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The Runic Heart |
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By Richard LeBlanc |
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| Act nine: jailbreak |
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| In the dungeon of her castle - Tamina frantically searched the shadows of the empty cell - hoping to see some signs of the cringing princess - but there was none. She was about to speak when she grabbed the door and pulled it open. It wasn't locked. |
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| "So where is she?" Harmen asked lowly. |
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| "She - she was here!" she retorted. She stormed over to where the sleeping guard was and kicked him from his chair. The guard looked up and saw the queen glaring at him with hatred in her eyes. "Where is she?" she screamed. |
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| "Who?" the guard asked. |
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| "Do not toy with me!" she began as she effortlessly lifted him up and slammed him against the wall. "The princess - the whore he was with! The woman that was in that cell - the cell that was unlocked!" she shouted. Harmen allowed himself to discreetly smile. If she was reacting this way - it meant that Samson must have found her.	 |
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| "But - I locked the cell myself," he stuttered. Tamina savagely threw the guard towards the cell. Harmen quickly dodged as the guard smashed into the iron bars. Tamina slowly stormed back to where Harmen was and opened the door. |
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| "Does it look locked?" she hissed. The dazed guard slowly staggered to his feet and saw that the door was being held open by the queen. Instinctively - he reached for his keys - and realized that they were gone! |
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| "My keys?" he muttered. |
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| "You - let that little whore escape," the queen muttered as her hands shook with rage. Harmen watched as the guard began to convulse. Tamina's eyes emanated black power. Wisps of black energy flowed from the queen and snaked through the air towards the terrified guard. |
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| "N-no," the guard stuttered. The wisp of black power began to coil around him. All color drained from Harmen's face as he watched the guard magically age. Within seconds - all that was left of the guard was a pile of bones - wearing the guard's clothes. |
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| "You - my prince - have made many grievous mistakes. Playing games with me - was the worst one - you could have ever made," she hissed - not looking at the prince. "My loyal! There are intruders in my castle! I want her found - and I want her - dead," she shouted. Her head then snapped over as she glared at Harmen. "In spite of everything you have done to me - I will give you one last chance - be with me - and I will spare her. I will even withdraw from my campaign against your father's kingdom," she offered. |
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| "I have seen first hand how you deal with those loyal to you - I can only imagine what you would do to someone you profess to love," he retorted. The eyes of the queen churned from normal to jet-black. |
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| "You leave me no choice! Guards! Kill him!" she shouted out. She attempted to cast a spell at Harmen - but he dodged and punched her. She fell to the ground - mildly dazed. She looked over and saw him vanish into the shadows of her dungeon. "You can not escape me here!" she shouted. Dozens of armored soldiers marched after the retreating prince. Moments later - Hunter stepped out of the shadows and helped the queen to her feet. |
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| "I heard the order - are you sure?" he asked seriously. |
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| "Why ask? I know you want him dead," she asked seriously. |
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| "Because I know my queen. If you want him alive - I can get him - before your troops can - perhaps - with a little conditioning - he could see the error of his ways," he suggested calmly. It was then that he noticed the bruise on her face. |
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| "No - you - you were right all along. I - I was a fool - to believe," she began emotionally. He sighed and gave her a hug. He could hear her crying and shook his head. He was one of the few that knew this side of her - that she let know. |
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| "No - I won't hear that kind of talk. You see what happens when you lower your standards?" he teased - her crying stopped as she reluctantly laughed. "He has crossed the line - he must be dealt with - will you let me deal with him?" he asked seriously. |
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| "Do - do as you must," she replied. Hunter stepped away from the queen. |
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| "After he is dealt with - I will lead the final charge against Eversky. We will end this - all of this - and put all of this - baggage - in its proper place," he said gallantly. He bowed to her and slowly stalked off into the shadows of the dungeon. |
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* * * |
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| In another part of the dungeon - Angela was hiding in the shadows behind a barrel as dozens of soldiers marched by. She had heard the echoing command of the Witch Queen and knew that everyone was now looking for her. |
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| "Oh - how did I get mixed up in this?' she muttered. Just then someone quickly put his hand over her mouth. She was caught between horror and terror. She wanted to scream - fight - but a hand pointed to several soldiers that were heading their way. She watched as they stopped near the barrel she was hiding behind. Then they split up and resumed their search. |
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| "I will remove my hand - please - don't scream," a calm voice requested. Instantly the hand was gone. She quickly turned around and saw Samson. |
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| "Who are you?' she asked seriously. |
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| "You Angela?" he asked seriously. She looked over her shoulder to see if it was safe to run. "Nuts - okay - we'll pretend you are. Harmen sent me to get you out of here," he began. |
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| "He - no - how do I know this isn't a trick?" she asked. Samson sighed. |
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| "Uhm - he - he said to say something about - a pond - or something?" he replied. |
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| "Pond?" she repeated. |
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| "Please believe me - I am here to help - I found a very subtle way in here - and we can take it back out," he began. Angela looked around and shook her head. Samson quietly whined. "What now?" he asked. |
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| "Is he here?" she asked. |
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| "Uh - he is," he began. |
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| "I won't leave without him. The queen - she means to kill him," she replied. |
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| "I can guess as much. Look - he said that he would meet us outside - and he hasn't broken a promise for as long as I've known him. Now if you stay here - you will get hurt - Harmen will get mad at me - and I don't want that," he began seriously. |
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| "I can't leave him," she began. |
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| "Uh - you are killing me. Trust me - he knows what he is doing. Now - put away your suspicion - put your feelings in the same place and think. What would Harmen want you to do right now?" he asked seriously. Angela sighed and lowered her eyes. "He?" Samson began. |
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| "He would want me to get out," she finished. |
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| "Exactly. So can we get out of here - before these slowly witted soldiers realize that we are hiding in plain sight?" he asked curiously. Angela sighed and nodded. Samson sighed and motioned for her to follow him. |
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* * * |
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| On the other side of the dungeon - Harmen had avoided another batch of patrolling guards. He was about to move when he heard the sound of metal scraping against stone. He slowly looked over his shoulder and saw Hunter walking his way - scratching the stone walls with his sword. |
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| "I - have waited for this day," Hunter began. |
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| "What day is that?" Harmen replied as he drew his weapon. |
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| "The day when I could face you. The day that the queen would see you for what you really are. And that day - is at last - now," Hunter replied coolly. Harmen kept his eyes on the dark elf that was studying every detail about him. |
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| "You sound as though you are taking this personally," Harmen replied. |
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| "Personally? Hmm. How precious. I honestly don't care about you. You are nothing more - than an itch - an itch that I was unable to deal with - until now. I think - perhaps - I will make - a banner - in honor of my queen - from your broken remains," he said with a grim chuckle. |
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| "I have heard your banter - in this place - and on the battlefield. Save it for someone who might fear you. Because I don't," he retorted. The two began to circle each other. Hunter initiated the fight! |
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| In a fury of skill and precision - the two did their best to vanquish the other - it was then that a powerful punch from Hunter separated Harmen from his sword. Before he could get it back - Hunter stepped on his hand. |
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| "You - are better than I gave you credit for," he began as Hunter showed Harmen the flat of his ebony blade. Near the hilt was a glowing rune. "But even you are no match for the Runic Thorn," he stated smugly. He prepared to strike but twitched. He shook his head and strained to remain focused. He arched his arm up again - he twitched again. Hunter slowly turned around. Harmen looked up and could see two arrows sticking in his back. His eyes panned down to the end of the hall and saw Samson loading another arrow. |
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| "Hope you don't mind," Samson began. It was then that Hunter realized that he had forgotten about Harmen - too late. He slowly looked over and saw the angry prince run him through. |
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| "I'll let it slide this time," Harmen replied. Just then Hunter grabbed Harmen by the shoulder and glared at him. |
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| "This - is far - from - ov.." he strained as the last bit of life left him. Harmen pushed him off his sword and looked over to where Samson was. When he saw Angela behind him - a smile crept across his face. |
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| "Angela?" he began. Samson was almost pushed aside as she ran towards him. He watched as the two embraced each other - forgetting the universe that was around them. Samson cleared his throat to get their attention. |
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| "Perhaps we could enjoy this reunion in a safer place?" he suggested. |
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| "Lead the way," Harmen replied as they hurried away. |
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| to be continued... |
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