The Big Day.

The Elves gathered in the adjacent cave where Jegun and his companion occupied. Jegun brief the king of what was about to happen tonight during their escape.

"You guys will be the first to go along with the girls. We must escape quickly because the barrier can close anytime," Jegun said.

"How big the gap will be so that I will know how many magic carpets can go at the same moment to facilitate much quicker escape time and to avoid colliding on each other due to panic?" the king of elves asked.

"Hmm...I dunno...because slicing the barrier using the sword and the blood of the girls will only happen tonight. Just instruct your men to get ready by two or three carpets at the same time. When I give the go signal...you should have the first, second, and third carpet ready to zoom into the gap followed by the others. This way passing through the open gap goes smoothly," explained Jegun.

"Okay, I got it. Hmm, how about if one of the magic carpets encounters a collision and the passengers fall into the ground? What I'm gonna do?" the king asked.

"Just tell your men to continue the escape and don't break the formation no matter what. I will help everyone that falls out of the magic carpet. That way the majority can escape and won't be delayed by the few that fall behind," Jegun replied.

"Okay, I will tell my men to follow the plan. Anyways, we have plenty of time to practice and the passage here inside the cave is good enough for the practice," the king said.

"Good! I'll come back later to check on your practice. I and the boys still have some preparation to do. I'll take my leave now," Jegun said.

"Thank you, friend," the king said.

Jegun left the chamber of the elves. He went to the chamber where Zemeth and Ramza had occupied.

"How's the situation there?" Zemeth asked him.

"The elves are going to practice, by having two or three magic carpets passing through the barrier at the same time to speed up the process," Jegun replied.

"Okay, I'll leave the elves and the girls' safety to you and Agran," Zemeth said.

"In case the vampires catch up with us...I will just create a barrier separating you guys from us. This way, the elves, and the girl's escape won't be disturbed and you can give your best fight to the enemies without constantly looking at how we are doing behind your back. This will make sure the escape will be successful and you can focus on the enemies. This is just a plan B, just in case they will attack us," suggested Jegun.

"Brilliant plan, Grandpa!" Zemeth agreed to Jegun's suggestion.

Ramza was thinking of something. "Ella can't get out first, we need her just in case the blazing barrier will suddenly close on us, we can open it again with her blood," he said.

"Okay, Agran will stay to take guard of Ella," Jegun responded.

"Anything else?" Zemeth asked his companion.

"It looks like we have covered everything already. I guess we are ready for tonight," Jegun said. "I'll take my leave and return to the elves to watch their practice," he said and left the chamber.

Ramza looked at Zemeth. "I'll go to the boys and brief them again with the latest update of our plan," he said and left.

Zemeth went to the girls' chamber. He found them sitting on the wooden bed, talking to each other. "Girls, we have a new update," he said.

"What is it?" asked Ivy.

"During the escape, Ella and Agran will stay," he said and looked at Ivy. "While you and the elves will leave the at once," he said.

Ivy's brows furrowed. "But why? I thought me and my sister will leave together?"

"Yes, that's the first plan but just in case the blazing barrier will close upon us we can still open it as long Ella stays by our side," he said.

"Ah, okay I got it," Ella said. She looked at her sister. "Don't worry about me, sis. Agran will take care of me," she assured her.

Ivy breathed deeply. "Ah, okay," she said.

Ella stood up. "I'll go and find Agran, we will be preparing foods for early dinner," she said.

"I'll help you guys," Ivy volunteered.

"Laters..." Ella said and exited the chamber.

Zemeth sat beside his beloved woman on the bed. He noticed the worry on her face. "What's wrong, wife?" he asked.

Ivy took a deep breath and shrugged. "I dunno...I'm feeling nervous right now."

"Why?" he rubbed her back gently.

"I dunno... It's a mixture of excitement and nervousness. I can only breathe easier after we finally escaped the blazing barrier successfully," Ivy said.

"I understand how you feel. Anything can happen during our escape. I just hope the vampires and their dark shadow armies won't be able to detect our escape so that we can have a smooth exit from this forsaken castle. What I feared the most is one of us will get hurt in the process..." Zemeth said. Although he knows his and his men's capabilities, their escape is dangerous because it involves innocent people, causality can't be avoided.

"I'm dreading the coming of time," Ivy said fearfully.

Zemeth rubbed her arms gently to soothe her troubled mind. "Shh...wife...don't worry too much. We will escape this castle successfully, bear that in your mind. Don't entertain negative thoughts they can only destroy your peace of mind," he said and hugged her tightly wanting to make her feel better. He planted a quick kiss on her forehead.

Ivy smiled. "Thanks for making me feel better, husband," she said.

They stayed in that sweet embrace for the next hour. Then Zemeth left the chamber to talk to his comrades that were guarding the cave's mouth.

Ivy went to look for her sister Ella and Agran and help them prepare dinner for the men.

~

Jegun was back in the chamber where the elves were housed. He watched while the two carpets zoomed towards the end of the passage and make a detour and went the other way while another two was trailing behind.

He was pleased that the king of elves manages to train his clan well. "Looking good so far, my friend!" he praised his effort.

The king of elves smiled. "I told them that this is a one time ticket to freedom. I told them that all they need to do is stay on the carpet without falling and just zoomed passing through the gap in the barrier as fast as they could because if they fall, they will be the last one to go out. I told them not to make any mistake or else they will be left behind," he said.

"Good! Let's wish for a safe escape tonight!" Jegun said and patted his friend's shoulder. He stayed in the next two hours watching the elves practicing riding the magic carpet without encountering any mishap.

~

Zemeth was talking to his comrades near the mouth of the cave. "Any suspicious sighting outside the cave?" he asked them.

"Nothing so far. The dark shadows that previously checking out this area no longer return. I guess they already give up finding us here since they failed to find the mouth of the cave," Simus said.

"That's good! I hope when we left tonight, the dark shadows were nowhere to be seen so that we can proceed to the area without encountering any problem," Zemeth said.

"But, it could also be a trap," suggested Bhork.

"What do you mean?" Zemeth asked.

"They could be nearby just waiting for someone to exit the cave's mouth," Dredo suggested.

"Could be, that's a big possibility. The good thing is, we won't exit this way. We will use the other secret exit out of this cave," Zemeth answered.

His comrades smiled in relief.

"I'll get back inside," Zemeth said and left.

~

Ivy, Ella, and Agran were busy cleaning and roasting ten whole chickens in the chamber designated as the kitchen. The delicious roasted chicken will be their last meal inside the cave.

The girls were cleaning the chicken while Agran does the roasting above the fire.

"What's going to happen tonight, sis?" Ella asked her sister. She's feeling nervous.

Ivy sighed heavily. "Just stay with Agran's side just in case the dark armies will appear. Don't panic, just stay calm," she said.

"Okay," Ella said. "I'm sorry if I'm feeling this way, I can't help it," she said.

"Nah, it's okay, sis. Much better that we talked about our fears before we arrived at the blazing barrier because once we're already there, we can't afford to feel fear and panic anymore. We have to give our whole focus to the escape. We must be alert and cautious all the time," Ivy said, trying to sound confident in front of her sister.

"Thanks, sis, I will try to focus on the positive side and not dwell much on the negative side," Ella stated.

"Okay, you do that. I'm pretty sure, we will survive tonight," Ivy said with confidence.

The sisters smiled at each other while Agran was listening to the girls' conversation.

A few hours later, the roasted chickens were cooked deliciously. Agran brought some of the chicken to the men stationed at the mouth of the cave.

Zemeth, Ramza, Agran, Ivy, and Ella gathered at the wooden table to eat their mouthwatering feast. Jegun arrived just in time before the group started eating. He invited the king of the elves to join them at dinner and introduced him to his companions.

After saying hello to each other, they began eating the mouthwatering roasted chicken.

One hour later, they finished eating dinner.

Then they began their preparation.