"I will go up to the gate," William stated. "Aria, you will have your bow ready and drawn. Suyi, you will stick to the shadows and make your way up on top of the walls. No one attacks until I give the signal. I have to be sure they aren't our men although they don't appear to be. Are we all at an understanding?"

Aria and Suyi nodded their heads. Suyi placed her palm against the dirt, her eyes flashing a glow before the shadow swallowed her whole. William rose to his feet, turning to briefly look at Aria who was readying her bow. Reaching her hand behind her, Aria took an arrow from her quiver and placed it upon the string. William nodded his head before turning back towards the gate. With a deep breath, he calmed her never before taking the first step. 

William approached the gate, his arms crossed as he waited for the metal bars to rise. Silence hung within the air. He looked up at the wall. The palm of his hand rested on the hilt of his sword. A slight breeze pushed at his hair, while his heart sunk deeper with each passing second. The bars never rose. A man upon the walls ran to where the gate was, placing his hand on the edge to look over the wall. With the rise of his sword, he slammed it into the brick wall. The burly man pulled a dagger from his belt, throwing it down at William. Jumping back, William looked up at the man.

He was not familiar. The posture and stance of the man were sloppy, reckless while knights knew footwork and positioning at the highest level. Training in the mornings always started with posture, because one wrong step could be the last. Even though Ike only recently gave the decree to extend that training to guards, they should still know the basics. The man wore no armor with hair that was an untamed mess of brown locks. Crossing his arm over his chest, he drew his sword.

"Who the fuck are you?" The man yelled as he pulled another dagger from his belt as William narrowed his glowing eyes. "You picked a wrong day to get lost!"

"That's all I needed to know," William said quietly. With the snap of his fingers, lightning burst out of his hand. It pushed on the man, tightly wrapping and frying his veins as it traveled through his arm and to his heart.

He watched as Suyi jumped from the shadows, grabbing hold of the wooden wheel so that she may pull at it to raise the gate. A man began to make his way at her. William moved, ready to strike. Yet, before he could an arrow shot into the neck of the man. Blood dripped down his chest like a red river. He held at his neck as he fell over the wall. His body thumped on the ground and distorted. The sounds of scrambling footsteps caught William's attention. Men in the yard rushed around, pushing one another as they reached for their weapons. They turned, some running towards Suyi at the wheel of the gate and others towards the gate.

William walked through the gate. Each step he took sparks glided against the ground, singeing the grass beneath his boots. With his sword in hand, he pressed his thumb against the blade. Lightning shot down to the blade and danced around it. He turned his head towards the bandits. Some took a step back, fearing the glow of his eyes and the lightning that licked around the corner of his eyes.

"Hello," he sang.

With the swing of his sword, bolts launched at one of the men. An agony scream ripped through their lungs. The man fell to his knees, strands of electricity busting from all points of his body, and latched onto those who surrounded him. The other men felt the burning through their veins not enough to kill but to cause them to struggle to raise their swords. William ran up to them. The point of his steel ran through the chest of one.

One man stood. They prepared their sword, raising it above William's back. William grabbed the man that stood at his side. Throwing him, the blade of the bandit behind him struck one of his own. He kicked the man from earlier off his blade. Blood splattered from the withdraw of the blade, covering a side of William's face.

With the sound of a step to his left, William jumped back. A blade swung in front of him. William moved, raising his blade to slice at the man's legs. The bandit fell to his knees. He cried out as he used his arms to hold himself up from touching the painted grass. William stepped behind him. His fingered coiled within the man's hair, jerking for him to raise his head. He moved the sword covered in souls to the man's neck. The man dropped to the ground. The last bandit of the group fell over to his side. With the last thing he saw was William's blade, he ceased to breathe.

With a deep breath, the smell of iron lingered in his nose. And hot liquid dripped down the side of his face and down his tunic. William looked up to Suyi, who had just bashed a man's head into the wooden wheel she still held. Small pitter-patter filled his ears, causing him to look at the gate as Aria ran through. She turned her body and yanked her bowstring back. It took her a second, but she released the arrow upon a man behind Suyi. It went through the man's eye. He screamed and held the back of the arrow. Suyi spun her body, kicking him over the wall. 

William turned towards the wooden doors of the fort, bursting them open and jerking his head to motion Suyi and Aria. Aria ran past, while Suyi fell back into the darkness below her feet. William followed. They ran down the steps, going deeper into the fort.

"Keep a lookout for cells!" William shouted.

Aria nodded her head, kicking down the first door she came across. A heavy table pressed against her body, shoving her back. With adrenaline pumping through him, William slid under the table. Hooking his legs, he knocked over the man to the ground, the back of his head colliding hard with the stone. Aria jumped over the table, drawing her bow and shooting her arrows at the men above the stairs.

Suyi appeared behind them, kicking one down the stairs as Aria's arrows went through the chest of the other. William ran up the stairs, skipping some of the steps. His sword slashed the chest of the man. He limped onto the ground blood spilling from his body.

The three stopped for a moment, looking at the three different paths before them. Each took a different door. Opening it briefly to see where they might lead. Will watched Aria from the corner of his eye, seeing her breathe heavily as she pushed at the door. She let out a sigh, shaking her head at William as her room appeared to simply be a small storage closet full of crates and sacks that overflowed with vegetables. Suyi's cursed when she opened the door before her. William and Aria looked over, plugging their noses when a heavy smell of fecal matter and piss crossed the air.

William opened a door before him, peering down the stairs that descended into darkness. Snapping his fingers, sparks landed onto a nearby torch causing it to ignite. He ripped it from the wall, and without a thought, he went down the steps. Aria and Suyi stayed above.

Reaching the bottom of the steps, dust flew from the weight of his boots. Looking around, his nose tickled from the dust in the air. Iron bars and chambers surrounded the rooms. Touching the bar, a sticky feeling from the webs coated his fingers. A foul smell filled the air, causing his nose to crinkle. He brought the torch closer, peering down at the rag-like bed soaked with a deep red stain.

"Please, I've already done what you asked today."

A voice called out from the end of the hall. William walked down the narrow hall, passing cells with lumps in the darkness. He didn't wish to think what the lifeless structures in the cells were. When he reached the end, a figure moved at the very corner of a cell. The figure wept from the sight of the light. William held the torch closer, noticing the insignia of a faded silver fox on his back.

"You're a knight," William said. His words caused the man to look over his shoulder. His checks were hallowed, some of his toes were clearly missing. Dark purple spots covered his feet, some of which leaked a green puss.

William held his hand near the lock, causing a pulse of lightning to eat at the iron. The disheveled man looked with wide eyes at what William was doing. He crawled towards the cell door, his bone-like fingers emerging from the darkness.

"Ser Underhill?" he questioned while reaching out his hand.

A loud crash caused them both to jump. Jerking his head, he looked near the stairs where Aria fell onto her side. His heart dropped the moment he saw her, limp before lifting her head. A boot jabbed into her side. She slid on the floor, crashing her back against one of the cells. William dropped his hands. Just as he was about to attack, the fragile hand gripped his wrist.

"It's too late for her," he pleaded. "Save me before he comes our way!"

A tall man stepped towards Aria. His dark skin was covered with what appeared like rock, and his eyes glowed a yellow. Towering over Aria, he wrapped his hand around her neck, pulling her off the ground. Rising her above, her legs squirmed. Her fingers clawed at his arms. The sounds of her gasping for air haunted William's ears.

With knuckles white with fury, William raised his sword. The man turned his head. It only took one word to emit from the man's hoarse voice.

"Kneel."

William's body blazed with burning fire. He felt pressure wrap around him. Forced to his knees, he looked up at the man. Invisible hands held him down, forcing him to watch as Aria struggled to break free. The man lifted his other hand, pointing at her and then at William.

"You will feel what she feels," he whispered.

William's windpipe began to crush. He reached for his neck, gasping for air. A weight fell over him. The more he tried to move the heavier he felt like his body was beginning to completely crush.

Aria latched her leg onto the man's arm. He jerked back to her, squeezing more tightly. She threw her weight onto his arm. Her body turned around his arm, twisting it. He released his grip and William breathed once more. 

Suyi dropped down from the ceiling, placing her staff under the man's jaw while hooking her legs on his shoulders. With a scream, she yanked the staff back. He leaned back. Unhooking her legs, she jumped from him without removing her staff. With another jerk, the man fell to the ground. With the tap of the staff to the ground, she pulled his head into the shadows. His body jerked a few times with muffled screams before stopping completely.

Suyi stepped over the body, snatching the ring of keys from his belt. Running past William, she began to try each key on the lock of the cell where the knight was. William rose himself, quickly finding himself at Aria's side.

"Can you stand?" William asked as he pulled her arm over his shoulder. The two rose off the ground as Aria's hand covered her side.

"Yes," she said. Her arm fell from him, dropping to her side. "I can keep going."

A click bounced off the walls and Suyi threw open the cell door. She pulled the corpse of a man from the cell, practically carrying him as he hobbled out with her. His long and tangled hair was a mess that resembled vines. William noticed his shaking legs that were bone-thin.

How did you even manage to hold a quill?

"Suyi," William addressed. "Take him back to where we tied the horses and wait for us there. Guard him and try to use your magic so you're not seen leaving."

"You might want to hold your breath," Suyi said as she turned to the knight. He nodded his head, taking in a breath as they sunk into the darkness below.

William turned around, looking at Aria who leaned against the wall. He watched as her chest rose heavily while she straightened herself. Her eyes squeezed shut as she gripped at her side. She looked up at him. For a moment, they didn't speak. Everything felt slow to William as if Imir had forced him to notice her in particular from the arm gripping her side to the smell of blood on her clothes. A small breath escaped through his nose, causing a small noise to leave his throat. He began to step around her, yet was stopped by her arm grabbing his.

"What are we about to do?" she asked. Although with a void of emotion in her words and the tightening of her hand, it didn't feel like a question. "You sent Suyi away. Are we going to return as well?"

Aria's head looked towards the floor, but he kept his gaze on her even if she didn't do the same. Reaching over, he placed his hand over hers. She jumped, looking at the hand she kept on his arm. William looked down at her, noticing how her other hand was a shaking fist, and her leg tapped on the ground.

"What answer are you hoping I'll say?" William returned her words with a question. Pushing his hand away, she dropped her arm from him. "Aria."

She turned in her heels, and walked up the stairs out of the darkness but not out of the one growing in her heart. As the two made their way past the bodies, William watched her rigid movement. At the entrance of the fort, he noticed her eyes wander. He could feel the darkness that touched her heart. When she turned away from him, he saw the void of hatred brewing within the cool green of her eyes.

He looked down at her feet, noticing her toes pointed towards the other doors. Her fingers tapped against the hilt of her daggers. She wants to kill them all. Sheathing his sword, he slowly made his way to her. Just as she was about the pounce, William wrapped his arm over her body. He harnessed the animal within, who was ready to bare its fangs. Aria turned her head towards him, gritting her teeth at him. With a jerk, he gripped her shoulders and turned her to him.

"Your rage is going to be your death," he scolded. She turned away from him, pushing his arm away as she mumbled to herself. "Do you think what I said was some sort of joke? Believe me, I thought of it too. They killed men I knew here. But be sensible, there is no way we can take on all of them."

"Are you really about to leave any of them potentially alive in those other rooms?" Aria shouted. "What if they tell him?"

"He already knows!" William yelled as he grabbed her arm. Yanking down her sleeve, he exposed the tattoo on her arm. "Or have you already forgotten."

Aria shoved him away, pulling down the sleeve. A fake laugh let her as she turned towards the doors. She turned back to him, gripping his arms as she pulled him down to look at her. She spoke through her teeth.

"This is war."

"Not yet," he interrupted.

"Yes it is," she pleaded once more. "Look around you. They took your fort. They killed your guards and knights, people you said you knew. Is this how the treaty was supposed to go? Aldrich is playing the game and he's made moves before you had a chance."

William looked around the darkroom. He pulled his hand back, placing one of them over Aria who still held at his arm. A sigh left him as his mind raced. Aria took a step closer to him.

"You know I'm right," she said. "He's done this for too long. Let's play a move. Take back the fort and gain an upper hand again."

Clapping filled their ears, causing the two to look at the doors behind them. Through the archways, men stared back at them. They held their weapons over their shoulders as dogs on chains growled and bark. Aria stepped away from William, moving her hands to her daggers 

One of them raised their arm, causing the one with the dogs to reach for the chains around their necks. Laughing was heard within Aria and William's ears, as the crowd cheer while one of them slowly undid the chains. William heard the blood rushing behind his ears as a cold sweat fell over him.

"Aria," William whispered while motioning his blade to be so that she's behind him. "We'll do as you say since we don't have a choice right now. But, promise me if we need to pull back you will."

His eyes began to glow. The beasts licked their lips with their eyes trained on Aria. A scar was over the eye of one of the dogs, giving it a blind eye and a weakness in William's eyes. He drew his blade, running his fingers over the steel as he transferred his bolts of electricity to his sword. The barking of the dogs was all that he focused on. The sounds of rattling chains grew faster as the man finally lifted them from the neck of the beats. With another growl, they sprinted towards Aria and William.

Hello guys! Chapter twenty-one is here and it's action-packed. I hope you guys enjoyed it and I'm sorry to leave it on a cliffhanger, but it seemed fitting. *evil laughter ensues.* I'll see you guys next update!