7: A dance with death

We sprinted over to the nearby bushes and peered cautiously over, making out the chilling sight of men clad in black coming up the hill toward us.

"Secret service men." Hades whispered.

"How do you know that?" I nonchalantly although heart racing.

"They took my uncle away once after he tried to smuggle a few- appliances into the country from Ambline."

"What happened to him?" Daniel asked.

"We managed to bail him out after a month or so," Hades paused to shake his head, "they didn't even seem human when we were there at the Imperial jail."

"The Imperial jail? Then what on earth are they doing here?" I asked.

"I have no idea but we better get going before we get caught." Hades began to crawl away from the bushes we hid behind but I grabbed his ankle and dragged him back.

"We're on public land and we're besides, not doing anything illegal." I told him but he looked unconvinced.

"You didn't see them Earl, these guys aren't normal and better to be safe than sorry." He turned away but I pulled him back.

"Don't you want to see what they getting up too, we can't leave now." I added. "Let's vote- who wants to stay and see what they're looking for or who wants to be a coward and scuttle away in fright?"

I raised my hand along with Ciara and Daniel, Hades groaned burying his into knees.

"Fine but if we get taken to the station for whatever reason, it'll be all your fault." He muttered.

"Gladly, now get down."

We knelt down behind the bushes, brushing away the twigs and branches so we wouldn't make any noise and Daniel ran and swiftly gathered up our stuff, jamming it into the trunk of a random tree to erase our presence.

"Here they come," Ciara whispered as he leapt over the bush and crouched down beside us.

My heartbeat jumped when the SS guards began to droned in and they didn't waste any time, immediately beginning to search the hillside grounds and the surrounding area. They looked so focused and cold as they worked diligently without a sound, almost like inhuman.

"They're looking for something." Ciara whispered.

"Really Ciara? I didn't notice," Hades muttered sarcastically and I nudged him to be quiet but Ciara already fired back with a response.

"I'm not surprised since you can't seem to see things right in front of you."

"What's that?" Hades asked with sneer but that was quickly wiped off when she hit him across the shoulder, her fist almost invisible in the darkness so he didn't have time to jump back.

Hades gave her a rough shove and I hissed at them to stop, of course they ignored me and I glared at Daniel to do something.

"Enough, enough." He said weakly with a scratch of his head and I seethed.

"What the hell is that going to do," I snapped.

"Well what do you want me to do?" He said and I pushed him towards them.

"Do something you idiot before they hear us." I told him, I peered above the bushes and could see a certain group edging towards us.

Somehow, whilst I had turned my back on them, Daniel had  began to tussle with Hades.

"What is wrong with you guys?" I hissed.

"Easy for you to say, why don't you do something." Ciara replied angrily.

"Excuse me? Your the one that  started this stupid fight in the first place." I told her accusingly.

"No I didn't!" She cried and I slapped her arm, making a zipping motion across my mouth to silence her.

She slapped me back and I yanked her hair sharply, she shoved me and a twig scratched my bare arm painfully.

"You arsewipe," I shrieked and leapt on her.

She screamed and I suddenly noticed a drop of wax had fell on the ground next to her head from above.

My head shot up, barley making out the outlines of the guards face before I scrambled to my feet and began to sprint down the side of the hill.

"Daniel! Hades! Ciara!" I yelled and the tightening in my chest loosened sightly when I heard their strained calls back.

The flash of relief quickly vanished when I felt a unexpected whoosh of air next to my head and saw an arrow hit the tree right beside me, quivering slightly as it slammed into the brown bark.

"They're firing at us." I yelled when the realisation hit me, panic crawling up my throat as I ducked my head down reflexively.

"Arrows! Are you kidding me!" Ciara cried when one hit the ground next to her feet.

"Run faster guys, run!" Daniel yelled and we did.

Sprinting down the hillside as fasts as our legs could take us and screaming when we heard the swift release of an arrow, praying it would slam into the ground with an explosion of soil and dirt and not our backs.

Adrenaline pumping through my veins and I felt surprisingly alive even though death seemed so close, my mind clear when my feet finally hit a horizontal surface.

Hades reached the bottom of the hill first, beckoning at us frantically. I ran into his arms and we hurried down the grassy plains before reaching the main road.

"Ciara? Daniel?" I wheezed.

"We're here." She replied and leant against a tree to catch her breath.

"What on earth was that? They were trying to kill us!" Hades exclaimed in shock, his dark hair falling around his shoulders as he stared at us in disbelief. "They tried to kill us, they- are you guys listening?"

"We heard you Hades," Daniel snapped. "We were right there beside you."

I held up the necklaces, my hand shaking as it the sliver chain glinted against the moonlight elusively.

"Maybe they were looking for this?" I said

"A damm necklace Earl?" Hades cried.

We stared at each other for a moment silently, glancing down at the necklace in my hands then looking up to the hill we barley escaped from.

Something about the entire event tickled us and before we knew it, we collapsed into a fit of laughter, clutching at our stomachs as we sputtered with humorous roars.

"We better get home," Ciara managed to squeeze out, wiping her tears of mirth. "If those letters come tomorrow I'm going to cry."

"The kings letter?" Daniel asked.

"Yep, we might become queens," Ciara twirled and I curtsied with a giggle.

"If you get those letters, we'll have to meet up." Hades stated, "I doubt any of you could become the kings wife but this is a great opportunity."

"Money?" I asked with a frown, "Hades we aren't stealing anything from the Imperial district, they'll have our heads."

"No, no, no," he muttered ushering us closer. "Daniel and I have been thinking-,"

"Tell us tomorrow, we need to sleep." Ciara leaned against Daniel, resting her head on his shoulder.

"We can't meet up in Heroine hill anymore, how about the Monica cliff?" I offered.

"I'll bring the food this time," Daniel added. "We'll have to replace your aunts basket Ciara."

"Forget it," she waved her hand, "she won't even notice it hasn't returned."

"Alright, that sounds good." Hades nodded.

We gave each other a fleeting hug and Ciara sniffed as she lay her head against Hades chest. "I'm glad none of you got hit, I don't know what I'd do."

"Neither can I," I smiled at Daniel and he squeezed my shoulder in comfort.

"Till tomorrow." We said in unison and stealthily departed, the sound of arrows still in our ears.