The Rising Pheonix

Chaper 17

Jacobe POV

As we walked to the main lobby, I began to feel nervous and started sweating. I felt as though they knew I had lied. That it wasn't safe for us. I unconsciously began to rub Elnora's head. Immediately, I began feeling calm. Right in time too, because we stepped into the lobby. There was only one soldier there.

"If anything goes wrong, I can handle this soldier easily. No matter the rank." I thought as he turned around. He was a couple of years older than me, which was a good thing. It lessened the chances of him having met me. I relaxed a little, which he caught right away because his eyes squinted a little.

"Hi, my name is Everett. You are the one I need to tell what happened, I presume?" I asked the question lightly, hoping to deflect attention from Elnora, whose head I'm still rubbing.

"No, I'm merely your escort. Follow me," he said and abruptly turned around and walked out of the building. I wasn't afforded the chance to reply. If I didn't follow him, I'd look suspicious. But if I do follow, my chances of leaving drop, significantly.

I heave a heavy sigh and then walk out the door. Once we were all outside, the guard proceeds to walk down the street. He doesn't look back to see if I am following, and I know this is a false sense of security. They are testing me to see if I run.

I have no choice but to follow him. As I do, I notice the villagers starting to come out to stare at us. I pay no mind to them. Instead, I subtly count the guards hiding among the villagers and beside the buildings. There are a total of ten.

Something isn't right, but I'm clearly at a disadvantage so I pretend I don't notice them. However, I keep my guard up. We didn't have far to go, as the nurse mentioned, it was two buildings away.

The guard reaches the door first. I thought he would enter without holding the door for me, given the treatment I received thus far, however he surprised me by holding the door. That made me even more suspicious.

We were greeted by two higher-ranking guards. They were both older and I have seen them both at the castle before. I prayed they did not recognize me.

However, it seems my prayers went unheard because the first guard that looked at my face took a loud gasp. He whispered in the other guard's ear and his head snapped to me. I stopped walking, debating if I should walk out and leave or if I should speak with them. Before I could make my decision one of the guards spoke.

"Attention! Everyone is to leave the building and lock all doors. If I see or hear anyone by the building, they will suffer severe consequences!"

After he finished, all the soldiers tried to hide their fear and curiosity as they left and did what he said. After a couple of minutes, it was just me and the two guards.