Chapter 87: Chapter 87
Nana wiped a face towel over her face as she finished preparing the muffins and slid them into the oven. She stepped out of the small kitchen in the cottage she lived with one other human girl, and entered the courtyard. The cottage was of stone, and had flower vines creeping by the sides and disturbing the opening of windows.
It was a cloudy afternoon, and the cold was unbearable. Nana never knew the importance of the sun until she got to this side of the world where the sun would hide under a few clouds and the god of cold would breathe over the the land.
“Ah, remdangit!” she exclaimed the way Remusians always said it. She was supposed to mow the lawn this week, and despite how small their lawn was, she hated mowing it. But nevertheless, Nana did. Afterwards, she returned to the kitchen and removed the muffins from the oven. She would have set her lunch already to eat without her cottage mate, but she needed a shower after all that work. Just as she was about to turn to her room, Chidi came running in through the door. Nana was startled and she almost dropped the flower pot in her hand.
“What the hell!” she screamed and glared at Chidi who was panting.
“Let's get out of here, now!” Chidi exhaled and moved to grab Nana's hand, not minding the vase.
“What do you mean? What the hell—”
“We are in trouble. Just come with me,” Chidi pleaded and pulled Nana's hand, making the vase fall and crash. Nana dashed over it, grabbed two knives from their rack and followed Chidi out through the front of the cottage. They gently walked through the short wooden wicket gate and entered the tarred lonely street in front. Chidi led the way as they walked in the middle of the road. But suddenly she stopped and so did Nana. Ahead of them were three palace guards rounding up from a street towards the one they were walking on. The guards quickly sighted them, or even scented them and they grabbed their swords that were tucked in their sheaths.
“Run,” Chidi said and they turned around and took to their heels. The guards ran after them, using werewolf speed but the girls jumped over a cobble stone fence and ran into the vast orchard of apple trees that belonged to Nana's master.
“What the hell!” Nana screamed as she grabbed a fallen branch and flung it towards the guard who was a few feet from her. It hit him right in the face, making him fall under its weight.
Chidi was picking up two long sticks from the ground and whacked the guard right behind her in the belly. The two girls resumed running even as the third guard reached just few steps behind them. Nana stopped abruptly and with one swing, she slashed a wound into the arm of the guard.
He fell back a few steps, and the girls ran farther into the orchard. The guards were still running after them, not even bothering to use their speed anymore. Nana taught they were stupid, until she found out she and Chidi were involuntarily slowing down. The orchard was too big, and the exit was still a far off. They couldn't hide in the trees, their scent would give them away. Nana stopped running and bent over to breathe. Chidi too slowed down and her legs were visibly shaking. When was the last time they ran like that? In Tijuana it was normal, but in Remus, no it wasn't close to normal.
The guards rounded up on them.
“Humans do think they are smart, aren't there?” the one Nana slashed spoke up. The men were the exact opposites of the states Nana and Chidi were in. They showed no signs of tiredness, not even an inch. They had been toying with them. Allowing them to exhaust their human energy first by making them run.
“Now, I'll forget about the little exercise and little acts of aggression from both of you if you just give me your hands sweetly,” the guard added. Nana and Chidi stood straight by each other.
“Come take the hands yourself,” Chidi stated and the guards smirked. Two walked to them and pulled out handcuffs, but before they could do anything—Nana and Chidi raised their hands in one quick, uniform motion and slashed the faces of the men with the knives in their hands. Chidi grabbed the sword of the one in front of her, and threw it through the air. It went straight through the shoulder of the last guard and he let out a groan of pain.
The girls began to run immediately, making good use of the little time they had stalled for themselves by hurting the guards. The guards, they knew, would not be totally affected by it. They would still follow after them.
However, a knife wheezed through the air and stabbed Chidi behind her thigh. She cried out and fell face down to the earth.
“Chidi!” Nana screamed and fell back to her side. She bent and held her friend. This time, the wolves used their speed and surrounded the girls. The first guard who threw the knife glared at the two girls, his knife would visibly healing from his face. He pinned Nana's cheeks with his hands that they even began to hurt.
“You've reached the limit. No more play time,” he growled.
“Actually, it just began,” a very familiar voice spoke from behind the guards. They turned back and stared at the frowning face of the Prince's best friend. He stood in his casual wear, a pair of black jeans trousers and a tight grey t-shirt. Camper's eyes flitted to the way the guard was pinning Nana's jaw painfully and he looked up at the guard.
“Hands off her, now,” he ordered in a voice the girls didn't recognize he had. The guard respectfully released Nana and stood away from her.
“We have orders to bring the girls to the dungeon, right now,” the guard declared.
“Like I don't know that. Well, two things. You choose the one you want to follow,” Camper responded then crossed his arms. He looked to the bleeding Chidi, and Nana's frightened figure before looking back at the guards.
“You let me take the girls and not say a word about it, then receive your reward from me. Or... you let me kill you and save myself the stress of having you keep my secret while losing still losing my precious money to you.”
The guards shifted uncomfortably. The one with the bleeding shoulder held his arm and looked at their leader.
“I'd rather you choose the latter. I'm running out of money these days you see,” Camper added. His beautiful blue eyes seemed a darker shade of blue, and his veins were turgid under his skin.
“We can't betray royal orders,” the guard stated with gritted teeth.
“Great, then die with loyalty,” Camper retorted and with a speed the girls couldn't comprehend, he snatched the sword from one of them and made to strike the main guard directly over his heart.
“Wait, please, we'll keep the secret” he begged and shifted back, almost stepping on Chidi. Camper frowned deeply and lowered the sword.
“Good. Now get out of here,” he ordered and glared at them. They walked away immediately and sped off afterwards. Camper held Chidi up and removed the knife. It was just a flesh wound so he staunched it with his handkerchief.
“We have to get out of here, but can't with your blood flowing or they'll track us,” he said.
“Xiao Wei, did you find her?” Chidi asked shakingly.
“Verona has her. A guard went down though. But that's taken care of.”
“What's going on?” Nana asked as Camper carried Chidi in his hands.
“A bounty has been placed on the head of the three of you claiming you're associates in the murder attack on Prince Dakar. Fiorella has already been arrested, and as her only human friends...you girls are next. But it's better to die while they're arresting you, than to get arrested alive,” Camper explained and a dreadful chill creeped over Nana's spine.
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