Terror on the wall

The stairs!  He exclaimed silently, he had only been on duty to clean the north side's garderobes out once from the exterior, so he was unsure of the exact layout from the top of the walls and had never really strayed far enough from his tower previously to explore.

Still, he sat patiently, rested and warm enough that he thought could at least make his way to the kitchen entrance of the Keep.

Eventually the guard left the toilets, retrieved the torch left for him, and proceeded down the length of the wall. Carmen slowly left his hiding spot, the dark blanket still draped over him and stalked behind him, staying just beyond the illumination of the torch. 

Just keep walking! Just keep walking! Just keep walking! Carmen repeated internally.

Perhaps the guard sensed his intense stare, or he had just felt the need to look behind him, but eventually the man felt a deep-chill crawl its way up his back and turned around suddenly. His eyes focused on the darkness just out of sight, and gawked in sheer terror.

Just outside of what his torch could illuminate, he could faintly make out a large crouched creature with beaded eyes staring widely at him from its flat face.

Immediately the man's heart dropped as all the air was sucked from his lungs in bone shattering spine-chilling terror.

OH MY GOD. The man immediately spun on his heels and took off sprinting at his maximum speed, screaming silently in unadulterated fear about the creature that he had just beheld.

Meanwhile, Carmen, propelled by the blood curdling scream, and the fear in the man's eyes swiftly chased after him.

Carmen's heart pounded in his chest, but he didn't let up. His instincts screamed for him to stop, to hide, but adrenaline kept him moving. The guard's footsteps echoed on the stone surface as he bolted, clearly too terrified to even think about drawing his weapon. Whatever that man thought he saw, Carmen had become the embodiment of it.

The guard stumbled slightly but regained his balance, throwing desperate glances back. Carmen saw the man's terror-stricken face, pale and drenched in sweat. The dark blanket still draped over Carmen probably made him look like a shadowy figure from the underworld. He had accidentally become the man's worst nightmare.

Carmen dared not look back, focusing intently on the man. He quickly saw the stairs illuminated by torchlight, and immediately cut down the steep staircase; all but propelling himself into flight.

As the guard looked ahead to steady himself, Carmen slowed his pace and ducked down the flight of stairs he saw. He couldn't keep running like this; the guard would alert everyone at this rate. Holding his breath, Carmen watched as the guard vanished into the night, his frantic shouts fading in the distance.

Panting, Carmen pressed himself against the cold stone wall. That was close. Too close. But, at least he wasn't caught. He could hear the distant alarm being raised—whether the guard would mention a "creature" or a cloaked intruder, Carmen couldn't be sure. All he knew was he had to find another way inside and fast.

Making his way around the West side of the Keep, Carmen found the open courtyard itself to be rather unprotected and ditched his large blanket near one of the large interior buildings he had found himself slinking around.

The Kitchen entrance itself was fully illuminated, closed, and thankfully Carmens luck continued to shine as he tried the large door, finding it to be unlocked.

Peering into the kitchen hall, he just found a few servant girls walking here and there, cleaning up and preparing for the next group of men arriving for their guard shift in a few hours time.

Unfortunately for Carmen, he had never really thought this far ahead, or planned out what he would do if he made it to this point, but… fuck it, he thought. I'm almost there.  

So he opened the door bravely and stepped through into the hallway, praying none of the women would recognize him enough and call him out.

The women, to their credit, were used to men coming and going from the keep, and seeing how this man was out of uniform and covered in grime, scowl present on his somewhat gaunt but handsome features, that he was somebody far too important to stop in order to question.

Ultimately, he reached the bottom of the steps leading to Cassius's corridor and noticed a single guardsman, slumped against the wall, fast asleep.

Well… this is convenient.

—------------

"And that's how I got here, my Lord" Carmen reiterated, embarrassed but proud of his accomplishment.

Cassius's expression remained unreadable.

Eventually, though, Cassius broke into hearty laughter at Carmen's sheer audacity.

He's absolutely mad! He thought cheerfully, absolutely certain that whatever made this boy's mind tick was either severely damaged beyond repair, or had a loose connection somewhere.

"So… just to reiterate—you had snuck out of the castle through the front gate, scaled the wall through a shitter, accidentally scared a guard half to death,, and then just walked in completely uncontested through our kitchen?" Cassius asked, unable to suppress his disbelief.

"That… About sums it up my lord…" Carmen admitted, cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.

"You're a fucking genius!" Cassius burst out, laughter echoing through the stone & timber embellished chamber.

Carmen blinked in surprise, his flush deepening at the unexpected praise. "I—I am?"

Cassius wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. "Absolutely! You managed to outwit the defences of the second most heavily defended castle in the region! And sneak back in through the kitchens without a soul catching you. I'd say that's damn impressive."

Carmen couldn't help but smile, a mixture of relief and excitement bubbling up inside him. He had expected scolding or perhaps even dismissal, but here he was, being praised for his reckless ingenuity.

"Frankly, I'm going to have to pick up the pace of your training if you're this capable already." 

"I won't let you down, my lord, whatever the task, I can complete it!" Carmen said, standing a little taller now, feeling a surge of confidence after being recognized for his accomplishment.

"I'm sure you won't. Now, wash up, get some rest, and don't worry about attending the morning training. We'll definitely have more work for that clever mind of yours tomorrow. But…" He paused, grinning widely. "Maybe skip the garderobe next time, yeah?" 

Carmen gave a sheepish nod, still riding the high of Cassius's approval, before making his way out, already thinking of new ways to prove himself.

-----// Author's note //-----

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