Cody stumbled as they broke into a run.
"Victor," Cody asked, keeping his voice low as they moved along the curtains. "How did you even end up here—I mean, why are you chained up next to me on stage…?"
[Was he asleep when Ben was talking?]
"Long story short, I happen to be caught by the guards aswell."
Cody adjusted his glasses.
"I wonder if that guy survived…"
Victor pointed, just in time as he spot the two guards hauling the queen away as they descended the short steps.
"What the fuck are they doing, where are they taking her again!" Cody hissed angrily.
He increased his speed, running toward them but before the distance between Cody and Victor grew large, a hand grabbed him by his arm.
"Cody!" Victor said. "I'll assigne you the task of rescuing her majesty this time."
Cody stopped to turn his head, his eyebrows raised in confusion. "What? What are you talking about?"
"You have to go rescue her, I… need to do something."
Cody watched Victor's face, his lips trembling as he tried to force his words out.
"Are…you serous? What—could… what could possibly be more important than rescuing Her Majesty?"
"Are you mad?"
Victor turned, his eyes scanning the fog, the situation that they're in right now. The smoke was so thick that from outside, nobody could tell what's going on inside.
"I'll catch up to you, Cody. For now, I need to find the person behind this. I need to identify the two intruders."
"Have you gotten mad? Why do you care? We have to rescue Her Majesty! If you don't wanna go—just say so. Victor. Whoever they are, they created this…this opportunity for us, this is our only chance to save her. We can't miss out."
"Do you want me to go and face an army of soldiers by myself?" Cody grabbed Victor's jacket, pulling him closer.
"Are you afraid? Because we're definitely dying if we chase after her!"
"Listen carefully, I didn't take you for a cowardly captain. Or—are you actually a coward?!"
"No—" victor whispered as he shoved Cody's hands from his coat. "You're twisting stuff, you're wasting time trying to argue with me. They'll take her to the castle and kill her there with all the Dukes watching."
"Oh, I will go. I will go. I don't care if I die on the way, because unlike you people, I care deeply for her. I would die for her, do you understand, Captain?" Cody backed up slowly distanting himself from Victor.
"You… are just a bastard. Go back to your master, Victor!" Cody turned and sprinted, as he chased hard after the guards, disapearing in the dark.
Victor picked up a pipe on the ground and stood on the stage, watching everything from a high ground.
He saw Ben crouched near the edge of the platform, hiding behind the brazier. His face was pale, eyes filled with panic. He had gone from delivering speeches and the confident suit he wore to a scrawny little boy.
He hadn't moved since the smoke fell, nor was he trying to escape. He just stared, frozen.
[Interesting..]
⪻────────𖤓────────⪼
Victor jumped down cleanly with a smooth kick before his body was swallowed by darkness as he landed among the overturned chairs of the first row.
Then he was gone, absorbed into the chaos below, everything disapeared.
Inside of the fog, a new world unraveled.
Figures burst past one another in blind panic—men and women running for their life with no sense of direction, some screaming, others silent with terror. Someone stumbled and went down. Another was shoved hard from behind, their shoes trambling over limbs as the crowd surged at every direction.
"MOVE!"
"GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY!"
"MAKE WAY!"
"I can't see!"
"HELP!
"OW! WATCH WHERE YOU ARE GOING!" A woman yelled, another replied. "seriously?!"
Meanwhile, soldiers forced their way through the mess, their weapons aimed high as they pushed back against the tide. A noblewoman was lifted bodily from the ground, her fine clothes smeared with dirt as two guards carried her between them. Somewhere nearby, a young voice cried out before the sound was swallowed and silent.
Spells were casted, flickers of blue, red and gold cutting through the white texture. A soldier thrust his palm forward, chanting, and a wave of force cleared a narrow path before the fog stitched back. Another raised a glowing shield, shouting orders and direction to guide the people out.
But the fog was a barrier, and soon the sound could no longer be heard. It felt as if you were the only person stuck in this maze.
Twently inches, maybe less.
Beyond that, there was only shifting white, shapes appearing and disapearing without warning—faces emerged for half a second before melting back into smoke.
Every step meant risk, collision, a fella or a foe could appear face-to-face at any given time.
Hundreds of civilians stuck with two intruders.
- - -
"They've arrived, sir." The secretary bowed low, then lifted his head. "My Liege, shall we depart?"
The King rose with a soft grunt, fingers curling around his cane as he pushed himself up. He turned away from the balcony at once, already disinterested. His son followed quickly, offering Edward a brief nod of excuse.
"They say once things grow messy," the King muttered as he began to walk, "they cease to be enjoyable. Let us go Dan."
Duke Renardo De Lysandre turned his gaze to the King of Rosette with an amused smile tugging at his lips. "What's the trouble, my liege? This is only the beginning! The fun has just started!"
The King snorted.
"Aww come on, weren't you a fan of hosting battle games?"
"Those days are over!"
The King replied dryly. "They're no longer… entertaining."
Edward placed his mug down with precision care , eyes flickering toward Renardo. "Your old man's getting soft," he said lightly. "And here I thought Frederick would be the first to leap from his seat."
"Nonsense!"
"What's the joy in watching a spectacle if we can't see what's happening inside the fog? If you want me to admire bloodshed, then at least show it to me."
The King scoffed, tapping his cane in against the floor.
Duke Renardo laughed at his request, then Edward stood from his chair.
"Oh my, you wouldn't be able to see bloodshed if you leave now. My guest hasn't even made her appearance yet!"
"Your guest?" Questioned Renardo, just as Edward could answer, he let out a chuckle. "Cheeky bastard! Don't tell me it's that girl."
Edward inclined his head. "Now then, gentlemen—shall we sit and enjoy this show?"
He snapped his finger, drawing the attention of the waiting staff.
The sharp snap of a folding fan cut through the air.
Renardo turned an eye.
Lady Marguerite's expression twisted in open disgust.
"What is it?" Renardo asked smoothly. "Is it not your cup of tea, my sweet sugarcube?"
She's shot to her feet, heels striking the floor.
"I'm going home! To the palace!"
She stormed toward the door as her butler hurried ahead to open it.
Renardo half-rose, reaching out. "Marguerite, wait—"
Before he could finish, a hand settled casually on his thigh.
Edward smiled.
Renardo hestitated—then slowly sat back down, watching his daughter disappear without another word.
"She's a simple lady," Edward turned his gaze to Renardo. "These sorts of things don't interest her, do they?"
Duke Renardo shook his head. "Not really…"
"Well then," Edward continued, folding his hands. "Why don't you relax and enjoy yourself?. I've put in so much effort into this."
His eyes flickered briefly to both men.
Renardo smiled. "You're right. And I must admit—I'm very eager to meet this guest of yours!"
⪻────────𖤓────────⪼
[what should I do?]
[He's not waking up any second now…. ugh!]
I dropped to my knees and tore through the knocked over boxes, ripping the plastic off just to discover a whole lot of trash.
[Seriously? Kitchen supplies? Plant pots? Plastic containers? All of this is junk!]
I muttered to myself, kicking the heap aside before sinking onto the floor.
I closed my eyes for a bit, forcing myself brainstorm anything.
[What can I do…?]
[What can I do?]
"Can I even do anything?!"
I snapped open my eyes, with a frustrated sigh, I pushed myself up and moved toward the window.
What I saw sent a jolt straight through me.
Outside was filled with chaos.
Just a few minutes ago, everything was normal, but now? What the hell was happening.
The first thing I looked for was my mom, to my surprise she wasn't there but instead was being rushed toward the fortress' gate.
Soldiers rushed in tight formations around the foggy area, their weapons raised, spells being casted, and those who got out were being transfered out of here.
[Chaos…]
[This is it. This is what I need.]
[I might be able to blend in more now that everyone's attention is on the fog.]
with everyone's attention locked on the fog. The officers were concentrating all their forces around the center—attacking the smoke and guarding the perimeter.
Ha! But the stage? The back of the court?
No one paid attention anymore, because they have a whole situation to deal with. It would be hard to notice one more figure moving through the dark with guests running wild in full panic.
I turned back toward Zack who was lying on the couch unconscious.
"Will you be alright if I left you alone?" I whispered.
Then carefully, I draped a white sheet over him, tucking it around his shoulders to serve as a blanket.
"There" I said, taking a few steps back.
Then I slipped out, closing the door with one last look.
"Bye-bye."