Minutes passed but in the end they couldn't calm down enough to talk amongst themselves but Ango couldn't keep lady Talia waiting much longer. He was struggling with himself about whether he should tell them that they were all going to die.
'No, I shouldn't. it won't make a difference anyway' he was nearly done crying but the thought of his parents dying made them flow again.
'If they don't know at least they won't live in fear'
He slowly separated himself from them and looked at them, trying to etch them into his memory. John was doing the same thing. After taking a good look at his son he spoke "Don't forget us son, Don't forget us and be safe" Ria was still sobbing nonstop and couldn't say anything but she nodded when john spoke.
Ango didn't want to tell them to be safe because he knew that they were going to die, same as himself; but he could not think of anything else. His mind that was reeling moments ago could not even think up of something else to wish for them so he fell down to his knees in front of his parents and banged his head on the ground.
"Mom, dad, I WILL NEVER Forget you" he exclaimed resolutely.
He stood in that position for a while and then resolutely stood up. He turned his back on his parents without giving them another look and walked up to the carriage. Lady Talia who had been looking at the events transpiring in front her, knew that they could now leave.
As they were leaving, Ango suddenly remembered that he had not said goodbye to Nina but he couldn't go back anymore. He had not seen Nina since that accursed night, deep inside he blamed her even though he knew she had to part in it but he couldn't get rid of the feeling. Nevertheless he did not want to leave without saying goodbye.
'We had such good times together…'
Luckily for him, as they were leaving, he saw Joe, Nina's father, walking on the road, so he yelled "UNCLE JOE, TELL NINA I'M SORRY FOR NOT SAYING GOODBYE BUT I HAVE TO LEAVE" he knew Joe didn't like him, he was one of those rare overprotective fathers, which had always seemed absurd in Ango's eyes.
Joe had murder in his eyes while looking at Ango but he said nothing and just nodded.
...
That night Ango did his best to satisfy Lady Talia's every whim since he believed himself to be in lady Talia's debt. No other master would have gone to so far for a human slave.
That night her moans reverberated through the palace halls and shook many a tree branches.
…
In the morning, Ango woke up and started cleaning himself. He didn't have anything to his name to pack, not even the rags he used to call clothes.
'I'm going to keep these clothes, better die in these and in rags' he thought to himself mockingly.
He had informed the overseer that he was leaving with lady Talia and he had told him to serve her and do not disgrace the house Folium; he had also told him to leave the clothes behind. Ango told him that he would not disgrace his lord and would leave the clothes behind but inwardly he was scoffing.
'Like hell I will, I'll be dead in a few days, I'm taking this and fuck Folium'
Next he went to the kitchen and informed the staff that they were to prepare food and supplies for lady Talia and her guards.
After doing everything that lady Talia had entrusted him, he returned to her room to wait for her awakening.
….
After lady Talia woke up, she took a bath and ate breakfast. It took a few hours but after she was done, they were ready to leave. Lord Folium with his wife and his three children were there to send her off. They did not accompany them all the way, only to the gates of the palace. Where before lady Talia went inside the carriage, she looked at the lord and said "Do not forget lord Folium, the matter should be dealt with very quickly" and the lord nodded as a form of acknowledgment.
'It's going to happen soon huh? At least we said our goodbyes'
'Everyone dies anyway, at least I know when mine is going to be'
Ango was hanging to the back of the carriage while the riding guards got into their formation; protecting the carriage's back, front and flanks. Ango was told to grab a hold of the carriage since otherwise he would slow them down.
A thought suddenly hit Ango 'Do I though? When am I going to die? In a day? a week?...fuck I just know that I'll die'
In a few hours they had exited the city, . Ango found himself surprisingly calm even though he had never left the city, he didn't even know the name of the city after living there all his life or at least he thought he didn't. the city was called Folium, since it was established by Lord Folium's ancestor.
From what he had understood from the guards' conversations, they wanted to go west of the city, so they could use the next city's teleportation portal and the journey would take 4 to 5 days. They knew what path to take since they arrived in the city using the same path before.
'I guess if I had any future to worry about I would have been flustered
since I have spent my whole life in this city but …' Ango stopped himself from thinking about the matter. Instead, he tried to busy himself with a more important task, counting the trees on the way and trying to blink before he saw them.
'I'll die if I get one wrong'
…
Hours passed and their journey remained peaceful. There was no bandit in this area, so close to the great forest and the border, and even if there was, the bandits wouldn't dare to attack a carriage with the royal insignia and with such high-level guards protecting it.
They traveled, ate their meals and continued moving. At night, Ango was called into lady Talia's carriage to pleasure her and so he did but after he exited the carriage and was trying to sleep a bit further away, he was approached by a male guard who seemed interested in him and he became troubled. He didn't have any aversion to these kinds of things, and he was also trained in them since the elves didn't mind same-sex relationships or sexual activities. It didn't mean he liked them, just that he didn't have any form of disgust towards them; even if he did, what could he do? Say 'no' and they would magically disappear?
But that wasn't what troubled him, he was lady Talia's slave, unless she gave him away herself, he couldn't be with anyone else, humans excluded unless specifically mentioned. While the guard was trying to goad him into sleeping with him, lady Talia's voice was heard "Leave him be, he is mine. If you approach him again, I will have you castrated."
'Hehe serves you right, though I really could use some release. Mistress
seems to enjoy denying me' Ango's expression seemed bitter-sweet but he bowed toward lady Talia nonetheless.
The guard shuddered, apologized to lady Talia and left him alone. Royal guards were considered nobility, sometimes more influential than some lower-class nobles, and she couldn't outright kill them because they touched her slave, but punishing them was within her rights.
That night and the next day also passed peacefully and they were now almost halfway to their destination. The guards had eaten their fill sometime ago and were resting in their tents. Lady Talia had not asked for him to perform that night so he was lazing around on the grass.
'I wonder if lady Talia wants to kill me before reaching the capital or after'
'She'll probably do it before we reach the city, I guess she is bored with me already since she didn't call for me tonight'
He didn't know the future and thinking about his death was making him gloomy, so he started looking around.
'When looking at it from the lookout tower, the great forest seemed beautiful but this close, it's terrifying'
'The darkness, the moving shadows and the silence make it unbearable, If I was alone I would have been scared out of my mind' he was thinking to himself but then his mind backtracked.
'Moving shadows? Is the moonlight playing tricks on me?' he stood up to get a better look thinking that beasts may have gotten too close to the camp.
"Those moving shadows seem a bit short, they may be beasts, better to let the guard on duty know" he muttered to himself.
He began to slowly walk up to the guard who was on night duty, since sudden moves would have alerted the beasts. As he was getting closer to her, she turned her head to look at Ango and asked impatiently "What do you wa-"
*PHOOSH
Something pierced her head from the side and she fell to the ground. Ango froze and stared at the female guard's face, it had happened too fast for his mind to register the event. The guard was straining to say something but could not; she was still alive but Ango could do nothing to help. But he had seen what had killed her, a metal arrow bolt.
He didn't wait to hear the silent screams of the guard, he did the first thing that came to his mind
"ENEMY ATTACK"
and he ran towards the carriage.