Chapter 53: The Escape
Rhowen was leading Ruby through the dark and silent corridor. Their only light was the moonlight streaming through the occasional window and the small flickering candle in Ruby's lantern, which she clutched tightly as they walked. Tess had been sure to slip a sleeping draught into Quartz's evening drink to ensure he would sleep soundly, but stealth was of the utmost importance. This was their one chance. If they were caught, goodness knows what would happen to Rhowen and Tess, and all hope would be lost for Ruby. Quartz would not rest until she was completely under his control.
"Where are we going Rhowen? Has my father authorized this?" Ruby whispered to her guard, not for the first time.
"Quiet my lady. We cannot speak now. I ask that you exercise patience." Rhowen hissed back. Ruby once again fell into a sullen silence.
They turned a corner. They were almost to Tess's secret passage. Rhowen had initially had his doubts about the passage, but Tess had assured him she had used it to sneak out and check up on Ruby's brothers regularly, and she had never had an issue. The mention of brothers brought up a number of questions for Rhowen, but there hadn't been the time to ask. All Tess had said on the matter was a hurried warning that Rubywing knew nothing of clutchmates, and Quartz had been told the nest had only one egg. It filled Rhowen with even more curiosity about Querida.
They were getting closer now. They just had to reach the end of the corridor. Perhaps a bit early, Rhowen felt his heart skip. It was then that Ruby tripped over the corner of an ornate rug stretching the length of the corridor, flinging her lantern onto the floor. The candle rolled out and the flame caught on the rug behind them. By the time Rhowen realized what was happening, the fire had grown too big to smother without risking being caught. Quartz surely had safety measures to warn him if danger breached the mansion.
"Run." He hissed to Ruby. Wide-eyes, she scooped up her lantern, which was only a bit singed, and ran after Rhowen. Smoke filled the corridor, making it harder and harder to see. For all its trouble, Rhowen couldn't help but be a bit thankful for the cover and distraction the fire provided.
Rhowen dove into the small tunnel. Being best fitted for a manticore rather than a dragon, it was a tight squeeze, but it was managable. He could feels Rubywing following closely behind, breathing heavily from fear. Without the light from the lantern, it was impossible to see where they were going. Rhowen could only hope he had chosen the right crevice. After what seemed of an eternity of slithering through the tight stone tunnel, suddenly their burst out into the cool night air. Rhowen instinctively unfurled his wings upon meeting the breeze and Rubywing soon followed suit. He turned back to see how she was doing with this development, and he was happy to see a look of pure wonder and joy filling her face.
They were free. Rhowen only hoped they could stay that way.
Juliette and Thorburn's business had been growing steadily. Most of the dragons of Windkeep Tower were unaware of the dark trade sparking in their ranks, but the right passing dragons knew where to go if what they sought could not be found in the clean and virtuous market run by Maggie. Currently, the two proprietors were sitting at a table in their lair in a hidden chamber off of the pantry of The Copper Lotus. Thorburn was counting coins, trying to work out how much they had made that day, while Juliette was tinkering with some sort of device made up of wires and gears.
So far, Thorburn had still not been called back to Quartz, and he was thriving, and avoiding the vow that lay heavily in his finger. Perhaps someday he would rival the great coatl in wealth and power, and could take over all that he owned. His eyes glinted hungrily in the candlelight, and his eyes were only for the piles of treasure surrounding him. Juliette looked up, looking as though she wanted to say something, but she obviously thought better of it.
Suddenly there was a loud noise in the pantry, like somebody had knocked something over. Both dragons looked up, then Thorburn swore, realizing the distraction had caused him to lose count.
"What was that?" Juliette asked. "Who knows we're here? You didn't tell any of our customers, did you?"
"Do you take me for an idiot?" Thorburn hissed. "No, it's probably just India or Runeclaw getting something for the tavern."
"It doesn't sound like it was caused by a wildclaw." Juliette pointed out. She knew her aunt's footsteps, and she had learned Runeclaw's too by this point. This sounded like someone knew.
"Well, maybe India hired someone new." Thorburn said irritably. "It's none of our concern. Runeclaw is the only one who knows that we are here."
But Juliette wasn't so sure. Putting down the device she had been fiddling with, she slipped out of the room and into the pantry, where she came face to face with a pair of coatls.
"Can I help you?" Juliette asked, a slight challenge in her voice. At the sound of her voice, the female coatl jumped and let out a squeak of surprise. The male turned around more coolly. Juliette could tell that he was the sort to try not to give away much with his body language.
"We're dreadfully sorry mam, we didn't mean to intrude." Rhowen said with a small charming grin. "We are just in a bit of a tight spot and needed a place to spend the night without being seen by anybody before we take off in the morning. Do you perhaps have any rooms at the inn?"
Juliette surveyed the pair. There was something familiar about the female coatl, though she couldn't place what it was. Regardless, she couldn't help but trust her. A dangerous assumption in her line of work, but she could tell these two meant no harm and were genuine in their need.
"Alright, time to be honest. I don't work in The Copper Lotus anymore but if you need a place to stay out of the way, I have just the place." Juliette said, beckoning them into her hideout. Thorburn's head shot up at the sight of the two newcomers.
"What did you bring them in here for?" He grumbled accusingly. "Let's just invite the whole clan down here, why don't we?"
"Please ignore Thorburn, he's a bit grumpy today." Juliette told the pair, unintentionally adopting the friendly tone she had used during her work with her aunt. The truth was, Thorburn seemed to be grumpy every day, and he seemed to be growing more irritable the more time passed. It was getting exhausting.
"I'm not just grumpy! That's Quartz's daughter, is it not? They are nothing but spies!" He glared at the newcomers with fury blazing in his eyes.
"I'm sure they're not-" Juliettt began but Rhowen interrupted her.
"Actually, he is right. Rubywing is Quartz's daughter, and I used to work for him. We ran away tonight in the hopes of finding a new life away from Quartz. you have nothing to fear from us. Please, if you do not want us here we can go and shelter somewhere else, but we've had a long night and we've go an even longer day ahead of us in the morning."
As if agreeing with him, Ruby yawned and her eyelids began to droop. Now that the adrenaline and the excitement of freedom was wearing off, it was all catching up with her. She had never stayed up this late before, Tess had always been insistent on her going to bed at a decent hour.
"If you don't mind me asking, where are you planning on traveling?" Juliette asked, ignoring her partner's exasperated sighs.
"We weren't sure yet. Just as long as we get far away with Quartz." Rhowen told her.
"We can help with that too. Quartz is one of our sworn enemies, and if I'm not mistaken, Rubywing is the daughter of someone who was once a good friend of mine. I would do anything to help Querida's daughter. We would be more than happy to help you out. Or rather-" Juliette said, rolling her eyes at Thorburn's huff of disapproval, "I would be happy to help you out in any way I can."
"Thank you, your help is greatly appreciated. You are very kind. If there is anything I can do to repay you-" Rhowen said, relief flooding him.
"There's no need. I insist. I don't know what happened to Querida, but it must have been bad for her to stop visiting. If I can do something to help her daughter, then I want to do it." Juliette insisted. "I'll show you to my room. You'll have to share it, I have a feeling Thorburn won't give up his."
"What about you?" Rhowen asked.
"I'll sleep on the couch in one of our side chambers." Juliette told them. "If there's anything else you need, please let me know." And with that, she left them to get settled for the night.
As Juliette returned to the main chamber, she found Thorburn staring at her. Juliette sighed, rolling her eyes, and sat down across from him again.
"Jules-"
"I don't want to hear it." Juliette said sharply.
"But-"
"She's my best friend's daughter, and if you're going to make a fuss about it, I'm just going to go to bed." Juliette sighed. "You know, a good heart is better than a million treasure. What's the point of it all if you have a heart of stone."
Before Thorburn had a chance to respond, Juliette turned to go to her couch to sleep.
"Oh, and I'm going to ask Runeclaw to go with them, at least until they get settled. And no, I don't need your permission for that either. Runeclaw is my family, he's more than just a grunt in the operation." Juliette said, eyes alive with sparks. Thorburn didn't respond, he just went back to counting his coins and muttering to himself under his breath.
@CleverDual @Alwaid @zzzhorses @Skyeset @ScrivenerRook @Kizzan @clarax @lilastar @tigressRising @Disillusionist @Aetherstorm @rainphee @RiaFire11
So now we check in with Juliette and Thorburn! Rubywing and Rhowen are out of the mansion and on their path to freedom, and our story moves onwards!
