39 || Forever Bound Together
It was simple. At least, their second attempt at breaking into Celnaer Castle couldn't go further south than it had the last time. All the necromancer and the Fireborn needed to do was wait for the perfect opportunity to enact the plan.
Morana had counted the time between shift patterns for the guards on the back wall since the crack of dawn, mumbling a stringed haze of numbers under her breath as they lay flat beneath the foliage.
The majority of the castle's protection was at the front gates, searching through carriages from the guests attending the ball later that evening.
It would be a travesty if there were a stowaway inside, after all.
After the third cycle, she was confident she had a good estimate of how long they had to climb their way inside.
Morana pulled her mask back over her face and tugged her hood further onto her head. "You ready, fire boy?"
"No," Damian replied with shaky breaths. His complexion had lost its vibrancy, as if a phantom had possessed him. "Are you sure there's no other way to do this?"
"We talked through my other ideas yesterday and all of them had flaws.
I can't pretend to be a guard again because they definitely would have heightened their checks after my last attempt.
Sneaking in through a carriage has already been proven to be a bad idea.
Storming in through an entrance and killing people will just blow our cover.
" She reached down to her belt to make sure everything was still there.
A pouch of bone shards, an infuriating Necromancer's Tome, a dagger or three, and several bundles of rope were all secured with straps and buckles waiting to be used.
"But you're sure this is going to work?"
"Of course I am." Her hand snuck into his for a comforting moment.
"We're going to get you into the library first so you can hide.
If you get caught there, it won't be the end of the world.
You're meant to be in the castle.
Then, when you're safe," Morana's gaze travelled further around the castle to a different window higher up, "I'll head to my sister's room. "
Damian's eyes trembled as they caught the library's window and trailed all the way down to his feet. "It's a lot ot climb in a short amount of time." His throat bobbed as he made the calculations in his mind.
"And you're going to be fine. I know you're scared of the consequences of being up high," the necromancer mocked his voice, "but I won't let you fall." She brought his hand to her mouth so she could kiss it. "I won't let you die."
The Fireborn blew out a sigh. "Alright. I trust you."
Morana could only smile. "Any minute now, the guard shift should change.
That's our cue to move." The royal patrol rotated in equal segments around the castle wall every half hour with a five minute walking distance between each gap.
It wasn't much, but she was sure they would be able to sneak in before the next guard approached to catch them.
Like oiled clockwork, the guard before them straightened their armour and began walking to the left. As soon as they were out of view, Morana raced towards the wall with Damian following close behind.
Uncoiling one of the ropes from her belt, she swung it over the top and prayed the grappling hook would get caught on something. Anything. With a fierce tug to test its strength as it latched onto the parapet, she determined it was safe enough to use.
"Start climbing," she ordered as she handed the rope to Damian. "I'll be with you in a moment."
The Fireborn took a deep, shuddering breath and began to find footholds in the wall, hauling himself up.
Morana grabbed her next rope to do the same. The next hook sunk into the brick with just as much stability, letting her jump her way up the wall. She reached the top first and helped Damian clamber over too, steadying himself as he looked down at how far he had come.
"Fuck." He gagged and squeezed his eyes shut.
"Hey, don't tap out on me now. You've only got a little bit left to go and then you'll be safely inside. No more climbing or heights." She started pulling up one of the ropes, hiding the evidence of their break-in.
"Remind me why I couldn't go through the main entrance again." He crouched down, ducking his head between his knees.
"Because the guards will question you as soon as they see you, Mr Missing Person. This is much less stressful for both of us."
"For one of us," he huffed. Damiam cracked an eye open and held onto the necromancer to stand. "Okay. We haven't got long left."
Morana craned her neck so she could see around the wall and spotted the faint shimmer of silver metal approaching in the distance. "Not long at all."
Opening her bone pouch, she let a flood of magic secure each and every one of them.
The tendrils of death curled around her mind, ecstatic glee bubbling through her veins.
She threw out her hand and, with teeth-gritting concentration, they connected to form a bridge towards the window of the library.
"You've got this, fire boy. Just move as quickly as you can and don't look down.
All you need to do is focus on that window.
Trust me, you aren't going to fall." Never had she made a bone structure this big before, but she was certain it would hold his weight.
If he crossed within the next thirty seconds, that was.
Anything longer and her grip would falter.
She could already feel the first drops of blood trickling from her nose.
Damian nodded, silently convincing himself he was ready for the challenge.
He placed a tentative foot on the bones to test if they would support him before he ran across, holding on to the castle with a feverish grasp.
Not wasting any time, he swung the window open and dived inside, leaving only the upper half of his body visible.
"You did it!" she cheered in a hushed whisper.
"I did it," he repeated with a grin. A dazed chuckle rumbled in his chest until he flinched and ducked down to look inside the library. "Stay safe, okay? I don't want to see your dead body again. Ever."
"I'll be fine. This will be a breeze." Morana waved her hand in dismissal. Continuing the motion, she summoned the bone shards back into her pouch. "I'll see you later. Just stay out of sight."
"You've got this, bone girl." Damian closed the window behind him as he headed further into the library, wandering towards the back like she had suggested.
When she could no longer see him, the necromancer turned to run along the parapet until she reached the courtyard.
Guards swarmed the far side as they searched through the guests' belongings, scouring for weapons or forbidden contraband of any kind.
Morana crouched down low so she wouldn't be seen.
If her suspicions were correct and her sister still had the adjacent room to her own old bedroom, she was staring at her destination. The balcony she needed to get onto.
While watching the guards to make sure they weren't paying attention to her, her gaze snagged on the statue of her mother and herself.
It was as if her mother's body had been encased in stone — each detail puncturing a wound in her heart.
From her warm smile to the feathers woven into her hair, even the way she had a dress tied at the side so it wouldn't get tangled at her feet.
The younger version of herself looked just as happy holding her hand, her necklace a kick to the gut.
It paid tribute to a woman who should still be alive and a cursed monster.
Shaking her head, she forced herself to look away.
She couldn't get distracted now when so much was on the line.
Retrieving one set of rope from her belt, she threw the hook towards the balcony.
It landed on the railing with a loud twang of metal, making her flinch and watch the guards for any sign of panic.
Thankfully, they were too distracted by their own matters.
Morana didn't have enough bones to cover the distance for another bridge, so she needed to jump — the distance nauseatingly far.
How different could it be from the rooftops she ventured across in the Lost Abyss?
The only change now was that she had no momentum to guide her.
She didn't have the time to contemplate the differences.
She needed to jump before someone noticed her and the suspicious rope hanging from the princess's bedroom.
Crouching as far back on the parapet as she could, she ran and leapt for her way into the castle.
Her hands grazed against the material, burning her skin in its wake, but she secured her hold on it.
Albeit much lower than she would have hoped.
Pulling herself onto the balcony, she quickly returned the rope to where it belonged and headed inside — the door fortunately unlocked.
Letting her hood fall and tugging her mask down to her neck, Morana stopped in her tracks.
The layout hadn't changed from the last time she had set foot in this room all those years ago.
Placed between two doors, which led to the bathroom and wardrobe, was an elaborate vanity with crowns carved into the wooden pillars.
Her twin owned more expensive jewellery than she had ever stolen, and that was saying a lot.
Bookshelves and sofas lined the back wall, providing the perfect reading space.
This was what Morana's room would have looked like too, if she hadn't ruined everything. If she hadn't killed their mother. Yet, she was still fated to return over and over, as if she were forever bound to the castle and her sister.
A grand, four-poster bed with crystalline drapes took up most of the space of the room and buried underneath the covers was Ilyana.
The necromancer approached, making sure to keep her footsteps silent as she snuck along the wooden floorboards.
Her face was twisted with distress, her mind undoubtedly plagued with nightmares.
She couldn't help but question what was in them. Was it the same harrowing decisions about the Necromancer's Curse bothering her every thought that invaded her own dreams? Or was it something else?
Lying down next to her, Morana tucked her twin's hair behind her ear, hoping the gesture would soothe her. Only, it made her open her eyes. Sleep-crusted blinks greeted the assassin, causing her to smile.
"Good morning."
Ilyana's scream rattled the room.