Potassium benzoate?

Farrago peered around the room, a little disturbed. All these… weapons! Matthias, however, seemed to be enjoying himself.

"Look at this. Look at it all. It's beautiful." Well, a lot of these things WERE rather shiny. Farrago shrugged, and followed Matthias’ enthusiastic progress with wide eyes.

“He sure does seem happy, doesn’t he?” Farrago murmured to Merlin, stepping around a pile of arms. Matthias waded happily through the sea of weapons. Striding over to the wall, Matthias plucked a silver bow from its hook. "Here, take this. Look for arrows."

After Farrago had found what she deemed enough arrows, she stopped to look at her bow. She turned the thing over in her hands, and a flash of memory blinked behind her eyes. Silver… it was so familiar. Sinking against the wall, she squinted.

“Where do we remember this from, Merlin? Where?” she said quietly. “Oh, bother. Bother and bump, I say.” She shook her head. “It’s too hard! Too much. Dammit-“

“Yes!” Matthias’ yell of triumph tore Farrago from her conversation. “I HAVE THE POWERRRRRRRR!" The sword was, apparently, reunited with its master. Farrago couldn’t help but grin; it was overwhelmingly impossible not to, considering how happy Matthias was. He did some fumbling around with his sword and a crossbow, and then turned to look at Farrago. "Well, let's go."

Farrago nodded, and the pair made their way back through the piles of weaponry and out the door, passing the sleeping (and just plain unconscious) guards easily. They walked in silence for a long time, following random paths through the dungeon’s mazelike corridors. After what seemed like forever and two days, four hours and fifteen minutes, they came to a flight of stone stairs. Turning to face each Matthias, Farrago stopped. “Well. It’s only uphill from here, no?”

In the shadows, Farrago couldn’t see Matthias’ expression, but she got the impression that he grinned. “It certainly is. Let’s go.”

As she made her way up the stairs behind Matthias, Farrago could tell there were windows in the corridor ahead-real light! How exciting, Farrago thought, and she couldn’t help but jump a little, happily. This was it. She was actually on her way to freedom. Barely able to comprehend it, Farrago moved her wings a little. The prospect of fresh air and the chance to stretch her wings excited her. A lot. A very large amount of lot. And to fly again! Insanely cool.

The last of the steps faded away under her feet, and Farrago peered expectantly around her. They seemed to be in an empty corridor, and to their left side was a row of windows. Farrago walked up to one, and looked longingly out on the natural world for the first time in years. It was apparently the early hours of morning, and the light was clear and bright. “I wish we could just climb out this window and get out of here once and for all… but we seem to be on a rather high floor and-wait!”

Matthias looked at her questioningly. “Wait?”

“I can fly! It makes no difference whether we’re a million feet up, or two feet up… I can fly!!” Practically laughing, Farrago looked at Matthias with bright eyes. “Are you up for it?”

Matthias grinned. “Absolutely.”

“Then let’s go.” Farrago strode over to the window, looking for a latch of some kind. She found just what she was looking for at the bottom of the window frame. Nimble white fingers twisted the latch, almost surprised to find it unlocked-but then again, this seemed like a pretty unused corridor. The window swung outward, leaving a highly inviting square opening in the wall. Farrago grinned, and beckoned for Matthias to join her by the window. “Here-climb out a bit, stand here on this ledge…” The tall, unusual man climbed backwards through the window, standing carefully on a small ledge outside the window. Farrago slipped past him and took flight. For a few seconds, she fell, unused to being able to stretch her wings out all the way, let alone fly, but soon she was used to the feeling. Her wingspan was ultimately impressing, and she looked at home in the air. Moonlight was glinting off iridescent black feathers and hair, and Farrago was an altogether sparkly image.

Farrago flew as close as she could to Matthias without hitting her wings against the castle wall, which, unfortunately, was a few feet away. “You’re going to have to jump,” Farrago said apologetically. Matthias looked like he didn’t like the idea very much, and frankly, neither did Farrago… but hell, what can you do? Farrago held her arms outstretched, and Matthias leapt into them, dropping only a few inches before she caught him. “You’re a bit heavy,” Farrago grinned, and flew happily away from the castle. Ah, freedom! Such bliss. She laughed and flew happily away from the sickeningly large castle that had been both a prison and a home to both of them-if only temporarily.