Original Fiction: Heavensgate-Chapter 3 (Runaways)

[Assassin of Konoha]

Chapter 3
Runaways



As they left the garden, Aerandir smiled at Serenity as he headed for the training arena while Serenity turned for the Main Gate.

“Hey, Serenity, wait up!” Shayna called as Serenity reached the gate.

“What’s up? Where’s Addison?” Serenity asked as Shayna caught up with her.

“Oh, he went with some of the other guys to start getting ready. I think they were going to get some target practice?”

Serenity nodded as the two exited the Main Gate. They continued to talk about anything and everything for quite awhile until Shayna changed to a more pressing subject.

“You know the twins don’t want to stay behind, right?”

“Aien and Korin don’t either, but we can’t risk getting slowed down by bringing them along. Besides, I don’t know what I would do if they got hurt.”

“You really think they will listen?” Shayna asked.

“Oh, not at all.” Serenity said with a chuckle. “But they will stay behind long enough to let us cover a lot of ground before they catch up.”

“Who do you think will convince who to follow us?” Shayna said as they reached the town market.

Serenity paused. “The boys will convince Korri and Emalyne to go. The twins want to go badly enough that they will easily get talked into it.”

“Well, I was also thinking, won’t it take a little while to saddle the horses and everything? Won’t we get caught in the time it takes us to leave?”

Serenity put her finger in the air as she stopped at a small table full of clothes. “Already got it figured out. We set everything out before hand, that way we only have to grab the horses and throw the saddles on. Since everyone knows how to saddle a horse, it shouldn’t take too long to get out.”

Shayna nodded as Serenity stopped at a small shop and grabbed a black hooded cloak. She held it up to herself before nodding in approval, and Shayna helped her grab one for all eight heirs before they moved on to the next shop.
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Whoosh. “Nice shot, Rowan!” Aerandir said as Rowan lowered his bow.

“Thanks. You want to try?” Rowan said as he handed his bow to Aerandir.

“No thanks.” Aerandir said as he put his hands up. “I prefer close combat, that’s why I use swords.”

Rowan shrugged as he put another arrow on his bow and prepared to fire. “Ok, if you say so. Speaking of swords, though, shouldn’t you be practicing as well?”

Aerandir chuckled. “I have been practicing. I actually was just about to have a match with Addison.”

“Oh, this I gotta see. Just make sure you don’t ‘slit his throat’. Even though Shayna’s reaction was funny, she would probably kill you if you made her think you killed him again.”

Aerandir began laughing as he and Rowan walked to the arena. Addison was already waiting, wooden sword in hand, when they arrived. Rowan stood to the side as Aerandir drew his wooden sword and held it out to Addison.

“You know you won’t win, right?” Aerandir said, a hint of cockiness in his voice.

“We will see. I almost beat you last time.”

“Yea and Shayna almost killed me for that joke!” Aerandir said with a smile.

Addison began to laugh as he remembered the prank. “True, but enough joking around, let’s get started!”

With that, Addison charged at Aerandir, sword raised in the air. Aerandir spread his feet and prepared to counter attack as Addison came closer. CRACK! The swords met in mid air, and Aerandir pulled his sword away as he turned to swing at Addison’s back. Addison quickly ducked and swung his sword at Aerandir’s ankles, but only managed to hit air as Aerandir jumped over the attack. As Aerandir landed, he swung his sword down at Addison, forcing him onto his back. CRACK! The swords met again as Addison blocked Aerandir’s attack.

“You know, you should just give up now! There is no way you can possibly get out of this!” Aerandir said as he continued to hold Addison in place.

“Oh yea? We will see about THAT!” Addison yelled as he swept Aerandir’s feet out from under him, forcing him onto the ground as well.

Addison jumped to his feet and swung at Aerandir, but Aerandir rolled away just in time. He kicked at Addison, forcing him to jump back, which gave Aerandir just enough time to get back onto his feet and prepare for Addison’s next attack. Both boys were panting and covered in dirt, but that didn’t stop them. They charged at each other, and began to fight again, neither one being able to land a hit. They continued to fight for another ten minutes before Aerandir left himself open. Addison spun around and smacked Aerandir in the side, forcing him to the ground. Addison walked up to Aerandir and held the wooden sword to his brother’s throat as Aerandir grimaced.

“I told you I would win.” Addison said with a triumphant smile.

“Yea? Well the battle isn’t over YET!” Aerandir said as he grabbed Addison’s ankle with his own feet and knocked his brother to the ground. Both boys scrambled to their feet and pointed their swords to each other’s throats. Neither one could move. As they stared at each other, they heard someone begin to clap, and both boys lowered their swords as they heard Karnor’s voice.

“A draw. Either Addison is getting better, or Aerandir is slacking.”

“Ha ha, very funny.” Aerandir said as he began brushing the dirt from his sleeve.

“Actually, I am surprised I lasted that long against your.” Addison said as he too began to brush himself off.

Both brothers smiled at each other before Rowan and Karnor jumped joined their brothers in the center of the arena. All four of them were beginning to get hungry, and they knew that they needed to prepare for the coming night, Aerandir and Addison put the practice swords away, and all four headed back to the castle, each mentally preparing himself for the upcoming journey.
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[Assassin of Konoha]

“Serenity, you realize the horses aren’t going to be able to carry your entire wardrobe, right?” Shayna said as she struggled to hold the pile of clothes Serenity had picked out.

“I know that. I’m not going to bring ALL of my clothes, but I want to at least have a variety to choose from.” Serenity responded as she tossed a couple more dresses onto the pile in Shayna’s arms.

“If you say so. Shouldn’t we be heading back though? We have been gone for quite awhile, and we are gonna need to give everyone their things.”

“Yea, you’re right. Let’s go ahead and head back.” Serenity said as paid for her things.

When the girls reached the castle it was already early afternoon. Serenity told Shayna to put a cloak in everyone’s room before meeting her back in the stable. Shayna complied, and the girls parted ways. When Serenity reached the stables, she immediately began to match each horse with a saddle and bridle. Out of the dozens of horses that the royal family had, only a few were good endurance horses. As Serenity placed each saddle on the wooden beam in front of each horse’s stall, she heard her mother’s voice.

“Going for a ride, Serenity?” Queen Aurora said as she helped her daughter lift the saddle.

Queen Aurora was favored by many in the kingdom. She was about 5”5’ with short blackish brown hair and blue eyes. She was very kind and many thought her to be the greatest queen to ever rule over Naldar.

“Uh, yea, more or less.” Serenity said uncomfortably, not meeting her mother’s gaze.

“Plan on going far? You seem to have picked all the strongest endurance horses.”

Serenity paused before answering. “Um, well, they are more fun to ride because they don’t get tired as quickly as some of the others.”

Aurora chuckled. “My daughter, I know what you are doing. Your father told me everything, but I don’t agree with his actions. I have never told any of you this, but I have always believed in the Celestial King, and I have had experiences much like you have. I have had dreams where it feels as if he is speaking to me. I won’t say anything to your father, but promise me you will be careful and that you will take care of your sisters.”

Serenity smiled and her eyes lit up as she realized what her mother was saying. “So, you are going to let us go?”

Her mother nodded. “I had a dream last night, and while I am not at liberty to say what it was about, you will be safe.”

Serenity hugged her mother as Shayna and Kaina walked into the stable. Aurora looked at Serenity, then turned to Kaina and Shayna and nodded before she walked out of the stable.

“What was that about?” Kaina asked as she shoved her thumb over her shoulder.

Serenity smiled as she explained what their mother had said. The girls began to laugh with excitement as they finished setting everything up. The horses began to prance around in their stalls with anticipation, and that is when the girls realized that they really were about to embark on the journey of their lives.

The rest of the day passed by pretty quickly for everyone, and it wasn’t long before the moon was high in the sky. Delwyn opened her eyes as she heard her door quietly open then close again. She sat up as Kaina tip toed over to her bed.

“Is it time to go already?” she asked quietly.

“Yea, Serenity told me to wake the rest of the girls up and have us all meet her in the stables.” Kaina whispered as she pulled Delwyn out of bed.

“Alright, I am up.” Delwyn said as she grabbed the black cloak from her closet. “Go wake everyone else up.”

Kaina nodded and left the room. She continued to wake everyone up and one by one they all headed down to the stable. Once everyone was there,
Serenity immediately took charge. “Ok, we all know how to saddle a horse.
We don’t have a lot of time, so if the stall has a saddle in front of it, that is a horse we are taking, so grab one and let’s go!”

“Does it matter who we ride?” Rowan asked as he grabbed the saddle in front of the third stall.

“No, just grab someone, all these horses are good endurance runners that anyone can ride.”

As everyone grabbed a horse and began to saddle them, Shayna and Addison stood together and looked at the only two horses left…….the two largest horses in the group.

“SHAYNA, WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?!” Serenity yelled as she swung into the saddle of her horse.

“Uh, well, it is just that, uh, he’s so……big….and…uh.”

“Are you kidding me?!” Serenity exclaimed in agitation as her horse, pawed the ground with excitement. “Shayna, you were three when you got bucked off, and the horse wasn’t even tame! You can’t tell me you are still scared?! Addison, not you too!”

“Uh, well…..yea, they are just so big.” Addison replied as he stared at the huge horse.

Serenity looked at Aerandir and let her frustration out with a loud sigh as she and Aerandir jumped off their horses. “Fine, you two take out horses and WE’LL ride those two.”

Shayna and Addison both hesitantly climbed onto the backs of Serenity and Aerandir’s horses while the last two were saddled. Serenity and Aerandir swung into the saddle of their horses and trotted to front of the group. Serenity threw her hood up and turned her black stallion to face the group. “Alright, now we are gonna have to stay together. The watch should be changing in about two minutes. Remember, we aren’t going to have long to get out of the gate, but that is also why I made sure all the horses were dark colors and we were all dressed in black. We should be able to get out without being noticed. Ok, is everyone ready?” she said as she glanced around.

“I think we are.” Aerandir said as he turned his black stallion to face her.

“Ok, the guard is changing.” Serenity said as the horses pranced and tossed their heads in the near darkness. “Let’s go, everyone follow me and Aerandir, and remember, make sure you stay low and as close to the water as possible!”

With that, Serenity turned Elrond around and took off, the rest of the horses automatically following her. As they came to the gate, she slowed to a trot, and looked at the guard tower. The guard was gone, and Serenity knew that they only had a couple minutes before the fresh guard arrived. She dismounted and crept to the gate. She unlocked the gate and pushed it open so that they could all get through. They were exiting the west gate so that they could easily get to the shore. As soon as everyone was out, Aerandir grabbed Elrond’s reigns and trotted out the gate. Serenity watched the guard tower as she exited and quietly closed the door. As soon as the gate was closed, she heard the door in the guard tower open and she knew that they had just barely made it. As she turned, she saw Aerandir holding Elrond, and she jumped back into the saddle as she made sure that everyone had made it through. Once she saw that everyone was there, she looked at Aerandir and nodded.

“Alright, now it’s time to fly. Everyone ready?”

The horses began to snort, whinny, and toss their heads, almost as if they knew what she meant. Everyone said that they were ready, although some were more hesitant than the others.

“Alright,” Aerandir said as he threw his hood on his head. “Put your hoods on, keep low to the horse, and follow us. We can’t stop for anything, otherwise we risk getting caught. Lead the way, Serenity.”

Serenity nodded as she kicked Elrond’s sides. The stallion reared before bolting like lightning. Aerandir followed, and so did the rest of the group. As they ran down the hill, Serenity headed straight for the shore, soaking her horse’s hooves as she reached the ankle deep water. The ocean water sprayed all around, creating a veil of water in front of Elrond, and surrounding the rest of them. As the group ran down the shoreline, Serenity suddenly came to a stop and turned around. The rest of the group followed her gaze, and saw that the castle gate was opening again, and a group of horses was leaving the castle and heading their way. Serenity whipped her horse around and kicked him again. “Let’s go, Elrond!” she said as the horse took off at almost breakneck speed. Elrond was running as fast as he possibly could, and the others weren’t far behind. We have to reach the woods before they catch up to us! Serenity thought as she looked back again. Now she was very thankful that she had used all the best running horses, because the entire group was still able to keep up with her. She continued to look forward as the forest grew closer and closer. As the trees grew closer, Serenity noticed an opening in the trees that she had never noticed before. She turned Elrond toward it, and it wasn’t long before his hooves were pounding forest floor. YES! WE MADE IT! She thought as the rest of group reached the forest. She slowed Elrond down as Delwyn rode up next to her.

“I thought you said we wouldn’t be discovered.”

“Nooooo.” Serenity said as she held her finger in the air and watched the horses behind them slow to a stop. “I said we wouldn’t get caught. There’s a difference.”

Delwyn rolled her eyes. “Well, we almost did get caught. Anyway, you think we are far enough in? And when did this entrance get here?”

“I don’t know.” Serenity said with a shrug. “But I’m not complaining!”

“None of us are.” Karnor said as he rode up to Aerandir. “Look, the guards can’t even see this entrance into the woods. I don’t think we have to worry about being followed.”

“Yea and we should make camp a little farther into the forest and continue in the morning.” Aerandir said as he patted his horse’s neck.

Serenity sighed and looked around. “Yea, I guess we could. Alright, let’s get a little farther in and then we can set up camp.”