Chapter 59
Felicity
POV
As the guards surrounded us, my heart began to race with fear. Suddenly, a piercing alarm sounded, and the castle began to buzz with activity. The guards in front of us looked at each other, then turned to face us. "Stay here," one said sternly. "You shouldn't try to escape. We'll find out what's going on and come back for you."
I looked over at Ava and Kyle, and we all nodded in agreement, pretending to comply, but as soon as they turned their backs, Ava, Kyle, and I made a run for it.
We took off running. We sprinted through the castle grounds, ducking behind trees and dodging obstacles, their voices echoing in the distance.
"Quickly, this way!" Ava shouted, pointing towards a nearby forest.
We ran as fast as we could, our hearts pounding in our chests. Branches whipped by us, and our feet stumbled over roots, but we pushed through, determined to get as far away as possible.
It wasn't until we had paused to catch our breath that reality hit me. We had run headlong into the forest, not knowing where we were going, and now we were lost.
"Oooh! My F*****g God! We are lost" Ava cried out in fear, realizing too that we were lost.
"What are we going to do now?" I panted. "We can't go back to the HQ now. It's already night, and besides, we don't even know where we are."
"Guards will be on high alert looking for us." I continued stressed.
"We need to find a safe place to hide until things calm down," Kyle suggested.
I looked around to try to spot us, but nothing helped.
Kyle spoke up. "First we need to know where we are. Maybe there's someone who can help us."
Ava nodded in agreement. "Yes we need to know."
We rest hiding in the forest, discussing our options and planning our next steps.
As the sun had already set, we knew we had to find shelter for the night.
Ava looked around, and her eyes lit up.
Luckily, we stumbled upon a cabin in a clearing, and we cautiously approached, hoping it wasn't occupied by anyone dangerous.
"Is anyone home?" Ava called out, knocking on the door.
There was a shuffling inside, and after a moment, an old man opened the door slightly. "What do you want?" he grumbled.
"We're just looking for a place to stay for the night," I explained. "We don't mean any harm."
The old man looked us up and down, then nodded. "Fine. You can stay, but you'll have to earn your keep."
We agreed, grateful for a place to sleep. As we settled in for the night, I knew that whatever came next, we would face it together, as a team.
As we sat there, we could hear the sounds of the guards searching for us in the forest. We knew we needed a way to get out of the kingdom and back to our own land safely, but we had no idea how to do it. After sometime, I fell asleep, grateful for the love and support of Ava and Kyle.
The next morning, we woke up early, eager to get back on the road and continue our mission. The old man had given us some bread and cheese to eat for breakfast and wished us good luck on our journey. Of course he didn't do this for free, we gave him a hand, like breaking his wood, preparing food for him, doing his dishes and his laundry.
As we made our way back onto the road, I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. We were still in enemy territory, and we had no idea how to get back home safely.
"Okay, so what's the plan?" Ava asked, breaking the silence.
"I have an idea," Kyle said, a hint of excitement in his voice. "We could try and steal one of their horses and make a run for it."
"That's risky," I pointed out. "We could get caught and put in prison."
"Yes, but it's our best chance," Kyle argued. "We need to get out of here fast."
"But how are we going to do that without getting caught?" Ava asked, her eyebrows furrowed.
"I have an idea," I said, feeling a sudden burst of inspiration. "But i'll need both of you."
They listened eagerly as I laid out our plan. We were going to try and sneak into the stables and steal one of their horses, There was a small village in front of us. But to do that, we needed to distract the guards. "How are we going to do that?" Kyle asked.
"We could start a fire or make a lot of noise," Ava suggested.
I thought for a moment, then an idea struck me. "What if we pretended to be a group of travelers who had lost their way? We could ask the guards for directions and make them leave their posts." Everyone nodded in agreement, and we set to work, putting our plan into action.
We made our way towards the small village. We split up into two groups, with one group distracting the guards and the other sneaking into the stables to steal a horse. Kyle took care of stealing the horses, and Ava and I were distracting the guards.
I could feel my heart pounding with excitement as i approached the guards. "Excuse me," I called out. "We're a group of travelers who seem to have lost our way. Could you please tell us how to get back to the main road?"
The guards eyed us suspiciously, but eventually, they took the bait. They left their posts to show us where to go, and we made our way towards the stables.
As the guards disappeared from view, Kyle quickly made his way into the stables and found a horse. We mounted it quickly, and we set off towards the main road.
As we made our escape, I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. We had successfully completed our mission, and we were on our way home.
But just as we were about to reach the main road, we heard the sound of footsteps behind us. I turned to look and saw that we were being pursued by a group of guards.
"Quick, we need to get out of here!" I shouted to Ava and Kyle.
We spurred our horses on, trying to outrun the guards. But they were getting closer by the second, and I could feel my heart racing with fear.
Just as we were about to be caught, we made a sharp turn and headed towards a nearby forest. We raced through the trees, branches whipping by us, and we eventually managed to shake off our pursuers.
We stopped to catch our breath, panting and gasping for air. We had narrowly escaped, but we were still in enemy territory.
"What now?" Ava asked, looking around nervously.
"We need to keep moving," Kyle said. "We're not safe yet."
As we made our way through the forest, I couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency. We needed to get home, and fast. But with enemies on our tail and danger lurking around every corner, I knew it wasn't going to be easy. But we were a team, and we would face whatever came our way together.
As we walked towards the border of our own land, we breathed a sigh of relief. We had made it. We had survived.
Suddenly, we heard a voice calling out to me from the distance.
"Felicity!" the voice called out. "Wait!"
We turned around, and to our surprise, we saw a figure emerging from the shadows.
It was Maximus.