Chapter Eighty-Eight: Saved by a bird

"Do they know each other or something?" Damon asked when he finally got the chance to even speak to his wife.

"Later." She answered.

"This is not what I had in mind when you said it would be 'fun'." Jazmin appeared behind them, saving their ass from getting attacked from behind.

"Well, neither did I." Anna replied, obviously displeased by the sudden situation they were dragged into.

"Dola let's get out of here."

"We're but not for the reasons you wish to but because we are defenseless," Dola replied, not looking away from Clair, and she moves as she slit someone's throat with her dagger. Her lips twitched and she and Jazmin shared a few glares.

"We leave now." Jazmin insisted.

"No."

"Dola."

"Jazmin."

"No time for this. Just stay alive as we figure something out." Damon interrupted them, his tone serious, final, reminding them this is no place for arguments.

Dola noticed Jazmin clench her jaw a little tighter. With a sigh, she looked around and was startled when Clair suddenly appeared next to her.

Wiping blood from her chin, Clair glanced at her. "I have an idea. Me and prince charming will head to the hot springs, Anna and Damon you alert the royal guards in Area B they have civilians with them so we need Dola and Jazmin to direct the men's attention elsewhere."

Reluctantly, Jazmin agreed along with Dola.

"Why you and him? I say you come with us, we have little protection with us."

"Ah, it wouldn't be good for us if he dies," Clair replied nonchalantly.

Jazmin narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Since when do we care for royalty? We aren't even-"

"Yes, you aren't a citizen here. You are visiting. Whether you like it, the royals rule this country, so be careful with what you do and say. Leaving him here can cause many terrible things. Did no one teach you basic knowledge? It takes an idiot to offend the royal family while living in their own country." Clair shot her a glare, feeling like a hypocrite herself, but what she said needed to be said.

Obviously, no one except Damon was taking the fact that a Crown Prince is with them, seriously.

"Fine. How do we distract them?"

"There are explosives everywhere, as you can already tell. We'll use those to our advantage and don't underestimate the power of a rock or a stick. Last, once we separate, the four of us will corner them in the center between the hot springs and the forest near a cave. The cave I saw can be spotted easily, so don't use it as a hideout just as an 'X' marking the spot. Once Anna and Damon bring the rest of the royal guards and weapons, we take them down."

"How simple." Dola pursed her lips, not trusting this plan since once again, they were barely hanging on her with a few bullets left.

"On my mark, you all go." Clair exchanged nods with everyone and went back to James's side.

"I explained to them what we'll do. Ready?" She asked.

James didn't respond, his eyes locking with something else.

Clair followed his line of sight, and she grinned.

"Perfect, that's our signal."

In less than a minute 3 explosives went off by their enemy, trying to lure them out, but they gave them the perfect opportunity to disappear.

"Follow them!" There were shouts and muffled voices, screams, and complaints coming from all directions. Small rocks and dirt impeding fresh air and a clear sight as they all went in their said directions.

Unlike what they hoped, Clair and James too were followed. After all, getting to the crown prince was their priority.

But thankfully, the 5 men that followed Jazmin and Dola thought Anna and Damon had headed in the same direction.

"Now…. we hide." James mumbled to himself, saying it loud enough for her to hear as they carefully used the trees to their advantage.

"When I was walking around earlier, I noticed a way to reach the hot springs faster, it's dangerous and slippery but it's worth the shot." She told him.

"If you're planning on climbing those very sharp and dangerous rocks, you are insane. We risk getting injured and spotted in plain sight. Let's head for the trees and then just follow the original path."

Clair groaned in frustration. "James, they will obviously expect us to follow that path. Why give them that advantage?"

"No, they will expect us to do quite the opposite." He countered.

"There are two possibilities, I say we take our chances my way."

"We will not be doing that. On our way up the hill, we can stop by another cabin I know. There might be supplies since it used to belong to hunters."

"I thought hunting was banned-"

"Not anymore yes, but it's not relevant right now. Stay on topic." His tone strict, a tone he had never used on her. A tone that caused her to look elsewhere. She wasn't used to the harshness of his tone, and she was not looking forward to it either. Their playful banter and light conversations had become her comfort zone, and she was not ready to face the reality of their situation.

Stupid truly.

It was a selfish and foolish thing to do, but she really was not brave enough. She hated things becoming complicated in the life she worked so hard to create with simplicity.

Surely this was one of her fatal flaws. Running and ignoring.

Everything went silent suddenly. Each hiding behind a different tree, they listened in for the quiet crunching of leaves coming not from far.

Clair turned her head slightly. A male who had left his group was only a few steps away, gun raised and cautiously looking through the trees.

Easy kill.

That was her first thought until she met with James's eyes and he shook his head, warning her to stay put.

It was all suddenly so silent that it was suspicious. The only sound Clair could detect was water running from the stream, and the man currently looking through the trees and large branches.

He slapped one of the tree branches so hard; it slammed all the way in her direction, leaving a small slice on her cheek. Blood dripped down the minor injury, Clair could see herself scratching away the scab in future days.

The six-foot male narrowed his eyes behind him, where he was standing as he pushed the branch away. He realized it had not bounced back. Despite how hard he had slammed it was not hard enough for it to fall, so it should have bounced back.

And yet, it had not.

With her hand on the branch, Clair cursed inwardly.

She turned to James who was suddenly gone and her heart pounded against her chest, faster and faster by the minute as horrifying silence met her.

She looked for the gun only to realize she was short of bullets and her only escape was her dagger.

At the minor detail, the man had halted his steps, and not long after Clair heard him approaching her. Just when she thought they were going to have a confirmation, his dead body fell in her direction.

He placed a finger on his lips and signaled her to keep quiet. He then carefully picked up the lifeless body and rolled him down into the lined-up trees and bushes beneath them.

A terrifying height as well, only then did Clair realize how far up they already were and how much higher they would go.

"He's not the only one who separated from his group, they all did. They are scattered everywhere." He whispered, cursing when the sound of the lifeless body rolling had captured another male's attention.

He pressed her against the tree, arm over her head, palm against the tree, and looked to his right, watching out.

Clair kept silent, lips pressed into a thin line. She then looked up at the same time he looked down.

Biting the inside of her cheek, she looked away in panic. The proximity of their bodies was killing her. This was definitely not the situation he wanted his body on hers, okay?

It was not the correct setting!

There should be a bed and no clothes and—

She bit on her cheek harder, keeping focused. Not long after, she tasted iron in her mouth, realizing she had bitten a little too hard.

The previous male walked off, not having noticed then. And Clair noticed the bird on top of the tree they were hiding behind off, had totally saved their asses.

"My way." She offered him a triumphant smile which he shrugged off, pulling her wrist as he led her north toward the hot springs.