The Rebellion - Chapter 3 - Connor

Connor woke up in a daze. His head was throbbing. He was lying against the wall of a passage. He sat up carefully and looked around. There were fifteen unconscious soldiers on the floor around him. Hmm, he thought, There were supposed to be more like twenty. I wonder where the other five went. His sword lay on the ground on the other side of the hall, and his spear was underneath him, its shaft broken in half. His dagger was a little way down the hall, its blade chipped near the end.

Connor caught a flicker of movement down the hall to his right and turned just in time to see Hope sink to the ground and Kai rush towards her.

Connor stood up carefully and picked up his weapons. He staggered down the hall towards Kai, who was trying to lift Hope up. Kai was currently unhurt, but he looked tired and stressed. He was not having a particularly good time getting a good enough grip on Hope to carry her. He finally just pulled her against the wall and sat down next to her.

Connor stumbled along the wall until he finally made it to Kai and Hope. Kai saw him.

“Oh, good. A strong person,” he sighed, "You alright? You look tired."

"Yeah...yes, I'm fine. Tired. Hey, give me a minute and I’ll carry her." Kai nodded. "I think...I don't know what happened back there,” Connor said, down the hall where he had woken up. He leaned against the rough stone wall near Hope and Kai and slid into a sitting position. He squeezed his eyes shut and dropped his chin onto his chest. Kai stood up and looked up and down the hall. He was muttering about something under his breathe. Connor could tell he was anxious about something, but he couldn’t figure out what it was.

“Kai, what’s wrong?” he asked. Then it occurred to Connor that it was very quiet. He wondered why there were only fifteen guards, and why there were no alarms ringing.

“You know it’s too quiet. There should be more soldiers. More guards.” He picked up a loose pebble, threw it at the opposite wall and whispered thoughtfully, “And where is Flint?”

Connor sat in silence. He knew Flint was the last person Kai wanted to see at a time like this. He looked down the hall at the soldiers he had fought. "Yeah. There really should be more noise."

Connor turned back to Kai, who had started pacing back and forth in front of Hope. Connor watched until he couldn’t take it anymore.

“Kai, sit down!” he said, sternly.

"You do realize that just because I am not the leader of this team, that doesn't mean you can boss me around like I'm nothing. I am your prince, thief!" Kai was partially joking, and he went on pacing, waiting for Connor's response.

Connor rolled his eyes and grinned. "Please sit down. Your majesty."

Kai smiled, stopped pacing and sat down next to Hope, who still lay unmoving by the wall. After about ten seconds, he started tapping his foot. Connor snapped his fingers, and Kai noticed his foot moving. He stamped it down, and his fingers started tapping on his knees.

Connor sat still for a few more moments before standing up slowly. He still had a headache, but it was not as bad as it had been. He bent down and picked Hope up, cradling her in his arms. She was light. He turned and walked down the hall. Kai jumped up and jogged to catch up to Connor.

At the end of the passageway there was a set of stone steps going up to the first level of the castle. They walked up the stairs and stepped out into a narrow passageway of huge, smooth white stones. It was a stark contrast to the dark, rough stone of the passage below. At the end of the passage there was a large wood door. Kai stepped in front of Connor, and when they came to the door, Kai opened it for Connor.

They came out into a large hall, constructed of the same white stones, and massive dark wood beams. It was completely bare of any furniture. There were six doors spaced evenly along the walls to the left and right, and two doors on the end. They hurried across the hall, and Kai opened the last door on the left wall. Connor, still carrying Hope quite easily, walked through the door, and Kai closed it behind them.

They found themselves in another hall, not as large as the one before, but still very big. This room appeared to be a library or sitting room of sorts. Bookshelves line the walls, and there were cushions and blankets strewn about the floor. A few couches replaced bookshelves against the walls around the room. None of them matched, though a few had a chair to go with it. The rugs on the floor were dirty and the cushions and pillows were musty.

Kai pointed to a large chair against the middle of the wall. "Is this it?" he asked. They were going out a separate way than they had come in.

"Yeah. See if you can pull the chair away from the wall and find the loose stone," Connor replied.

Kai pulled the chair away from the wall easily enough, then pushed and pulled on the large white stones until he found one that was loose. It was the very bottom stone, and it was slightly chipped near the top left corner. Kai took out his knife and pried the stone out of place. The back of it was chiseled away until it was only three inches thick, as opposed to twelve inches thick, like the other blocks. There were metal handles on the rough back of the stone, so they could pull it back without too much difficulty.

Kai knelt near the hole in the wall and took Hope from Connor. Connor then crawled into the hole, and Kai gently pushed Hope through to him. Then, Kai crawled in, pulled the chair back as well as he could, and moved the stone back in to place. he crawled back until he met Connor, and they crawled on.

Soon, they came to a place where the ground sloped steeply down, and then leveled out. the ceiling never lowered, which allowed them to walk upright down the secret tunnel. They walked for about fifteen minutes before coming to a set of crude stairs leading to a trapdoor. Kai ran up, pushed the trapdoor opened, stepped up the last step, and held the door opened for Connor to pass through.

They came out into an old empty barn. Dusty, rotting haybales were stacked against the walls. Spiders and mice inhabited the stalls instead of horses and livestock. Dust hung in the air. Hope coughed, and Connor remembered that she was allergic to dust. While Kai closed the trapdoor, Connor took Hope outside into the clean fall air and set her down in the long, unkempt grass. Hope sneezed, and Connor helped her sit up. Kai came out of the barn and closed the rotting door. Hope groaned and woke up and said, "Connor, please tell me you have food."