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Every step had to be silent. His heart felt like it was pounding out of his chest. This was absolutely the most insane thing he’d ever done. Hunter had done a lot over the years on missions for Belos, and then for the… Empress, but somehow none of them were quite as nerve wracking as what he was about to do.
He’d planned it all for weeks now. Plotted out every hallway he’d have to take, every corner he’d turn, every single step that would be necessary to get out of the castle undetected. He’d had Flapjack scour the halls to learn the exact times of guard rotations. They were always perfectly on time with rotations ever since the control glyphs had been enforced. Empress Luz enforced complete and total efficiency.
Midnight hit.
Showtime.
Hunter ducked into a closet he’d ensured would be empty, back pressed against the door as he closed his eyes, listening for the footsteps that would be coming down the hall any second now. He could hear them. The unnaturally synchronized clacking of boots against the tiled castle floor. He held his breath as the footsteps passed by, staying as silent as possible.
They passed.
Five seconds. Ten seconds, fifteen… seventeen.
On eighteen, the guards rounded the corner. He opened the door and ran down the hall, years of Golden Guard training keeping his footsteps near silent as he did so. The window was right there at the end of the hall. He’d chosen this window for his escape specifically as it was, according to Flapjack’s scouting, the furthest distance from any guard stations at any one time while still putting him relatively close to the forest. Which gave him the best chance of hopping out, mounting his staff, and flying as fast as he could to lose whoever spotted him in the trees.
He reached the window, glancing for a moment back down the hall. Empty. And the hall around the corner. Empty too.
This was it. There wasn’t any time left to waste.
His heart was pounding in his chest as he held his hand out, Flapjack shifting into staff-form as he opened the window and lept onto his staff-
And promptly got yanked down to the ground by a giant vine.
Shit.
He hit the ground with a soft thud. He’d been pulled down into a part of shrubbery lining the outside of the castle, obscured behind it. The impact wasn’t enough to knock the air out of him, but it didn’t really matter. Panic shot through him nonetheless, and he immediately tried to scramble backwards when he heard someone make a shushing sound, and a vine slapped over his mouth. Eyes wide, he frantically looked up at his captor…
Coven Head Willow. Of the Plant Coven. Shit, he was so screwed-
“Don’t panic!” She whispered, and Hunter just kind of stared at her incredulously. Though, as he did, he realized she was also crouching down. Almost… hiding. She turned and made a gesture behind her, and that’s when he realized someone else was there too. The Illusion Coven Head. Hunter didn’t remember his name, but he casted some sort of illusion spell… and then Hunter spotted movement above him. He looked up, and glimpsed an image of… himself. On his staff. Flying off towards the woods like he would have if he hadn’t been dragged down.
And before he could even begin to internally question why this was happening… both Coven Head Amity and Coven Head Boscha emerged out of seemingly nowhere to give chase towards the illusionary Hunter. His eyes widened.
They’d known. Somehow, they’d known what he’d tried to do. It had been a trap.
But then…
He looked back at Willow with panicked confusion. She cleared her throat, waving her hand in the air so that the vine covering his mouth snaked back into the ground, and then… she gave a small smile.
“...welcome to the rebellion, Golden Guard.”