Rejected and forgotten.

The plan.

Thomas, Dawid, Noah, and Sybilla sat around the big table. The young werewolf and the witch were almost ready to visit the castle immediately. The old lord took his time to calm their eagerness down.

- I do appreciate how ready and willing to fight you are, but we cannot forget about little but quite essential things. We still need a plan. After all, it will be a rescue mission, not a suicide mission, and I would like to keep it this way. - Thomas said slowly, watching his young friends carefully. Dawid followed his eyes and noticed how disappointed they were after hearing this. He could not understand why Thomas thought they were the best for this work. Both of them seemed impatient, which could lead only to more problems. But he decided not to speak about his doubts, at least not for now.

- What is a big deal? We go in, get the girl, get out. Job done!- The werewolf said with a wide grin.

- And that is the reason why I am going. Your muscles are great and all, but no offense; we need some brain involved. - The witch said, making Dawid gasp. This girl had a death wish, for sure. Did she have no idea how short-tempered the wolves are?

The young vampire warrior watched the man before him, waiting for his outburst as his face was getting visibly red. But instead of ripping the girl's head off, Noah burst into a peal of laughter.

- No offense taken! - He said, smiling and leaning back on his seat. - But I am sure you were talking about Thomas when you mentioned brain. I know your methods, which include different parts of your body, but the brain is not involved.

It was Sibilla's turn to get red. Dawid could swear a cloud of smoke came out of her ears when she put her hands on the table and stood up.

- Take it back!- If the look could kill, the wolf would be dead now.

Noah let out another snarl, ready to say something.

- Enough!- Thomas finally decided to stop their bickering, but even he smiled gently. Dawid was the only person who did not find it funny. - We have a job to do, so if there is nothing helpful you can say, please stay quiet and let me think. - Thanks to the information provided by Dawid, we have almost everything sorted; I think we need to decide when will be the best time to act.

Lucas's son looked at him surprised. Everything was sorted? Nothing was sorted. Dawid started to think Thomas was hot-headed, just like the other two.

- I am glad everything went so smoothly with the planning.- He said sarcastically, making all of them look at him. At least they were serious now.- But since we started this exciting conversation, no one said a word about how we would enter the castle unnoticed. Don't get me wrong, I trust your experience, but for me, it seems essential. There are only four of us against all the guards in the coven. I may be inexperienced, but I don't think we stand a chance against them.

No one spoke for a while after Dawid's little speech.

Thomas pinched a bridge of his nose and looked at his friend's son.

- I did forget to mention we are not going to enter the castle, didn't I?- He said, chuckling. Dawid was watching him with confusion written all over his face. Maybe coming here was not a good idea. Those people were strange, at least.

- I will rephrase myself. We are not going to enter the castle through the main door. I thought it was clear. - Thomas continued, openly smirking. Dawid was fuming. This man was making fun of him.

- Son, I lived in the coven for many years. This place has no secrets I wouldn't discover. Getting inside the castle is the easiest part of this mission. If we are lucky, getting out will be too. My main concern is what can wait for us inside. But I can see you need some more information. There is a secret passage that was built in case someone would need to disappear unnoticed. The exit is deep in the woods, but we will use it as the entrance. I hope it is still accessible, as it's been a while since I used it for the last time. If it is fine, it will be like a gift from the gods, leading straight to the dungeons. - Thomas looked at Dawid, who felt embarrassed right now.

- It ends in one of the cells that was never used in the past, as there was no key, so no one bothered. The key is not needed, as it has a secret lock. So you see, we got this covered.

- If it is accessible. - Dawid said with a hint of doubt.

- Then we will have a problem, but I believe the ancient builders did a good job, and it looks exactly like I remembered. - Thomas replied, slightly offended by this lack of trust.

Dawid hung his head, as he had probably used all his limits by now. If those people were going to help him, he must believe in their abilities. It will be better to stay quiet from now on.

- So, since we have all the urgent matters sorted, I think we should rest as we will be moving tomorrow at dawn. It is long, and I want to return here before sunrise.

Dawid raised his head upon hearing this.

-Do you want to do it tomorrow?

Thomas looked at him with a smirk.

- Tomorrow is as good as any other day. Besides, I thought it was an urgent matter. I do not see a reason to postpone the missing, do you?

Dawid shook his head. Thomas stood up from his seat.

- Let's call it a day. You are all dismissed. - He said and left the room.

- Let me give you some advice. - Noah said quietly.- You look like a nice guy, we could be friends one day, but if you will doubt Thomas, you won't live that long.

Dawid looked at the werewolf, who was very serious now. He had no idea what to say, but he decided to use this advice well, so he slowly nodded.

- See you tomorrow. - The wolf said, passing him. The witch only smirked and followed her friend. Dawid returned to his temporary room and lay down on the bed. After some time, he finally fell asleep.

The next day, all of them focused on the preparations. Dawid tried his best to help while Thomas returned to his friendly self.

Soon, everything was ready, and all they could do was wait for the dawn. Thomas and his company left the Swamp shortly after sunset, moving as fast as possible.

They reached the woods a few hours later. Thomas spent some time locating the entrance to the passage, as it was well hidden. He returned to his companions with a wide smile.

- Everything looks good. Now, before we enter the tunnel, let's remember we have no idea what will be waiting for us at the end.

It will be your task to check that, Sybilla.

The witch only nodded at those words. She and Noah were the complete opposite of how they acted yesterday. Both looked focused; there were no more funny talks. Dawid felt embarrassed again, as he probably judged them wrongly. Now, they looked like professionals.

Thomas reached to the ground and lifted something that looked like a part of the forest floor but was, in fact, a flap covered in leaves and moss.

- Ladies first. - Thomas said, and Sybilla jumped down without hesitation. The rest of them followed her example.

The tunnel was dark and dusty, with many webs hanging from the ceiling, but it was a masterpiece. After twenty minutes, they reached its end, the solid wall. Dawid wanted to say something, but he decided to stay quiet.

Thomas stood before the wall, scanning it with his hands.

- There it is. - He whispered. Then, without warning, he pushed the wall, showing them the cell, which, for their luck, was still empty. All of them entered a cell in complete silence.

- Sybilla, get ready. - Thomas ordered, and the witch came closer. - You will go first and locate the girl. You know what to do if the guards are there.

Thomas repeated his scanning on the cell door, and soon, they were slightly open, letting some light inside. Sybilla pushed herself through a gap while they waited. Soon, they could hear her voice.

- Hi handsome, I think I got lost. Could you help me find the way out?- There was some incoherent mumbling coming. Dawid smiled to himself. Sybilla was a natural beauty. She had red hair, slim and tanned body, and the greenest eyes he had ever seen. Now, it was clear what was her part of the mission. No one could say no to her.

A minute later, she came back, pulling a body.

- For the record, he is unconscious. - She said and laid the guard on the floor. Then she disappeared again. They couldn't hear anything this time, so she moved forward to find the guard. Dawid became stressed as it seemed like she was gone for ages. He was ready to go after her, but then Sybilla pushed the door again.

- The second is down. I haven't seen others. But I found the girl. She is still in the same cell.

- Good, we need to move. - Thomas looked at them.

They left the cell and followed Sybilla's directions. She stayed near the cell in case other guards would show themselves.

The men moved quickly, heading to the correct cell. When they reached it, Thomas pulled something from his pocket, and soon the door was opened.

Dawid was the first to enter the cell. He was greeted by the scared young girl in dirty clothes, pressing herself against the wall.

Thomas came in after him, which scared the girl even more. At least Noah stayed outside.

- Clare?- Dawid asked gently. - Are you Clare? You need to go with us. - He stretched his hand to her.

- No.- He heard in response.