Private Tales Behind the Mask

[Wren Kingsley]

Wren stopped and ran her fingers through her hair, lacing them behind her head as she turned back to him to huff. "And then?..." her brow arched. "And what if that 'and then' you're talking about goes tits up?.. It's too high risk, Valren.

She looked like she was considering throwing up, her stomach fluttered nauseously and she felt the saliva thicken at the back of her throat and a cold sweat bloom on her milky skin. "I don't think I can do this.." her head shook and she cast her gaze toward the heavens as though asking for another answer.

"I need to get him out of there.." she frowned and closed her eyes, her guilt only making her feel worse. The main question was, would she give herself up for someone who had risked everything for her.. Her jaw clenched and she let out a bratty grumble..

"I don't have a choice do I?...." she let her arms flop by her side and paced, rubbing at her clammy brow and muttering to herself. "No you fucking don't.."

 

[Val]

Val simply stood there as he watched Wren have an internal argument with himself. After the first question he had decided that he didn't really want him to answer, and thus he simply let her have the discussion with herself.

When she asked her last, he shrugged. "I don't have any other ideas."

He wasn't entirely sure what else to say on the subject. Truth was that he didn't actually know if even this plan would work. In his eyes...Theon was probably fucked no matter what they tried to actually do, but if she wanted to try he would.

"Look." Val said as he stepped forward.

"No matter what..." He looked awkward for a moment, then spoke. "I promise I won't leave you in there."

 

[Wren Kingsley]

Wren stopped and looked at him, she wasn't sure what to make of the promise, she wasn't accustomed to trusting people easily, especially not people like Valren. Her expression shifted through each emotion, confusion, anger, fear and she settled on frustration. "You can't keep that promise. We'll be outnumbered, we don't know by how many. I'm in enough trouble as it is, I've managed to keep myself unseen for this long and I'm --.." she stopped herself and clenched her fists.. It was a pointless worry. She didn't have a choice.

"It doesn't matter. I need to get him out and if that's the only way we can at least try then fine." she walked back toward him.. "And if it's a choice of getting one of us out - he has a family. I'm not leaving him in there to die." her brow rose, ensuring he understood before she'd huff and nod in agreement whilst her heart palpitated in her chest.

 

[Val]

"You forget." He shrugged. "I'm Valren Damyr."

Walking in there and springing Theon wasn't as simple as it was made out to be, and if he went there and tried to give orders his father would surely find out. The moment he did such a thing his identity would be burned and just like she he would be a wanted criminal.

Yet if he had to?

If he had to he could practically Fire the Warden if he wanted to. "I can get both of you out if it comes to it."

It would just mean that he would lose every noble connection he had. Not a bad thing her eye probably, but it would also mean he'd lose out on what ended up being his most valuable scores. Information was worth almost as much as gold, and he got far more gold on the inside than he would out.

"Let's go." He told her. "I have a few horses, if you don't have your own."

 

[Wren Kingsley]

Every time a man reminded a woman of his name in the world, a woman rolled her eyes. Wren was no exception. She ignored his reassurance, she'd already made herself clear, and there was nothing more that she could do than trust him, whether she liked it or not..

"I have my own." she muttered quietly and walked back toward the trees with a click of her tongue, and the massive black friesian stepped out to meet her with a few enthusiastic nods of his head. She ran a hand down his nose and quickly climbed up into the saddle to pull along side Valren, quietly lost in her thoughts as she followed his lead.

"I've been in here once before..." she told him quietly. "I was sixteen. Father thought it'd teach me a lesson, but when he realised just how much I'd stolen from him over the years he left me in there for six months in the lower levels.." she frowned, recalling how silent and pitch black it had been, so much so that light and sound were painful when she'd been let out. She adjusted her collar as her skin flushed hotly with a feeling of panic again..

 

[Val]

What a terrible father. Val thought to himself, though in truth his own likely would have done the exact same thing.

Perhaps terrible parentage just ran through Oban.

His fingers tightened on the reigns for a moment as he considered what it might mean to reveal himself finally. He would be out in the cold. His father would hunt him and most of Oban's nobility would vilify him. It would be a life out in the dark.

He wondered if he could still get laid.

"I'm sorry that happened to you." Val said, not a hint of mockery in his voice. "This place...no one should suffer through it."

Not even for six months.

 

[Wren Kingsley]

Wren's brows knit at his apology and she shot him a glance that said she very much doubted he was 'sorry' at all, nor did she expect him to be. "I wasn't looking for pity.. I just need you to understand that i'd rather you put a bolt in my neck than let me be dragged back in there." she told him, her voice void of amusement.

"They'll expect you to hand me over at the gates.. You'll need a story." she huffed and her head fell back to mutter to herself again.. "I can't believe i'm even considering this.." she groaned.

 

[Val]

"Neither will happen." He told her firmly, his voice as command as a general standing over a battlefield.

There were few things in this world that Val truly believed it. One of them was justice. True justice. Not the type dealt by his father and the King, but true justice. Wren might have been a murderer, might have been a pain in the ass, but she didn't deserve prison.

Even if she had tried to kill him. "I know how to deal with people like that."

Val assured her.

"I'll be a Bounty hunter, caught you in the forest. Want my reward in full." The Guards wouldn't have it. "Won't release you till i have every last pence. They'll have to wake the warden for that."

Then they would get inside.

Easy enough. "Oban Law is pretty strict in those regards."

He had been forced to study the law for most of his adult life, his father having always intended for him to follow in his footsteps. Small chance of that now.

 

[Wren Kingsley]

She glanced at him, unable to see him clearly in the darkness lit only by a few stars as the moon disappeared behind the cloud, but she heard the confidence in his tone well enough and her lips twitched into some semblance of a smile. She had trouble trusting people and she knew that, but she had good reason to. Right now though, she didn't have much choice but to believe his word and trust his judgement.

"Right.." she agreed quietly, her usual harsh confidence in her tone waning and betraying her fear and uncertainty as he relayed his plans..

Silence was a poison to Wren's mind, she could never fall into it for long without talking to herself, and so she was grateful for the sounds of their horses' hooves thudding into the ground as they travelled every-closer to the prison. When it came into view she paused, tugging back gently on the friesian's reins, and the hooves stammered on the ground and her heart mimicked the beat in her chest. It seemed to be waiting there for her to find her way back to it, and she'd tried desperately to stay as far away from it as possible, until now.

She pulled in a deep breath and held it for a moment before letting it out and slipping down from her saddle.. "You'll be wanting to bind me I suppose." she muttered dryly as she tied her reins to a low branch just off the road..

 

[Val]

Val slipped from his own saddle, stepping over towards Wren with a nod of his head. From the satchel on his side he pulled a length of cord.

There was nothing threatening about it, but the way he held the cord told the story that he was used to holding the length of rope. He frowned for a brief moment, glancing at the mask that hung from his saddle before he motioned to her. "Behind your back."

Most hunters did tied the hands behind the back and not the front, kept the hunted from actually being able to break free more easily.

"I'll use a Bargain knot." Val told her as he began to tie her wrists together. "There will be a slight bump of the rope, push it in and the knot will come free."

She would feel the tug of cord around her skin. "Don't do that unless you have to though..."

Otherwise they'd both be corpses.

 

[Wren Kingsley]

Wren pulled in another breath as she stood with her back to him and held her wrists together. He had no idea the amount of trust she was placing in him right now. She ran her fingertips over her palms, they were already hot and clammy and she let the breath she'd been holding back out slowly as he spoke and nodded quickly in understanding.

"I really hope you know what you're doing, Valren..." she sighed softly and turned her head to look back at him over her shoulder as he tugged at the cord. She could see him better now that he was closer to her, and she wasn't making any effort to hide the fear on her face. If he got the three of them out of there alive, no amount of gold would repay him, not in her mind.

 

[Val]

"Trust me." He imagined that the words were next to useless when he said them to her, but Val decided to say them anyway. With a gentle touch he pulled her over to his horse, taking a bit more rope and lashing it around her hips before tying it to his saddle.

"I'll go slow." He asusred her a he pulled himself up into the Saddle and donned the mask. "Just...don't say anything as we approach."

With that he kicked the horse and began the last mile trek towards the prison.

It was just as bleak as he remembered it of course. A darkness still clung to the sky, made worse by the clouds clinging high up in the sky. They seemed to look there threateningly, slowly floating up above as if following along to deliberately obscure any light that the moon might have to offer. Val sat rigid in his saddle as the prison gate approached, his lips thin as he raised a hand and waved.

There was a loud creaking, a light casting over him as some sort of magic lamp was brought down onto him. "I'm here to collect my reward for this bitch!"

He called up from behind his mask.

 

[Wren Kingsley]

"Trust me, he says as he ties me up.." she muttered to herself. Wren didn't even trust herself let alone anyone else. Regardless, she gave another nod as she looked up at him, and she walked along side him. Dread owned her, pushing against her like an invisible gale, attempting to reverse her steps back to where she'd agreed to this insanity. Her stomach locked up tight, and her teeth clenched tight together, the sound of her heartbeat loud in her ears as it pounded with futility against it's cage of bone.

She was silent as they approached, and Wren's gaze remained downcast, having lost the courage necessary for her to look up at the looming hell in front of her. It wasn't difficult for her to look terrified, because it wasn't an act at all. Slowly, she lifted her face and squinted against the light of the lamp, letting the guards see who the bounty hunter had brought for them..

"Open the gates!" she heard one of them call, and they clunked and the sound of rattling chains and creaking wood caused her breathing to pitch.

 

[Val]

Val turned his head up towards the gate, glancing at Wren for just a brief few seconds before frowning and then kicking the horse forward.

The guards on the inside of the prison almost immediately surrounded them. There were six on total in the courtyard already, three of them held spears and the other three had swords already drawn. Two stepped towards Wren as soon as they passed through the gate. "I wouldn't do that."

Val said with a scowl, his voice half-distorted through the mask.

Two of the guards stopped immediately, but a third didn't heed his word. The 'bounty-hunter' scowled, and then reached for something on his belt. He flicked his wrist, and then there was a loud thunk as the guard suddenly found himself struck in the head with a pebble.

"Shit for brains." He called to the guard as he slipped out of his saddle. "No one touches her till i get my money."

"Who do you think you a-"​

"Get the Warden you incompetent little shit." He spoke with such authority and strength that the soldiers glanced at one another, a frown touching each of their faces until one of them whispered a command and then quickly ran off towards the gatehouse.

 

[Wren Kingsley]

Wren's chest rose and fell in quick succession, sharp puffs of air through her nose as she watched the men approach her with a venomous scowl on her face, ready to bite if any of them dared touch her. She struggled against the bindings and clenched her jaw, she didn't have to fake her fear, but she couldn't look like she'd come willingly.

She remained silently glaring, and cast a look up at Val as he requested the warden's presence. A shudder ran through her, followed swiftly with a cold sweat as her pulse spiked with fear and doubt.

What the fuck was she doing?...

 

[Val]

The guard returned after a few seconds, Val having taken a few steps to stand in front of Wren. The rope that had been tied to his saddle was now clasped within his hands, fingers holding the lead tight as he looked towards the five remaining soldiers.

He was pretty confident that he could have killed them all if it came to it, though of course the real problem were those on the walls. A frown touched his lips for a moment, and he had to force himself not to reach towards his sword.

"Hunter."

A gruff voice called to him from the left, and slowly he turned his head. A large Guard with a sergeants mark on his chest motioning for him. "Come on."

Val said as he yanked on the leash and pulled Wren towards the gatehouse where the sergeant stood.

The next few moments was filled with the Val, Wren, and the Sergeant winding their way through the gatehouse and the prison beyond. Screaming, yelling, and angry outbursts echoed out as they walked, distant prisoners screeching of their freedoms and rage.

It took them near fifteen minutes to reach the Warden's office at the top of the central tower, the heavy door still laying shut as they came to it. Val shot Wren a muted glance, fingers flittering at his side.

 

[Wren Kingsley]

Val would feel a pull on the cord as he led her toward the gatehouse, emerald orbs wide with panic as they reflected the flickering light of the torches by the doors. As he pulled her, she followed, and tried to keep her eyes on the ground as she felt the walls slowly close in on her. Every screech and yell echoed, and her mind cast her back. She couldn't breathe, and she stopped again, more than once, feeling as though an anvil sat on her chest.

She could feel her muscles quivering in fear. That was what this place done to her, what her father had done to her, how pathetic it was, she thought, to be reduced to a quivering wreck at the thought of four walls. Her breaths came in short, shallow rasps, but there was no way she could turn back now and Theon was still in here somewhere..

As she felt Val's glance she lifted her eyes, her skin impossibly pale and glistening with sweat in the torchlight. Was she?... Yep.

She vomited.

 

[Val]

Val felt a pang of sympathy, but all he said was one word. "Gross."

The sergeant moved to step forward and strike her, clearly angry that she would dare puke on the door. Val quickly grabbed the man's arm, his face stern enough that one could almost feel his gaze from beneath the eyeslits of the mask.

"Not until I get my money." He growled. "Bruises can take a few coins off the top in my experience."

The sergeant looked at him, looked to Wren, and then growled.

"WHAT IS TAKING YOU SO LONG?"

A voice that might as well have been a shriek echoed through the door, and Val let go of the sergeant and motioned for the man to turn around and open the door.

"You can do whatever you want when I get my money." A frown touched the other mans face, but he jerked his head and then pulled open the wooden door. Beyond it lay the Warden's office, a circular room with large windows overlooking the prison. A large wooden desk sat in the center of it all, and positioned behind it was a small smarmy man that held more features in common with a rat than he did a man.

 

[Wren Kingsley]

Wren's body wretched and she coughed and tried to pull in desperate breaths when she noticed the sergeant approach her with purpose. She couldn't have done anything to stop him striking her and so she squinted slightly as she braced herself for the hit that never came. She blinked and looked between the two men, fully expecting the sergeant to take offence to being blocked like that.

She leaned against the wall and tried as best as she could to pull herself together, but breathing was still proving to be a difficult task and tears filled her eyes as her head fell back to loosen the invisible hand that wrapped around her throat.

Reluctantly, she followed as the door was opened, and her eyes met the black, beady eyes of the man who sat at his desk, grinning from ear to ear. The warden had always made her skin crawl, and she didn't bother to hide the disdain on her face as she stared back at him..

"Look a little happier to see me wouldn't you?.." she spat sarcastically with a sneer and pulled against her rope.

 

[Val]

The Sergeant took another step forward.

"Don't worry about that little tongue of hers, Sergeant."​

There was a distinct squeak to the way that the rat-like Warden spoke. His features were bent and angular, something...wrong about them that Val couldn't quite put his finger on. Lips thinned for a brief second, and he was glad for the mask hiding his face.

"She'll lose it soon enough."​

A cackle echoed from the man's throat. "Not before I get paid."

Val broke in, deciding to cut the moment before the warden snapped his attention to the Bounty Hunter. Eyes narrowed for a moment, and he waved dismissively.

"Yes Yes. Bring her here first."​

For a moment Val looked back at Wren, and then he gently tugged on the leash. Fingers tightened for a moment, drifting close to one of the Knives on his belt.

They only had one shot at this, and he just hoped Wren would follow his lead.

"The King will grant me land for this. Hell, a title. I'll finally be able to go to those parties those rich little shits try to keep me out of. Hehehe."​

 

[Wren Kingsley]

Wren's eyes burned with sheer hatred of the smarmy little man as he spoke, she remembered that throaty cackle and her stomach lurched again.. "Fuck you." she growled in response to his threads. She couldn't help herself, but if she was anything but mouthy then she wouldn't be herself.

She felt Val's glance at her, she could see his fingers move in her peripheral as he guided her closer to the warden and she followed with another irate yank on the cord that bound her as she approached him. She was shaking from the panic of being here, and her fingertips tumbled over the bump in the knot behind her back as she tried to calm her ragged breaths, her eyes fixed on the grinning man in front of her.

"Are you sure?.." she leaned in toward him with a whisper, her lips twitching into the smallest of smirks.

 

[Val]

Val glanced towards the warden for a few moments.

This had been his plan from the very beginning. There had been no possible way for them to make it through most of the facility safely, specifically because of the Warden. The man would likely throw Wren in the darkest dungeon he could find.

That was of course unless there was what? A riot.

What was the best way to start a riot? Making sure that there was absolutely no control. "Yep."

"Wha-"

The Warden didn't have time to finish the sentence before Val suddenly drew the knife from his vest and tossed it into the air. If Wren was fast enough she would be able to catch the blade and use it, Val ignoring it as he drew his own sword and went for the Sergeant.

In two quick steps he closed the distance between himself and the other man, sword flashing from it's scabbard and slicing into flesh.

 

[Wren Kingsley]

The second Valren spoke, the cord fell loose around her wrists as he'd promised, and Wren's hand swiped the blade from the air and wasted no time at all in slamming it into the warden's neck and they both gasped. Contrary to belief, Wren had only killed one person in her life. She'd attempted to kill one more, and she'd injured plenty, but murder wasn't something she was accustomed to. But in this situation, the need to kill the smarmy man who'd spiked fear into her younger self paired with her need to get out of here alive was desperate. He wasn't a kind man, he enjoyed tormenting and torturing people. He enjoyed frightening sixteen year old girls when they were terrified enough. She didn't feel sorry, and she smiled at the look of shock on his vermin like face.

The man gripped desperately for his blade, but Wren twisted the blade and yanked it out with a spray of blood and watched him crumple and fall, twitching to the ground. She took a couple of breaths, unable to take her eyes from him or hear anything but the pounding of her heart in her ears for a short moment.

"Move Wren.." she muttered to herself and wiped at the blood on her face with the back of her wrist before casting Val a look, and moving to the Warden's desk to rummage for his keys.

"Got them, let's go.."

 

[Val]

"Wait." Val said as he raised a hand towards Wren with a quick motion of caution.

The sergeant had tumbled onto the ground with a heavy thud, his face a malign visage of pain and torture as blood slowly seeped into the carpet below. He was not the first man that Val had killed, and the young noble knew that he wouldn't be the last either.

Fingers tightened for a brief moment, his weight shifting from one foot to the other as he took half a step back and moved towards the wardens desk.

"Keys are fine, but we need a distraction." Val didn't even give a second look to the Warden. "There should be a switch, something...my father once told me the mages here had an alarm of some sort."

He told her. "Would make everyone go a little..insane."

At least he hoped.

 

[Wren Kingsley]

Wren froze as he told her to wait and she frowned at him in confusion - she didn't want to spend a single second longer in this place than she had to. "Switch?...Oh." Her hands went instinctively to her ears and she shook her head.. She looked like she belonged curled up in a corner rocking back and forth, it'd been exactly what she'd done every day she'd been locked in here.

"No no no no.." her eyes closed and she paced with her head bowed and hands running into hair. "We're not going to get out of here.." she gasped quietly, her breathing ragged as she looked down at the wide eyed corpse of the warden.. "Fuck.. What the fuck have I done?" . She was spiralling..

"Shit.." she muttered and looked around at the walls that seemed to move. "Valren.." she gasped in panic, already moving toward the door.