By the time Robert had caught up, Charlie was half way down the corridor and plunging further into the darkness. He didn't give his brother as much as a cursory glance as he went further and further into the maze like tunnels of his father's highest chambers.

A yell quickly sounded from somewhere behind them alerted them to the fact that the enemy had returned to their feet quicker then they had had hoped for. But this knowledge deterred neither brother.

Skidding to a stop as they reached the nearest corner, Charlie looked back for two reasons.

First he wanted to see how much leeway the pair had in their charge, knowing that he and his brother were much worse off in their condition then the enemy. They had been through much more in the recent weeks.

And the second was that he wanted to make sure the rest of his friends had escaped the room.

Past the running heads of the wolves and the running man, Charlie spotted his father, Briar and Violet slipping from the room in silence and in the opposite direction. Down towards the cells at in the depths of the palace.

They're strong, but their not awfully smart, Charlie acknowledged but there was little time for him to dwell on this small victory.

He took off running after Robert, not daring to look back a second time at how much more distance they had lost.

But he and Robert had the advantage that they had known these halls since they were little more then pups. Charlie may not have been here in years, but it was like muscle memory as his paws found the familiar footfalls as they bounded on.

The darkness and the maze like corridors of the palace also played in their favour. Dodging left and right as erratically as they could in an attempt to throw their trackers off their scent. They fought on and on, harder and harder.

Yet it quickly all came tumbling down as they skidded into a dead end. Be it because of a wrong turning, or just a forgetful memory it didn't matter. They were trapped and had two choices left to them.

Fight their way out of here.

Or die trying.

Charlie skidded as he lunged but it didn't stop him from colliding hard with the first person he met. Dragging the wolf to the ground he ripped into every piece of fur or skin he could get his fangs on. And didn't discriminate between which was which.

Before he had even landed again from the jump, the others were barraging him with their own defensive attacks. A blow to the back of the head from the crossbow was coupled to fangs tearing into one of his paws.

A cry tearing from his throat before he could stop it, pretending to have lost it was quickly becoming needless. It wouldn't take him much more for the game to become real as he fought on, harder and harder.

Robert was quick to come to his aid, and forcefully tear anyone near Charlie away. Not necessarily out of honour or kindness, but for the need to make sure that the young wolf didn't kill him as well if it escalated much further.

Soon their movements became nearly synchronised, but the odds weren't in their favour. They were outnumbered, the enemy was much stronger and they were cornered against a wall faced with an opponent who wanted them dead.

Part of Charlie was certain this would be the end.

Even if that thought had crossed him multiple times in the last week alone.

Time after time the two brothers were thrown from the fray, sometimes into a wall, other times into each other and occasionally the fell only to the ground with horrendous thuds. They were tiring, and the enemy was beginning to view this like a game of cat and mouse.

No matter how hard Charlie tried to hold it together, he could feel himself beginning to slip.

Until there was nothing left to hold on to.

And he lunged back into the battle with a renewed anger and hatred, but now with something else to back him up.

But that wasn't necessarily a good thing for any of them.

Robert was quick to do his best to put some form of defence between himself and the danger, to ensure that at least one of them could make it out of this alive. But Charlie was relentless with his fury and his attacks.

No matter how hard he tried, Robert fell into the line of fire more then once and suffered the consequences of it.

But regardless, he kept fighting on.

Against what a more logical Charlie would have regarded as the worst odds, the enemy were beginning to weaken and it wasn't long until they had at last fallen. Charlie wasn't sure he could believe it, but it would be their first victory of the night.

But they had a lot more left to win.

With the sound of cracking bones, Robert shifted and was quick to grab the crossbow from the hands of the fallen man who had remained in human form. Pointing it at Charlie with caution, he gestured in a direction.

Charlie didn't need to be asked twice, and was gone, running down it with renewed energy.

Robert followed, trying his best not to make it apparent how badly he had been hurt.

Mostly by his own brother.

Leaving the dead bodies in their wake, the pair trapsed their way back through the corridors. Charlie didn't bother to attempt to walk with silence, he was more that prepared to rip in two anything that he came across.

Be it friend or foe, right now Charlie couldn't have cared less.

On the other hand Robert was making every attempt to silence his footsteps, and follow in the shadows behind his brother. His intention being that if they came across an enemy, he could be distracted by the angry wolf and it would be Robert who made the killing blow.

No one deserved the fate that Charlie would bring them, and if Robert could help it he wouldn't make anyone face it.

Except maybe one or two.

The two brothers continued on, snaking back and forth through the palace catching as many attentions as they were capable of gaining and drawing them out. Charlie's earlier assumption appeared to be correct, they were idiots.

Almost unbelievably so.

But the simple matter of fact, was that there weren't that many to be found.

Robert wished beyond hope that the reason for an empty castle was in their favour. But his every instinct inside him screamed that something here wasn't right. That something was lurking in the shadows, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

But no matter how far they went, how many crevices and crannies they searched, aside from two dozen enemies. There was nothing.

It was almost eerily silent.

Charlie pulled to a stop, and by the time Robert had realised his brother had halted the young wolf was growling. On edge. Robert froze, placing another bolt into the bow and preparing to tear into whatever would come next.

But the young wolf returned to his path as though it had been nothing, trudging through the halls in a silence. Leaving Robert by himself for a split second, looking back at his brother confused.

What did he smell? The eldest prince thought, knowing that at the best of times his brother would often lose track of a train of thought, especially when he was in this state, but it seemed like something worse.

Pausing, allowing his brother to gain distance on him. Robert pressed to the wall, trying to catch any scent of anything which might have made him wary anywhere in the walls proximity. Nothing.

He followed without a questioning word.

Charlie's senses are a thousand times better then mine, he tried to convince himself it was nothing. He would have been able to tell if something was wrong, he repeated those words over and over again in his head.

"Let's go," Robert's voice was firm in spite of the fear which was bubbling in his chest. I need to get the hell out of here, the thoughts bubbled in the back of his head. He could feel his grip on the crossbow beginning to loosen, finding gripping it difficult with how badly his hands were shaking.

As Charlie wasn't in much of a position to put forward any argument, the young wolf simply followed. Little else to do, and enough sense in his head for the time being to not tear his own brother clean in half.

For now. Robert had always been a slow walker.

Robert decided his best bet was most likely to be to go through the same exit the rest had gone through. It might seem like no one else was left here, but Robert didn't want to risk anything at this point.

So the pair made their way back up to the top of the castle and back into the King's bedroom.

Robert carefully made his way to the fireplace, he was more hesitant then his father had been but his fingers found their way to the false tile and he pressed it in. Once again, the trapdoor fell back revealing the pitch black at the other side.

Charlie had half ushered his brother into the hole, with some coercion and a lot of pushing when the door slammed open.

Now the grinning enemy was on the other side of it, and there were dozens of them.

Without thinking, Robert grabbed his brother by the scruff of the neck and through himself into the hole, kicking back at last minute in an attempt to shut the door behind them which was fortunately successful.

Struggling forward, the darkness would have been blinding for a mortal man, but once their eyes had become accustomed to it they could see very faintly.

Making their way through the tiny corridor, barely enough space to sit up in let alone walk. The pair continued on, Robert crawling on all fours and Charlie managing struggling on in his wolf form.

Then after a short while the floor gave way and sent them hurtling downwards.

The pair seemed to be in a freefall for an eternity before they came to a stop. But it wasn't to the outside world, but a wall.

And it was almost entirely blocked by those they had left to go free mere minutes before.