Chapter 55: Sneak
Evanna and Axel joined the others by the bridge’s side. They split into two groups; Cilv led Ronan and Axel on her side of the bridge, while Evanna led Ger on the opposite side. They snuck forwards, their footsteps light, with their backs crouched, low enough to only be shown slightly above the bridge’s sides.
As they approached the endpoint of the bridge, the statuesque gate the girls were used to seeing grew taller as they got closer. The guys stayed back while Evanna and Cilv sprinted forwards and simply tapped the guards on the back of their armour; once they turned around, they blew the powder in their face. The guards coughed, and the pair ran around them and done the same to another couple of guards.
Evanna stayed by one of their sides, waiting for him to drop. When he did, she caught him, looking over at the others, feeling relieved when she saw each of the guys carrying a guard. Luckily, Cilv noticed an unguarded carriage and opened the door, signalling the others to put the guards in there.
Evanna was the first to drop her guard in the carriage, keeping as quiet as possible. She snuck to the side and surveyed the area; there should be two more guards, but where were they? While the men put the remaining guards in the carriage, Evanna rushed towards the fountain and hid out of sight from the palace view. Her eyes were the only thing Cilv could see, but the shifter knew nobody else had a clear view of the princess, especially if they were looking outside the windows and arches of the palace.
The princess observed the area, her only movement being her head and eyes. They needed to take the other two guards out, so the alarm was not raised. Evanna ducked immediately after seeing two figures walk to the balcony’s edge on the first floor that overlooked this part of the palace. She held her breath as her muscles tensed in anticipation; she couldn’t look now in case they saw her. Evanna could only hope that the others were hidden.
After seeing Evanna duck, Cilv signalled the guys to stop moving; Ger looked at Cilv’s line of sight, and instead of halting, he climbed into the carriage with the sleeping elves. Axel and Ronan followed suit. But Cilv closed the door on them and instead ran up the wall, extending her nails and used her hands to claw her way up to the balcony’s edge.
Cilv readied herself; her right hand came out, her nails lengthened even more, but she stopped when the guards retreated from the balcony edge. They sounded drunk. She could not tell what they were saying, but Cilv could see them walking unsteadily towards the stairs after looking through the balcony gaps. She dropped to the ground silently, not bothered by the height and kept herself hidden in the shadows, her back flat against the wall.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Evanna sprint forwards; her eyes widened, and she went to signal her to hide, but it was too late. The voices of the men laughing and stumbling on the last steps caught sight of Cilv; before they could say anything, Evanna blew the powder in their faces.
*cough* "* What is- *"