Escape

"Rowan Zuko? Which one of you is Rowan Zuko?!"

This is stupid. Really fucking stupid!

Reyna had never visited the dungeon before, so she didn't know they kept so many prisoners down here. She'd thought it would be easy to identify this man, but now it seemed like looking for a needle in the ocean.

Where had they found all these people?! Who fed them?! And when was the last time they'd showered?!

Covering her nose, she screamed and kicked a hand that reached through the bars to grab her ankle.

"That's it!" She stopped and raised her voice, "Which one of you is Rowan--"

"It's me! I'm Rowan Zuko!"

Reyna whipped her head to the left. In the last cell in this narrow hall was a thin black man whose face was almost hidden under his enormous beard. He cracked a wide smile, showing his yellow teeth.

That was certainly not the Rowan Zuko in her imagination...

"He's Mick. I'm Rowan."

She turned again, this time to her right, holding her breath when she saw a young man with broad shoulders and strong arms, looking exactly like the hero she'd been waiting for.

He sat in the shadow, curly brown hair falling down to his shoulders, and even in this dim light, she could make out the handsome features on his beautiful face. Hold on, this is too good to be true! said the voice inside her head. The other guy makes more sense!

As if Rowan Zuko could read her mind, he popped his dimples and said, "Mick and I have been friends for two days and he's been telling everyone he’s me."

"I'm Rowan Zuko! Hello, pretty lady!"

"He's great, isn't he?" Rowan chuckled as he got up and stepped closer to the bars, closing the distance between them. "Who are you, pretty lady?"

"I-I'm the princess...the princess' maid," Reyna faltered, holding her satchel even tighter and very well aware that the rosy colour of her cheeks could still be seen in this lack of light. "I came to...to give you an offer."

Rowan’s brows furrowed. He looked dead serious for only a second before he tossed his head back and cracked up. "Tell Her Highness I'm flattered but His Highness is an idiot and I can't stand a brother-in-law like that."

"What?! You actually think you have a chance with Her Royal Highness? She said no to a prince. What made you think she would marry you?!"

"Woah, lady. Why are you so offended? Are you Her Royal Highness?" Rowan pouted, reaching through the bars to tap her on the shoulder, but she immediately backed away. "And she didn't say no to the Prince. The wedding's tomorrow. Mick and I have not seen the sun in two days and even we know that. You are terrible at your job."

Reyna crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. Now it was more believable that this was the man who would get her out of Isolde. Handsome, buff, but extremely annoying. She was really the Gods’ least favourite, wasn't she?

Suddenly, Rowan gasped and pointed to the satchel on her side. “Is that...real gold?”

Reyna quickly shushed him and stepped forward, their faces were only separated by the iron bars. "Yes, these are all from the princess,” she whispered.

"I'm not a prostitute, lady. I have a lover waiting for me at home."

"Ew, no! Why would a princess want to lie with someone like you?!"

"'Lie with.' This one sounds like my grandma, Mick!"

Both Mick and Rowan laughed, but she didn't have more time for his horseshit. She grabbed his collar and gave a hard tug, slamming his cheek against the cold bars. If it hurt him, he didn’t let it show.

"I stole the princess' jewellery and they're after me. They're going to kill me," Reyna whispered to make sure no one besides them could hear this. "I need you to get me out of here and take me back to Theros."

"Why would you want to go to Theros?" Rowan looked confused and shocked at the same time. She guessed he'd never seen a maid as aggressive and violent as she was. Neither had she. Maybe she needed to tone it down.

"I have to reunite with...someone I love," she said, blushing again. She was only blushing because of how intense his eye contact was. But then it occurred to her that she might have made it seem like she also had a lover in the South. Perhaps it was a good thing. He couldn't have related to this person being her uncle, but now that it was a lover, he might say yes.

Rowan chewed on the inside of his cheek, looking thoughtful for a moment then asked, "Did your parents not tell you to never trust a stranger?"

"I have nothing to lose,” Reyna said.

"Well, I have a lot to lose. I'm not going to die with you."

"You're going to die anyway. They're going to have you hung. I heard Eg--the Prince...say that to one of the guards."

Before Reyna could come up with a solid argument to back up her reason, Rowan threw his fist against the wall, causing her and Mick to flinch at the same time.

"That bastard!" He ground his jaw.

She swallowed hard. Her eyes fixated on the hole in the wall as she wondered why his hand wasn't bleeding, but then she snapped out of it and pulled out the keys she'd stolen to unlock his cell. He stood there, eyes wide with shock until she waved her hand in front of his face.

"Hurry up! The guards are on their way. I knocked down two of them so--"

"You what?!"

"How did you think I got in here and stole these keys?!"

"I don't know! I haven't even thought of that yet!"

She pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing in frustration. "Listen, you...big-headed fool!"

"Oh wow, that--"

"Shh!" She covered his mouth with both hands so she wouldn’t get interrupted. "You can either stay here and die tomorrow, probably tonight, if you're unlucky; or you can come with me, and live! Well...you might die, too, but...it's a fifty-fifty chance."

"Wow, you're really bad at this," Zuko said when Reyna removed her hands. "Fine, I'll do it. But only for the woman I love."

"Thank you! Thank you!"

"And because you have puppy dog eyes."

She groaned, waved goodbye to Mick and pulled Rowan with her. They left just in time the guards arrived and found two unconscious men blocking the entrance.

.

.

.

"So what's your name?"

Reyna pretended she didn’t hear Rowan's question as she peeked from behind a wall to check if the guards were gone. Unfortunately no. Those men were still having a relaxed conversation at the entrance while she was trapped there with a mouth that could not shut. They had only been hiding for five minutes, and this man was already driving her insane with all his questions.

"If you're not going to tell me, I guess I'll have to give you a name. Let me see..."

"Don't you dare give me a name!"

Rowan immediately shushed her with a finger to her lip. She exhaled and glared at him. She hadn't thought of a fake name yet, but the first thing that came to her mind was the first thing she wished to see again when she arrived in Theros.

"Rain."

Rowan arched an eyebrow, amused. "Like...drops of water from the sky?"

"Yes."

Her fast response made him chuckle. It was actually the first time someone had laughed at something she said because they genuinely found it funny and not because they had to.

Reyna felt the blood rising up to her face and tried her best to not acknowledge it. She had never interacted with a common man before, let alone a prisoner who had allegedly killed two of her father's guards. Ironically, she felt safer now than she had ever been.

"Hey, you're blushing again."

"I'm not."

"You are." Rowan chuckled. "You know what? I will call you Peach."

"Why?"

"Because you're always blushing."

"You asked for my name and then came up with a stupid name yourself?"

Rowan ignored the question and cocked his head toward the entrance. "How do we get past those guards, Peach?"

.

.

.

Rowan had never thought he would live to see this day. He had just helped a maid take down two guards twice her size and steal their weapons, and now they were heading to the stable to steal the King's horses. He'd been arrested for unintentional murder, but it wasn't until tonight that he was truly considered a criminal.

The worst thing was that he barely knew this girl. All he knew was her name, which sounded as fake as the Northerners' hospitality, and she used to be the princess' maid before she was a thief. The only thing they had in common was their fate if they ended up getting caught. They would both be dead, probably hanging side by side on the curtain wall.

"Find the prisoner! Find whoever helped him escape!" one guard shouted to the other and they both deserted their posts to rush back to the keep. The stable door was left unguarded and Rain silently gestured for Rowan to follow her inside.

He'd been warned about winter nights in Isolde, but tonight was the first time he'd got to really experience it. He ran like his limbs didn't belong to him. His body heat was fading, and he only had a coat which she'd brought for him to keep himself warm. They entered in silence and shut the stable door. It was warmer inside, and for a split second, Rowan actually considered staying instead of running away.

Anxiety intensified when he saw Rain walk toward the most beautiful yet intimidating black horse he'd ever seen. He was about to warn her about what these animals could do if they got angry, but the horse's reaction to seeing Rain was the opposite of what Rowan had expected. The gelding reared his front legs upward, happily nickering at her.

"A friendly and handsome fellow." Rowan tiptoed nearer and declared, "I'm getting this one."

"You're not getting this one. He's mine," Rain scolded him under her breath while petting the animal. "His name is Thunder. He's nicer than he looks."

"I guess this is the Princess' horse?"

"It's Prince Egon's actually," Rain said. "Thunder was mistreated a lot. He was trained like a warhorse, but he's actually a sweetheart."

"He likes you."

"I'm very likeable. That's a fact."

Her response made him chuckle. "I love the confidence, Peach."

"Do not call me Peach."

"Peach sounds better than your fake name."

Rain widened her eyes at him; her jaw went slack. "Rain isn't a fake name!"

"Oh please, who would name their child after drops of water from the sky?"

"Um, my mother? That was rude."

Thunder seemed to have taken a side as he flattened his ears backwards and snored at Rowan.

"Okay, fine, I'm sorry." Rowan scoffed, putting up his hands. "Thunder is yours. Which one can I get then?"

"That's Lonely,” said Rain, pointing to a skinny white horse lying in the corner. If her tail weren’t moving, Rowan would've thought she was dead. "Lonely is going to die pretty soon, so you'll do her a huge favour taking her on an adventure."

"First of all,” Rowan held up a finger, “naming a horse Lonely is animal abuse. Second of all, we don't have time for jokes. Do you want to die, Peach?"

"Oh, so it's fine when you joke around but when it's me--"

"You're supposed to be the quiet and grumpy one, and I'm the charismatic and funny one. Have you not read those stories about two people going on an adventure?"

Rain rolled her eyes and turned away to get Thunder out of his stall. "You take the brown one in the corner," she told Rowan.

Rowan punched the air in excitement and rushed toward his new friend to release her. "Hello, my name is Rowan. What's your name, beautiful?"

"Lightning."

“Lightning?!” Rowan looked at Rain, eyes wide, but she seemed serious. Shaking his head, he blew out his cheeks."Wow, you Northern people really hate normal names, huh?"

"We just don't want to share the same name with thousands of others. I mean, Rowan?"

“Name one other person named Rowan.”

“There’s a guard here named Rowan, and he’s nice, so there’s definitely something wrong with you.”

“There’s definitely something wrong with you,” Rowan mocked Rain’s tone as she started putting the saddle on her horse.

Once all was ready, they led the horses out of the stable, trying to be as discreet as they could. These royal horses were very cooperative, probably because they somehow understood that they were on a mission to get two criminals out of the castle safely; or maybe they trusted Rain so much that they were willing to do anything for her.

Rowan didn't know much about the servants in the castle, but it made no sense to him that they would let a maid spend that much time around the royal horses, let alone teach her how to put a saddle on one.

"Do you even know how to ride a horse?" he asked when they were outside and received a smirk from the girl.

"Do you?"

“Of course, I--” Rowan never got to finish his answer. His mouth hung open as he watched Rain skillfully mount Thunder and ride in circles around him and Lightning. He was certainly amazed, but also in shock that he hadn’t noticed the sword strapped to her waist until now. Hadn’t she also injured all those guards to get to his cell?

Who was this girl?

"Don't be so surprised." Rain smirked at the look on his face. "Every servant in the castle knows how to ride a horse, wield a sword, and do archery."

"Why?"

"Why not?" Rain chuckled as Thunder reared his front legs in front of Rowan as if he wanted to kick Rowan in the face.

Rowan jumped back and put out his arm. “Hey, boy, stay calm!”

His reaction got Rain laughing. "Is the brave Southern man intimidated by a fragile Northern maid?"

“Usually, I would be very argumentative, but since we’re being chased, I’m going to let it slide,” said Roman bitterly as he mounted his horse, trying to brush off all the questions he had about this strange girl. She was definitely not a maid, but no matter who she was, she wasn’t the enemy.

The snow had begun to fall. The flakes were dancing all around them, a beautiful dance choreographed by the wind, and Rowan suddenly found himself staring at the girl for a little too long.

For his entire life, he had never been shaken by a beauty other than Kenny’s. But in this very moment, when the snow landed on her fur coat and long black hair, and her cheeks turned almost as pink as the colour of her lips, Rowan felt something he had never felt before.

This girl was truly beautiful.

"Oh no!" Rain’s voice pulled Rowan back to reality. He straightened at the distinct sound of horses heading toward the stable and the alarmed look on Rain’s face.

"Ride!" she yelled and dug her heels into the sides of her horse. The gelding leapt forward, galloping toward the gatehouse.

Rowan was racing along by her side. They didn't know who was after them, but they didn't look back or slow down because those people were all capable of killing.

"Close the gate!"

"No, do not close the gate!" Rowan screamed when the portcullis started closing. "There's no way we're gonna make it, Peach!"

Rain was biting her bottom lip so hard it turned white, yet she seemed oddly calm as she told him, "Do you always talk this much?"

"Only when I'm in danger!" he said, and it was true. He had faced deaths plenty of times, but never had it come this close.

Rain said nothing and rode even faster. Rowan didn't know if this girl was sure they weren't going to die or she was just really good at hiding her fear. Whatever it was, it worked. He trusted her.

Their horses pranced ahead and tore out the great clods of snow which flew behind them. In a split second, they flew through the portcullis, completely unharmed.

Rowan snapped back to reality to realise that they had escaped the castle and were riding into the forest. He looked to the right to see Rain. Her white face and dark hair made her shine in the moonlight like a ghost, a beautiful one, if that made sense. She caught him looking, and a liberating smile spread across her face.

"Did we just--" he started.

She shook her head. "No, we're actually dead. We're riding to hell."

Their laughter echoed through the silent woods, bouncing against rocks and trees and bringing this sad wintry land back to life.

They rode for a while until they were sure they weren’t being followed anymore, then Rain suggested to slow down so they could navigate.

"We're on the right path," Rowan said, scanning his eyes around. He believed he remembered where to go from here. "If we keep following this trail, we'll cross that mountain tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night? But it looks so close from here." Reyna's face scrunched up. She squinted her eyes at the mountain peeking out of the woods.

Rowan looked at her and chortled. "You don't go out much, do you?"

"I grew up in the castle, and I followed the princess wherever she went. Princesses rarely leave their castle."

"Aww, poor thing." He pouted, making her roll her eyes. "Anyway, thank you for your service, darling. From now on, you follow me and you'll be safe."

"I doubt that. You were screaming earlier when you thought you were going to die."

"I said 'from now on'.”

Rowan kicked his horse and bolted ahead. Rain immediately followed.