Four days had passed since I arrived in the city but no matter how we try to escape, we still couldn't find a way to slip pass through the guards without getting detected. We tried a lot of method. Distraction, sneaking, and bribery, all resulted for almost getting ourselves get caught.
If it was just me, I could go back and forth however, Lilia here is being pursuit by the palace.
It appears that Lilia had caught the attention of the prince and is recognized as a candidate to be betrothed to the prince. Of course, she doesn't want to be the next queen however, the prince is determined. But not only does the prince is looking for her but as well the knights of the Ravine household which seeks the throne.
Being a candidate means an obstacle to the Ravine's path to being the ruler of this kingdom. They will stop at nothing to try and dispatch her.
Now, we are stuck at the brothel's- I mean the tavern's secret chamber at the second floor, planning on how to escape while hiding from the customers who might get us into trouble.
"It's really tricky getting out of this place… the gates are fully guarded since the event started and there's no other way of getting out of this place."
"How about the river? We could swim underneath and exit from the other side of the wall"
"There's no way we could get out through the water. The hole where the river exits is blocked with iron bars and even if it weren't, we'd freeze to death by the time we get out of the walls." Anna claimed, polishing his blade.
"Yes, the only way out of here is through the gates right here and here" Lilia pointed the two gates drawn in the city map. "But we can't leave through the eastern gate as it leads to a castle shipyard. More guards are stationed there."
That leaves us only to go through the main gate where I entered.
"Where are you going?" Lilia asked upon my descent.
"Getting more intel about the city. I need to find a way to get us out of here fast." I claimed, putting on the cloak and heading downstairs.
The tavern was full of drunkards and thin clothed ladies serving beverages, but I didn't bothered staying and quickly took my leave to find a way to escape this rotten city. And just like I thought it was, the streets were filled with joyful people while the alleys are filled with starving children.
I blended along the folks while watching the routine of the guards like I usually do. But there was never an opening to where no guard was on watch.
If we ever wanna leave this place, we must make a diversion. But how?
All morning, I watched the city guards while blending with the folk celebrating the soon coronation of the prince. Travelers were in joyous moment, not knowing this prolonged event is causing much more suffering for the poor.
Every poor family in the alleys were immobile from hunger, and some are getting punished for stealing bread just to satisfy their hunger.
And I was getting used to seeing such fate.
Until the moment the golden carriage arrived, dragging chained prisoners of young and old. In this cold day, the prisoners wears rags and they body fidgets in chill while they walk barefooted. Their faces were dead and no longer had the will to resist.
But one them turned my sight into darkness. A person who I treated as my best friend.
"Pick up the pace, you useless outlanders!" the noble brat cursed, whipping the mindless multitude while the crowd grew, talking crap about the prisoners.
"It's them! Those blasted renegades!!" a man cursed from the crowd then tomatoes and eggs were thrown over the prisoners as they spat at them.
They were humiliated in front of me, but I could do a thing. My people from my old world, being treated as lower beings. And here I am, helpless and paralyzed as there was nothing I could do. My mind is filled with rage but my body can't move.
I'll die if I make a scene.
"Burn those renegades! Burn them all!" another man claimed.
"Pathetic…" a voice whispered behind my ears and the moment I look back, all I see was darkness. Everyone was gone and the ground underneath me ripples like a puddle. Then all of the sudden, splash! I was inside a body of water.
I tried resisting however I wasn't drowning. Floating into this sea of darkness yet I could still feel air in my lungs.
"W-where am I?" I muttered to myself but obviously, even I don't know the answer. Until a vague voice calls for me, slowly clearing up until the whole void vanishes in a splash.
"Jay!" Lilia called and as my vision clears, I saw my shaking hands covered in blood while my strength were almost depleted. "Are you alright?"
"I… what happened?" I was in such kind of church with Lilia, and beside me was Claire, my best-friend who was supposed to be in captive by that noble brat. Well, she used to be, until we lost contact and never got in touched again. She's unconscious however she seemed fine. "How did she get here?"
"You did." Lilia claimed. "Don't you remember?"
I kept trying to remember but all I know was I black out then I was here. No memories what so ever about what happened at all. But thank god she was safe.
"I don't remember anything at all. Care to tell me what happened?"
"I… I don't know either. But they told me you almost massacre a whole party of guards and broke the chains of the chained renegades." Lilia claimed.
"They? Who told you?"
"It was us. Glad to know you're in your self now" from the shadow of the corners of the church appears a group of robed men, along with an old lady holding a cane. "We know you're puzzled but let me ask you. How did you get this?"
She showed me a trinket similar to what the princess gave me and as I searched my pockets, it was gone. "What? That's mine!"
"Answer the question, boy" the old lady commanded.
"... from the princess…"
The old lady was shocked at my reply then a sigh of relief came out of her mouth.
"So, she's safe." the old lady muttered then threw the trinket back at me. "It's yours now. Never loose it."
"I… thank you…"
"Never thank us yet. As I've heard, you wish to get out of this place?" she asked.
"Yes, I intend to escort Lilia to the princess' side."
"Then make haste. Not only does the prince is in search for this young lady but the whole city is looking for you." she said.
"But we don't know how to escape this place. All the exits are fully guarded." Lilia claimed.
"Fret not, we will help you escape however you are on your own outside the city gate." the old lady claimed. "Now, prepare for departure."
"Wait, you're saying we'll be leaving now?" Lilia asked. "But I haven't said my good byes to the others in the tavern!"
"We have no time for that. The more time we waste, the harder for you to get out of the city." the old lady said then muttered something to her men before her bodyguards disappeared in the shadows. "Leave! Now!"
With all that is left of my strength, I carried Claire behind my back and rushed outside, getting out into an alley where the starving children begs for rations. But we didn't had time to feel pity and right towards the direction where the old lady's men rushes to.
It was already night time however the lights at the main street we so bright and the music were so loud, us in the shadows were barely of noticed. And it looks like the coronation of the prince as the king was in commence.
In every twist and turns in the alley, we only get ourselves notice by the guard and adding more men behind our tails. And if it wasn't for the old lady's men creating obstacles for the chasers, we would've been caught.
However, our race is not over until we get out of the city.
"I… I don't think I can still run… I'm exhausted…"
"No, you can do this, Jay! We're almost there!" Lilia claimed, and before we knew it, we were outside the city walls. However, our pursuers were still on the move and we weren't getting any faster.
"They're waiting on the mountains. Let's go there before-"
"No, we're taking a different route. We can't let the prince know the princess' whereabouts." Lilia said, dragging me into the woods where we hid while the pursuers lost track of us. "We better keep hidden until they all disappear."
We stayed still, preventing ourselves from making rustles from the bushes. I could hear my heart pound so loud as anxiety corrupts my mind with negative thoughts.
As soon as the pursuers had gone, we took our leave and race deeper into the woods until the glow of the torches behind us fades and only the moon's brilliance as our source of light.
The escape was going pretty well and we've gotten far from the people who were chasing us until.
"Jay, watch out!" Lilia shouted then out of nowhere, my feet got dragged into the air and I was suspended mid air. A rope was tied into my feet and I was hanging upside down.
"Is Claire alright?"
"Aside from being unconscious, she's still okay." Lilia claimed however her face darkens upon seeing something behind me and as I look, a large silver wolf were growling at me.