Prince Gyllen Ch. 16.2

With agility akin to a monkey, Argento easily reached the the top of the perimeter, looking back down once he did and gesturing for Gyllen to follow. Following the silver-haired one's example, the prince grasped the woven hemp in both hands and propped his socked feet to the cold, stone wall, only just now realising how effortless Argento made manoeuvre seem as he struggled making any progress scaling the wall even when applying the entirety of his upper body strength, although with vulgar cries of encouragement from Min and Argento pulling the rope taut to make the blond's ascent a little bit more bearable the prince eventually succeeded in joining them atop the barrier, completely winded and nearly toppling over from giddiness just from peering down at the precarious drop on the other side.

"Gyllen, tell me 'fore I think I was trippin'." Min started as they waited for Argento to bundle the rope into his arm. "But where the Hel didja learn t' fight like that!?"

"Fencing lessons." Gyllen answered simply once he regained his lost breath. "Father forced me to take them when I was younger. I absolutely detested those daily drills, though it seems they came in useful for something after all, even if I was a tad rusty."

"Hm...I'll hafta keep it in mind next time I find mesel' in a scrap~"

Argento soon had the entire length of rope looped around his wrist before unfurling it down the other side of the wall to the ground the very second he had done so in time for him to catch a glimpse of the armoured sentries making a reappearance around the same corner from which they came, yelling for the runaways to halt with none of them listening as they each descended the rope to the other side in turn to freedom, Gyllen once again going last and taking the most amount of time to rappel down the rope thanks to initial hesitation. The prince's reluctant fear quickly gave way to his sense of urgency however and he found himself hastily sinking down the cord and landing flat on his bottom upon the grass on the other side before long. The drop was far easier than the climb, though Gyllen's soft palms suffered slight burns from the rope in his hasty fall.

The prince had little time to cope with the pain however, as Min and Argento were already well on their way into the distance. Gyllen caught up with them to a dirt path several meters away from the jailhouse where, as sure as the goblin said, a pair of hardy ponies had been casually tethered to a signpost and patiently awaiting the return of their provisional masters. Both steeds were then promptly unfettered before being mounted by Gyllen and Argento, though not without the prince first lifting Min to situate her on the front end of the saddle. The blond tried not to let the grinding of her buttocks against his crotch distract him too much as she was bounced in her seat by the brisk gallop they took down the road as alarm bugles blew from the complex they were leaving far behind them and the first rays of dawn broke over the horizon, coating the dew-covered plains in a pale glow as if to rejoice alongside the three in the liberation of the prince...although Gyllen still appeared strangely despondent over the whole situation despite his regained freedom.

"Alright, Goldie, I give up. What's eatin' ya now?" Min asked, looking up to be greeted by Gyllen's long face in the early morning light once he and Argento slowed their horses to a gentler trot after determining they were clear enough away from the jailhouse to avoid risking an easy recapture.

"Min...I've only been out of Snjórland a few short months, and I'm already a fugitive..." The blond answered, lamentation clear in his timbre. "Oh, how I pray to the gods Mother never catches wind of this mess...methinks I won't be paying Juno any further visits in the near future. I want to set sail the minute we're back on the ship."

"Ah, a shame to hear you are leaving so soon, Signore." Argento chimed into the conversation. "Our country is beautiful, and cannot experience all it can offer in just a few days. Will you not reconsider? I would guide you around personally!"

"Thank you, Argento, but I'm quite certain. I've had my fill of excitement to last me till next year...though if I ever do return to Caliga, I'll certainly take you up on that tour." Gyllen wryly chuckled to placate his rushing emotions even in the smallest way as he turned to face his newly made acquaintance and gaining the clearest view of his countenance in the early effulgence for the first time since they crossed paths. "You know...we could honestly pass for twins, our resemblance is that uncanny."

"Ah, you flatter me, amico~ Never I thought a day would come when a street-rat like me would be compared to one of your loveliness." The Caligan guffawed. "Funny thing is, I've been meaning to get myself a haircut for a while now. Perhaps if I finally got around to it the day before, none of this would have happened!" Gyllen found this revelation to be less amusing. "But enough dwelling on what has already past! At the very least, allow me to see you two off. I'm very familiar with navigating the side streets and back alleys, just in the case any patrols in the city recognise our faces."

"Well, that's very kind of you, Argento, but I'd hate to bother you any further. You've already done so much for me already." Gyllen responded, taken aback that a perfect stranger was willing to go this far just to see them off safely.

"Think nothing of it, buono Signore! Naturalmente, if you are able to keep up that is!" Argento exclaimed before snapping the reins of his mount to encourage his horse to gallop down the path at headlong speed, leaving Gyllen and Min in a cloud of kicked-up dust within the space of a few seconds.

"Hey! Ya ain't gonna let him show us up like that, are ya?" Min hollered, fired up over the ostentatious act as she watched the silver-haired lad and his horse disappear into the distance. Gyllen said nothing, only smiling as he flicked his own gelding's reins in analogous manner to chase his Caligan lookalike back to the portentous spires and temples which comprised Juno, all but forgetting the unsavoury (if abnormally inciting) torment Lyngbakr had processed him through while under her brief subjugation, and the possibility that she had made an illegitimate parent out of the teenaged prince...