A Power Game

As the door shut behind Sam with a secretive whisper, Elly let out a high, girlish laugh. Falling onto the soft bed, she blinked up at the ceiling.

"Did you see the look on his face when I said no?" She smiled at the memory. "The poor man was meek as butter."

Across the room, Sam grinned, leaning against the door. His belt was back around his waist, tucked above his prominent hipbones. He casually rolled the leather-wrapped handle of a throwing knife between his hands, watching the steel blade spin.

"I don't know, I thought he was kind of attractive. Better than that Lord Stein yesterday."

Elly almost shuttered at the memory. Lord Stein had been a sweaty, hulking brute of a man. The meeting had lasted approximately five minutes before Sam had been forced to haul the man off of Elly, and give him a quick bath in the castle moat. Her father had been ... less than happy about that particular act. He had promised that the next time Sam set foot in the castle, he would lose his head. Sam didn't seem to be phased by the threat.

Elly shrugged, sitting up on the side of her massive bed. She watched Sam with pointed eyes.

"You called me your little sister."

Sam froze, the knife in his hands paused mid-spin. His grey eyes were intent, but respectful. "Does that bother you, my lady?"

The young girl sighed. "Of course not. Don't get me wrong, it's pretty weird for me because I want to tear your clothes of you right now, but yeah, being your little sister is definitely next best thing." If there was one thing that the constant backwards comments, simpering, and question-dodging of the suitors had done, it was make her more straightforwards.

The man across the room laughed, the sound light and mellifluous. He didn't have a deep voice, but it was powerful all the same. When Sam spoke, people tended to listen to him.

"Sorry, girl. You're a bit young for me, and you're, ah ..." He trailed off, voice slightly awkward. "Missing a few pieces."

Elly's laugh filled the entire room, echoing off the walls. She wrapped both arms around her stomach, eyes curved in amusement. "God, Sam, you're adorable. And I'm 18! What do you mean 'young'?!"

"Elizabeth!"

The voice cut through Elly's laughter immediately. It was loud, like a cannon, but not commanding. Baron Dario Van Roark had never been a man to inspire loyalty or trust, or even to rule through fear. He was like a bulldog that thought it was a rottweiler. Now, his voice was angry, and bordered on threatening.

The door creaked slightly as Sam bounced off of it, coming to stand near the bed by Elly. It was probably the worst possible position, Elly decided, which was probably why he had chosen it. A confident, sardonic smile curved the corners of Sam's lips as the Baron struggled to push open the heavy door.

The man was shorter than most men, and only stood up to about Elly's chin. His skin was red and bloated, and his eyes were too small for his round, fat face. His arms, however, were as thick and powerful as tree trunks. Entering the room, his eyes focused instantly on Elly. He didn't even seem to notice Sam. Not a good sign. He was really angry.

He stood a foot from Elly, seething with anger. To Elly's surprise, another figure stood in the doorway; Lord Silonan. His blue eyes darted between Elly, Baron Dario, and Sam. He seemed to be trying to make himself as small as possible.

"Lord Silonan told me what happened!" The Baron fumed, his jaw working visibly as he spat out the words. His nostrils flared, making him look like a small, rosy bull. "After all that I've done for you! I gave you LIFE, GIRL! And this is how you repay me!" He spat on the carpet, grinding it with one hard black-shewed foot.

"I own you, girl!" He raised one hand, and stars exploded across Elly's vision as he struck her. She opened her eyes just in time to see him raise the other hand, bringing it down viciously towards her other cheek.

"If you hit her again, I'll cut your balls off and feed them to you, little man."

Elly's eyes widened in horror as she looked up at Sam. He was standing behind the Baron, one of his hands wrapped solidly around the man's thick wrist. Her father's eyes practically shone with murderous light.

"Let go of me, you swine!"

"Remember my promise." Sam released the man's wrist. It hovered in the air still, and Elly narrowed her eyes, waiting for the sudden pain. To her amazement, her father simply lower his hand to his side, turning to face Sam.

"I thought I told you I would have you beheaded if I caught you with my daughter."

Sam smiled down at him, his teeth shining white. "No sir, you said you would have me beheaded if you caught me in your castle. You never mentioned your daughter, sir."

"But you're in my castle." The Baron's voice was a curious mix of furious and confused. The puzzled look that came over Sam's face probably didn't help.

"Oh ... Right ... I suppose I am." His smile widened. "Sorry about that."

The Baron's face curdled in anger. "You will die!" He pointed one rigid finger at Sam. "And YOU!" He stuck the same finger right under Elly's nose. She went cross-eyed looking at it, which caused Sam to laugh. "You will marry Lord Silonan, whether you want to or not."

Elly opened her mouth to reply, but to her amazement, it was Sam who spoke up. "I'm sorry sir, but there's one small problem with that."

The Baron turned to him forcefully, his coat flapping. "And what would that be, boy?" He accentuated the last word. Sam simply smiled down at him disarmingly.

"She's already promised to marry me."

Elly didn't know who was more stunned; her, or her father. Her father was practically spitting in rage, spit flying as he tried to fit a dozen insults out of his throat at once. Sam stood calmly in front of the seething man. Suddenly, the Baron reached out, grabbing Sam's collar and dragging him down to his face.

"She will never marry you! I won't allow it!" His voice bordered on insane.

"I do." Elly's voice was calm and assured. Her father spun to face her.

"I don't care if you do a thousand times! Neither of you will be leaving this castle!"

Sam slapped the man's arm casually. "Is that an offer to let us live here, sir?"

With a roar of rage, the Baron stormed towards the door. "Neil, summon the guards!"

Lord Silonan ran from the room hurriedly, and Elly heard him shouting down the hallway, calling for help. Her father slammed the door behind him, placing himself in front of it. He stood there like a one-man army, short and furious. "There's no chance that you two are getting married!"

Sam shrugged. "The truth does not change depending on your ability to stomach it."

The Baron still stood solidly in front of the door, so Sam decided so change tactics. He walked towards the man slowly, pacing like the wildcat he was nicknamed after. Even Dario's angry face seemed to shrink away from Sam at his finest. "Look, sir. I don't mean to be rude." Sam leaned in close to the Baron, planting one hand solidly against the door. "But I'm running on two hours of sleep, and I'm feeling both giddily happy, and violently homicidal. If we can't go around you, I'm going to go through you."

"Is that a threat boy?"

Suddenly the air became very tense, as if it would shatter at the slightest drop of a pin. Elly breathed in slowly, waiting to see what Sam would do.

"Yes."

The tall boy moved so fast, Elly barely saw it. His knee slammed into the man's flabby stomach, doubling him over. When the man bent over, gasping for air, Sam's foot caught him in the side of the head, throwing him head-over-heels sideways. Elly sprang off the bed, running to Sam.

"Is he alive?"

Her father was lying in the corner of the room, but to Elly's relief the fat man was groaning slightly.

"Guards!" The man mumbled, "Guards, stop them!"

Then Sam grabbed her wrist, pulling her gently from the room. As they stole into the hallway, Sam grinned.
"I've wanted to do that for so long."
With that, the two crept down the silent hallway. Reaching the entrance to the open garden, they both ducked behind a pillar. The grounds seemed still and silent. Many of the people in the castle would not yet have risen from their beds, Elly guessed. Ducking out from behind the pillar, the pair flew across the open ground quickly, covering the distance in just under ten seconds. From there, it was a short walk to the castle gates.

"Jory!" Sam called, waving one hand above his head. "Jory, I need to get out, mate!"

Jory poked his head out of the tower window. The lever in the castle tower was the only way to control the drawbridge that led to and from the castle. The man was portly, and his chubby face stuck out the window happily.

"Ah, good morning Master Rolland!" He noticed Elly, tipping his hat to her respectfully. "Ah, is the Master letting you go for a walk, El?"

Elly had known Jory since she had been a child, and the fat, jolly man had always been kind to her. He had once been the man who snuck her ginger cookies under the table during dinnertime, and he was the one who had first introduced her and Sam. Elly had been 7, Sam had been 11, still children in truth.

"I'm afraid not, Jory. The Master is having a forced nap."

The merry gatekeeper laughed, stomach shaking in mirth. "Well, that's good then young girl. You have a nice walk now." He disappeared back into the tower, and the creaking shudder of gears sounded across the castle foyer. The drawbridge lowered slowly, and Elly breathed deeply.

"You alright, Elly?" Sam asked, giving her hand a light squeeze. She looked at him, nodding slightly.

"Yeah. I'm ready."

The two walked out over the drawbridge; together.