Help from the OtherSide

50. Rebel's Lair

AN: 50th chapter y'all🥳🙌🏻🍻

I can't believe I made it till the 50th chapter! Honestly I used to lose motivation so much that it made me want to quit the book, but I couldn't leave you guys with an incomplete story :)

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"Hey cheer up man." Grant patted my knee as the carriage retraced our path to the Cave. 
"That was pretty weird of her, not gonna lie. She was all ready to fire back your decision before they even left your mouth. Even I don't know what happened to her." 

"If your friendship is strained because of my choices, I hope you forgive me." Telsin looked straight into my eyes.

The three of us were left to travel in the second vehicle as the rest of them accompanied Anarzia. 

"But why now?" I asked all of a sudden.

"I do not understand." Telsin replied.

"If these people are such a menace to your society, why haven't you acted before? Before the five of us landed here. Why now? "

Could have saved me a lot of trouble.

"Evidence. We had an inkling of who the suspects could be, but without evidence pinpointing on anyone would be declared null and void. They shared their plans by asking you to spy on the King and council, while I was present. That should be sufficient." He smirked and gazed out of the window.

"Technically that's no concrete proof, it's your word against theirs." I was confused by the justice system of this place.

"Good point." Grant nodded.

"Of course it is my word.  Word of the Prince of Axidian, pretty concrete enough if you ask me. And if you're inquiring with the Human tendencies in mind, us elves do not lie. At least not as easily as Humans do, without any guilt. Hence it's easier to distinguish between truth and misconception." He leaned back on the maroon velvet seat proudly.

Grant and I shared a glance because we  had the same thing in our heads. The day Anarzia tried to help us disguise, she basically lied her way into the castle by calling us her elven friends, although she did sound guilty when Imara questioned her on the stairs.

"Where's Dora and that guy anyway?" Grant asked.

"I heard she returned for some urgent clan business. I don't think they'll be back for a couple days."

The vehicle stopped in the forest clearing, down the path to the Cave. We weren't the first ones to arrive because two parallel depressions made by the tracks of the first carriage followed the way back to the manor. The passengers were sitting on fallen tree logs few meters ahead talking dejectedly.

"I don't think they will be happy to see us." I muttered feeling uninvited.

"To see him, actually." Grant whispered.

Once we gathered, no one except Liam looked keen on our reunion. Telsin dutifully knocked on the door and waited. Grant and I stood beside him and the rest mumbled sweet words consoling Anarzia.

The mean looking, wet snouted werewolf creaked open the door and appeared surprised on seeing us. 

"Master, we have visitors." He snarled. Hearing some instructions he opened the door and glowered as we walked in.

The crowd had doubled since last night and that added to Grant's paranoia.

"I feel suffocated here-- We should leave I'm not kidding-- What is she doing-- Is that blood?-- I swear someone was killed on that chair--" He spoke frantically, darting his sight on every corner of the crude bar.