Daughter of Darkness (OUAT fanfic)

Chapter 4

I keep my bauble in my pocket, off.

For light, I keep flames on my fingertips. We inch down a torch-lit hallway for what feels like miles.

"What's the plan?" 

I don't respond.

"Should I lead the way?" Taran asks from over my shoulder. "I have a weapon."

"I'm holding fire," I say through my teeth. "Fire beats rusty sword, everybody knows that." 

His smile makes me forget about the risk of leaving our cell. "It's not rusty." 

My heart shouldn't be beating this fast when I look at him. It should only be racing with panic and fear for what might happen when we enter the castle. 

"Do you want my shoes?" Taran whispers, nodding to my bare feet. "My shoes," he repeats, offering. "Want to wear them?"

"No," I say. "I don't want your shoes."

I don't need any favors. I need to focus, and his constant questions are distracting me from the threats waiting at the end of this hallway.  

"Be quiet before someone hears us," I warn. The bottoms of my feet are raw when we reach another door.

He catches the locks as they fall, silently stacking them in a pile. "Princess. . ."

The last lock falls. "Shh."

"Princess," he says again, placing a hand on my shoulder. A reluctant smile lifts his lips. "You seem tense."

"Tense?" I swipe his hand off my shoulder. "We're breaking into a castle occupied by a faceless demon who controls the dark one. . . I have reason to be tense, Taran." 

The smirk on his face taunts me as he takes the doorknob in his hand.

My bauble floats from my pocket, illuminating a stone staircase leading to a locked door, an entrance to the castle. There are likely guards on the other side.

I lift a finger to my lips, dimming the light. My bauble is safe in a pocket on my skirt.

Taran keeps one hand on the lock as it snaps out of place, then he stacks it on the floor, not making a sound. Five locks later, we both stand paused in front of an unlocked door.

His eyes ask me if I'm ready.

Quiet flames dance across my fingertips. I take a deep breath and nod, then we enter the castle.

We're halfway up a third flight of stairs when someone shouts. "There they are!"

Footsteps thumb against concrete floors.

Taran grabs my hand. "Quick," he says, pulling me up another flight of stairs. "Up here."

A guard rounds the corner with a sword in his grip, and my focus is gone, replaced by pure, utter terror.

"Watch out!" He pushes me to the side, blocking the guard's swing with his sword.

In the midst of chaos, threatened with a slow, painful death, I close my eyes, flip my palms and focus on my breath.

"What happened to fire beats rusty sword?" Taran shouts. "Do something!"

"I'm trying!"

I use the fear and anger fueling my heart to summon the magic flowing through my veins. It burns my fingertips as blades of grass break through cracks in the concrete. They grow and stretch into thick vines, wrapping around the guard's arms, knocking the sword from his grip. They tighten around his torso, holding his back against the wall.