An Escape Attempt

Having been so close to freedom, so close to being rescued by her beloved Falco, Rowena was determined to try and escape. Thus, in the dead of night, she with Scholastica and Xe-tian made their attempt to leave Hyperion.

Most of the torches in the city had long since gone out and the only light was cast by the moon. Her Hyperionite garb removed, Rowena was dressed as she had typically back on Aether: an amber-coloured breastband and a brown perizoma. She still wore her earrings and had once more taken to keeping her hair in a ponytail. She looked like a common dancing girl, but compared to some royalty, she and Falco were quite modest in their attire.

Scholastica was seventeen twelvemonths old and stood at a height of five feet and three and a half inches. She was slim and fair-skinned with brown eyes and long light brown hair that she kept in a ponytail with a golden clasp. Like Rowena, she wore a breastband and perizoma yet her attire was green in colour. She had some jewellery upon her person such as a golden arm ring on each arm and a golden anklet on each ankle. She too had cast off her Hyperionite garb and was once more dressed as she had on Aether.

At twenty twelvemonths, Xe-tian was oldest of the three women, but also the shortest at five feet and two inches. She was a short, stocky young woman with neck length red hair, eyes brows that were thick and curved, tanned skin, brown eyes and long eyelashes. As she lacked the interest in performing, dancing, acrobatics, acting and athletics, outside of wrestling, running and javelin throwing, her attire on Aether had consisted of a dark purple tunic that went down to her knees and so had she returned to wearing that tunic with her Hyperionite garb cast aside just as her fellow Aetherean women had.

Walking through the city, the three paused more than once upon seeing some guards with their bull-headed helmets on. Depending on far away they were from torchlight, they almost looked like monsters with the bodies of men, but the heads of bulls. Upon the wall, Taurus and Pardus could both be seen speaking to one another, though if either would even notice the three trying to escape was the question.

From where they stood hidden behind a column, Rowena, Scholastica and Xe-tian could see that Taurus and Pardus had removed their headgear, the former's golden bull mask and the latter's bronze bull-headed helmet both resting upon the battlements before them. To say the features of both men were easy to see would be untrue. From the distance that the three Aetherean women they could not make out the features of either the High Priest of the Earth Bull or the Lisping Prince and from the flickering of the dying torch near them, their countenances were not the most illuminated.

They would have to be careful to make sure no one saw them.

Sticking close to the shadows, the three Aethearean women made their way towards the gate. Pausing whenever it seemed guards were looking in their direction, they ultimately resumed sneaking, but alas, they only got so far until Taurus and Pardus took notice.

Running down the steps of the wall with their mask and helmet on, the High Priest of the Earth Bull and the Lisping Prince were quick to capture Rowena and Xe-tian, but thankfully they had not managed to grab hold of Scholastica, who had managed to get the gate open and run out of the city, only to be followed by Pardus' panther Hector.

"Laomedon ith not going to be pleathed hith thpouthe ethcaped." Commented Pardus, before getting kicked in the knee by Xe-tian. The Lisping Prince's response was to strike her against the face, rendering her unconscious.

Though she could not see his eyes behind the mask, Rowena could tell that Taurus was glaring at her. His grip tight upon her arm, the High Priest of the Earth Bull towered over the Last Queen of Aether menacingly, not once saying anything. It may have been that he could not put what he was feeling into words, but Rowena was just thankful that he was not resorting to physical actions as Pardus had in retaliation for Xe-tian's kick.

Sighing, Taurus handed Rowena to a guard and said: "Lock them both up somewhere. Pardus and I both need sleep."

"What about Thcholathtica?" inquired Pardus.

"Let Hector kill her. Laomedon can get himself another wife. We will explain to Acinonyx and Silvius their wives' escape attempt in the morning. Now good night!"

As Taurus walked away, Rowena felt the guard begin to drag her away. The blasted fool should have bound her first. Raising her other hand to strike the guard, the Last Queen of Aether quickly felt it grabbed by another Hyperionite guard, one with a strand of rope in his other hand. Sighing, Rowena realized she had been premature. Of course, another guard would have bound her. The entirety of the city's guard did not consist of fools like the one she had been handed to. At least she wasn't going to be gagged. What would the point have been? No one in the camp would have been able to hear her from this distance, so trying to call out was absolutely pointless and Rowena would never have been so inconsiderate as to wake the entire city with shouting as she was taken to a cell.

Through sheer luck, Rowena learned that the cell she was being taken to was at the arena where sacrifices to the Earth Bull were held via being gored to death by the Sacred Bull. Rowena knew what Achilles still lived, though with the shock he had entered with believing Falco to be dead, he might as well have been deceased. Perhaps he voice would have been able to bring him out of his shock, perhaps news that Falco still lived would.

As she was dragged down the corridor where the cells were, Rowena peered inside each cell and upon seeing Achilles, a twelvemonth older and beard upon his countenance, she cried out: "Achilles, Falco lives! My husband, your student, Falco, Son of Tigris, Son of Conall, the Last Divine Deucalion of Aether lives! I have seen him! He fights alongside the forces of the Cambyses Empire and the Ulgen Khanate! With the armour and sword of his great-grandfather he fights to free us from this prison that is Hyperion!"

Alas, Achilles did not seem to hear. He just sat there upon his bed, staring at the wall. Tears flowing down her cheeks at seeing Falco's mentor so broken, she began to wonder if Achilles truly still lived or if this very night, life had left his old body. He was two and sixty, but surely, he would live for many more twelvemonths! Surely this was not the end!

Thrice did the Last Queen of Aether call Achilles' appellation, but alas, he seemed to hear her not. As she was thrown into an empty cell, Rowena regained her composure. There would be time for tears afterwards. Now she just had to... Had to what? The cell door was locked and as slender as she was, there was no way she would be able to slip through the bars.

She supposed she would just have to sleep.

Laying down upon the bed, Rowena closed her eyes and thought of simpler, happier times. She thought of life back on Aether, before Taurus had slain her father, before the coming of Acinonyx, before... Everything, when she had simply been a lady of the palace and Falco had simply been the Crown Prince of Aether. She thought of the wind blowing through the meadows, the water flowing through brooks and rivers, but most of all she thought of when the love between her and Falco had begun to grow. When had it begun? Some time in childhood, it must have, they had known each other their whole lives and had never known a day where they were not at each other's side... Until the day came when Falco was sent on a diplomatic mission.