Scarlett in the Prison With the Knife XIV

[Anni]

Djaq had left Robin, Marian, and Much in the courtyard as she slipped through the kitchen to the hallway leading to the dungeons. It wasn't far to go, but she knew there would be a guard watching over Will, and she would have to get passed him. With her luck, there would be only one guard and she would need to knock him out and quietly and quickly get Will.

Djaq then remembered Luke and she turned to make sure he was following. There was no one in the kitchens at the moment so she was able to get through easily, and the hallway seemed to be empty as well. This was surprising, but the guards seemed to follow Gisborne around more than stay stationary. She doubted many people came this way anyway.

The guard helmet was becoming uncomfortable and it was hard to see in it so she slipped it off as she went down the finally stairs to where the prisons started. She turned to Luke. "Are you ready?" she asked. "I'll knock the guard out, you be the look out, see if there are anymore guards." This seemed to be a good enough plan to Djaq, though she wished that they didn't have to split off into couples, leaving poor Much by himself. But hopefully Robin and Marian would keep Gisborne away. Djaq didn't think she could fight Gisborne alone, and Luke was still very young.

[Luke Scarlett]

Luke had been listening carefully to Robin; so carefully, in fact, he missed Djaq's departure and had to jog to catch up. He nearly bumped into her and gave a weak grin, hidden by his helmet, as an apology. He had been surprised by the sheer lack of people in the kitchen - didn't anyone in this castle eat? Or had Vaysey killed them all in his boredom?

He found he didn't want to know the answer.

He crept down the hallway behind Djaq, heart racing faster as every second passed. They were heading to the dungeons; the last time he'd been there - hell, the last time he'd been in the castle full stop - was when he'd been awaiting his own hanging, stuffed in a small, filthy cage with his brother, Benedict and, eventually, Allan. He vaugely recalled the dimly lit halls and stale air, but it seemed like a lifetime ago now, after spending so long in Scarborough; almost like it happened to a different person.

He certainly didn't know where he was going, or what he expected to find (except the dark, and the flickering candlelight, and the stench of excrement, and Will), so he stayed as close to Djaq as possible, praying someone didn't come across them.

They stopped near the bottom of a set of stairs that Djaq had whispered lead to the prison, and she whipped her helmet off, shaking her head. They were a bit stuffy, but was it worth doing that? People would recognise her without it, right? Luke wanted to smack himself. Of course they'd recognise her, but she'd dispatch them before they could do anything about it. That was the entire point, wasn't it?

"Are you ready?"[/i]

No, he wasn't. He didn't think he'd ever really be ready for this, but he was starting to feel excited, heart racing as if trying to escape his body, and he gave a muted, vigorous nod. He wasn't entirely happy about being the lookout but then again, what else could he really do? He nodded again, gripping at the axes at his waist for support once more. They really were a comfort to him. They were his dad, and his brother. Who needed more strength than that?

He set himself up at the bottom of the stairs, ready to stand and fight (or run and ask for help) if any more guards came along.

Oh my God. We're really doing this.

[Anni]

Years ago Djaq would have wriggled her nose at the stench, but since the war an living with men in the forest, she had grown accustomed to strange and unpleasant smells. Normally Djaq would take baths when she had the time as she still kept up the custom of being clean, but luckily she did not today or the lavender and floral scent would have been obvious and might have alerted a guard if she were to sneak up on him.

Djaq snuck down the stairs slowly, Luke ahead of her, and though he hadn't responded, she knew that he was as ready as he was ever going to be - the same feeling Djaq had right now. Her heart was racing and she had butterflies of the killer kind in her stomach frightened of what she might see in the jail cell. Whatever state Will was in now, she hoped she had the salves and herbs in camp to make it all better. She assumed there would be some nasty cuts and perhaps his ribs would be fractured or even broken, but he probably could sort of walk.

Djaq brought herself back to the moment. "Do you see anyone?" Djaq whispered down to Luke. He being the look out, and a face not associated with the Outlaws, and a man, was probably better as a look out than Djaq at the moment. She trusted him right now. He needed to have her back and vice versa right now. Everything hung on them working together and communicating through words, hand gestures, and body language.

[Luke Scarlett]

Luke peered round the corner of the stairs in what he hoped was an unsuspicious manner, and looked carefully to his right, then his left. The dim light didn’t help much, his shortened sight (due to the helmet) helping even less, but as far as he could make out, there was but one guard, blocking a set of stairs. It led down, slightly, further away from the sun and freedom, while another set went up a level, and he could see some natural light pouring in through a window he couldn’t see.

He wasn’t sure what was worse; being trapped, alone, dark and cold, or up, so close to freedom and yet so far. He wondered which direction Will would be, and figured it was probably down – more levels to climb, should he escape, more guards to fight, more time to successfully bring him back down.

He shuddered.

Luke went to reply to Djaq, but paused a moment, holding a hand up as another man came up the stairs and started talking to the guard, smiling nastily as he held up a dagger with a fair amount of blood on it. He couldn’t make out what the man was saying – not from this distance, and not with the helmet covering his ears (as it was, he could barely hear Djaq) – but he got the general gist of it from the laughter and the blade. He’d stabbed someone, and it was all Luke could do from going over there and trying to kick his head in, just on the off chance (well, very likely chance) that it had been Will.

Instead, he turned around and looked at Djaq, eyes asking, no, begging her for a plan other than “try and sneak up on the guards and knock them out” because, frankly, his last encounter with a guard – while successful – had been pure luck, and he wasn’t entirely certain it would hold out.

”Two men,” he eventually got out, gesturing a little in the direction of the guards. ”One’s kinda bulky, but the other’s a weed. Uh, but he has a dagger.”

He looked back out, and the two were still preoccupied, so he gestured for Djaq to join him at the bottom.

”What do you think? Rush them?” he asked, whispering the first thing that came to mind. He had no idea if such a plan would work; after all, he’d never done this sort of thing before. He took a deep breath, waiting for a reply, steadying his nerves. He fingered the hatchet at his side, realising that he’d probably have better luck using it as a weapon than the sword handed to him or anything else. He at least knew a little of how the axes worked from lessons with both his father and, briefly, Will. He might not be good at it, but swing a blade in the direction of flesh and you were generally sorted.

He hoped.

(OOC - so didn't post as Allan XD;; )

[Anni]

Djaq waited for Luke to come back. This gave her time to worry. Worrying was in a woman's nature, and being a woman, it was terrible. Djaq shifted uncomfortably in the uniform. It hung around her small form, bulky and heavy and awkward. How would she be able to fight in this? But Djaq had had to wear even more weird outfits in the past. Finally Luke came back, though the news wasn't that great.

"Two guards, ok," Djaq said. Robin was usually good with the plans, but Djaq had had a few of her own. She was grateful when Luke suggested rushing them. "Yeah, that could work." Two against two. The guards were big, but Luke and Djaq were fast, small, and unexpected. "Ok, on the count of three, we rush them."

Djaq looked to Luke to see if this was a good plan. He had thought of it. This made Djaq miss Will more than ever. He was usually the one by her side, fighting with her to save England. She had to save Will. "One, two, …"

[Luke Scarlett]

”One, two…”

Luke pulled out the hatchet and rushed forward, letting out a war cry. Later, he realised this probably wasn’t such a good idea, but at the time it gave him that extra little bit of courage. He went after the taller, bulkier guard (some form of chivalry at play deep in his brain, even though he was fully aware of the fact that Djaq was much more skilled than him at this) and whacked the base of the longer axe into his side, bringing round the hatchet to whack him over the head and found it glanced off, causing no damage to the guard except a slightly dazed look as if he didn’t get quite what had just happened.

Uh oh.

He took a few steps backward and tried again, bringing the axe back down towards the guard but finding it blocked by his own weapon. He gulped. This wasn’t part of the plan! The plan had been to knock him out before he had a chance to retaliate!

Luke sidestepped a rather clumsy swing and was suddenly pleased. This guy was about as good with a sword as he was! That worked in his advantage. He stepped on the end of the blade as it struck the floor and brought the butt of the axe up and straight into the guard’s face, likely breaking the man’s nose but more importantly, knocking him out for the count. Luke grinned. Watching his big brother play around with his tools hadn’t been as much of a waste of time as his dad had said. But he’d need lessons on how to use them properly if he wanted his own, he realised, as his hand began stinging from the impact and he dropped the axe to the floor with a low moan, the blade only just missing the guard’s leg.

Oops.

He picked it back up and turned to see how Djaq was doing. He’d been so caught up in his own terror, and subsequent triumph, that he’d forgotten anyone else was even in the room.

(OOC - 1) Hope that was ok. and 2) SO didn't post as Allan again >_>;; )

[Anni]

Djaq noticed Luke had gone on two, before she had time to say three, but that was good as the point what to surprise and rush the guards. Djaq was only a few aces behind Luke as he attacked the bulkier guard. Djaq smiled inside at the thought that Luke took the bigger guy, though the lankier one looked just as skilled and scary. She had drawn out her sword and was wielding it in front of her as she engaged the guard, before he could help his companion against Luke.

The guard was fast, though he had not expected her. She quickly dodged his sword as he drew it and aimed for her sword arm. If he had made contact, then Djaq would have not been able to fight him. These near misses were becoming quite often in fighting this guard. She needed help, though she couldn't believe it. Djaq had been able to defeat the castle guards before, though there had always been that one that Will saved her from. Djaq was just glad to have Luke, though she couldn't look to see how he was doing.

[sorry it's so short]

[Luke Scarlett]

Luke was horrified to see that Djaq was having trouble – what the hell was he supposed to do? He’d taken out the last one with a quick trick and doubted the same would work on the other, and now he had to make sure he didn’t get in Djaq’s way, lest he get her killed. Somehow, he thought that was a rather bad idea.

He flailed a little, searching round for something to help and conveniently forgetting the large axe beside him on the floor. He took off his guard helmet and threw it at the man, but his aim wasn’t true and it clattered down the stairs and into the dungeon, startling himself rather than helping at all. He watched in horror as the guard nearly impaled Djaq’s wrist on his blade, and frantically searched for something else to help.

He looked down and realised, duh, he had a really big axe. Generally speaking, these were quite good weapons. He bent down, quickly picking it up, and hacked in the general vicinity of the guard’s legs, closing his eyes as he swung the blade, lest he see the bloke’s legs get chopped off. An “oof!” and a soft thump later, he opened his eyes and realised the axe was no longer in his hands. Looking up, he saw the guard lying on the floor, Djaq astride him and pinning him down, both with her body and her small blade pressed firmly against his neck. The axe lay underneath the guard’s legs – apparently Luke had thrown it rather than chopped it, and he’d tripped over the handle.

He grinned weakly, thankful there were no dismembered limbs lying around. ”You alright?”

[Anni]

Djaq was breathing heavily now as the guard nearly impaled her arm. She couldn't afford injury while saving Will as he was probably injured enough for the three of them. She noticed out of the corner of her eye a helmet come flying toward them. It came closer to her than the guard, but she was able to avoid it. The fact that it was a helmet, made her guess it was Luke's idea as help. She secretly thanked him even though it didn't help.

All of a sudden, the guard fell down and Djaq quickly scrambled on top of him to pin him to the ground, her blade at his throat. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said, not keeping her eyes off of the guard. "Where is the Outlaw?" she asked, looking down at the guard, her blade creating a thin crease of blood on his neck.

[Luke Scarlett]

”Where is the Outlaw?”[/i]

Kevin held his breath as the blade got closer to his neck, and for one moment he thought that maybe the stupid Saracen woman was going to kill him. But he realised that, had she wanted to do that, she would have done it by now. The fact was, she wanted information. She wanted to find the lanky outlaw he’d stabbed (probably her boyfriend or something, who knew what unholy things those outlaws were doing with the Saracen; probably conjuring demons or something), and it gave him a sick idea.

He laughed, which was painful from his current position (the Saracen was heavier than she looked!) and twisted his head slightly, unable to see the woman but able to see the face of the boy with her. He looked directly at him.

”You’re too late,” he laughed. ”I just killed him.”

The weight on top of him shifted, the blade got closer and he gulped. He kept his gaze on the boy, staring in disbelief, shaking his head. Kevin, feeling a small sense of victory from the sight of the lad shaking in his armour, continued.

”Sheriff’s orders,” he carried on, addressing the boy’s whispered Nos and directing his gaze to the bloodied dagger he’d been carrying. ”Slipped right easy through his chest, straight into his heart. Like cutting a bit of cheese. But by that point he were begging for it anyway. What a bunch of wimps you outlaws are, can’t even take a little bit of torture!”

He laughed a little, unaware now of the boy who had picked up a small axe and was now crawling over to the pair, face red, tears pouring down his face. Kevin guessed they must be close or something, to cause such a reaction. Well, good. If he could keep them here long enough, he might get a raise-

The feel of more metal to his throat wasn’t pleasing.

”You,” the boy hissed, eyes not burning with rage, nor empty with despair, but quite cold, calculating, icy like the coldest winter breeze. ”You’d better be lying, else I swear your own mother isn’t going to recognise your body.”

~x~

Luke felt strange saying these things. It wasn’t him, and he didn’t actually feel confident enough to carry on through with his threat – that would mean killing a man, and could he live with himself if he did? But apparently his act was enough.

He’d remembered how Will had seemed, the last time he saw him in Nottingham – his eyes had been so cold, not the brother he knew and loved, and he’d been relieved when Will had returned to his old self.

”Are you going to answer the lady?” he asked, whispering to keep the tremble out of his voice, hands shaking so bad that the axe pressed in closer to the guard’s neck, nearly cutting it. The guard whimpered.

”Down the stairs, at the bottom,” he muttered, waving an unpinned hand in the general direction. Then, he added, ”But I’m telling you, he’s dead. And more guards will be here in a moment; it’s suicide.”

Luke shrugged, looking to Djaq with pleading eyes. He had to go see him. He had to see if Will was really dead. Surely Djaq wouldn’t stop now, she’d want to go and get Will… wouldn’t she?

It was now that Luke realised he really didn’t know the Saracen at all, and he looked at her, almost begging her to answer him in the way he wanted in one single word.

”Djaq?”

[Anni]

Djaq didn't believe what she was hearing, but if it was true, there would be time to cry later. Right now she needed to find out if it was true or not, and then bring Will home, dead or alive. She noticed Luke coming over and wished that he hadn't been here to hear that. The poor boy would be devastated, but she couldn't tell him how she felt. What it would be like for her if Will were to be dead.

"I don't believe you," she said quietly, then Luke demanded that the guard answer the question. Once he did, Djaq took her dagger and stabbed him in the palm before using the hilt of her sword to knock him up. Djaq then stood up and offered her hand to Luke. "He could be bluffing," she said. "Come on, we need to move now."

Djaq was anxious to get to Will. If he was gravely injured, perhaps she could save him now. She had brought a few items for just in case, but they were somewhere on the floor here as they had been cut from her body while fighting the guard. She looked around and finally found it. Now Djaq was ready to face what was down the stairs.

[Luke Scarlett]

Luke couldn't help but smile slightly as the guard was knocked out, although he winced a bit when Djaq dug the dagger into his palm. He could hear the crack of bones, crushed by the force of the blow, and the blood made him a little squeamish. Was it really necessary? Sure, he'd threatened similar things but he'd never actually go through with it...

He thought.

He shuddered and raised himself, steadying his nerves and kicking the spare weapons well out of the reach of either guard, before picking up the axe (shifting the guard's legs and unceremoniously dumping them back on the floor) and watching Djaq root around for... something. Oh, her medical bag. Good, they might need it.

He waited for Djaq to take the lead, but she seemed to be somewhere else. Or maybe Luke was just feeling impatient, he never could tell later on. Luke simply took charge, axe poised in case he should meet any more guards, and dashed down the stairs, his heavy chainmail clinking loudly as he moved. Good for stealth, guards were not.

He was mildly surprised to see the lack of people. He knew that the Sheriff had rounded up a fair few people from Knighton alone, so why wasn't there anyone there? Why weren't there snivelling peasants cowering in corners, whimpering women whining as they protected their children, old ragged men standing proudly on their single legs as they awaited their demise?

Not that he wanted to see these things, but somehow he though the wailing would be less scary than the silence. Sound meant people were alive. Sound meant they could be helped.

Silence was dangerous.

He carried on down the passage, past more empty cells, the occasional rag left in one corner, abandoned - but they didn't need it where they were going - his axe lowering with each cell he passed. His heart raced faster, and he was sure that it must be echoing throughout the cavernous cells, that Djaq must be able to hear it, that Guy must be able to hear it resonating from the dungeons and be rushing to stop them as he took each, now careful, step.

Slowly, he approached the final cell, and gasped when he saw a bundle lying there, not moving as far as he could tell. He twisted the axe in his hand, already pointing to the floor by this point, and rushed to the cell, punching the cell door with one hand and reaching through, grasping at the shirt with the other. His fingers grazed the edges, but he couldn't get a hold.

He broke out a sob. He'd seen the blood on the floor. It couldn't be true, it just couldn't-

"Will?!"

[Anni]

Djaq had picked the key off the guard's belt as she followed Luke down to the last cell. She too noticed how the cells were empty, or appeared empty and that there was no noise. There was the smell of death, fresh and old, but she hoped that Will did not contribute to the stench. She was so close and yet so far from finding out the truth that she wished time would stop for a moment. She didn't know if she would be up to comforting Luke if Will was dead as she would need to comfort herself as well, but Djaq had a motherly instinct to her and usually put the others above herself.

Djaq's heart pounded when she heard Luke say, 'Will.' It was followed by a long pause until she saw Will on the ground and Djaq let out one hiccup like sob before running to the cell door. "Stay back Luke while I go see his condition," Djaq said. If Will was alive, Djaq didn't want Luke accidentally making his wounds worse by hugging him.

Slowly opening the door, Djaq slipped into the cell and knelt beside Will. She put a hand softly on his forehead and cheek, feeling the warmth of life, though he was quite cold. She then put her finger near his nose and felt a feeble breath. "He's alive," she called out, relief puring through her body and making her voice sound shaky and weak.

"Will," Djaq said softly, bending low as she put his head in her lap. He needed to wake up and find whatever strength to escape. They were wasting time. "Will, can you hear me?" she asked. "We need to go, can you walk?"

[will]

He felt cold, really cold. Not the normal cold he would normally feel with out sleeping out in the forest. He could hear two voices but they sounded as if they were under water. He couldn't understand them so putting the voices to the names was not an option. From the voices he could tell they were both worried. It took him a little way before he was finally able to separate the voices. One was male and the other was clearly female. Letting out a tiny groan and he moved slightly but it only caused a wave of pain to travel from his chest and higher.

Slowly but surely he could hear clearly again the under water effect he was hearing before slowly disappearing. Finally gaining what strength he could bottle up he opened his eyes. Seeing a pale brown figure, with brown eyes staring down him, if he had the power to smile he sure has heaven would have. "D-Djaq" her name came out stumbled a little but even in its stumble tone Will sounded much more happier compared to what he was feeling before.

Turning his head a little he spotted what looked like Luke dressed in guards uniform not that far away. The way he had figured out it was Luke was the fact that he was alot more shorter the past guards Will himself had seen. "We need to go, can you walk?""Might need some help" he said with a tiny cough before reaching out with his good hand to catch the jail bar's. Once he was able to sit up he looked down for second to his now blood soaked cloth and mentally promised himself now to show it to Luke. Luke was pretty squeamish when it came to anything to deal with blood.

[Luke Scarlett]

Luke's heart nearly stopped when Djaq rushed into the cage, expecting to hear those words he was dreading - I am sorry, he is dead.

So when Djaq announced otherwise, he very nearly rushed in there and hugged her and his brother. He restrained himself; he realised such a thing would probably hinder rather than help his brother. He couldn't help but notice the way Will said her name, but shrugged it off as the emotional joy of being alive and rescued. The moment he heard his brother needed help, he dashed to his side, placing one arm beneath Will's and helping to prop him up.

"Hey," he whispered, softly, not trusting himself to not start crying like a little girl. Will was alive! Hurt, yes, but alive. And that was so much more than he'd been believing at the end of their journey, so he was beyond grateful. He was thanking God every way he know how.

He squeezed Will round the shoulder, shaking it ever so gently. trying to comfort him, and remembering his brother's weapons. "I picked these up for you." He shoved them back in his belt, aware that Will wouldn't be able to hold them yet.

He smiled at his brother and Djaq as they helped Will up. "Time to go?"

(OOC - didn't post as Allan..)