Captured Assassin(Arthur/Henry)

[Dante Grixis]

Dante woke up with a blinding pain in his head. He brought an arm around to rub it where he remembered getting hit, but it was all hazy. He realized his hands were shackled together and the heavy chain made a grating noise on the hard stone floor where he lay.

HIs memory slowly came back to him in bits a pieces. After the failed assassination he was brought back to the castle for questioning. He had been tortured with a few questionable devices and interrogated about his name, origins and affiliation with the Brotherhood. He refused to answer any questions. Eventually he just spat in a knights face and that was when the lights went out.

He wasn't dressed in his usual armor and cloak. It was all taken along with his weapons and put in a room down the hall from his cell. He was cold in the threadbare tunic and pants they gave him. Pale moonlight shone through his cell window and he could hear muffled voices a bit off outside the thick oak door with bars on them. He sighed and sat up then slid to the wall and leaned against it, his head resting on his shoulder.

He was thirsty, all he could taste was that dry mouth flavor and blood. He imagined that somewhere during his cries of pain when they poured scalding water poured over him that he had bitten down on something in his mouth.

His death was to be by hanging on the Hagmoore Green at noon within the next week. He hoped that he would get out by then. Just then he heard the lock to his cell turning and the door creaked open letting light into the dark room momentarily blinding Dante.

[Prince Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur opened the door to the dungeons. It was inevitable that he would be seen by these guards, for unless they were asleep on duty (unlikely) he couldn't help but be seen as he passed through the small room which led to the cells.

As he expected, both guards were wide awake and sitting at a low table playing some sort of game. They looked surprised to see him, but didn't question his actions at all and he decided not to explain himself either. He strode past, despite the pain it caused him- he didnt want any reason for the guards to send him back to Gaius' quarters.

Luckily he had remembered to bring his keys with him and he unlocked the door to the corridor which contained all of the cells. He remembered all the times he had been down here to rescue various "prisoners" of Uthers who hadn't really deserved to be here, and the time Morgana herself was imprisoned.
Dante Grixis' cell was at the very end of the corridor, only a couple of other cells were occupied and the occupants seemed to be asleep. Arthur has a sneaking suspiscion that his assassin wouldn't be.

The door was of course locked, and Arthur had to spend a few seconds fumbling with his keys before he found the correct one. The rusty lock creaked wildly as he turned the key, and then the hinges began their own chorus as he pushed open the heavy door.
The assassin sat hunched up against the wall, blood dried onto his lips and a hefty lump on the side of his head where he had obviously been knocked out. He looked like he had been under pretty heavy interrogation since Arthur had been unconscious.

"So, I'm guessing you have told my guards nothing about you assassin. But I can tell you now. Unless you can explain whom it is you work for, and why my men were targeted...You will be hung."

[Dante Grixis]

Dante looked Arthur over. Seeing that he was in pain caused him some sick pleasure. He hadn't expected the prince to come down to interrogate him but a lot of unexpected things had happened in the last day... or two. Dante couldn't quite remember how long he had been here.

Dante chuckled quietly at the Prince's question. "You assume correctly your highness." Dante said, his voice ragged and weak. "I have no name, no alias, no affiliations. I await my hanging." He continued rising and turning to face Arthur. He was taller than the Prince by a few inches and broader at the shoulders. Where Dante's skin was rough and scarred, Arthur's was fair. He imagined that the leg wound was the first real cut the boy had ever had.

Dante coughed weakly and said "But I can tell you that the target wasn't your men, it was you." He said simply, his voice like ice even though it was barely above a whisper. Each syllable came out like sandpaper, each motion ached his body. The torturers were good at their job, but Dante's willpower was stronger than they had anticipated. He stared at Arthur with his dark eyes, shining slightly in the moonlight, and awaited the prince's response.

[Prince Arthur Pendragon]

"If I was your target, then I think you'll find you're not such a great assassin." Arthur let a grim smile wash over his face. The man had fired two arrows at the prince and missed both times, the second time he had hit a horse.

"If you wish to make sentencing you even easier, then so be it. Who you are makes little difference to me or my hangman. We know you are from the Brotherhood and it will show them all exactly what will happen the next time they make an attempt on my own or any of my family's lives." Arthur remained calm, not wanting to show the man that he felt any sort of passion over this. It would have much mroe effect that way.

The man was not well, Arthur could tell by the way he coughed and the way he spoke. His body was bruised and he must feel in a similar state to Arthur, or worse.

Arthur had had enough of this ridiculous man, who given the oppurtunity to rot in jail, would rather be hung. Arthur pitied him, for he clearly had no family or friends to live for and would die for his beliefs, as wrong as they were.
When Arthur made King, he would make sure that people like the Brotherhood -who were mostly if not all slum dwellers- were comfortable and as respected as the rest of his royal subjects. Uther may have no time for them, but he would would make sure that there was no need for them to have to try and overthrow the Pendragons.

[Dante Grixis]

Dante laughed deeply for a moment before it turned into a cough. After a moment he spit a wad of bile onto the floor and paused a moment. "I will admit, my archery skills need work. But in a one on one fight against me, you would've bled out on the green. You know this to be true." He said quietly and calmly.

"Perhaps if your father didn't let so many children die or hunger, cold, or disease in the slums every day no one would see fit that his own sons life be taken." He said coldly.

His entire body was screaming in protest against being alive. The cuts and bruises on his wrists and ankles were getting worse by the minute as the shackles dug into his flesh. His breath was wheezy, full of phlegm. He never imagined it would end like this. He always thought he would die by the blade, not broken and defeated, suffering from wounds in a cold dungeon until he was to be hung. Life was funny in not meeting expectations like that.

With effort he brushed his blood matted hair from his face. A dark stubble had begun to form on his chin, he was used to shaving almost daily and it was a strange feeling to have facial hair of any kind. He paused for a moment letting his arms fall back to his sides, chains clanking against each other.

"Even if I die, there will be more like me. You can't avoid death for forever." He said in his horse voice.

[Prince Arthur Pendragon]

"Or perhaps, in a one on one fight we would each have had a single blade." He smirked, knowing that even the other members of the Brotherhood would consider a fight where one man had two swords an unfair one.

Arthur listened as the man criticised his father, and part of him knew hsi words to be true. He could of course, not let the assassin know that and he replied solemnly, "Perhaps, beggars and thieves should try an honest days work before they accuse us of "letting" their children die." He hated saying it, because they were his fathers words not his own.

Arthur watched as the mans chest rose and fell heavily, he was probably finding it difficult to breathe and his breath was wheezy like his lungs had fluid on them. The sound of clanking metal make Arthur glad he was not in this dingy room, suffering.

"We will not hear from the brotherhood again once you are hung." Arthur laughed opening the door and locking it behind him. As he walked down the hall he called: "Trust me."

[Dante Grixis]

Dante chuckled. "Believe what you may Pendragon." He called after him. He fell to the floor as soon as Arthur had left. He breathed heavily for a few minutes and he thought to himself. Most men would've said something about where they were from or who they were, they had friends and family to think about. For Dante all of his friends were Brotherhood, so by dying he was protecting them. Not a martyr exactly but along the same lines.

He was drifting off to sleep, thoughts of death and decay on his mind. He never fell asleep though, he was permanently stuck in that pre-sleep stupor, aware of his surroundings but unable to do anything about it. He wished he was free, he wished he was in the run down apartment, he wished he was on the run. Anywhere was better than here.

[Henry Renold]

Henry Renold stole round the edge of the castle courtyard with his back to the wall, listening out for any sign that a guard might be nearby.

It was a few hours after midnight, and Henry figured that if the guards were going to be slacking, now would be the time. He was dressed in Greys, an outfit designed specifically for sneaking. He had borrowed them from the Brotherhood and it felt so good to be in a clean pair of slacks and a tunic that kept the wind out. They Greys were mottled with a plethera of different shades of grey, and unlike dressing in black, the greys could make you virtually invisible even if someone was staring straight at you.
He saw a movement in the shadows ahead and quickly crouched down to the ground, now even if the guard lit the section of wall he was by, Henry would not be seen.

It turned out to simply be a stray dog sniffing around and Henry continued on his way, walking on the balls of his feet to eliminate any sounds that his heels might make. He knew that the dungeons was going to be difficult to get into, but he had thought of how to deal with that already. Strapped to the inside of his thighs, he had a packet containing several of the strongest lockpicks he could get his hands on and a rag soaked in a strange concoction. In order to get the second item, he had had to be extremely persuasive with one of the Brotherhoods dark mages, he would be running errands for weeks...Still, if it got Dante free it was definitely worth it.

As he reached the stone steps which wound down to the dungeons entrance, Henry pulled out the rag. He held it to a nearby torch and it caught alight instantly. The flames that bruned were not the usual orange, but an irridescent green and he made sure to hold it at arms length and to cover his mouth and nose. Breathing the fumes in could knock you out for hours, and Henry didn't have that time to spare.

The main door opened easily, it was not locked for the guards were stationed inside, and that made it easy for Henry to sling the rag in. It landed right in the middle of their table and Henry watched as in shock they leant closer to the flaming material, and then passed out. This part was easy, he just need to sneak past the guard who would be stationed by the individual cells now. A less easy task.

He couldnt help but smile as he passed the two "sleeping" guards, how could one be so stupid? It had never occurred to him that people outside the slums might nt have a need to be overly cautious. As far as he knew everyone feared their lives constantly.
The next door was again, unlocked and Henry peered through. The guard was not in view and Henry began to panic. What if he was going to get more guards, or Arthur? Or perhaps he was hiding and waiting for him to walk by.
The sleeve blades Henry always wore were covered in a strong posion today and he clicked the catch and slid them into his hands before he slowly stalked through the corridor.

"Who are you!" A voice broke the silence, and Henry spun round instinctively, his arms in a fighting stance, ready. But the corridor was empty. "Tell us!" A different voice bellowed, and only then did Henry realise what was happening. Perfect he smirked. An interrogation.
The guards were far too busy to hear the grinding of a lockpick in the keyhole or the creak of an un-oiled hinge. They were far too noisy to hear the sound of shackles being unlocked or to hear the whispered words of a thief and an assassin. And they were concentrating much to hard to see a prisoner escaping with an almost invisible male.

[Dante Grixis]

((amazing post man!))

Dante distantly heard the sound of yelling in a cell a few doors down. Someone was being interrogated. The thought passed quickly through his mind that he was glad that it wasn't him. Then he heard the sound of his lock being turned. He cursed to himself, he dreaded the imminent interrogation by the guards. Time seemed to move in slow motion for him, his heart was pounding and his adrenaline racing. Finally, after an eternity his door creaked open.

From his position on the floor the light from a torch caught him directly in the face, blinding him momentarily. He brought a shackled hand up to block his eyes from the distant flame, the chains making their rattling, grating noise against the floor. Once his eyes had acclimated to the light he examined the figure in the door.

He was dressed all in grey and was smaller than the other guards. It struck Dante as odd. Perhaps he was from the torture chambers.

Dante slowly sat up and called weakly to the figure "I'm not telling you anything." It hurt to make any noise, he couldn't remember the last time he had anything to wet his throat and it screamed for liquid. Slowly a realization came to him through the fog that his thoughts had been in for hours. It was no guard.

"Henry?" He croaked in disbelief. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. His friend had came to spring him from prison. He hoped to whatever god was looking down on him that it wasn't an illusion. He slowly got to his feet even though his body cried out in protest and looked intently at the door. He smiled for the first time in days. "Henry! I...My god its good to see you." He said in the happiest tone his voice would allow. He decided that it would be best to wait to ask how he got here, but that was a story that he wanted to hear.

[Henry Renold]

Henry placed a finger on his lips, signalling for Dante to keep quiet. He couldn't risk being caught after all the trouble he had gone through to get here.

Within seconds Dante was on his feet, and Henry rushed to his side to steady him- he wasn't sure how strong he would be after the ordeal of the dungeons and the fight with Arthur. Luckily Dante seemed stable enough and Henry got to work on the shackles that bound his wrists and feet. It was lucky that Henry had brought so many lock picks with him, for the first few attempts ended badly. Eventually he figured out the best way to beat the mechanisms inside, and then it was only a few minutes until Dante was free again.

The tormented screams of an agonised victim echoed through the corridor as Henry peaked out, checking for any sign of guards. The problem now was how to collect Dante's belongings without being caught. One look at Dante told him he wasn't going to be the ideal candidate for sneaking in the room, but Henry would still need his help.

"Dante are you strong enough to run?" Henry asked his friend, turning back to face into the cell with a very serious look on his face. His plan was for Dante to cause a distraction outside of the dungeons, in the courtyard, while he hid in the cell. The guards left in the dungeon who weren't unconscious, would be sure to see Dante outside and make an attempt to catch him.
While they were gone he would sneak into the weapons room and reclaim Dante's effects, before escaping. He hoped that Dante would be strong enough to get away, because he didn't expect him to be able to carry two swords and escape unseen.

Still, he explained his plan in full to Dante and waited to see which of them he thought would be best to cause the distraction.

[Dante Grixis]

Dante gave a sigh of relief as his shackles slid off and the weight on his wrists were relieved. He rubbed the cuts and burns on his wrists where heavy iron had been for the past few days. He listened intently to Henry's plan. The boy knew what he was doing. Dante thought about it.

"I can run, but only for a few minutes." He said considering his aching legs. He hoped that he could run long enough for the escape plan to work, for if it failed than he and Henry would be thrown into the dungeon to await hanging. He stretched his sore limbs and cracked the majority of his joints and looked at Henry. From down the corridor he could hear the interrogation intensifying, the victim beginning to spill secrets he never intended to tell. Dante shuddered slightly and asked, "So where do I go now?"

[Henry Renold]

"Right." Henry whispered, thinking. "I think it's best if you sneak out now, while they're still doing the interrogation." He explained how the guards in the main room were out cold, and that the door would open easily from the outside.
"But I've had a better idea about the distraction." He began stripping off his greys. "Put these on and give me your clothes."
With Dante wearing the greys he could hide in plain sight and the guards would never see him unless they within feet of his hiding spot. Rather than call the guards out to capture him, he could merely call for help, say he was being attacked or something- Then hide.
While the guards were distracted, Henry could still collect the swords and escape before the guards gave up and went back inside.
He just hoped Dante wouldn't have the misfortune of being spotted.

"So how does that all sound?"

[Dante Grixis]

Dante nodded in agreement. "Sounds good. I'll meet you in the court yard then." Dante replied. It pained him to think about yelling but if it got him out of here he would suffer through it. He snuck out of his cell and slid out the door into the courtyard just in front of the dungeon.

He scanned the area and found a suitable hiding place among some bushes in an out of the way corner of the courtyard. His adrenaline was pumping, ebbing his pain away. He was glad for this otherwise he wasn't sure if he would've been able to do this or not. He crouched low in the bushes then in the loudest voice he could muster he yelled "Guards! Come quick! Help!" Vague, but enough to warrant an investigation. His throat began to throb after this but he was glad he didn't have to call again as several guards exited the dungeons and began to look around the courtyard.

He crouched lower into the bushes and hoped that Henry was doing okay back inside.

[Henry Renold]

Henry couldn't help but smile when he heard first Dante's voice and then the clanging of armour as the guards went to investigate. Dante had played his part perfectly and now it was his turn.

Walking silently, for he knew that if the other prisoner heard or saw him he would be likely to bargain the information with the guards, Henry walked out of the cell. He pulled the door shut behind him, and used one of his last lock picks to re-lock the door. It would be better for the guards to not know Dante had gone until the morning, for it would mean they couldn't pinpoint the exact moment he was rescued.

The corridor was quiet, save for the soft whimpers of that poor fool in the third cell along. Henry knew that it would be wrong to set him free, for he could be a murderer for all he knew, but it still pained him to hear the sobbing of a full grown man who might be innocent. Ignoring it, Henry finally got to the evidence room, the door was unlocked- clearly the guards were too complacent to think anyone might break in and steal anything- and Henry was able to spot Dante's items straight away. They were, fortunately, all wrapped up in his cloak. Armour, swords- it was all there, and Henry strapped it onto his back where his own sword rested.
The weight made the itchy fabric of Dante's prisoner tunic press harder into Henry's back and he squirmed as it scratched at his skin. He had thought his own tunic and slacks were rough enough, but these clothes were obviously designed to make the wearer feel uncomfortable.

It didn't take long for him to work his way back through the main room of the dungeon and out into the courtyard which was surrounded by the castle on three sides, the other leading down into the city where the nobles resided. He could see the guards on the steps by that unwalled side, clearly at a loss as to where the shouting had come from. Henry himself couldn't see Dante, but the fact that the guards were still searching at least told him Dante hadn't been arrested again.
Eventually deciding that it must have come from within the city, the guards ran down the steps and disappeared from sight, which left Henry to call quietly out to Dante.

[Dante Grixis]

Dante waited for the guards to complete their search. One of them came uncomfortably close to him when he was looking around the area but the greys that Henry had given him worked like magic. The guard went past without a single look back. Dante quietly observed as the guards made their way back into the castle mumbling about false alarms and how the city guard could take care of it.

He remained hidden for another moment before he heard Henry's voice call out quietly to him. He scanned the area and saw his friend, carrying with him all of the things the guards had confiscated. He smiled and slunk over to his friend. "Thank you so much. As one of the monks would say, you're a saint." He whispered to him. He looked around the area. He could tell it was some time past midnight, the guards wouldn't notice he was gone until morning.

"So, where to now?"