RECOVERY

ESCAPE

“Father I need to talk to you.” “Not now Tarin, there is a traitor within the palace walls and I need to uncover them and do the needful.” Dexagon told his daughter as she half ran to keep up with him. “Oh! By do the needful you mean executed them don’t you?” “Of course what else do you want me to do with them?” “Banishment perhaps and I don’t believe I have to remind you that not one of these people you execute almost always gets fair trials.”

The king stopped and looked at his daughter. He had almost forgotten how to be angry at her. “Look Tarin, I know you are still upset with me about...” “Don’t.” She stopped him from recalling the sad incident. “You don’t get to talk about that not to me or anyone else.” “I understand and I promise you that when these traitors are dealt with, you and I would talk.” He walked away leaving his daughter standing perplexed close to where the guards were training, he was headed there.

Sounds of dripping water was heard continuously around the dimly lit corners where the king’s dungeon was located. “You have to stop doing that.” Cloud told Raven who kept banging away at the bars of his little prison cell at interval.

“I am trying to figure out a way to get us all out of here.” Raven told his father from the inside of his own cell. They were locked up separately but the cells were close enough to themselves and allowed them to communicate with one another. “There is no getting out of here.” Cloud replied his son. “So what? We just sit back and wait for that murderer to decide our fates which we both know he has already decided, I think not.” Raven told his father. They both thought Limp was sleeping until she joined their little rummaging.

“You two are yet to tell me why we are locked up in here or don’t you think I ought to know?” “Our crime was giving shelter to someone who needed it. When has hospitality become a crime?” Raven answered her and banged at his cell bars once more. “It is a crime when it is shown to the king’s enemies.” Limp fired back from the inside of her cell. “The king has made everyone his enemies can’t you see? We are locked up in here because...”

“Enough you two,” Cloud stepped in. “Arguing won’t solve anything. We need to...” Footsteps. Cloud held his tongue when he heard the heavy boots of none else than the palace guards and soldiers clamping their way through the crude floor that led to the dungeons towards them. The dungeons were built in such a way that once inside, you could only see about one feet behind the bars of the cell you are locked up in. Cloud had stopped talking and they all listened closely as the footsteps got closer and closer and stopped in front of the cell where Limp was in.

“Bring her.” They both recognized the voice to be that of the king. “Hey bastard If you lay a finger on my sister I will kill you.” Raven shouted from the inside of his cell and almost broke the bars down – only, he couldn’t. “That’s it, bring them all out.” The guards opened the bronze bars that kept Raven and his father and dragged them out. They looked around immediately they got out to ensure Limp was safe – she was but only in the sense that they also were because no prisoner of the king is ever safe.

“I see you haven’t learnt to control your big mouth.” The king told Raven. “I am not the one who needs a lesson on manners.” Raven glared at him just as he said “let’s go”  and the guards marched them out of the dungeon yard behind the king.

He had instructed Pavalon to get the executioner and prepare the chopping blocks when he went to their training ground early that day. The king forbade any visistors for Cloud, any of his children and the palace cook who was until then still covering a traitor he was bent on discovering.

The executioner stood prepared when the king accompanied by his prisoners walked out of the prison yard towards the execution stand. Raven improved his efforts at figuring out an escape plan when he saw that the executions were soon to get on the way and he and his family were the guests of honour. He was surprised that Pavalon did not so much as visit them while they were locked up.

The guards led the prisoners to the execution stand an lined them up in a straight file. “I don’t usually do this but I am going to give you all one more chance to spare yourselves.” Then to Grey the king asked – “Who told you of the arrest?” but she did not so much as raise her head. “Okay, I would take that as a go ahead and kill me.”

He turned towards Cloud “How about you?” “I already told you, I confess to the crime. I helped the young man to get away but my children had nothing to do with it, please let them go.” “Let me hear your son say he had nothing to do with it and I’ll let them go.” Cloud raised his eyebrows as he saw a ray of hope but Raven kept his gaze fixed on whatever he was looking at in front of him and did not say anything.

“Go on son, say it.” nothing still. The king smirked. “Yeah I didn’t think so either.” And to the executioner he said “Let’s get to it then” he had no intention of releasing Raven and his sister had Raven spoke up he only wanted to take something away from him which was the fact that since his arrival at the palace, Raven had not shown any sign of fear towards the king as his father and sister had repeatedly and this fact tortured the king.

He did not invite people for executions but the place was not hidden so regardless, people still attended in large numbers and today he decided to address them. “The people you see tied up here about to be executed have all been found guilty of treason and treachery, giving accommodation to enemies of this kingdom that I have made great and not they will face the law. Let this serve as a lesson to those yet to be caught.” When he finished speaking, he nodded to the executioner and the soldiers positioned Grey’s neck in the chopping block.

As he lifted his axe whose silver blade was about to be coloured red, Pavalon took a few steps forward knowing his plan  was about to be set in motion and as the executioner lowered his axe towards Grey’s slender neck, an arrow whoshed out of where no one could tell and went through his forehead. He dropped the axe which almost decapitated Grey on its own and staggered backwards as everyone watched in amazement.

When he dropped to the ground with a heavy thud, the soldiers began to look upwards in search of the shooter who had nothing to fear for he was well concealed. The king and his soldiers did not know that there was plenty of shooting on the way and that they were the targets. Then without warning, Pavalon jumped unto the podium and cut the straps that held Grey to the blocks.

“I knew it” the king said. “Seize him” and two guards moved to secure the captain but they were shot dead by archers no one could see yet. The people that had gathered for the execution had and were leaving in a commission like manner. Some soldiers covered the king forming a shield with their bodies. “Oh no” Pavalon had not anticipated that initiative for he had instructed his shooters to shoot and kill the king as well.

Cloud tried as best as he could to shield Limp amidst the commotion and whooshing arrows that were now dropping soldiers dead. “Kill them, kill them all.” The king shouted from his ‘human body’ made shield. Pavalon cut Raven lose and handed him the extra sword he had come with. Raven quickly cut lose his sister while Pavalon did the same to Cloud after which the two men stood guard over the old man and the two ladies on the execution podium slaying the soldiers who somehow eluded the arrows that had by now dropped a good number of the king’s soldiers and guards. It happened that Pavalon had been busy the previous night.

He had called in favours from old friends and planned the little rebellion that was now happening. The soldiers that successfully got onto the execution stand were not match for either Raven or Pavalon and they cut them down. This went on for a little while before the sound of the warning bell filled their ears and the king’s own archers entered the scene.

“Look archers, we have to go.” Raven told Pavalon when he saw the king’s archers running to their positions in the elevation at the palace gate “Can you provide cover?” Pavalon asked him. “Yeah I’ll try but not for too long what’s your plan?” “Follow me.” Pavalon led the way and Cloud, Grey, and Limp followed him while Raven fought off the guards that chased after them to give them a little lead.

Pavalon led them through a hole he had created in the far corner of the palace wall where three horses were waiting for them. By the time Raven slashed the throat of the last guard that chased after them, Pavalon had gotten on a horse with Grey behind him as well as Cloud. He went through the hole and climbed the last horse and Limp joined him and they rode away as fast as they could but as they did, the king’s archers shot at them and Cloud was hit by an arrow in his neck and he fell from his horse.

 Raven jumped down from his horse and rushed to his father and seeing the blood gush out, he applied pressure with his hands as he cried out – “No no no!” “Listen to me. You have to go the soldiers are coming” and they were indeed coming. Limp joined them and when she saw her father bleeding out, she couldn’t hold back the tears. “There are more archers we can’t risk another wave of arrows.” Pavalon called out to them. “Go. I love you both.” Cloud managed to say as they got back on their horses and rode away.

Pavalon was leading them towards a secret road that gave passage out of Zorak which only a few knew of but as they got closer, one of the soldiers who were now on horse backs as well shot an arrow and it missed Raven’s head with only a few inches. He shot another and this time he got Limp in the back but she held on to Raven. They got out of Zorak and eluded the chasing soldiers after which Pavalon found out that Grey had also been hit by an arrow even before Limp was.