Escape From The Castle

It was dark when a pair of Dielh’s brown eyes scanned behind a large tree. He watched the movements of every guard in front of the tower of the Vain Dominion Royal Palace door. At least four guards were there. Two were standing and looking in all directions. The other two were walking around to ensure safety.

That night the air was cold and gripping for Dielh. He was on a great mission to bring his best friend out of suffering. On the other side, he was also committing a crime for violating the rules of King Zulniex.

King Zulniex gave a tight guard to the palace tower. He made sure that Prince Greraver had no chance of getting out. The tower doors were always locked. On each floor leading to the top of the Prince’s room, they installed a steel-glazed door. Only Dielh, King Zulniex, and General Vigolous could enter the place.

Dielh came out of the darkness and walked closer to the guard at the tower door while dragging a dead body. He tried to remain calm, even though his heart almost jumped to his throat because he felt tense.

“Open the door. I want to come in!” Dielh commanded.

The guard looked astonished. He looked at Dielh and turned to the corpse he was dragging.

“Didn’t the Prince eat before?” asked the guard.

“Yes ... those two corpses are probably too thin. He was not yet full and asked me to bring another corpse.”

Dielh glanced at the corpse he was dragging to reassure the guard. A guard crouched down and examined the body.

“Why is this corpse’s body wrapped around a rope so much?” asked a guard.

“This man is a war general of the enemy kingdom. I even need to tie him tight before killing him.” Of course, Dielh was lying.

The two guards exchanged glances.

“Why did you come at night? You don’t usually serve food to the Prince at night.” The other guards asked with suspicious eyes on Dielh.

“I told you, he asked for more food. Never mind! If you suspect me, I’ll go. Tomorrow you will have to explain to the King if the Prince is angry and has a tantrum.” To cover up his nervousness, Dielh acted angrily in front of the guards, interrogating him.

The two guards panicked. One of them immediately grabbed his arm of Dielh when he was ready to turn around. No one wanted to face the wrath of a king or a Prince. The anger of the King meant punishment, and the offense of the Prince implied death.

“Wait! Sorry Dielh, we didn’t mean to suspect you. You are the King’s confidant and the Prince’s friend. Of course, we’ll open the door for you.”

A guard immediately took the key tucked into his waist. Then he opened the door and invited Dielh to enter. After Dielh entered, he closed the door without locking it again. It was an order from the King and General Vigolous. They worry that every time something terrible could happen to Dielh. If the door was locked, it would be difficult for him to escape.

Then, whenever he entered the tower, the door would be closed without being locked.

After the door closed, Dielh went upstairs to the second floor of the tower building, which had twenty floors in total. Arriving at the second floor, Dielh quickly released the rope from the corpse he was dragging. He unwound the rope and rolled the rope in his hands. Dielh ran to the twentieth floor, the top of the tower.

As he opened the door, he saw Greraver standing uneasily by the window. He seemed waiting for Dielh. Dielh felt tired and stiff to breathe because he ran so fast upstairs, but he ignored everything. They had to quickly!

“Come on! Before the guards noticed anything strange!” Dielh, with a quick movement, tied a rope to a pillar of the castle. Then he stretched the rope out the window.

Greraver, who never understood the ordinances of ordinary life, looked confused when he saw Dielh’s rapid movements. He needed help understanding what to do. All this time, the Greraver only knew how to eat, bathe and defecate. He was like a pet in his own castle.

After making sure the rope was firmly tied, Dielh prepared to descend the tower by climbing.

“Come on! You follow my lead!”

Greraver looked down. Although he was determined to escape, fear overshadowed him when he saw the tower height they were about to pass. Greraver’s face looked anxious. He looked at the rope and Dielh alternately. He hoped his friend understood what he was feeling.

“Prince! Come on!”

The moonlight entered from the window and struck Greraver’s face. His face looked scared. Sweat soaked his back. Greraver’s feet and hands were shaking. This was the first time he would come out of the tower that had locked him up for the last fifteen years. Enthusiastic, mixed with fear, made Greraver’s heart beat harder. His throat was dry instantly. Several times, he swallowed hard to get rid of his anxiety.

“I ... I ... I don’t know how to go down the rope,” he said nervously.

Dielh fell silent. He just remembered Greraver had no skills other than eating and being angry! Then Dielh patted himself on the forehead, acting stupid for forgetting that reality.

“Sorry! I forgot!”

Then Dielh looked around. He took a knife and cut a curtain on a room’s window. He turned the curtain into a rope. Then he stood in front of Greraver.

“Wrap the rope behind your back!” Dielh commanded.

Although confused, Greraver followed Dielh’s order. He trusted his friend very much. Dielh pulled the two of them together and placed Greraver on his back. It was as if he was holding Greraver behind him.

“Here we go! Your freedom has come, my friend!”

Dielh down the rope slowly. The Greraver behind him was amazed at Dielh’s ability.

“Once we’re outside, you’ll have to teach me many skills,” Greraver whispered.

“As long as you promise not to eat me,” Dielh replied in a whisper.

Both tried to be as calm as possible so as not to attract the guards’ attention. Greraver greeted his freedom from tension. For a while, it seemed that he even forgot to breathe. He tried as little as possible to make movements that could make it difficult for Dielh.

Dielh continues to move down. His breathing faltered. He was the son of a war General who had various skills. But going down a rope with a slightly fat Greraver behind took work. Suddenly he made a jump.

Bamm!!!

They both fell to the ground. Greraver was startled and squealed quite loudly. His body fell to the ground, and Dielh crushed him as they were bound together. Then Dielh took a knife tucked in his leg and cut the rope that bound them.

“Come quickly! The guards must have heard you scream! We have to run before they come.” Dielh exclaimed in a whispering voice.

Dielh immediately stood up and was ready to run. He headed for a small dark path that connected with the bushes. This afternoon, he had already made a hole in the back of the bushes after agreeing to Greraver’s request to escape.

The hole connected to the outside of the palace. Hard at pushing Greraver’s stocky body to get through that hole. Then he went through the same spot. They both fell, rolling on the ground whose surface was decreasing.

The bodies of the two rolled and hit the tree several times. Their bodies stopped above the flat surface of the ground, and it was in the middle of a very dense forest. The forest looked very dark, damp, and full of shrubs. Dielh was injured in several parts of the body due to the snagging of twigs and tree branches.

Blood flowed from the wound. He quickly stood up and helped Greraver.

“Come on! We must run further so the Royal soldiers cannot find us!”

Both ran through the forest and thickets. The cold air in the darkness of the forest immediately seized them. The grass grows tall and wet to be an obstacle to running faster. The surface of the soil becomes mushy, slippery, and muddy due to the earlier rain. They continue to run with hunting breath. The smell of rotting foliage accompanies their steps along the path.

Both tried as far and as quickly as possible to move away from the kingdom’s borders toward the middle of the forest. The smell of blood from Dielh’s wounds disturbed Greraver. At that moment, Dielh ran in front of him. With all his might, Greraver tried to control himself and ignore the smell that made him feel hungry.

Dielh was entirely unaware of what Greraver’s felt. They finally arrived at the riverbank. The place was slightly open, moonlight illuminating the area. Dielh threw himself on the grass and rested. He was a little more relieved because everything went according to plan. Both of them were breathing heavily because they were tired and tense.

Greraver stood looking at Dielh, who was lying on the ground. Dielh closed his eyes and tried to normalize his breathing. His chest looked up and down quickly and slowly regularized. Greraver’s eyes were fixed on the blood in Dielh’s wounds. The moonlight made the flowing blood clearly visible and caused Greraver’s appetite to increase.

Slowly, Dielh’s breathing calmed down, and he opened his eyes. The shadow of Greraver’s body in front of him covered Dielh’s view of the moon. The moon was behind Greraver and made Dielh unable to see his friend’s face.

Dielh frowned as Greraver stood still, like a statue watching over him.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” asked Dielh while getting up.

He was getting closer to Greraver. When Dielh realized that Greraver’s eyes were so sharp and scary. Greraver’s breath was choked and visible faster than before. His body trembled as if he was enduring pain. His eyes were straight at Dielh.

Slowly, Dielh averted his gaze. He saw himself covered with wounds and blood.

“Wow! Oh! No! No! No! Noooooooo!!!! Not now!” Dielh screamed and ran away from Greraver. “Waaaaaaaa!!!!! Shit!!!!!!” Dielh ran screaming.

Fast as lightning, Dielh headed inside the forest. Greraver chased after him, and in one move, while roaring loudly, he turned into a wendigo monster figure. Sharp teeth filled the face of a hungry, growling wendigo.

The wendigo’s face looked even more frightening in the middle of the silent forest. Two deep holes in his eyes. A hole in his nose. The arrangement of the bones was rough and made it look like a walking corpse. The wendigo’s movement while chasing Dielh was swift. He used his two legs and two hands with sharp claws to run. His hands were long and almost touching the ground. The pair of forked horns on his head made the wendigo look like a hungry beast.

Dielh felt very tired. He had been running for hours. Now he has to run to avoid Greraver. He finally fell in front of a large tree. Immediately, Dielh looked back and saw the wendigo growling behind him.

“Please, Gre, I am your friend!”