The escape

Ahmejaned stood up from the bed, wore his cloak and robes and wound his turban around his head. He covered his face with a scarf and only left a slit for the eyes to see. He sneakily got out of his room after quietly opening the door. He scanned the hallway for any signs of activity but there was none.

The silence was eerie and very unsettling, but he couldn't afford to fear or hesitate right now. He had picked up his staff before leaving the room because it would come in handy to stun some of the guards.

As he moved along the hallway he heard some voices on the last floor; a woman moaning and a man grunting. "It must be that old bull and one of his playthings" Ahmejaned thought but quickly pushed the distracting thought at the back of his mind and decided to soldier on.

He successfully walked up to the end of the hallway without encountering any hindrance, no guards, no body; his sixth sense kicked in and a spooky feeling made his hair rise.

"What is this? Am i cowering like a baby at the end after all I've overcome to get here?" he questioned his conscience while moving on cautiously.

In his absent-mindedness he started descending the steps to the second floor, and stumbled on something in the dark. He toppled and was going to fall headfirst but he adjusted his body and instead rolled with his arms covering his head.

The thing Ahmejaned had stumbled on was actually a sentinel who was asleep. The guard woke up and made an alarm out of shock; "Curse you old dog! what are you screaming for?"

Ahmejaned said and hurriedly climbed up the stairs he had fallen and rushed towards the guard, staff in hand. The sentinel unsheathed his word and rushed towards Ahmejaned.

Ahmejaned brandished his staff made of cypress wood, and also charges towards the guard. As soon as he got within a range of four feet near the guard, he twirled the staff above his head and stabbed towards the guard. The guard had expected it and therefore he managed to dodge the incoming blow by swiftly side-stepping the staff and slashing sideways at Ahmejaned's throat. Ahmejaned cursed under his breath and ducked to escape the slash as he didn't think the guard would dodge his attack, nevertheless he was packed with moves and he was prepared for a showdown.

He swung his staff backwards in a rowing motion, since the guard was closer to him, and hit his calves so hard the sentinel lost balance and fell on his back.

This was the opportunity Ahmejaned was looking for and he utilized it precisely; as soon as the guard fell on his back, he dropped his pulwar due to confusion and immediately,Ahmejaned hit his head using his staff like a club. The guard was stunned immediately and became unconscious. Ahmejaned quickly carried the guard back to his room, undressed him and switched his clothes for the guards armor.

" Ahhh... what good luck i have, i didn't expect to find a blessing in disguise. " he remarked as he walked out of the room fully dressed like a moon eagle guard. He scanned the hallway again for activity and was about to walk out when he saw Rahzad walk out of his room and head towards his room.

He hesitated and instead got back into his room and locked it. When Rahzad reached his door, he knocked and tried opening the door but it was locked from the inside. Rahzad called out to him "Ahmejaned are you in there? Are you awake? I know you are. Did you hear any noises outside?"

Ahmejaned didn't reply him and he kept quiet. Seeing that he got no response from Ahmejaned, Rahzad gave up calling and walked back to his room, however he didn't close the door, he pushed it back so it could be opened easily.

Ahmejaned sneaked out of his room after two minutes, since he thought Rahzad had gone back to his room and there was no one around to snoop on him. He hurriedly moved along the hallway and descended the steps to the second floor, he was so engrossed in his getaway that he didn't notice someone following him albeit slowly.

Rahzad suspected that Ahmejaned had escape plans although he never shared them with anyone, him inclusive. Rahzad, upon entering his room, was unsettled and felt there was something completely amiss, therefore he decided to go check on Ahmejaned again. This time he got surprised because the previously locked door was now open. He pushed the door and entered Ahmejaned's room.

Upon entering, he saw a figure lying on the bed but his instincts told him that it wasn't Ahmejaned. " When did Ahmejaned grow so thin? He seems taller and lankier." Rahzad thought to himself and decided to go check and verify whether it really was Ahmejaned that was lying in the bed. Rahzad approached the bed and uncovered the woolen blanket from the figure.

He turned the figure's face to look at it closely and it dawned on him that this wasn't Ahmejaned but rather a moon eagle guard. He quickly left the room and ran along the hallway, his mind was buzzing as he ran. He started connecting all the pieces together; the scuffles he heard, the guard in Ahmejaned's bed and Ahmejaned's absence.

"He is escaping and i have to use this chance to escape with him lest i will be killed the moment the supreme finds about Ahmejaned's escape." Rahzad thought and softly muttered as he walked along the hallway after reaching his deductions. He slowly descended the steps to the second floor and spotted a figure hurriedly descending the steps ahead of him, at first sight he thought he saw a sentinel, but on recollecting and recalling the guy in Ahmejaned's room.

He silently remarked, " Brother is really great. He must have meticulously planned his escape to the dot."

Meanwhile Ahmejaned got onto the second floor and met two guards standing guard at the stairs to the ground floor and he puffed up his chest as he approached them. He clearly knew that the high ranking Eagle guards were in charge of protecting the upper floors and the lowest rankers guarded the ground floor. So any guard from the upper floors was never questioned.

As Ahmejaned was passing by the guards, they said their greetings and showed their respects by holding their left hands to their chests. Ahmejaned casually did the same and replied their greetings in a rough hoarse voice. He soldiered on to the ground floor and passed the guards in the hallway leading outside, as they paid their respects.

He trembled from head to toe, when he thought about what would happen in case the guards found out he was an impostor. Instant death for him it would be.

Ahmejaned successfully got out of the palace and branched into an alley. His palpitations had risen and he was breathing like a Rhim gazelle that had escaped the hunter's snare. He continued walking forward until he heard a voice holler at him from behind.

" Hahaha... So you think you have escaped from me? You can never escape!"