter 4 - Escape

What did he just say; torture us! Is he for real?

My head began to spin as the soldiers nearest to me moved across and began to unlock the iron shackles enclosed around both of my wrists. I was only snapped out of my dizzying trance as they pulled me up to stand on my feet and I began pleading pointlessly for my life.

“No wait, please… you don’t understand, I know nothing about what just happened in here… please don’t torture me! I don’t know anything, I swear!”

Of course, they ignored my pleas and continued to march me along toward the exit, one latched onto either of my arms as I passed by Adomis who merely watched with his intoxicating brown eyes as I was dragged away.

Adomis;

I was pissed!

That little black haired bitch just took out eight of my best men in less than a minute with nothing but a single dagger and I wanted to know how!

“What the FUCK just happened here!” I boomed angrily, glaring down at the sorry excuses for soldiers standing around me, still lucky to be alive.

“That tiny bitch manages to smuggle a concealed weapon into one of my most impenetrable rooms and I want to know how the fuck it happened!”

As I looked from one soldier to the next they all seemed fearful, apprehensive even of what I would do next for this obvious fuck up.

They were all well aware that I do not accept failure and every single one of them here was to blame.

“Fuck, my eye!” I heard Tully wailing like a little girl in the background.

Rolling my eyes and shaking my head I barked another order as I point toward him.

“Will someone get over there and see to that idiot!”

Several soldiers moved across to assist Tully who moaned loudly in pain and held at the side of his blood-soaked face. They began to lead him out of the room when one of my men suddenly approached me from behind.

“My lord, her dagger has a sigil carved into it.” he explained, handing the blood-covered weapon to me and stepping back.

I gripped the tiny dagger between my large fingers and brought it closer toward my face to get a better look at the carved sigil etched into the silver handle.

It’s in the shape of a crescent... My blood boils with seething rage.

“The fucking Moonlit Guild. Those cowardly bastards think they can send in a paid assassin to take me out! FUCK!”

I speak to no one in particular as my eyes narrow with rage. I can feel the warmth of my blood flooding throughout the veins of my entire body as I focus on containing my anger for the time being.

The crescent etched into the dagger’s handle represented one of the many organisations hell bent on ending my powerful reign. This particular one is known as the Moonlit Guild; a pathetic group of rebel leaders who have been trying for years to end my life and prevent me from increasing my territory across the lands.

And now it would seem that they were stooping to new levels to get rid of me.

“Captain Khalan!” I spoke with my usual deep and husky voice and as soon as I did he moved up to stand at attention before me, waiting for my next command.

“My lord.”

I handed the blood-stained dagger to him and he then inspected it closely.

“It seems our friends in the Moonlit Guild need to be reminded of what happens when they dare oppose my power.” I explained sternly. “Send out the Vypras. Have them burn every single village known to be housing members of the guild. Ensure there are no survivors.”

“As you command.”

The Captain bowed his head and quickly exited the room, followed closely by two other soldiers.

I was about to take my anger out on the soldier nearest to me when my brown eyes caught sight of something strange, something out of place in the room I was so familiar with.

With my gaze locked solely on the shiny object, I walked across the room to where the treacherous maidens had been chained to the wall and crouched down to see what lie on the floor below one of the dangling sets of shackles.

A small amulet sat alone on the stone floor, a silver set of five rings circling around a large glistening ruby in the centre. I frowned as my right hand reached down to grasp it, lifting it up to see it better in the light.

It was old, that much I could be certain of, but where had it come from? And why was it here?

My head flicked up casually and I caught sight of the dangling shackles, now empty and it all suddenly clicked into place.

The maiden, the one with the long golden hair and crystal blue eyes. She was chained up in this very spot only moments earlier.

Had this amulet perhaps have come from her? And how did a simple maiden living in a small village possess such a precious trinket?

Had she stolen it?

Then my mind began to wonder... who was she really?

Ivy;

As I was marched along down one of the many hallways of the darkened castle I went over ways to survive this situation in my head, but nothing seemed likely enough to work. Was I really being marched along to be horribly tortured by these make-believe characters I myself had created? Was this seriously happening to me?

Turning yet another corner the soldiers began to march me in the direction of a small doorway leading through to a spiralling staircase. I guessed that the staircase would lead us down to a dungeon or something similar.

Something suddenly clicked inside of my mind and I knew what I had to do. Don’t ask me how, I can’t possibly explain it but I knew how to manage an escape from my captors and I didn’t have the time to ask why or how it had come to me.

My body seemed to act on some sort of auto-pilot suddenly as my foot instinctively moved across to block one of the soldier’s steps, causing him to gasp as he released my arm and began tumbling down the stairs head first, smashing hard into the stone wall about a metre down from where I stood with the second soldier.

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As soon as the second soldier looked down to check on his companion, I used my now free right hand to reach for his long sword and with one fluent motion, I unsheathed it and kicked him down the stairs to join his friend.

“Ah!” he cried as he fell.

Turning around I could hear as the second pair of soldiers were marching the other maiden down the hallway and I quickly ducked behind an adjacent wall, waiting for them to pass me before I stepped out and proceeded to jog down the now empty hallway towards freedom.

With the long sword in hand I made sure I scoped out each hallway before I stepped out into it, fearing there would be too many soldiers for me to overcome on my own, should I be unfortunate to run into any of them. I had to find a way out of this place and fast!

Meanwhile, several of the soldiers had come across the now unconscious soldiers escorting me earlier and had raised the alarm of my apparent escape. And of course, their Overlord Adomis was informed right away. Adomis was not pleased to hear I was roaming around his castle freely and he himself joined the search to retrieve and recapture me.

Time had no meaning as I silently snuck throughout the darkened hallways of the castle, searching desperately for a way to escape. I had no idea of where I was or at that very moment hundreds of soldiers were currently searching the entire castle on a hunt for me. All I could think about was my freedom. I needed to get out of here, to find a way to get back home… wherever home was.

As I slowly manoeuvred my head around the corner of the next hallway I paused and ducked my head back behind the safety of the wall again upon sighting several soldiers on guard down the other end of the long walkway. Then as I did this a second time my crystal blue eyes caught sight of it; the answer to my prayers! An open balcony window!

It was a possible way out of the castle!

I could feel my heart thumping heavily inside of my chest, so heavily I felt as though it may burst through my ribcage at any given second. My mouth was dry with nerves but I had no other choice; I needed to get free of my prison.

Closing my eyes for a second to focus my thoughts, I exhaled as I reopened them again and forced myself to step out from my hiding place.

At first the soldiers didn’t notice me approaching them as they stood around chatting casually amongst themselves. There were about four of them and they didn’t appear to be taking their jobs too seriously; luckily for me!

My heart dropped and my eyes widened as one of them spotted me and shouted out with his hand outstretched and his finger pointed in my direction.

“Hey you! Stop!”

I moved into a sprint, headed directly for the balcony doors and running as fast as my bare feet could manage. But so did they!

In no time at all I had made my way out onto the small balcony and my body skidded to a halt as I ran hard into the thick stone waist-high wall around the edge of the balcony. Wasting no time at all, I peered down at the raging seas below and gasped in terror.

It was a long way down! I wasn’t sure if I could survive the jump or not.

I turned to face the soldiers as they began to move across the balcony in an effort to surround me. Even with the sword in hand, I knew I could not defend myself against all four of them!

“Drop the sword and come along nicely.” one of the soldiers decided to take the lead as they slowly began to move in closer towards me. “We don’t have to harm you…”

I felt fear like I had never felt before in my entire life. I was surrounded, left with a choice of horrible torture at the hands of my captors, or a lethal jump that would most likely kill me on impact! Either one of my choices were not winning me over here as I backed into the stone waist-high wall behind me.

I had no choice. I would have to jump…

The soldiers seemed to panic as I turned and climbed up onto the stone railing of the balcony, facing them again as they tried one last time to talk me down from the ledge.

“Now, now, there’s no need for that love... There’s no way you’ll survive a fall from that height... come down here and I promise we’ll be gentle with you.” the lead soldier spoke, but I could smell the obvious scent of lies emanating from him.

I gathered up all of my courage and turned around to face my fate, whatever it may be.

Then as I forced my eyes shut and took one last step, I could feel the air rushing by me as I began to fall…

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