CHAPTER 6

What was this man?

.....

Every time he speaks, he blows away my mind... How can someone not know their home?? He can't be serious... He is just playing with me

"Yeah right!" I replied sarcastically as I turned around to focus on the direction that we were going. He just gave me his not-bothered look and shrugged his shoulder. I ignored him as I looked around to figure out where we were headed. We were changing corridor after corridor as we dug deep a grave for ourselves. This pathway won't lead us out of the palace. For once, I wished we were able to get out of here without any trouble, but it looked like we were doing exactly the opposite. We have to do something fast. I didn't know much about this side of the palace... But He..... I looked at him...

"You should help me get out of here just like I helped you. " I whispered as I moved closer to his ear. 

" I was only allowed on the second floor, I don't know where we are headed.. they aren't house help, probably outsiders brought in for something...." He replied slowly making me more conscious of our surroundings. If we wanted to get out, we had to move fast. I saw two maids carrying out the dishes moving towards the other side of the corridor that probably led to the kitchen. That was our way out... We were moving in towards a narrower corridor now.

" Ok listen, see that maid, she is going to the kitchen, i'm guessing we have to follow her, there will be a back door that might lead us outside the castle. Ok...." I looked at him to make sure he was listening, and with assurance, I continued" On my count' we have to sneak out towards that door at the end.... I'll go first to make sure the coast is clear... I'll give you a signal and then you can follow after... If in any case I get caught... You just leave, run, and don't look back..." I took a deep breath as I looked him in the eye making my point clear. No reason for both of us to get caught...

 "By the way, How old are you?" I blurted out as I made a map in my head...

"You wanna know my age in this critical situation." He replied quizzically as he shook his head... He looked sweet...

"What? A girl can't be curious now... What days" I sighed dramatically... He moved closer and slowly whispered in my ear. With each word, his lips graced my ears making me feel butterflies in my stomach.

" but...you are not a girll right now... Annnd I am not gay I assure you... 

Go, we are near the turn.." He finished and stood tall and I stopped dumbfounded. He was such a tease and a huge distraction.

A handsome distraction...

He gave me a look and I realized I had stopped walking... I hurriedly took a few big steps and turned towards my destination... I moved fast-paced and sneakily to avoid being caught. 

Soon...

I was close...

As soon as I grabbed the handle to open the door I heard a loud gruff voice from behind making me freeze...

"STOP"

I was dead now, there was no way, I would survive this..

"Turn around boy" I was speculating all of my options. The best way was to go in and blend in with the staff, if it works it works, otherwise I'll just have to bear it...

So that's exactly what I did. I opened the door and ran inside.

"Guards.. get him!!" I could hear the footsteps behind me. I ran inside to notice it wasn't a kitchen but a closed room where only used crockery was stored...

Damn it... 

I had lost... This close to freedom...

The guards now stood in front of me as they surrounded me.

"Why did you run?" The one in front spoke. He was a tall man 6 2ish, was well built, ripped in all the place, and his black outfit stuck to his body like a magnet. His facial expression and features were as hard as a stone, as if ready to beat anyone who came in his way.

" I got scared...." I replied changing my voice a little.. please God have mercy on me..

"Let's go, you aren't supposed to be here." The two guards from behind stepped forward and grabbed my both arms and dragged me to I don't know where.....

...

I was blindfolded and once we reached our destination the blindfold was removed. My next location was a cellar and soon enough I became a prisoner as I was pushed inside the last cell.

I never thought this was how my story ended, I was so close yet now extremely far. Of all the things I had to worry about, my focus was on him, Did he make it? Was he caught? I hoped not!!! He just got his freedom back... What would have happened if we had escaped successfully? I was never important to anyone. Nobody would care If I was gone missing.. They wouldn't even notice and he... He made me feel that I existed.... that I had a presence, that I was important to him, maybe only for his reasons, but for the first time, in a while, I felt happy. This was an adventure I was never gonna forget. I might die peacefully now if I were to die.

I guess there were just some questions that were never meant to be answered...

My past was one of those.....

Life has its way of working, playing its charms on the strings that humans are attached to. We are bound to follow what's chosen for us and we get so entangled that we are willing to go to lengths for the people we love, cherish, and care for. My story is no different yet I am to blame for the trouble that I'm in. The mission was simple, in and out, with no detours, yet here I am. The plan was to go into the castle and get the book and out and off the sight. I was supposed to stay in the shadows but here I was 

In this cell...

All I had were those memories, my conscience was quiet for a while now, and that made me somewhat edgy... I had gotten used to her voice... Yes, we were always bickering but it was my only support. El, I kinda missed her. I didn't have many friends and my step-uncle and his family only made things worse for me. I wished I had someone who could guide me 

Or

Maybe I was just supposed to live this way... I felt gloomy, dejected, the first thing that I ever did for myself and I ended up getting caught... And ... I might never see the prince again... It was good while it lasted, this friendship or situation ship, whatever it was....

They have probably announced the prince's coronation in two days and when they don't find him there... I am sure the dots connected would lead them to me... 

But was it any use to think all of this, there was no point... I was stuck here, till death took me....

Waiting here was boring... The only thing that I could do was to scan this place. It was creepy as hell. There were 4 yellow lamps on the walls that illuminated the place slightly. The cells stood facing each other in a formation of four. There were two other prisoners in here. One cell had a woman probably in her mind 20s and the other had an elderly woman sitting in the corner probably in her 80s.

An oppressive silence filled the room, broken only by the occasional sound from the corridors above or the muffled chatter of the guards. Both the ladies were in deep thought, looking dejected as if they had accepted their fate. The silence was so intense, it felt like a physical pressure on the ears. To break my chain of thoughts, I decided to strike up a conversation

" How long have you been here?" I spoke softly trying to get their attention. She was beautiful and her voice was melodic but her situation was worse. Her clothes were ragged and dirt covered her from head to toe..

" I don't know, maybe 6 months... " She whispered meekly as tears welled in her eyes.

" what's your name? I asked again trying to divert her attention.

" Anya... What's yours?" She asked softly

" I am Killian" I replied and continued:" What happened? why are you here?"She looked sad and dejected.

" I used to work here, I stole food for my family you see, we hadn't eaten anything for three days and I have been down here since. We were poor people, I was the only one working, and I had a 10-year-old sister at home... What have I done...'' she mumbled, the end more to herself as she explained everything, her tears now streaming down her face.... 

" It's ok, we are going to get out of here, don't lose hope... There must be some way out..." I spoke as I encouraged her... I do need to get out of this place. I had no idea what would happen to me if my stepfather got to know about what I had been up to.

" There's a way" I heard a whisper coming from the cell in front of me and I moved my head toward the source. She was sitting at the far end, her back towards the wall with her head between her arms, folded on her legs. She slowly lifted her head as she looked me straight in the eye and my words got caught in my throat...

Her EYES

My Eyes

We had the same eyes...