The castle within a mountain

Feliciano stared as Gilbert joined the battle and then looked away as he saw blood appearing on Alfred's arm, almost screaming at the view. He shook his head, looking from Arthur to Matthew and back.
"There is no way we can go somewhere safe from here..." he tried to explain. As far as he knew, there was only a door connecting that room to the rest of the castle, and anyway, those scary corridors were everything but a safe place to go. "The rest of the castle is filled with soldiers, they came out from everywhere as I tried to run away earlier!" he shivered, remembering the faces of those warriors.
"The only way we have to get away is from where you arrived!" he added, pointing to the big hole in the stained glass window.

There was no way for them to go away without the griffins, but a part from the practical consideration that those two were the only ones able to fly, he didn't want to leave without them, Ludwig especially.

"We need to stop them!" he clung to Arthur's arm desperately. "Can't you make a whatever kind of spell and... do something?!"
Maybe Arthur could put him to sleep like he had done before, and... oh, they could find a way to fix him later, he hoped. He only knew that Ludwig and Gilbert didn't have to fight him, it was too dangerous, and besides, Alfred wasn't the real enemy.



[[so btw I don't know yet whether Arthie's potion will make to Feli the same effect it made to Alfred. What do you think? Anyway, since it took some time to have its effect on Al, I guess everything can be postponed after the battle]]

Ludwig knew they could do no good until they could get rid of the scythe. It was a risky move, and he could only guess what it might do to him, but as he lunged a second time, he kept his focus entirely on the weapon. Birdlike jaws open wide, he sprung forward on his strong back legs.

He tried to make Arthur think he was the intended target, in hopes of throwing him off balance or, better yet, moving the scythe in front of him to protect himself. At the very last moment, before his beak and front paws might have made contact with the man, he turned his attention fully to the weapon and brought his mouth over the handle, swearing he felt something give, possibly even break as he bit down on it as hard as he possibly could.

Even if he didn't break it, it would be difficult to maneuver like this, which meant Gilbert could go in for another attack.

Before he could even touch Gilbert with the blade, he was caught off guard by Ludwig's frontal attack. He was forced to change the direction of his weapon, switching from offensive to a defensive stance. He hissed at the impact, felt his body shaking because of it. However, he did not expect the griffin to actually bite on the long handle of his scythe. His own grip on the weapon wasn't as stable as before, due to the sudden change to the defensive position.

Alfred's eyes widened in horror as he felt his grip loosen around his scythe and time seemed to have slowed down the moment it slipped off his fingers.

The sound of the weapon crashing down echoed throughout the whole room with its high ceiling. An eerie silence followed.

Alfred panted, eyes widened in disbelief.

Gilbert was almost as stunned as Alfred at his brother's move. He liked it though. With a grin he reared forward and brought his elbow down onto the blond man's nose, cracking it. Should make the other man's eyes water. He then cracked his sword pummel against his sternum.

The albino griffin jumped on Alfred, attempting to restrain his movements by forcing his arms behind his back. If he could get him tied up, no one had to die here today.

Realizing that maybe Feliciano had a valid point, with the amount of soldiers the prince had informed was actually inside this castle, there was no way to make it out unharmed. He was only one person, there was only so much he could do and he wasn’t sure what Matthew was capable of. Arthur briefly wondered how he was handling seeing his brother like this, he couldn't imagine.

That was when he had felt someone grasp his arm. Looking the prince in the eye, he realised he looked as frantic and worried as he, himself felt. Make a whatever kind of spell… what was he supposed to do? “Alright, alright. Leaving is a bad idea” He looked to both of them, a vague idea forming in his head. “Is there anyway you can gain Ludwig and Gilbert’s attention. Keep them away, keep them off? I don’t want ANYONE hurt and there’s only so much I can do when there’s two griffins and a brain washed mad man with a scythe in his hands!“ His own voice was now so frantic, that the sound of the aforementioned scythe dropping to the ground was the only thing that stopped his rant.

His eyes widened and the moment seemed to slow down as he watched as Ludwig’s brother hit Alfred in the face, then jumped on him. Whether it be to kill or just to restrain him, Arthur didn’t know, it didn’t stop him rushing forward. He had no intention of anyone getting hurt, the griffins only had their attention on one thing: Alfred. Dealing with Alfred to the extent they would wake up from the need to hurt and Ludwig realizing that Feliciano was RIGHT there, was the main thought in mind.

In the mad attempt to deal with the situation, Arthur didn’t realise what actually occurred as he was now leant over Alfred in a protective manor. The only thing he knew, he may have attempted to push Ludwig’s brother out of the way, whether he used magic to do that he wasn’t really sure. One thing he was sure of, was the spell he used to put Alfred in the current sleep spell he was in.

He breathed, clearing the haze. “Now the needless fighting is done with, maybe we can talk rationally hm? Feliciano is right there, and you are directing your anger at the wrong person!”

( Waahhh SO BAD. Sorry. ;_; I did my best. The answer to your question Feli, I vote YES. LOL Feli changing into a girl at the end would add the needed comedy XD)

Feliciano had followed the events with growing anxiety, watching Alfred's weapon being torn apart, and Gilbert jumping on the astonished blonde in the attempt of knocking him out.

Arthur followed quickly, and even though the prince wasn't sure of what just happened, Alfred was now asleep, and nobody had died, yet...?

He hurried next to the others, slowing down just a bit before reaching them, glancing sort of nervously between them. Even if all he had wished for was to have Ludwig come and save him, he was now looking at the Griffin with worried eyes. He didn't think Ludwig could be dangerous towards him, but... he had been a bit scared from the violence he had witnessed so far.

"I'm here, I'm fine." even if that was partly a lie, since his body was still hurting. "And Alfred isn't acting by his own will, someone is forcing him."

His brother's quick moves had ended it, and he was certain he would have gone for blood if it weren't for the king's interference.

Ludwig let out a growl at Arthur for the interruption, but at the sound of Feliciano's voice, it was as though that more animalistic side of him snapped, at least the violent one did, and it was left with the desire to make sure that his mate -- regardless of whether they'd officially called one another such, his brain was thinking of him that way -- was okay.

In a move that would surely embarrass him once he was fully in his right mind, he nuzzled his head at Feliciano's chest and closed his eyes, just long enough to be in the other man's presence. It felt good and right in a way he'd not had, save for his own family. But he could still feel the prince's pain.

"You are still injured," he said, slowly. He would have frowned in his human form. "What happened?" His left wing curled around the other man just enough to guard him in an embrace of sorts without needing to move his front paw and consequently lose his balance.

Gilbert felt the weight of the young human go limp in his arms as the King approached. The arms in his own were slack, and they held up an unconcious body. Gilbert snorted then dropped the sleeping form onto the ground.

He looked at Arthur. "Interesting..."

Out of the corner of his eye, the albino noticed his brother nuzzling the small human prince. Never one to enjoy completely ruining a lovely moment, Gilbert groaned as he hooked one hand under his brother's beak and turned his bird head to meet his eyes.

"Look. I know you feel the need to comfort and physically touch..." he glanced to the brunet man, "...your mate, but we need to get out of here, deal with the mind-fucked blondie; and then you and I, brother, need to speak before you do anything ...else with this young man."

He dropped his hand, but continued to stare at his younger brother. He should have told him long ago.

Ivan sat cross legged atop his mount silently watching the battle unfold and its consequent end. It was all rather underwhelming really. And predictable. He sighed and rested heavily on his elbows. And here he thought there would be a challenge. But at least it was not a complete waste of time, he had something to tell his king after all.

Spoiler:

For one - really short - moment, as he heard Ludwig growl at Arthur, Feliciano was scared that the Griffin might have lost control. But as he went closer and nuzzled his head against his chest, Feliciano felt stupid for having had such a thought.

He wrapped his arms tight around the griffin's neck. "It's something Alfred gave me, but King Arthur helped me, and I'm feeling better now." he replied, burying his face in Ludwig's soft plumage. He felt the wing cover him, and for one moment he forgot about his fear and his pain; he felt protected and safe.
Instinctively, he left a kiss on the feathers. "I've been so scared." he murmured "Thanks for coming and saving me."

Gilbert's interruption brought him back to reality very quickly. Even though he had no idea about what the other griffin prince meant with the whole "mate" story, he was definitely right to say they had to go out.
"Let's go away, now! Before they find us here!" he pleaded Ludwig.

He had no idea if Alfred's dragon was still waiting for them outside, somewhere, but they had no other choice than flying away.

It was strange. It was if something shifted and suddenly everything around Matthew was a mere blur. Though he knew what was going on, at the same time, it just wouldn’t register in his mind. He was even aware when Arthur had spoken to him, but, as was the case with everything else at the moment, he was unable to respond. It wasn’t until some time later that he snapped back to his senses.

To say that he hadn’t handled this situation well would have been an understatement. When he had made up his mind earlier to not get involved in the battle that he knew would be inevitable here, he had taken this a bit too far without meaning to. Matthew was certain that miniature shutdowns were neither normal nor useful. If he was ever in a spot where this could happen again, he realized, he could easily get himself killed.

He still wasn’t able to pick up on everything, he realized, as he looked over, surprised to see his brother unconscious (but alive, and that’s all that mattered), There were several questions he would have liked to ask, but he was reminded of what Feliciano had said about soldiers arriving and knew that this definitely was not the time.

((And here’s an excuse why he hasn’t done anything in a while…I’m really sorry about that, guys! D: *is in the middle of getting a bunch of things under control* ))

He expected the growls and stares, that was why he ignored the growl and returned the stare from Ludwig's brother. All that mattered was that no one got killed. Nobody in this group was actually in the wrong.

He was aware of a few things; Feliciano and Ludwig with their reunion, Matthew strangely subdued, Alfred still very unconscious with no sign of waking up and the very bored looking man atop the dragon they had originally followed. Arthur was pretty sure the man had intention of being further help, so he turned his attention back to the group, Ludwig in particular.

"I agree with Feliciano. We should leave before any further interruption!" He looked down to Alfred, frowning a little at the blood. "I have no doubt that the cause of all our problems is around here somewhere and it's best to get Feliciano and Alfred away from here!"

Ludwig felt his brother's hand under his beak, pulling him away from Feliciano. If he had been human, though, it would have been obvious he was only half-paying attention to Gilbert because he would have been smiling. Feliciano had kissed him. On his feathers, but it was still a kiss, which his mind kept reminding him.

Still, he knew that Gilbert and Feliciano were right. "We need to see if we can ask Ivan for his help again. I don't see how I can carry an extra person, or if Gilbert should. We will need to signal him and see if his dragon would be good enough to take on extra passengers."

There wasn't a chance, though, that anyone but he would be taking care of Feliciano. His wing was still protectively wrapped around the smaller prince, and he didn't have much of an intention to be separated from him, though he had a sneaking suspicion his brother wanted to talk to him in private.

Gilbert rolled his eyes at his brother, then dropped his hand.

"Matthew?" He turned to look at the taller human standing. "Do you think you have the courage to ride with me once more?" He grinned wide. "I haven't killed you yet, afterall."

He was bracing himself to feel the pain, but none of it came. Instead it was a sudden wave of drowsiness that was numbing every sense in his limbs, a forced need to sleep. And he felt Gilbert letting go of him and his eyes fell shut once he was sprawled on the floor, panting. The last thing, which caused his sight before sleep took over, was a pair of brilliant green eyes, staring down at him with worry.

Then everything went black.

Alfred lay on the battered floor, unmoving and unconscious. With him being immobile, the rescuing team decided to use the opportunity to eascape and leave the castle. The enemy was brought down quite easily.

Too easy.

Suddenly, walls rumbled, the ground shook, it felt like an earthquake and it sounded like an approaching thunder. However those were not of a natural cause, more like the thundering stepps of a hundred of soldiers, all hooded and yet ready to fight. After all, it didn't matter who entered the castle; they were going to ensure that no one could ever leave it.

The commander sat in his chamber, observing the whole scene, in the meantime biting on his lower lip. He was not at all pleased by the sight of Alfred who was powerless in his sleep. This wasn't supposed to happen. Alfred shouldn't have lost, he was supposed to be invincible, every man's certain death. But why?

Why was Alfred so weak?

The soldiers were now surrounding the group, forming a perfect circle. One of them approached the sleeping Alfred and knelt down to carry him up in his arms.

Relieved that now the needless fighting had ceased and everyone had agreed it was best to leave, Arthur decided it was best to find the dragon that Alfred had appeared on. He had the slight idea that Ludwig would want only Feliciano near him right now, and there was only so much the other griffin could take. There was something about the other man on the dragon above that he just didn't trust.

He headed towards the door, leaving the others in their moment. When the ground and walls shook and before Arthur could reach the door, he found it was blocked by the soldiers that Feliciano had warned them about. He gritted his teeth, Damn it... we stayed here too long he thought, looking all around.

That was when he caught sight of the soldier kneeling down, surely to pick Alfred up and take him away. His eyes narrowed and he ran forward, forming a spell with a chant and his hands. "Don't touch him, bastard" He yelled, angrily. With that, the solider now lay still on floor a good distance away.

Now he stood by Alfred again, making sure the idiot hero was okay, he still looked to be asleep. The soldiers were still closing in on them, the ones they seemed to be edging closest to were Matthew and Feliciano.

(... Why do i always write so much? Why is Feli the poor woobie victim... D8 I don't know..)

The instant Feliciano heard the walls shake and the floor tremble, he knew it was too late. They were arriving, just in time to prevent them from running away, exactly when Alfred had failed at keeping them at bay.

He stared at the soldier irrupting in the room, surrounding them - Arthur was quick enough to push away the one trying to grab Alfred, but there were so many of them, again!
The prince saw them coming towards him, and he clung to Ludwig, seeking protection.

They were probably claiming their prey back. Feliciano hid his face in Ludwig's neck, because he couldn't stand the look of those expressionless faces.

Ludwig pressed the side of his head to Feliciano's cheek. "We will fly out if it comes to it." With any luck, Ivan's dragon could provide enough of a distraction to get them out of the castle and to safety. There was too much to discuss and deal with at the moment to worry about another battle where they were so heavily outnumbered.

"Just hold onto me. I'll keep you safe, no matter what it takes."

He growled warningly at the soldiers and tried to spy a way out without fighting all of these warriors off. Feliciano and Matthew were, unfortunately, liabilities in battle.

“Of course,” Matthew answered and had to smile, himself, as he thought of how much more courage (and stupidity) it would take to stay in this place. The castle came across as extremely eerie and foreboding and as far as he was concerned, the sooner they left, the better.

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than he heard the sound of steps growing louder and louder by the second. And within moments, he saw and understood what Feliciano had been so worried about. As the soldiers filled the large room, Matthew was instantly reminded of the attempted siege only a short time before. But unlike then, now he didn’t have the luxury of being invisible.

So it came as a surprise to him that he wasn’t nearly as scared as he should be, although the disconcerting feeling of being way in over his head more than made up for it. Yet this hardly made a difference, for fearful or not, Matthew still had the sense to run.

Sretya moved in front of the crop, her wing unfurling to block them from the oncoming storm of troops. Her pet perched lazily on her back simply watching. Nothing unusual there. She made an impressive sight but just to be sure she gave a ear splitting shriek to stop anyone from being brave. All this fighting was getting redundant and she was sure she was going to be fat by the end of this month.

No surprise that Ludwig immediately protected Feliciano and where Matthew was running to, he had no idea.. to Ludwig's brother maybe? The other griffin would be the best bet for safety and Arthur would use any spell necessary to keep Alfred safe from the soldiers.

Getting out of here seemed like the better idea and he started to wonder how exactly he was supposed to do that. But the idea presented itself when the dragon above moved to block them from the soldiers and letting out a loud shriek, Arthur had to cover his ears.

He looked up to the owner of the dragon with a grim smile. "Any chance there's room for two more on there?". The man wasn't given much time to answer though, as the dragon that Alfred had appeared on to kidnap Feliciano, crashed through the window. It seemed as thought it's task was to protect it's master, as it immediately headed for them also. Two dragons on their side... not bad odds.

The soldiers used magic, arrows, sword thrusts and slashes to force the dragons back but Rebekkah hurled herself into the attacking crowd of fighters without minding them. The impact of her landing sent a dozen of soldiers flying and they fell limp against the floor.

Other soldiers tried to shout out commands against her but dragons weren't loyal towards collectives. She stomped and crushed the ones who tried to bring her under their control. A loud screech filled the room; she was angry.

Minutes later she finally found her master. Quickly, not wanting to waste any more time, she approached him, at the same time clearing the way as even more soldiers were brutally thrown back by her mere size and the swinging of her tail. The moment she had reached Alfred, she nudged his head protectively, puffing hot breath against his face. Yet Alfred remained unconscious.

Ludwig didn't have time to consider the appearance of Alfred's dragon. He could almost physically feel Feliciano's lingering pain. He needed to get them out of the castle before it came back full force and incapacitated them both. He lowered himself to the ground as he kept shelter behind Ivan's dragon. "Get on my back. I need to get you out of this place while we have the chance."

He tried to use his wing to guide Feliciano toward his back. He knew there wasn't a chance in hell he was trusting anyone else to the prince's safety. He needed to get Feliciano somewhere away from the danger and perhaps finally mourn the loss of his uncle, not to mention deal with this newfound attachment he had to the prince.

He'd had little inklings in the past, that had he acted on instinct and slept with this or that person, he might well have ended up mated for life because there had been enough of a connection between them. Never, though, had it hit him with the force that the protectiveness and closeness to Feliciano had.

"I think you have a ride yes?" Ivan cast a quick shield charm over the rest of the party and turned his attention back to the attacking forces. The arrows bounced shamelessly off Sretya's hide as she advanced. She reared up and sprayed the soldiers with molten iron and rock. The flame stuck to everything it touched, consuming everything in its path and the stench of cooking flesh was overwhelming.

"I vould get out of here" He called over his shoulder, the dragon continuing her attack.

Feliciano heard the dragons coming in, and squeezed closer to Ludwig. Eventually, the griffin told him to get on his back, and the prince was more than happy to obey him. He didn't really need Ludwig's help to climb on him, and he kept himself low and close to the griffin's back, as if he wished he could disappear in his golden plumage.

Anyway, he was happy to see that both dragons were on their side - or rather, that Alfred's dragon didn't care about anything else than her master. He hoped that Arthur could manage to keep the dragon at bay, if she decided that she didn't want anybody else close to his master, a part from herself.

He wrapped his arms around Ludwig's neck, ready. Despite the fact that his body still felt sick and weak, he couldn't wait for the griffin to fly out.