CHAPTER 26:
Lyra's POV:
"hey Lyra...do you have any idea where this place is?" Nadia asked as we rode our horses.
We've been riding for a while now and currently looking for a place to rest.
We were moving closer and closer towards the edge of the of Redlake.
"honestly? I don't know" I muttered.
"WHAT?!" Sam yelled and brought his horse to a stop and Nadia and I did the same.
"you've led us out here to die?! How far did you think this through" his blood began to boil!
"calm down Sam, you're going to attract unwanted attention"
"move a little further. There's pond there. You need to rest and explain to them" the hooded lady stated in my head.
"look there's a pond not so far I'll explain everything but please calm down" he was reluctant but didn't have much choice.
We walked in total silence before we got to the really small pond.
Sam helped Eri down while Nadia had spread a little cloth for her to lay on and relax.
"now do you care to explain?" Sam asked again.
I took in a deep breath before talking.
"for a while now, a hooded figure or should I be more specific a hooded lady appears to me in my sleep. She was the one that gave me a solution to our problem, took out the guards, and knows our final destination, the Lost City of Noie...I honestly don't know anything about her except I trust her and what she says"
There was silence.
"are you sure she isn't leading us to some trap?" he spat.
"she led us here to rest for now. I don't think she has an ulterior motive-"
"what'll happen when we get to the gates of the city?"
"we'll think something through" I didn't want to tell him that it's literally called a 'lost city', it'll make the matter worse.
"even if she wanted to lead us into a trap, would you rather go back to the palace? Maybe your life isn't bad because you were a gardener but personal slaves like us suffer a lot. Just look at my sisters' condition" Nadia almost began shedding tears.
"I have no idea how the lady treated you but we've all been suffering from day one. Look at Lyra's skin! If you want to go back, be my guest but you'll eventually regret it"
He didn't say anything for the longest time.
"we should probably rest here. We don't know how long this journey will last" Nadia broke the awkward silence between us and went to sit close to Eri.
King Cyrus' POV:
My mood in the palace had changed drastically.
Either I was angry or I was furious.
Everyone began avoiding me like I was a plague.
I couldn't blame them, the consequences for getting on my nerves were great.
Most of the time, I'm absent minded and won't realize what I'm doing till it's too late.
I pushed the date of the wedding further to give me time to think.
Nothing felt important to me anymore and everything edible became bitter.
At this point, I had to feed from slaves just so I wouldn't starve to death.
"that was amazing" Hellen's voice broke my train of thoughts.
Since her personal slave left, I've been using her as...a distraction.
Like I said, I don't have feelings for anyone.
She has a purpose to serve other than that, there aren't any strings attached.
"you've left me a panting mess and you didn't break so much as a sweat" she remarked as I sat up and looked out the window.
Deep within me, it felt wrong.
I wasn't even happy with this and now I'm going to spend the rest of my life like that.
"I can tell you're not yet exhausted yet...why don't we go two more rounds and call it a night?"
She wrapped her arms around my waist and I felt her breasts against my back.
"haven't you had enough" I asked, not sparing her a glance.
"I can never get tired of you, my King. You're the only one that can satisfy me" her hand began traveling lower into the blankets.
"if you go any lower, you'll lose that arm" I growled.
Hellen of all people knew not to test me, so she shrugged it off and let me be.
This is going to be a nightmare.
I couldn't have a child with her even if I wanted to but not like I do.
I now feel like I'm existing and not living.
..........
Lyra's POV:
"come on Sam I know you can do it" Nadia cheered on.
"I can't believe you don't know how to climb a tree" I laughed.
"o-oh s-shut up! It's b-been a while" he stuttered while he held a branch with little to no confidence.
It's been roughly five days since our escape and we haven't had any major issues.
The hooded lady has been directing me and telling us what to do to survive.
The experience isn't too different from my life before; except there aren't any markets to steal from.
Eri's getting better though she's still weak.
At least she isn't all skin and bones and few of her scars aren't all that visible.
"here lemme help you" we were currently trying to get apples from trees so we could have more food than what we packed.
I handed my cloak to Nadia and I began climbing.
"get down before you hurt yourself"
"says someone that's hanging for his dear life" I laughed as I carefully maneuvered my ways through the branches and went higher and higher.
I began to pluck and throw as many apples as I could reach and Sam did the same, though he wasn't properly balanced.
Nadia caught the flying apples and placed them in a sack.
"alright...that should be enough for us and our horses" I cleaned the sweat off my forehead before climbing down.
"are you good Sam?" I asked as I passed him and got closer and closer to the ground.
"y-yeah I'm f-fine"
"then get down" Nadia laughed.
Slowly, he began descending with his arms and legs shaking; he couldn't even look at where he was going properly.
"be careful where you place your fee-" but I was too late.
He placed his legs on a weak branch and it cracked, giving way for him to land on his butt on the hard ground.
"are you ok?" I asked, trying hard not to laugh.
"I'm fine and what are you? Half monkey?" he rubbed his rear end with annoyance written on his face.
"better to be half monkey than half chicken" Nadia teased and I couldn't help but laugh.
"yeah whatever, let's just get move on. We can't stay in one place for too long remember?" Sam helped Eri on the horse before walking towards his own.
"I can't wait to see the city" Eri remarked weekly.
"me too" I whispered as we rode off..
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