I stood up and walked to the door, letting the chains fall. I opened the door and walked out. Somehow, Harold had gotten the keys to my chains. I looked around the quiet halls and saw the guards sleeping outside—no, they were knocked out.
"Stop reminiscing, let's go," Harold said, approaching me. I glared at him and walked past him—he just annoys me, but why?
"There are horses waiting for us not far from here. We stocked up, so we'd be fine for a long time," Sloane said the minute I walked out.
"Stealing from the imperial family. You have guts," I commented as we ran.
"Escaping from prison is worse," she stated.
We went through dark paths to get to a stable. I walked in and went in search of Bean, but saw the princess standing there with her head down.
'Not my business.'
I walked past her to Bean and pulled him out.
"Um…" she started, and I paused with a loud sigh. "I know that, uh… we don't get along well, but I… I'm, uh… sorry for my rudeness and would like to…" she trailed off. I didn't have time to wait for her to prepare her words. I turned to leave but was called back with the last words I wanted to hear.
"Can I go with you?"
"No," I said without hesitation.
"I'm royalty," she retorted loudly.
"Then stay with your family," I shot back.
"I…" she trailed off again.
"Why don't you let her stay with us? She's a member of our party now," Harold said, sneaking up on me.
"No," I said, pushing him away. I walked out and went to meet the others.
"I got everything back," Alvin said, handing over two swords to me. I stared at them and nodded as I took them from him.
"Let's go," I mumbled.
Did I just say "let's go"? Am I ready for the headache of bringing him along? This is a good time to get rid of him, to get rid of all of them. Why am I hesitating? I'll just see where this goes. If it doesn't go well, then I'll leave on my own.
'Did I just make an excuse to stay with these people? What's wrong with me? I'm forgetting my priorities.'
"Hold on," the princess shouted. She's really persistent. "Please teach me how to control my aura. I won't get in your way or hold you back. Please," she said.
"No," I shot back.
"You would have yielded by now; just let her come along… please," Harold said with his usual smile.
"No."
"I'll take responsibility," Alvin said, and I turned to look at him.
"Your business," I mumbled and got on Bean.
"Will it be wise to go out at this time?" Julie asked.
"We don't have much of a choice," Sloane replied.
We walked out and were met by a large horde just outside the gate.
"Keep going," Harold said.
I drew my sword and nudged Bean to keep moving. He made a large attack to clear a path for us. The noise might attract the people behind the wall, but it wasn't time to care.
I focused on preventing any of them from coming close to Bean.
We did our best to get away as quickly as possible and moved as far away as we could.
…
We rode around for a long while, avoiding the undead as we tried navigating our way back on track. We settled on a large mansion we stumbled upon after riding around for a long time.
We walked to the door, and Sloane knocked, but no one answered, so she pushed it open slowly.
I drew my sword and walked past them inside the building. I took loud steps on the wooden floor to attract any undead that might be in the house.
I heard creaking as someone walked down the stairs. I approached slowly, ready to strike at any moment. In the dim light, a barely visible shadow came closer.
'It doesn't smell dead, but…'
"Wh…" I managed to stop myself before striking the person coming down. My sword stopped directly at his neck; it would have hit him if he hadn't stepped back.
I stepped back and sheathed my sword. The man looked at me, then at everyone else.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"No one," I replied, turning to walk past them.
'Not him… Anyone but this old man.'
Harold grabbed my hand and pulled me back. I glared at him, and he let go.
"We're sorry for intruding; we just need a place to rest. We'll be gone by morning," he said to the man.
"Better be," he said, turning to go back upstairs.
"Downstairs it is," Cato exclaimed.
"I'm exhausted," Julie said as we walked inside.
He didn't recognize me? Why is he here alone? This is an uncomfortable situation for me. Someone like that should be at the forefront of this situation; he should be in command. Why is he holed up here?
"Cady," Julie called, and I turned to look at her. "Aren't you hungry?" she asked.
I snapped out of my daze and went over to the group.
"We can't start a fire in here. Mage, start one outside," she ordered.
"Don't order me," Harold shot back.
Do I speak to the old man? But what if he finds out I escaped from prison? What do I do then?
What if he has clues on how to find Elton? What if he doesn't? What if somehow knows that I escaped? What if he doesn't?
It was all too complicated and annoying to think about. I've been getting angry easily these days, not sure why.
"Let's go," Taylor said, tapping me. I snapped out of my thoughts and nodded.
"Where were you?" Harold asked and I got annoyed.
Why does he annoy me? Everything he does just annoys me—a lot. It's a unique feeling, unlike how I usually feel when I'm annoyed; it's completely different.
'It's absurd.'