The Exit

Bealish ran. He ran and ran and ran in sheer panic. What if the guards had noticed him? What if they would find the dead owl? What if they would know he hadn’t helped it, when Varys had killed it? Would they hurt him? Would they hurt Varys? Varys was just an animal, they couldn’t blame him, but they could blame the colt, because he had done nothing to help the sacred bird. The thoughts kept him running further in blind fear, until eventually he no longer could run anymore and had to slow down to a trot. It was just then, he noticed the air had begun to change. He further slowed down, ears and nose wiggling. The air was cool, but far less humid than it was inside the tunnels. It was cool and fresh, without the usual musky smell. In the back of his head, he had the feeling he had smelled such air before, it was a bit like the air that came in from the holes in the caves, where the owls entered, but it was a lot more. It was all around him.

And then he gave a start of surprise, when suddenly the cave opened in front of him! His entire body took a jerk, but he stopped himself from bolting at the sight, instead he turned and stared. Carefully, very carefully he took a step closer, then another one. His heart was racing, his entire body shaking. Could it be? Yes, yes, it was an exit! It was full of moss and there were no tracks anywhere, so it apparently was abandoned tunnel. Baelish heaved a long breath. He had looked for a way outside for so long, so very long and now he was absolutely terrified and excited the very same time.

It already was dark outside, the pale moon lighting the forest. Baelish couldn’t see much, but he didn’t yet dare go any further towards the exit. He felt very foolish all of the sudden, now he had been searching for a way outside for so long and was too scared to go near it? He was a big boy already, there was no need to be scared! He was outside when he had been a little baby, he was already almost an adult, he even could use magic, he wasn’t scared as a baby, and he didn’t need to be scared now. The dark colt heaved a big breath, before carefully taking another step and yet another and eventually he found himself standing at the exit, looking outside wearily.

He was looking into a huge, dark forest. It didn’t quite look like he remembered the forest had looked his mother had taken him to as a baby, but it still was fascinating. Instead of thick, lush, humid and green, the trees were tall and full of needles, the bushes looked sturdy and rough, even lit by the moonlight he could tell the plants were all dark in colour and the ground was mostly covered in the old needles of the tall trees. He carefully placed a hoof on the ground, it was soft and made almost no sound. Where was he here? A sudden noise made him jump again, quickly retreating into the cave some, but still not too far, so he could see what was happening outside.

A huge fawnling came squeezing through the hardy bushes onto the little clearing in front of the cave. It was larger than any fawnling Baelish had ever seen! Yet, at closer look, he started to gain the feeling this fawnling was no adult, despite its enormous size. It was a fawn himself! An enormous, huge, gigantic fawn larger than even the largest stags in Oakfern! However, Lanny had told him Oathbreakers were huge and by Gaelach, she had been right. The colt was pitch black, only highlighted by strange markings that almost resembled a skull on his face, but the funniest thing about him, where his stupidly floppy ears that tangled to both sides of his head. The colt seemed to look for something, poking his nose behind stones, despite being far larger than him, Baelish developed the feeling he probably was still younger, maybe about the age of his sister. Hm. A huge, black fawn in a dark forest. Could this be a Blackwood colt? A smirk suddenly grew on his lips, yes, this had to be a Blackwood colt. The ultimate Oathbreaker! Oh, he had thought he had brought bad luck upon himself by just watching Varys kill the owl, but obviously today turned out to be his lucky day. All he needed was to somehow talk this colt into coming to the caves with him, then he’d attack him or use his magic against him and get him unconscious and then he’d frag the big, fat Oathbreaker baby to the next guards and present them the fawn he had caught himself! And then they would scarify the colt or maybe they would let him scarify the colt himself and they would praise him and even the King would have to admit how Baelish was awesome and praise him for how he had managed to take this Oathbreaker fawn and he’d be taken into the guard or become a fawntaker, the youngest fawntaker ever and everybody would praise him! Ohyes, everybody would! His attention returned to the oblivious colt outside the cave, who was still sniffing about the rocks, turning them with his nose, looking behind them, just to go on searching. He looked like quite a fool, Baelish decided, it probably wouldn’t be hard talking him into coming to the cave with him. He couldn’t just jump at the big colt and drag him along, that’d just be stupid. Maybe inside, where it was dark and narrow and the big colt wouldn’t be able to move quite as much he could somehow overthrow him. Yes, he’d try that, but first he needed to be clever. And he would be clever, this was going to be his big day!