"Gwen, please."

Kai gasped, his body pulled flush against the cell bars. Pure anger coursed through Gwen's body towards her brother. How could he have betrayed her like that? He was supposed to protect her.

A warm hand was placed on her arm, coaxing her to drop Kai's arm. She looked back to find Xander standing behind her. His blue eyes were kind and understanding, but he held her arm firmly.

"We have to do this now Gwen," Xander said, his voice gruff. Gwen let out a shaky breath, pushing her anger away until they were safely out of the castle. Void of emotion, she turned to Xander.

"What do we do?" she asked, voice hollow.

Xander turned, exchanging a glance with Jennings. He dropped her arm and moved towards the cells, Jennings a step behind him. He drew himself up straight to address the rebels. As he started talking, the panicked murmur of the rebels ceased to a complete anticipatory quiet.

"We can get you all out," Xander announced, "But we'll have to fight our way out. There is no way for us to do this quietly--there are too many of you. I will create a distraction in another part of the castle while Jennings guides you out."

Gwen stood behind him, listening intently to Xander's plan, before one of the rebels interrupted.

"But what about the gates?" A burly man at the front of one of the cells shouted out. "They're always closed and guarded from both sides!"

Mutters of dissent began to flood through the room, doubts and fears running rampant. The noise rose and rose into hysteria until Xander cleared his throat loudly. The control over the group that Xander had was astounding to Gwen. With one word he could calm a room of angry rebels.

"Gwen will be in charge of securing the gates," Xander replied. "The guards still trust her, and Prince Rowan has given the guards special instructions regarding her." Gwen whipped towards Xander, eyes narrowed.

"He what?" she asked, her voice dangerously low. "What special instructions?"

Xander shook his head, blowing off her questions. "It doesn't matter now, we're getting out of here. Anyways," he continued. "There are usually four guards at the gates, and you'll have to take them out to control the gates. The rest of the palace guards around the entrance should be pulled away from my distraction."

"What's the distraction?" someone near the back shouted.

Xander looked around the room, his eyes twinkling mischievously. The previously serious leader transformed into a devilish troublemaker before their eyes.

"You'll find that out soon enough," he said, face pulled into a smirk. "Now," he said, a serious look returning to his face. "We don't have much time. Jennings will wait with the rebels while I set the distraction. Gwen, head to the guard tower and wait for my signal to dispatch the guards."

"What's the signal?" Gwen asked, startled that she would be given such an important duty so quickly.

"You'll know it when you see it." Xander grinned at her, before taking off down the dimly lit hallways.

Gwen looked around, meeting the hopeful eyes of a hundred rebels. With this move she would be going against everything she had ever worked for. There was no turning back now; the plan had been put into action and everyone was ready to move. After being in the castle for so long and seeing the cruelty of its rulers, she knew deep down that she was doing the right thing.

Gwen sighed, wishing things could be different. Why couldn't she live in a world where she was able to do something she loved, for a cause she truly believed in? The pain of her back was a constant reminder of what the Kingdom stood for.

Finally ready to make her move against the King, Gwen caught Jennings eyes. He shot her a small smile, obviously surprised she was turning her back on the Guard. He had been around her since she had arrived at the castle. He had listened to her talk his ear off about how noble a cause she was working for.

Jennings nodded at her, signaling her to begin her journey to the guard tower. She spared one last look at her brother, and found him staring at her, his eyes filled with pride. Gwen spun away, not giving Kai a chance to speak to her.

Gwen marched up the levels of the castle, trying her best not to take in her luxurious surroundings. She avoided looking at anything that would bring her the pang in her chest she felt every time she remembered something she would be leaving behind.

Just as she was about to turn the corner into the entryway where the rebels had attacked, she ran into a tall, solid body. Gwen froze, trying to keep her face from giving anything away. She looked up slowly, her eyes meeting those of Rowan.

Her mouth immediately dry, she fumbled for a moment, trying to find something to say to him. Rowan looked equally as uncomfortable, leaving them standing in silence.

"I-I have to-" Gwen paused, try to think of something to say to him that would get her away from him quickly. She couldn't have him following her to the gates; he would spoil the entire plan.

"There's an execution," Rowan blurted out, sounding much less flustered than she had. He ran his hand through his dark hair, looking down at her uncomfortably. "I have to change."

Gwen paused, looking at him quizzically. "Change for what?" she asked, temporarily forgetting her mission.

"The execution," he repeated slowly. "It's public, I have to-" he broke off, looking at her nervously. His eyes roamed across her body, looking anywhere but at her face.

"Right," Gwen muttered. Of course he would have to be at the execution. He would sit there, watching and doing nothing as a hundred innocent people were killed. "Well, have fun," she spat at him harshly. He nodded; mouth turned down into a frown and turned from her, heading towards the royal family's wing of the castle.

Gwen exhaled loudly, her shoulders relaxing. She hurried the rest of the way out to the tower, hoping she hadn't somehow missed Xander's signal. The large metal gates loomed overhead as she reached the base.

Gwen instinctively scanned her surroundings, noting each guard on duty at the front of the castle. There was a guard on each side of the gate: one monitoring the people leaving and one scrutinizing the people requesting access to the castle. There was an additional guard stationed at the actual entrance to the castle and another two up in the guard tower that controlled the large mechanized gate. The gate stood open, allowing people in and out with little trouble.

Gwen approached the guard at the base of the tower, a smile plastered on her face.

"Hi," she said nonchalantly. "I was just wondering if I could get up in the tower--you know, easy training until this is healed." She grinned at the guard hopefully, lifting her injured arm as proof.

"I don't know," the guard said hesitantly. "We don't usually do training for the gates until around a year after the trials."

She could tell he recognized her from her trial, and shot him what she hoped was a convincingly disappointed look.

"Are you sure?" she asked "Because Rowan said-" she giggled, feigning embarrassment. "I mean Prince Rowan said it would be fine."

The guard nodded slowly. "Well if the Prince approved it, I suppose it would be fine."

Gwen shot him a pleased smile, her insides writhing. She hated exploiting her previous connection with the Rowan to manipulate people. She felt like she hadn't earned anything she had gotten, and it was all because the Prince had taken a strange interest in her.

She made her way quickly up into the tower, her sword swinging at her side. She explained her story to the two guards in the tower, before taking a place against a wall where she had a clear view of the castle.

She waited for almost half of an hour before any sign of commotion within the castle appeared. Around fifty Wyverns rose into the sky behind the castle, their vastness filling the sky and their wings beating like a hundred hearts in the heavens. Gwen squinted to get a better idea of what was happening.

She gaped at the beauty of the scene in front of her. The bright colors of the Wyverns were vivid against the dull grey of the clouds. It wasn't even a fraction of the number of beasts the kingdom controlled, but it was enough to do quite a bit of damage.

It was funny, Gwen thought, how the beauty of these dangerous beasts could strike in times of horror.

Just as Xander had predicted, two of the five guards took off running towards the castle, leaving Gwen to deal with three. The two guards in the tower crowded towards the window, blocking her view.

With their backs turned to her, the guards would be easy targets. The only problem would be taking them out without making too much noise. Alerting any other guards to their struggle could be fatal to the mission.

Gwen raised her sword above her head, and brought the hilt down sharply into the back of the first guard's head. He dropped like a stone, unconscious immediately. The second guard turned to face her, bewilderment across his face. He raised his sword, still hesitant to engage in a fight with her. Whatever Rowan had told them had a very strong effect on the guards.

Gwen lunged towards him, the tip of her sword grazing his side before he reacted, parrying her blow. In the confined space of the tower Gwen had the advantage over the skilled guard. He was much larger than her, which made it almost impossible for him to move around.

Reluctant to kill the guard, Gwen held him off until she caught him off balance and was able to knock his sword from his hand. Due to his size, Gwen was unable to perform the same move as she had on the other guard. She spun towards him and threw an elbow into his gut. He doubled over, gasping for air and she was able to generate enough force to knock him out as well.

His body made a dull thump as it hit the ground. Realizing she was running out of time she peered out the window. The third guard was nowhere in sight. She scanned the grounds for him and found him making his way around the back of the castle. He must have abandoned his post to assist with the escaped Wyverns.

Finally, after waiting anxiously in the tower, the doors of the castle burst opened. At the front of the group stood Kai and Jennings, leading them towards the gates. Gwen held her hand on the lever, waiting for the moment when the rebels were through the gate and she could close it behind them.

To Gwen's horror, right as the last rebel escaped the castle, an even larger group of guards emerged behind them. A line of archers appeared on the roof and drew their bows, aiming at the fleeing prisoners. Gwen gazed down at the scene, picking Xander out near the back of the crowd.

They grew closer and closer to the gates, but rebels kept falling to the piercing arrows of the guard. The rest of the guards were too close behind the rebels for her to wait any longer, the gate would take too long to close.

Gwen's panic rose, and in a moment of desperation she pulled the lever. The gate groaned loudly as it began to creak closed. Gwen raced down the tower stairs, she had only moments before she would be trapped between the guards and the solid iron gate.

Catching her balance at the bottom of the stairs Gwen slipped beneath the gates. Close behind her Gwen felt the bodies of the rebels press against the gates, a few slipping through after her.

The gate clanged shut, and the force of heavily armed guards met the group of weaponless rebels. Then the screaming began. 

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Thank you so much for anyone still reading this, I actually can't believe I've gotten so far in this story. This is my favourite chapter so far I think, so I hope you enjoyed it. Vote and comment!

xoxo Emma