Friends and Enemies // Chapter Twenty Three // A Startling Discovery

Willow tapped the door open as quietly as she could. Both she and Bréda peeked around the splintered wood into the darkness. The door at the end of the hall looked sturdy. Great.

   "Follow me," she whispered. Bréda nodded, her eyes huge with fear. Stepping out into the dark hallway, they crept up to the door. Willow grabbed the handle and began to twist it gently. It pronounced a rather loud scraping noise as it turned. They winced as the fingernails-on-a-chalkboard sound reverberated throughout the hall.

   "Where is everyone?" Bréda asked, her voice not quite a whisper.

   "I don't know," Willow answered, her eyes scanning the dank walls. I sure hope they're not lethal. Only one corner remained completely shadowed. "Bréda, who guards you guys here?"

   She shrugged. "I don't know. They dress in black and carry Shadow swords."

   "What?!" Willow's stomach leaped and her skin prickled. She spun around and ducked, just as a glowing purple blade of a Shadow sword sliced into the door, just where her head had been. Bréda screamed as the Shadow Knight grabbed for her wrist. Willow snapped her fingers in his face, igniting her purple fire that danced over her fingertips, lighting the edges of his hood on fire. Pulling away, the Knight covered his face and cried out.

   Willow seized Bréda's hand again and drove her shoulder into the door, shoving it open. They tumbled down the stairs in their hurry.

   "Good grief, are they expecting little children to start a revolution or something?" Willow grunted as she tried the door at the next landing with a gigantic lock. "Yep, it's totally locked." She started frantically fishing around in her pocket.

   "How're we going to get out, then?" Bréda's voice broke, and tears started dripping down her cheeks.

   "This way." Willow waved an about foot long cream, bronze, black, and silver stick-looking thing at her.

   "Is that a magic wand?" she sniffed, wiping at her tears.

   "No, there's no such thing as magic wands. It's a sonic screwdriver. I probably shouldn't be using it here, but it's really handy for locks," Willow replied. Pointing the sonic screwdriver at the big lock, she pushed a tiny black button. A strange noise erupted from the thing, and Bréda clapped her hands over her ears. The lock sparked, then fell with a clatter to the ground. Grabbing her hand again, Willow pulled her through the door and around the next corner.

   "Shhh..." she muttered, slipping down the staircase like a ghost. "The back way," she indicated, pointing to an almost hidden door to the left.

   "Halt!" a deep voice ordered, and several guards {thankfully not Shadow Knights} appeared, racing down the hall.

   "Go!" She shoved Bréda through the door and slammed it behind her, sonic-ing the lock. Then she spun on her heel and made for the door at the end of the hall, just to the left of the guards. She slammed into it, threw it open, hurled herself and slammed it shut again two seconds before they reached it.

   "Whew," she muttered. The door was made of some kind of metal, so it would take them some time to get in.

*********************************

   "Bréda!" Betromith cried, scooping up his little sister and situating her on his hip. "Let's get out of here!"

   "What about Willow?" Hyaline protested as she and Brédin followed close behind him.

   "She will be at the rendezvous. Don't worry, Hyaline," he assured, casting a reassuring glance at her.

   "There were Shadow Knights, Betro..." Bréda murmured into her big brother's shoulder. "Willow lit purple fire in his face."

   Hyaline grinned in spite of herself as she jogged after Betromith to keep up with his longer legs. Please let her be safe, she prayed.

***********************************

   "What's this...?" Willow ran her finger lightly over the scrolls and manuscripts on top of an oak table. There were sketches, and notes of all sizes littering the room. Bending down to pick one up, she held it closer to the window, where the moonlight could shine upon it easier. It was a colored sketch of a bronze ring with a blue sapphire set in it. It was thick and wide, and had precise designs on the side. It looked dwarvish, almost.

   The pounding on the door jerked her attention back to reality, and she knew that she needed to get out of there. Stuffing the sketch into her pocket, she swung both legs out the window and started climbing hand over hand neatly down the brick building.

********************************

   "There you are!" Hyaline scolded in a loud whisper as Willow jogged up, her long braid hanging lopsided out of her cap.

   "Sorry," Willow apologized, panting as she leaned against a tree.

   "Let us be off, we need to get to Essgarothe as soon as possible," he ordered, but gave Willow a sideways grin. She grinned back, and swung up onto her horse.

   "Righto, Betro," she teased. But though her face showed that she was cheerful, her eyes remained troubled. Why did those people have a sketch of a dwarf ring?

I had an interesting time writing thing. 

I got stuck about half way for a while, and then finally broke through my writers block.

Plus, I got some really awesome inspiration from some pictures from a show off of pinterest. 

Be ready for some really fun upcoming chapters. 

As soon as I'm done posting this {I typed this up on Thursday evening} I'm going to start working on the next chapter {eep!}.
By the way, the sonic screwdriver is 11's. It will be explained later.

Question of the Friday // Who's your favorite F&E character?

 Be a friend, not an enemy,

Willow