When Angels Cry
by wizardtho
Chapter 14: The Trail To Safety
We’d been navigating through the mountains for more than 2 hours when I saw a peek of our destination through the trees. I smiled at my Edward, who smiled back. As soon as we were inside the next tunnel in the mountains, I said to my father, “Not too much longer now, Dad. I saw the ruins through the trees.”
He tiredly nodded from his sling on Emmett’s back, “I caught a glimpse of them, too,” then rested his head against the back of Emmett’s shoulder. After a few seconds, I saw him wince, then as Emmett moved a certain way, I saw Dad wince again.
I whispered Carlisle’s name, and he immediately dropped back to my side, so I nodded toward my father, “Watch Dad for a second. I think he needs to be resituated in the sling.”
He nodded without a word, his attention immediately on my father. He watched intently as we left the tunnel and started climbing the next part of the rocky terrain, then nodded before whispering, “I don’t want us to backtrack, so the next tunnel we come to, I’ll make your father more comfortable. It wouldn’t be safe for us to stop while in the open.”
Edward kissed my neck, then whispered, “Conri is thinking to me that the next mountain pass is only a few miles ahead. We’ll be safe to resettle and tend to your dad then, Love.”
Come to find out, the sling had been pinching Dad in several places with the way Emmett had been carrying him on his back. Switching him to Carlisle’s arms, with him carrying Dad sideways like an infant, was much better. The tension in my father’s body was instantly gone, and he even fell asleep within minutes of us starting the next section of terrain.
All too soon, Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett split off in one direction with Fenris and 2 guards. The rest of us went in another direction with the remaining guards. I prayed to the heavens that my father stay safe.
We’d been navigating through the mountains for more than 2 hours when I saw a peek of our destination through the trees. I smiled at my Edward, who smiled back. As soon as we were inside the next tunnel in the mountains, I said to my father, “Not too much longer now, Dad. I saw the ruins through the trees.”
He tiredly nodded from his sling on Emmett’s back, “I caught a glimpse of them, too,” then rested his head against the back of Emmett’s shoulder. After a few seconds, I saw him wince, then as Emmett moved a certain way, I saw Dad wince again.
I whispered Carlisle’s name, and he immediately dropped back to my side, so I nodded toward my father, “Watch Dad for a second. I think he needs to be resituated in the sling.”
He nodded without a word, his attention immediately on my father. He watched intently as we left the tunnel and started climbing the next part of the rocky terrain, then nodded before whispering, “I don’t want us to backtrack, so the next tunnel we come to, I’ll make your father more comfortable. It wouldn’t be safe for us to stop while in the open.”
Edward kissed my neck, then whispered, “Conri is thinking to me that the next mountain pass is only a few miles ahead. We’ll be safe to resettle and tend to your dad then, Love.”
Come to find out, the sling had been pinching Dad in several places with the way Emmett had been carrying him on his back. Switching him to Carlisle’s arms, with him carrying Dad sideways like an infant, was much better. The tension in my father’s body was instantly gone, and he even fell asleep within minutes of us starting the next section of terrain.
All too soon, Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett split off in one direction with Fenris and 2 guards. The rest of us went in another direction with the remaining guards. I prayed to the heavens that my father stay safe.
Soon we came to the ruins of the original castle, which was tragic, but still amazingly gorgeous. It was built into the side of a mountain, and it looked like nature had taken over the space again. Moss and grass had covered over what used to be a stone floor, vines and more moss grew up walls, the sun streamed through broken windows, and a tree reached for the sky through an archway where there was once a hallway. Water trickled in from different places, creating waterfalls that led to a creek, which meandered through the area before leading out a side door. We didn’t linger, though as soon as I could make sure it was safe to do so, I’d be coming back here with Edward.
We followed Conri through a hallway, up a set of wide stairs, then down the hallway the tree was growing up through. The base of the tree was so thick, that Edward had Jasper and Alice go before us, so that Edward could hand me to Jasper before coming through himself. He explained that it was to keep my scent from lingering on anything.
After walking into a dilapidated room, Conri touched multiple surfaces before finally pulling down on a wall sconce holding a candle. The moss-covered mirror just to the left of the sconce slid aside almost silently, revealing a hidden passage. We entered, and after everyone had come through, one of Conri’s men pulled up on a matching sconce on this side of the hidden passage.
I looked to Conri, who explained after the hidden doorway closed securely, “The castle had hidden passageways. They led from room to room through the mountain. Some of them were still working after the battle. It’s how Stefan and Vladimir escaped. They used the passageways to build the new castle inside the mountain, for safety. It was quite a feat, and the result was spectacular. There are passageways like that all over the castle, and there is a guard room a short way inside each passageway that is manned 24/7. See the cameras?”
Conri pointed to little round indentations in the ceiling, Which I hadn’t noticed until he showed me them, “The guards manning each passageway would know as soon as someone entered the room connected to the passageway, let alone the passageway itself.”
I gave an understanding hum, then nodded to the guards through the window into the room as we came upon it. They dipped their heads low to me and Edward, then informed Conri that everything was quiet. He told them to let our hosts know that we would meet them in the Great Hall.
We followed Conri through a hallway, up a set of wide stairs, then down the hallway the tree was growing up through. The base of the tree was so thick, that Edward had Jasper and Alice go before us, so that Edward could hand me to Jasper before coming through himself. He explained that it was to keep my scent from lingering on anything.
After walking into a dilapidated room, Conri touched multiple surfaces before finally pulling down on a wall sconce holding a candle. The moss-covered mirror just to the left of the sconce slid aside almost silently, revealing a hidden passage. We entered, and after everyone had come through, one of Conri’s men pulled up on a matching sconce on this side of the hidden passage.
I looked to Conri, who explained after the hidden doorway closed securely, “The castle had hidden passageways. They led from room to room through the mountain. Some of them were still working after the battle. It’s how Stefan and Vladimir escaped. They used the passageways to build the new castle inside the mountain, for safety. It was quite a feat, and the result was spectacular. There are passageways like that all over the castle, and there is a guard room a short way inside each passageway that is manned 24/7. See the cameras?”
Conri pointed to little round indentations in the ceiling, Which I hadn’t noticed until he showed me them, “The guards manning each passageway would know as soon as someone entered the room connected to the passageway, let alone the passageway itself.”
I gave an understanding hum, then nodded to the guards through the window into the room as we came upon it. They dipped their heads low to me and Edward, then informed Conri that everything was quiet. He told them to let our hosts know that we would meet them in the Great Hall.
We walked quickly through that hall and one other before we came to an almost invisible inset in one wall. I wouldn’t have even known it was there if I was just walking by myself. I saw Conri push against the wall in a certain spot, then the lighting completely changed as we stepped through the opening into what looked like an old outdoor courtyard.
The only problem was, I could feel internally that we were deep in the mountain. I whispered to Edward as I tried to gain my bearings, “This will take some getting used to.”
I looked around at the stone staircases, the antique street lamps lighting the way, then the intricate fanning out of the ceiling moldings. My eyes made it back to my Edward, who was watching me with a small smile. He kissed my fingers entwined with his, then said softly, “We’ll explore soon, so you can get the lay of the land, but we should go for now.”
I nodded, then looked up two levels of the staircase to see Conri, who was watching us from above. I met his eyes as I tightened my hand in Edward’s, “Right. Time to meet our hosts.”
Ready or not, we were now in the Romanian stronghold, and I didn’t know yet if that was good or bad. I needed to find out if they could be trusted -quickly- if only for my father’s sake.
The only problem was, I could feel internally that we were deep in the mountain. I whispered to Edward as I tried to gain my bearings, “This will take some getting used to.”
I looked around at the stone staircases, the antique street lamps lighting the way, then the intricate fanning out of the ceiling moldings. My eyes made it back to my Edward, who was watching me with a small smile. He kissed my fingers entwined with his, then said softly, “We’ll explore soon, so you can get the lay of the land, but we should go for now.”
I nodded, then looked up two levels of the staircase to see Conri, who was watching us from above. I met his eyes as I tightened my hand in Edward’s, “Right. Time to meet our hosts.”
Ready or not, we were now in the Romanian stronghold, and I didn’t know yet if that was good or bad. I needed to find out if they could be trusted -quickly- if only for my father’s sake.