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In the sweltering summer heat, one knight mistress dared to brave the climbing temperatures to continue her training. While others may laze about, she refused to do so despite the confused looks. She did not hold the title of Falcon Knight for nothing, and with her new assignment to begin in only a few weeks, she wanted to make as much use of the castle practice yards as she could before she was forced to stay at some unknown villa, or worse, some strange temple for months on end. Just the thought of having to set foot inside one of the holy building made her shudder and wish that she had chosen to become a Paladin after all. Perhaps then, she would now be a captain, the captain, instead of that annoying, irksome Cyric Adair who liked to laugh and smile far too much. At least he did his duty, unlike some of the other layabouts.

Speaking of the Paladin Captain, here he came, waltzing into the practice yard, bow in hand, as if it were only a warm spring afternoon.

Cyric?! What is he doing here? I thought he had gone off to fight the invaders!

Caterina jolted awake, gasping in surprise that quickly turned into confusion, compounded by a splitting headache. Where am I? she wondered, slowly sitting up and placing a hand against her aching head. From the black steel door that appeared to be the room's only exit (and the small rectangular cutout the only source of light), she determined that she must be in a jail cell of some sort.

This looks like one of the cells in the temple, but I can't be sure. Upon first arriving at the temple, Rina had gone over every inch of it, checking for traps of any sort, memorizing the layout, and generally familiarizing herself with it, as the priestess was bound to stay here for a few weeks at least. The jail she had only briefly glanced through the first time she'd come across them, but with subsequent visits had forced herself to thoroughly examine every inch of them. The jail had, in the past, housed prisoners who had committed crimes against the church; no political prisoners were housed in a holy place. However, the cells had another use--hiding refugees and people who needed sanctuary for whatever reason. Those 'prisoners' were placed in special cells deep down in the temple. Those cells were all connected to an elaborate series of tunnels, enabling those inside the cells to flee if and when necessary. This underground network was so well hidden that if the Falcon Knight had not fallen through a broken trapdoor into them, she never would have discovered them. If Rina really was still inside the temple and her captors had placed her in one of the deeper cells. . . .

Rising, Rina walked to the door, staring through the hole in the door that wasn't large enough for her to fit more than her hand through. Outside her cell stood two guards, and more stood further down the hallway. They had the air of victorious troops, but also seemed . . . bored.

"Why do we have to stay and guard these heathens?" one wondered allowed.

"Because those are our orders, you nitwit!" a second replied, clonking his fellow over the head with his fist. "When Sir Felix gives a command, you follow it! Haven't you learned that by now?"

"Sorry," the first muttered, rubbing his head. He was obviously not thrilled to be stuck doing guard duty.

Rina pursed her lips. She was the only one in her cell, and the only one who knew about the escape tunnels. I need to inform Cyric of what has happened to my Lady Priestess. I can't take all of these guards by myself, not weaponless. It'll be too dangerous for all of us to try and escape, and they'd notice. Some of us would die, and Lady Gwyneira would not like that. Blood spilled is one thing, but death. . . .

Quietly, she moved back to the far side of the room. Gingerly, she felt around the edges of the back wall. They put these cursed trapdoors in a different place in each cell. If I can just find it . . . She stuck her fingers into the dirt, feeling for wood underneath. Finally, a third of the way down, she found it. Yes! Swiftly, she pushed the dirt aside, clearing off the top layer enough to pull open the trapdoor. As soon as it was clear, she froze, listening to see if the guards had noticed her actions.

The only sound was that of a hastily stifled yawn.

She grinned, thinking of the telling off she'd have given them if they were her own soldiers. As quietly as she could manage, she dropped into the tunnel below, pulling the trapdoor shut behind her. The top of the door was painted the same color as the dirt, and only a small layer of dirt had been placed over it. Hopefully, should the guards enter her cell to investigate her silence, they would think her simply vanished into thin air.

One hand against either side of the tunnel, Rina moved as fast as she dared, keeping her footsteps light. At the end the tunnel veered into a three-way fork. Recalling the mental map she'd made of the temple, Rina took the left fork, running up the incline to the next level, where the tunnel connected with the hidden alleyways used by the servants. Reaching the top of the incline, she peeked out of the peephole, cleverly lined up with a painting on the other side of the wall. Seeing no one, she shoved open the hidden door, closed it behind her, and crossed the hallway, opening another hidden doorway and running down a flight of stairs. Back in the tunnels, she ran to the other side of the network, pushing open the trapdoor above her that opened up into the first cell in the block of special cells.

Inside the cell, one girl gasped to see their leader climbing up. "Milady?" she asked quietly, smart enough to keep her voice down despite her surprise. "Milady, how did you get here?"

Her voice alerted the three other Peg Knights in the cell. Two of them gasped like the first, the fourth rising to look out into the hallway. "It's clear for now," she whispered, "but hush!"

"It would take too long for me to explain," Rina said, glancing around at each girl. "Quickly--were any of you awake when they put us in these cells? And where did they take our mounts?"

"I was, ma'am," the first girl said softly. "They brought us all here and told us to get in and stay quiet. The one who were knocked out, they took somewhere else. I don't know if they healed them or not." She shot a worried glance at the door. "I think they put our mounts in the stables, but I'm not sure of that, ma'am. And I don't know where they took the Lady Priestess, but they sure didn't put her in one of these cells."

Rina nodded. Idiots, she thought, glaring toward the door. But not entirely stupid idiots. Of course they'd take Lady Gwyneira with them. Fortunately for me, these tunnels lead to the stables as well. "I'm leaving," she said, determined. "Captain Cyric should know what has happened here. You don't know where they've taken Lady Gwyneira, do you?" The girls all shook their heads. "Horse dung. It can't be helped then. I'm going--and before you ask, no. It's safer for you all to stay here. Unless you can cause some havoc for these invaders."

"But ma'am," the first protested, "I want to go with you! I can help!" One other nodded in agreement, the one by the door biting her lip as she thought.

"Cause some havoc, mistress?" she mused aloud. "I'm all for that. Is there a way I can get the other knights in on this?"

"Yes," Rina said, gesturing to the trapdoor she'd come through. "The tunnels below connect to some of the other cells."

The girl grinned wickedly. "Mistress, you go with Annalie and Cassie here and escape. Natalia and I'll stay and show these invaders, these men what we Pegasus Knights are made of."

Rina hesitated. "Alright," she said, realizing that it would take too long to dissuade the knights. "I'll show you the way to the other cells and then take you two to the stables."

All four knights nodded, all smiles gone. Swiftly and quietly, Rina showed the two who would remain the way to access the other special cells. The girls quickly began implementing a plan to tire their guards and frustrate them while a select few would sneak into the temple to reclaim weapons. If luck and the gods were with them, they just might be able to break free of their captors altogether. While they set about putting those plans into motion, Rina guided Annalie and Cassie through the tunnels and into the stables, where each found her mounts (Adara was more than happy to see her mistress alive and well). Luckily the guards seemed to be more interested in guarding the humans and not the pegasi, so the stable was completely unguarded. Keeping their mounts hushed and calm, Rina guided her companions out of the stables and into the nearby woods, making sure they stayed hidden should anyone decided to glance out a window.

They stayed under the cover of the trees until night fell, and then flew south toward the capital. Rina fervently hoped that Cyric, or at least Cornelius, was there. Captain Cyric needed to know that the High Priestess Gwyneira was in the hands of the invaders, taken to some unknown location. Furthermore, Rina was not going to just sit idly by while the invading army continued to ravish her country. Despite her hatred of certain aspects of Estarcia, it was her home, the only home she had. The king had given her the chance to build a life for herself, to make that home, and she would not, could not, let it be destroyed. She urged Adara onward, itching to get a sword back in her hands. With her lance broken and her sword gods-knew-where, she knew exactly which blade she wanted. As the sky lightened to signal the coming dawn, the battle-worn, hungry, tired, and exhausted Falcon Knight and Peg Knights looked on the capital of Archesis as it rose above the horizon.