Champion by Jon Kiln

out of the dark, spooky alleyway. “Some bodyguard you turn out to be,” she mumbled as she finally got him to turn around. For a few moments he seemed distracted, confused even. For a fleeting moment, she thought she saw a red flash in his eyes, but it was soon gone. Once again, she thought to herself, her imagination was getting the better of her. “Time we got back. I think we both need to get some sleep.”

16
    “You have to help me, we have to free Ganry,” Artas pleaded with Daphne.
    “I think rescuing the Emperor is more important,” she replied.
    They had been arguing over this for most of the day and Artas was becoming frustrated at her stubbornness.
    “How many times do I have to explain it to you. If Ganry is free, he will see to the rest. He is the key to our success.”
    “So you keep telling me.” Daphne was equally frustrated at Artas’s insistence that they should rescue the grizzled warrior. “I don’t know him, but I do know my Emperor, and he is far more important than any soldier.”
    “Fine.” Artas threw his hands up in the air and stood up, turning his back on the girl. “You go your way and I’ll go mine. If we cannot work this out together then we must part ways.”
    “If that’s how it has to be, then so be it.” she said, not wishing to communicate with this pompous young man any further.
    Throughout the day they stayed apart from each other, both preparing for their missions that very night. At one point, Daphne, trying to make some kind of peace, went in search of Artas but he was nowhere to be seen. Just before nightfall she spotted him, packing his backpack with rope and climbing implements.
    “Where have you been all day?” she asked, not really caring if he answered or not.
    “Mind your own business,” was his curt response.
    “Fine, go get yourself captured or maybe even killed. See if I care,” Daphne said, storming off.
    Artas set off that very evening. Although he was getting used to moving about this community in the dark, it still took him longer than he would have hoped to find the apple orchard. This was his way onto the Palace level. Once in the grounds, he needed to find the stables.
    He was feeling pretty nervous and jumpy at every unexpected noise, sometimes thinking he could see shapes in the shadows, but when he looked closer there was nothing. By this point he was wishing he could have convinced Daphne to come with him. He regretted being rude to her but the truth was he couldn’t remember where he had gone earlier that day. It was like most of the day was a blank in his mind. He remembered being out in the market, but the next thing he knew, he was back in the bakery. All the hours in between were a blank and he had no idea why.
    Unbeknown to him, Daphne was following in his footsteps, having decided it would be better to work with him, but without his knowledge. She watched his back as that would be more useful than them arguing constantly, had they tried to work together. Besides, he would no doubt need rescuing at some point. She smiled to herself as she watched him wander around the streets, more often than not taking the wrong turn. It was nothing short of a miracle when he eventually found the apple orchard. Once he disappeared over the wall, she gave him a few minutes before following.
    It was going to be a long evening. Artas knew he had to get through all the secret tunnels that criss crossed this building. If he wasn’t careful, he could easily get lost and spend the rest of his life wandering around this damn palace. He had to free Ganry tonight, and they needed to finish this quest as quickly as possible. That way, this whole thing might be ended so life can return back to normal, not that he can remember what normal felt like.
    In the last few years he had lost his parents to the usurper, Duke Harald. Also, during the coup, he had seen good men killed when they had gone on a mission to find the dragons. Whilst he had become injured, at