Dark Fate of the Crimson Princess(Breeder#8)

Chapter 7 : The Journey Begins

Rion

“It's going to be rough getting through the city," Jasper told me after he finished showing me the map of the underground tunnels connecting the city to the mountains.

“We can go with you all the way up to the ruins at the edge of the forest. It'll keep us all pretty well hidden. There are some gaps in the tunnels, but with all of us here I don't think it'll be too big of an issue," he finished and rolled up the map, then handed it to me.

“Sounds like a plan," I said. I looked at the other members, who all wore ski masks and black clothes. The tunnels would be incredibly dark, especially at night. I was more worried about losing some of them in the darkness than someone coming across us who wasn't a Royal searching for the princess.

After conversing with Jasper about the underground tunnel route to take, we turned to the other group members and I headed off with the Crimson Princess. I couldn't risk taking a vehicle with me. Although it would prove to be more convenient, I couldn't risk suspicious eyes taking down my license plate number.

By that time, the city would be crawling with Royal agents searching for her, and any means we could travel undetected, I would take. I thought that traveling with so many of us may prove an issue, but that was a bridge we would certainly cross later.

We set off on foot and began our journey at the door of the seedy underbelly of the capital, the apartment complex I called home. I held onto her elbow and led the way with my crew not far behind me, keeping to the darkest alleyways as we searched for the opening of the tunnels leading from the city to the mountains.

I feared no one who called those alleyways home, quite frankly. Some had worked with me or even called me an acquaintance in the past. The other, more hostile people living there either knew better than to cross me or would find that out the hard way. The rest of my team was the same way, well-equipped with street smarts and fighting moves if anyone dared cross us.

Our collective concern remained, though. If a Royal Guard soldier approached, their show of force would certainly beat us, and we would be left with very little choice than to give up the princess. The pillowcase and the grungy attire the princess wore was a smart move, as she was bound to be unrecognizable in the garb of the lowly commoner.

Still, we needed to exercise caution. If I lost her to the Royals too early, I would not only forever lose my chance to reclaim my sister but I would very likely be imprisoned and punished. I didn't want to think about that. Instead, I focused on leading my crew out of the city and into the tunnels.

For an hour, we walked through the rows of dilapidated apartment complexes and seedy alleyways on the outskirts of the capital city. The Crimson Princess never once made a sound and neither did my crew. At times I forgot they followed close behind me. We walked with relative ease, to my surprise, and didn't confront much trouble, but I did keep my eye out for Royal Guards or security spies who might have jumped out of nowhere, screaming that the jig was up.

The further I walked, the more my insides began to simmer with an inner turmoil. By that point, I would have thought I would be rid of the Crimson Princess and have my sister back. The whole process had taken and would take quite a while, and I feared that the longer I was around her, the more the wolf in me wanted her.

Part of me even debated abandoning this mission and having my men deliver her. It had only been an hour. Perhaps I could have turned back and had Jasper take her. But I knew I couldn't risk Jasper's safety and that Hestia's followers wouldn't accept anyone but me to do the job. Besides, I couldn't risk screwing this whole thing up. It was just too important. Getting my sister back was all that mattered.

We came to what looked like an old bridge with tunnels built in underneath. They led into a blackness that no light from outside could penetrate. Between the alleyway we hid in and the tunnel entrance was a large empty space. The space consisted mostly of empty lots, but there was a major street cutting through. Several cars swept by, which was expected this time of night.

“It's a long shot." Jasper's voice erupted behind me and startled me, but I didn't let it show.

“We need to cross it."

“Cross with a girl with a pillowcase over her head?"

“We can wait and move in teams so we won't get attention. We can't cross at the crosswalk but we can use the mediums. We can't show her face."

He sighed. “It's risky, but we can wait for a few minutes until the traffic dies down. Can she lose the pillowcase?"

I shook my head. “Not if we don't want the Royals to recognize her. We'll keep her behind me or between us as we move so she can't be seen. Don't let her straggle and expose herself."

“Ok boss," he said.

Then, we waited. The sound of cars swishing past us on the road made me anxious. The longer we waited, the more time it would take us to cross through the tunnel systems and get out of the city.

That meant I'd have less time to deliver the Crimson Princess by my deadline. Hestia's followers would not give me a second chance to retrieve Eva. I couldn't screw this up, but I knew if I got caught too early, the whole mission could fall to pieces. I needed to be patient. I took in a deep breath to calm myself and sat tight.

The road cut between two empty lots with lights at the edges where we could be easily seen. One slip up, and a person in a car–who could very well be from the palace–might see us. But I also wanted to get closer to the target and out of the alley.

“Let's move to the edge of the open field. It's mostly dark, so we won't really be seen," I said.

“Ok," Jasper said.

He made a gesture for the others to follow us into the open field. Jasper and I kept the princess between us as we walked. We were both a little taller than her, so it made it convenient, but we had to walk in an almost synchronized motion to make sure she stayed in place.

We were halfway across when she stumbled and caused the three of us to fall. Her pillowcase got wet on the grass, but otherwise, she seemed fine–no twisted ankle or anything serious that would deter us from reaching the forest.

I shot a glance at the road to see if anyone was slowing down to take a look at us, but after a few long moments of waiting, no one stopped. Jasper and I grabbed the princess by her shoulders and hoisted her back to her feet.

She groaned, but I was surprised she didn't complain about getting wet. Maybe she was getting used to the rougher way of life.

We continued across the empty lot and stopped at the edge. After the tunnels, things would be a little easier, but I couldn't count on it.

“It's not going to get any smoother," Jasper said as we waited for the traffic to ease.

But I waited a little longer until I saw a gap and dashed out, gripping the princess's hand.

Jasper had no choice but to dash out after me, followed by the rest of the crew. We ran across the four-lane road and stumbled onto the other side, where we collapsed into the shadows of the empty lot.

“We need to keep going before someone sees us," I said, but I kept my voice low.

We all rushed for the tunnels until we were eclipsed in darkness.

I kept a steady pace, winding through the dark passageways the city had to offer until I came to a desolate, remote edge of the city's outskirts. Before us, surrounded by overgrown grass and covered in vines, was an abandoned Lycaon Temple.

It seemed a good time as any to stop and take a break. I led her up toward the temple and walked through the old entrance. Vines dangled from the edifices and the inside was as dark as the abyss. I had packed a flashlight but wanted to save the batteries, so I stayed in the entryway where the moon cast its dim light.

I sat her down on a stone pillar and pulled off the pillowcase. She squinted, surprised, and blinked. Then she looked around as if searching for a way to dodge me. As she looked around, her eyes fell on the Dark Lord's statues and murals. Even though it was dark, the light from the moon illuminated the ancient artwork well enough to show it. I was curious about what she thought of the place and debated removing the mouth covering. I wanted to know what she was thinking about this old temple

“I'm going to take off that gag of yours, but if you try anything funny, it goes right back on. Understand?"

She nodded, understanding, thought with all my men around it would have been difficult for her to escape with her hands still tied. Even if she outran us, which I highly doubted, she would not make it very long in the city's outskirts.

I bent forward to remove the tape as quickly as I could. She yelped after I removed it, then after I took the cloth out of her mouth, she gulped in long steady breaths before saying, “Thank you."

I had to admit that her politeness buttered me up a little bit, but I didn't totally let my guard down. Her eyes wandered back to the statue and murals.

“What do you think of being in the Dark Lord's temple?"

She shrugged, turning away from it.

“Are you scared of the Dark Lord?"

She frowned. “Well, I'm related to at least three Dark Lords, who are trying to find me as we speak–King Xander, my father, being one. You'll let me go if you know what's good for you."

I had to admit that the sudden bravado she manifested shook me. She was not the same crying woman she had been back in my room. She had changed, though why or how, I was not sure. This provoked a fit of laughter from my crew.

“I like her. We should keep her," one of my men joked.

“We'll sleep here for the night and get moving again before dawn," I said.