The prisoners lay silent in their cells, completely oblivious that the dungeons were being searched by two parties in disguise and without detection as they wore invisible cloaks.
Lady Daphne paced in her cell as she thought of her impending execution at the hands of Lady Miranda whereas Lady Violet seemed lost in thought staring through the bars of her cell and definitely paler compared to when Lady Miranda had last visited her.
Queen Arabella of the Autumn Court moved swiftly almost flying through the tunnels, her amber eyes glowing in the dim light as she hurriedly searched the tunnels for Lady Violet's cell. She was accompanied by two of her elite assassins.
Just as she finished coming through one end of a tunnel.
She halted.
Uncertain but ready to kill if need be she waited as the figure ahead of her emerged from the shadows blocking her path.
It was King Cyrus and a group of warrior clad in dark green. The air between them crackled with magic, his the earth and hers the winds.
"Cyrus," Arabella greeted hesitantly.
"Arabella," he answered wearily.
"You should not be here, this is not your war," she said her amber eyes gleaming.
"Yet you are here," he countered stepping closer. "It appears this dungeon holds more than one prisoner worth saving."
Understanding dawned. " You are here for Lady Daphne."
He did not confirm it but he did not need to.
"How interesting what does Lady Daphne's freedom gain you?" Arabella pressed further.
Cyrus smirked. "The same thing Lady Violet's gains you, I imagine. Influence. Leverage. Chaos.
He was not wrong she thought.
Then she heard it, the first shouts and the alarm of intruders in the tunnels, she had to move quick their time was running out.
"Very well, I have no interest in your affairs. Do not get in my way."
She warned him, he quickly stepped aside with his men to allow her access.
"And you in mine," he replied before he headed in the opposite direction with his warriors.
He signaled with his hand, once he came to Lady Daphne's cell.
A boom shattered a hole through the wall, as dust and debris filled the air, the guards fell backwards. Before they had time to get up and react, thick vines coiled around them, squeezing them and holding silent.
Lady Daphne gasped as the blade sliced clean through her chains. King Cyrus yelled at her
"time to move," he ordered.
"Why are you here?" she asked him as he grabbed her arm and pushed her past the rubble.
"We share a common enemy, Casimir," King Cyrus replied simply.
"If you rather wish to die go ahead and stay but don't waste my time." He said as he and his men pushed past her and ran out of the tunnels towards the entrance that granted them escape into the woods.
Lady Daphne ran after them as quickly as she could in her ball gown.
Lady Violet on the other hand, held the bars and watched as the Queen of Autumn bent them apart with her mind.
"I thought you would not come for me," she murmured, hardly believing her own eyes.
"Nonsense, you have served your purpose well," the Queen remarked dryly as she tugged her at her and led her out of the cell.
Alarms and shouts rang out and the sound of armored footsteps pounding above them and entering the dungeons could be heard as they fled through the same entrance of the tunnel that led to the woods.
King Casimir's men soon reached them and surrounded them but King Cyrus raised his hands and thick vines sprung through the tunnel walls coiling around them and locking them against the walls of the tunnel.
Some guards moved towards the Queen only to be met by powerful winds conjured that sent them flying backwards and hitting themselves against the walls rendering them unconscious.
The escape out of the dungeons was swift and as the King and Queen combined forces, they proved that the Summer King's men were no match for their combined efforts and escape.
As the little party escaped into the forests into the dark of the night. The last thing Lady Miranda saw when she arrived moments too late was the faint glow of the firelight fading into the trees.
She clenched her fists and vowed she would put an end to this.
Now that she knew, that the two traitors had help from royalty she knew the other courts were involved in the ballroom disaster.
She would weed them out one by one even if the whole damned world had to burn with fire for their traitorous rebellion against the Summer Court.
She looked up at the night sky covered in stars and promised herself she would live to see a new era established under her nephew's rule, even if it meant she went down with the choices made by the former ruler.