He nodded quickly, looking worried. "Yes. Go quick. I've bought you some time." *** She approached him. "Is everything alright?"
She looked at him gratefully before leaning over and gave her a quick peck on the cheek before slinging her leg over the balcony and heading down. * * * He was quiet for a minute. "We're in really bad shape, Wren. I have to marry her."
He flushed, watching her go with a frown before going to get dressed. *** She squinted, her brows furrowing. "There could be another way.. If we win the war..?"
(Zoop?) * * * "That's what I said," he said slowly, running his hands through his hair. "But... I mean... Wren, we're not going to win."
The entrance to the hideout was in the abandoned well on the hill. Old rocks were cracked and a guard, his silver armor glowing in the sunlight, swung a pick down, dislodging the stones and exposing an entrance down into the ground. The king watched this happen before they descended down into the darkness. The dirt hallway slowly smoothed into smooth stone as they moved further underground. Ezekiel's ears would pop as he walked. His feet would brush by something that clattered when he accidentally kicked it, and the Captain bent down, picking out a torch that was still warm to touch. "They're close by," he said gruffly. The party picked up its pace. * * * "We're not winning. We're running out of money. We don't have the supervision or the expertise we need to win. It's hopeless."
Ezekiel frowned, looking quite worried as he followed them. *** She looked thoughtful, her expression nearly unreadable. She looked up at him. "I was signed to go, My Lord," she began, returning to formalities. "I believe they'll be sending me soon."
After a while, the gloom began to lighten. He would notice first that books, old tombs, lined the walls of the small hallway. Up ahead, a red, almost peach light broke through the darkness. They entered a huge chamber, with dying torches winking weakly. The nomads had made a small city, with paths carved into the stone, and lanterns casting pink light down. The walls were inlaid with various metals, gold coins, and jewels that seemed far too fine for the general nomad population. It was silent, with the entire town looking abandoned. The King looked furious. "They're hiding," he snapped. "They must be." When the Captain failed to respond, he spoke again. "Salvage what you can. Then burn it to the ground. If they're hiding, they can burn with their sins." * * * His head jerked towards her and he stood up suddenly, stepping towards her. "What? Wren, you can't go."
The King was silent before he turned to Ezekiel slowly. “Strange. We knew this place was occupied last night,” he said slowly, his tone icy. *** “You’ll get hurt,” he said, taking her hand. “Please don’t go.”
His father watched him carefully before speaking quietly. “Ezekiel, I wish I could believe that you have nothing to do with this, but I just can’t. I must have you confined to your room for the next couple of days.” *** “No, you really don’t. You could stay.”
His eyes widened and he looked stricken. "You can't be serious! How was I to have caused this?!" *** She was watching him, her head tilted slightly. "As a guard, I have no choice but to follow my orders, Charlie. If I refuse to go I'll get arrested and stripped of my rank."
"I don't know," he said sharply, raising one eyebrow. "But you're the only independent variable. I don't know what you did, but I think you might have done something. So I'm testing my theory." * * * He seemed disturbed by this, watching her incredulously. "If you go, I'll never see you again," he said, his voice closed off.
He seemed upset, glaring at him. "Fine, then. Lock me in my room and see what happens." *** She shook her head slightly. "You don't know that, Charlie."
He nodded. A flame started on one of the buildings and he looked over at it before gesturing with his head. "Come. It's time to leave." * * * He was silent again, his brows furrowing. "When do you leave?"
A couple days later, it was the evening. Cool air drifted in from the balcony. *** “You could run away,” he suggested.
