บท 24: Escape
AN: Hi everyone! I had to double shifts past few weeks so I could not publish any chapters but no worries!
I am back!!! And you will get a new chapter by evening!!
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298 AC, Red Keep…
The voices of the guards who were racing through the tunnels rebounded in Rody's ears. He was still contemplating whether he should choose right or left. In the end, he couldn't stay still anymore as the guards were closing on him.
He took his first step towards the left tunnel and stood before it. After a little hesitation, he ran towards the right tunnel. He ran and ran… Finally, after a few minutes, the noises coming from the guards ceased and Rody stopped running.
The air in the tunnels was oppressive enough so he adjusted his breath and began walking with quick steps. He remembered how the clansmen guided him down the tunnels. They would always leave some sign on the walls to return safely. Rody looked around for any sign to see whether he was on the right track or not but he did not see anything.
The light of the torch was already beginning to dwindle. Rody's panic grew as the light faded. He was in the tunnels of the Red Keep which was said to be a place where people lost. It only took an hour or so for the torch to burn out.
After that, Rody threw the torch ground and put his left hand on the wall and walked slowly, lest he trips and falls or skip an intersection. He continued to walk for at least two hours before stopping. According to his calculations, he should have already left the castle by now and should have been outside of the city. Only then did Rody realize he should have taken the left tunnel…
Three days, exactly for three days, Rody roamed the tunnels. His throat dried and his belly clung to his organs. He tried to go back through the way he came but no matter what route he had taken, he was only met with the same darkness and foreign walls.
He couldn't see anything and darkness was his only friend. His sword was hanging from his belt and his armour was getting heavier with each passing moment. Ser Rodrik would have told him to get his arse up and move but Rody did not have an inkling of strength left in him.
Of course, he was not going to give up just because of being lost in these godforsaken tunnels. He was just going to rest for a bit and continue to search his way out. If he was lucky, he was going to find himself outside of the city.
If he had not insisted on staying back with the clansmen, he would have been out on the road with his lord by now. However, there was no use in regretting what was done right now. The dead bodies of the clansmen were still vivid in his mind. He still remembered how the old man threw him down the tunnel and sacrificed himself to gain him some time.
He did not know whether his liege lord was alive or not. As soon as he left these tunnels, he was going to head North and join the army. Lord Stark wouldn't allow something like this to go unanswered. At least a hundred Northmen were butchered in the Hand's Tower and all of that was because the queen opened her legs to her brother.
Nevertheless, the deed was done. The Lannisters were alone with their games and it was apparent they were going to lose. It was with these thoughts, Rody slowly let his eyelids drop down but before he could close them completely, he saw a flicker of light coming from his left. He sharply turned his head and rubbed his eyes to see whether he was dreaming or not but the light was growing bigger each second.
Rody quickly rose to his feet and moved towards the corner where the light was coming from. His steps were light enough to make no sound. He waited for the light to grow enough to brighten the tunnels.
He began hearing footsteps and they grew louder. Rody pulled out the Valyrian steel dagger he kept on his belt and gripped it tightly. As the person came closer to turn the corner, Rody rushed out of his hiding place to grab the man. He tried to grab him but his hands only grabbed a space.
His eyes grew big in surprise. His steps were too quick so he couldn't stop himself and fell forward. He heard something groan in pain. Rody pushed himself off the ground quickly and looked at the little thing rubbing his head on the ground.
It was a little child, no older than Arya. The child raised his head and looked at Rody. His eyes widened in shock, and a moment later, fear replaced them. The boy, Rody guessed he was because of his shaven head, tried to slip away to the way he came from.
However, Rody was quicker than the boy. The chance of freeing himself from these Gods forsaken tunnels was not something he would allow to slip away from his hands.
The boy struggled with all of his might and even tried to bite Rody's arm to escape but a backhand from Rody was enough to deter the boy and make him cower on the ground. Rody seized the boy's collar and pushed him onto the wall, cutting his legs off from the ground.
He tried to utter a word but the dryness of his throat only caused pain. He coughed a few times to clean his throat and then spoke, "Tell me, boy, where is the nearest exit from these tunnels?"
Rody's raspy voice came out in an eerie way. The boy looked at Rody and opened his mouth but the only thing that came out was a groan deep down from his throat. Rody realized that it was not like the boy did not want to speak, rather he had no tongue to roll out the words of his mouth.
Only then did Rody realize that the boy was one of the famous little birds of the spymaster, Varys. He slowly put the boy to the ground but his hands did not leave the boy's collar. He lowered himself to the boy's level and showed his dagger to the boy.
"Do you see this, boy?" Rody let the image of the dagger sink into the boy's mind. "You will either be going to show me the nearest exit, or I will cut you to pieces, starting from your big ears."
Desperate times require desperate measures. In their weakest moments, people tended to let their inner beasts out to survive at every cost. That was exactly what Rody was experiencing now. If it had been a week ago, Rody would have cut down the person who would have threatened a little child, even if the said child was a spy for the enemy.
The child nodded his little shaven head and looked to his left and right like searching for the right direction. Finally, he pointed to his left and picked up the torch lying on the ground. Rody let him walk but he was still holding him by his arm.
Rody did not know how many turns they took but they were led into smaller tunnels than he had ever seen before. At least, the air here was breathable enough for him to feel the fresh air. However, Rody did not like that the tunnels were getting smaller each moment because he was slowly having a hard time moving forward.
In the end, the boy stopped before a ladder leading upwards and pointed upwards. Rody looked up and then turned his head back to the boy. "Go and check," he said.
The boy looked unwilling but he still held onto the ladder and climbed it. He slowly opened the trapdoor and peeked outside. His little head turned left and right and slowly crept back into the tunnels. He jumped down the ladders and clapped his hands like he was cleaning the dust. He shook his head at Rody.
Rody squinted his eyes and searched for the truth in the boy's eyes but it was impossible to see them in this darkness, despite the torch's light. "Go up and wait for me there," Rody said.
He was not planning to allow the boy to go and alert others. However, the boy did not have any intention of going up as he persistently shook his head and tried to pull off his arm from Rody's grasp.
Even though Rody admired the child's persistence, there was no return from this course. "Go up, or I will cut your ankles and let you bleed in these tunnels. You must have heard what barbarians like us, the Northerners, do to the people."
Tears welled up in the child's eyes and he scrunched up his face in fear. Rody lightly slapped the boy on the back of his head. "Go up, now," he said harshly.
At last, the boy listened to Rody and climbed back up the ladder. He slowly opened the trap door and went up. Rody was close behind him and one of his hands was holding the boy's ankle.
Rody grabbed the stone ground with one hand and pulled himself up. He slowly lowered the trapdoor behind him. His eyes searched around for a source of light but, apparently, it was night.
Still, the light of the moon was enough to lighten the room he was in. He was in a big chamber. It was probably one of the chambers where the noblemen slept as he saw someone who was lying on the bed with his back turned to him. As Rody was looking around, the boy tried to get back to the tunnels but Rody pulled him back to his feet and motioned for him to stay silent.
Rody slowly went towards the doors and extended his hands towards the knob but he stopped at the last moment when he heard some whispering from outside. He felt something brush past his leg and lowered his head to look. He saw a kitten stretching his legs like he was roused from his sleep a moment ago. The cat did not care that a stranger was in the room and went towards where the chilly air was coming from.
Rody followed the cat and slowly backed away to go towards the open balcony. As he stepped outside, he felt the chilly air wash over his face. He looked left and right but did not see anywhere he could use to move away. He lowered his head to look down the railings but it was the same as everywhere, nothing he could use to escape.
He took a deep breath and turned back inside. He thought maybe he could go back into the tunnels and let the boy lead him to another exit. However, his momentary carelessness allowed the boy to free himself from his grasp and ran to the trapdoor.
The boy quickly opened the trapdoor and slipped in while creating as much as noise. Rody turned his head sharply towards the bed in panic. The person lying on the bed roused himself up and rubbed his eyes to see who made the noise.
Rody came to his senses and pushed himself forward and put his knife on the person's throat as he slammed him back to the bed. However, to his utter surprise, again, it was a little boy who was caught at his mercy.
"Utter a word and I will kill you." He gritted his teeth and spoke the same words he gave to the little spy.
The boy's eyes grew wide and no word left his mouth because of his fear. He nodded his little head and buried his head back into his pillow. Rody did not know what he was going to do…
On one hand, he needed to escape this damned castle as soon as possible. On the other hand, one tongueless boy was already out of his reach, carrying words about him, and another at the tip of his dagger. Of course, he wouldn't lower himself to kill a boy but he needed to think something immediately as time was working against him.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door and a voice came from outside. "Are you okay, your highness?"
Rody gaped for a moment and looked at the boy's face carefully. The fear-stricken face was decorated by golden curls and emerald green eyes which shone behind the tears.
The guard knocked on the door again and called out for the prince. Rody looked at the royal boy who was looking at him with fear in his eyes. "Tell him that you are okay," he said.
The boy did nothing and continued looking at Rody while the guard banged on the door and yelled about coming inside. Rody pressed the dagger onto the boy's throat and blood trickled down onto his pillow which awoke the boy from his fear.
"I'm okay!!" The boy yelled in a broken voice. "It was just a nightmare!" he said.
After hearing the prince's words, the guard spoke no more and Rody was left alone with the prince. He slowly pulled back the dagger and pushed the blanket away from the boy. A disgusting smell invaded his nostrils as he looked at the bed.
The prince's face drowned in red as tears fell down his face. Rody put his forefinger on the boy's lips and pointed towards the dagger. The prince nodded his little head in understanding. If a word left his mouth, his throat would open wide for blood to erupt.
Rody pulled the boy out of the bed and dragged him towards the trap door. He grabbed a torch hanging on the wall and lit it using one of the candles. If he was not going to kill the boy to silence him, then he was going to bring him into the tunnels as leverage. Even though it was no joke to kidnap a prince, he needed protection, lest the little spy that he let escape bring people to catch him.
Unlike the little spy, the prince did not resist and let Rody lead him into the tunnels. Although Rody returned to the tunnels with the prince in tow, he did not know which path to take. In the end, he decided to go back to the way he came.
There were many different turns they took with the little spy and Rody did not remember every one of them. He moved with fast steps as he did not want to get caught if people were searching for them.
As Rody was just going to take another turn, the prince stopped and pulled Rody's arm. He lowered his head and spoke like he was in the wrong. "That one is a dead-end."
Rody frowned and looked at him. "And how do you know about it?" he asked.
"I would always come down here to search for my kittens." the prince said. "But father and mother forbade it after I was lost once."
The prince began speaking like his tongue was set loose after a month of silence. Meanwhile, Rody smiled strangely. He knelt before the prince and looked at him with an eerie smile. "So you know your way with these tunnels?"
The prince stopped speaking and nodded his head at Rody's question.
"Then you can show me the way…" Rody's creepy smile grew wider as he spoke, "You should know what will happen if you lead us the wrong way, right?" Rody waved his dagger. The fear of losing his way again was forcing him to take drastic actions but he knew as long as he did not act upon what he said, he could hold onto the last sane part inside his head.
The little prince led the way while Rody followed him in tow. This time, he was not going to allow his captive to escape. They made their way deep into the tunnels. Sometimes the tunnels became wider, sometimes narrow. However, Rody knew they were on the right track because he had seen the markings left by the clansmen on the walls.
Rody was lucky that the boy brought him this far because according to what he said, the prince did not know the way leading outside of the city. This time, luck was on his side and he intended to leave this shitty city behind for good. However, he was worried about the path being discovered by the Lannisters after Lord Stark escaped but from the looks of it, there was nothing to worry about.
As he exited the tunnel into a small opening outside of the city walls, a happy smile crept up Rody's face. Finally, he was free of the dark tunnels and the den lions. He turned his head and looked at the little prince.
He sheathed his dagger and told the boy that it was time to return to the castle. However, the boy looked at him blankly and said, "I don't know the way back."
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AN: So what do you think about the last part? Should Rody find a way to send him back or...
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