Close call.
Repeating in her mind that she had a job to do, Hazel positioned herself on the hilly ground and aimed her arrow. She couldn't point out where the prince sat, but she had it in memory from the spyglass. Now all she had to do was shoot.
The fight continued below them and all kinds of sounds from the spectators filled her ears. Eddie was by her side, quietly reminding her that she wasn't alone.
Hazel emptied her mind and felt the wind caress her ears as it weaved its way inside the head wrap around her head. She inhaled and exhaled deeply, pulling the string until her right hand was next to her ear. She shifted the arrows position according to the wind's direction then in a single breath, released the arrow.
The two watched as the poisoned arrow flew in lightning speed towards the training grounds. Just as it was about to hit the target, a hand suddenly caught the arrow and their breaths caught in their throats.
It took a moment for the crowd to notice that there was an attack, and as soon as they did, chaos broke out in the palace.
Her eyes wide with disbelief, Hazel snatched the spyglass from Eddie's hands and watched as the first prince's gaze roamed the vicinity, the arrowhead inches away from his face.
How was that possible?!
"Hurry and shoot another one now!" Eddie hurriedly urged, his voice laced with anxiousness.
Hazel drew in a breath to recollect her thoughts, then a cold smirk slowly curved her lips.
Instead of one arrow, she retrieved three arrows from the quiver and repeated the same process of aiming and feeling the wind, then released the three arrows at the same time.
Hers and Eddie's eyes followed the arrows as they flew across the distance to where the prince was now standing, his guards trying to get him away from danger.
Hazel held her breath and Eddie's heart stilled for a bit, but neither of the arrows hit the target again.
The prince's head turned abruptly just before the arrows reached him. He hit the first arrow with his hand, deflecting it, then caught the second and third one in both of his hands.
"!!!"
Both Hazel and Eddie stood flabbergasted, their mouths hanging open as they tried to process how a normal human could do that. Not one but three arrows!!
"Wha–" words failed Hazel because she didn't even know what to ask.
Still in disbelief and total shock, she took the spyglass again, but this time she was met by prince Leocade's piercing gaze right through the magnifying glass.
Startled, Hazel faltered a step back, her eyes wide open.
"Shit!" She cursed under her breath as the guard's heads turned to where they were in unison.
"Let's get out of here," Eddie said, already scurrying away to safety. Hazel quickly ran after him, but her footsteps slowed down when she realised that instead of fleeing, they were going back to the palace.
"What are you doing?" She asked, her eyes haughtily glaring at Eddie.
"Just follow me!" Eddie said through gritted teeth, grabbing her hand and pulling her forward.
They reached where they had jumped from a balcony and Eddie released her hand to crouch down. Hazel watched as he felt for something on the wall, then she heard something click and the ground around her shook violently before the wall pulled open, revealing a narrow passage.
Before she had any time to process what was going on, Eddie forcefully pulled her inside the wall passage and pushed the part of the wall close.
The space they were in was very narrow and dark and Hazel could hear her own heart beating wildly in her chest. Eddie's chest heaved up and down, indicating that she was not the only one who felt like her heart would jump out any second.
The place was quiet for a while, until they heard footsteps coming their way and Hazel's pulse picked up its pace again.
The guards stopped close to where they were and they could hear muffled voices, followed by a strong order…
"Scout the entire area!" A calm voice commanded and Hazel swallowed audibly, her palms turning sweaty.
The Prince!
Was this it? Was this how she was returning to prison even before enjoying her freedom?
Just as her mind was going haywire with panic, she felt something touch her hand and she jolted in shock, only to realize that she was not alone in the narrow space. Yes, she wasn't alone!
Eddie was slightly taken aback by the look on Hazel's face, making a myriad of emotions swell inside his chest. Shock, panic, hope and relief. All those flickered across her eyes and he pursed his lips, then did a sign with his hand. Hazel nodded in understanding and they stealthily started moving forward.
…
Hazel didn't know how long it was since they started roaming around in the darkness. Eddie led the way, one hand holding hers while the other felt around in the dark. She couldn't see anything but she knew they made a few turns.
At some point she had started believing they were lost and her panic came again in full force. She started imagining how they would be found by the royal guards, then subjected to eternal torture in the palace dungeons. Or how they would starve to death in the castle's passageways.
She didn't know how long it was, until they started hearing muffled voices from the other side of the wall. Hazel abruptly raised her head, a ray of hope in her gleaming eyes.
Eddie stopped and so did Hazel. He pressed his ears close to the wall, then looked back at Hazel with a smile.
"We're in the grand hall," he whispered close to her ear, then beckoned her with his hand and started moving again.
His steps were much faster now albeit more careful, and Hazel could feel an air of newfound confidence radiating off him. She hadn't noticed it before, but she realized with a frown that throughout the whole ordeal, Eddie had remained surprisingly calm. Wasn't she supposed to be the composed one in such a situation?
After a while of turning left and right in the dark tunnel, Eddie finally stopped at a dead end and released Hazel's hand. She couldn't see anything but she could feel him moving his hands around the wall. A second passed and she heard something click again, then with the same shaking of the ground, the wall pulled open, the bright sunlight almost blinding Hazel.
Eddie turned around wordlessly and helped her remove her head wrap and stashed it in the satchel bag. He then took her weapons, together with the spyglass and laid them on the floor, then took her hand and led her out of the tunnel.
Hazel wanted to protest about leaving the weapons behind but in the end she just lowered her head and continued following behind him.
Eddie seemed to know where he was going as he crossed the distance between the tunnel they used to another building connected to the castle. Hazel looked around with a racing heart, praying to the heavens and whatever power above that he knew what he was doing because she would die fighting if they got caught.
Oblivious to Hazel's panicking, Eddie continued walking with long powerful strides, as if he was part of the palace. Hazel didn't detect an ounce of fear on his face which only fuelled her worry.
When they were about to enter the other building, Hazel anxiously tugged at his hand and Eddie looked back with a reassuring smile. "Trust me," he mouthed to her and resumed his confident walk, leaving Hazel a little bewildered.
Was this the same man who gave her the impression of a shy young man? Now reassuring her when they were about to walk into their own death?
With a shake of her head, she continued following him like a fool.
Eddie led her to the servant's quarters where everything was bustling as usual after a thorough search for the prince's attacker. Servants were busy with their tasks and Hazel and Eddie disturbingly stood out, not only for wearing commoners' clothes but also for their leisurely walking.
"Eddie?" Someone called and Hazel's heart skipped a bit. She felt Eddie's hand tighten around hers as he turned around stiffly.
"Kelly! What a surprise!" He exclaimed in feigned surprise, making Hazel cringe inwardly.
"I didn't expect to see you here," Kelly said as he approached them. His gaze raked over Hazel with curiosity but Eddie made no effort to introduce anyone.
"I'm just here to see Ford. I'll be on my way now, I know he's quite busy," Eddie forced a smile, not giving Kelly a chance to say anything else and resumed walking.
Hazel's panic was turning to confusion and she looked up at the back of Eddie's head with multiple questions in her mind but decided to keep that for later. At the moment, all she was interested in was to leave the palace alive.
Eddie swiftly navigated the corridors, avoiding the servants walking around and nodding back to those who recognised him. Hazel then remembered Finley mentioning that he used to work in the palace.
They successfully managed to leave the servants quarters without being stopped, but just when they were about to walk towards the back entrance used by servants, they heard a flurry of footsteps, followed by a shrill voice.
"You!" A voice came from behind, halting their steps and Hazel's heart jumped to her throat.