I Choose All of You

Chapter Thirty-Three

Devina was an absolute mess the next day. It's not like Kenna died, but the fact she was gone, made Devina break down in tears.

I suppose the Queen got word of this and let us out of the castle for some "fresh air" for the day. We were of course sent off with each of our own personal escorts.

Seeing Devina so torn up, I think, made us all feel the seriousness of our situation. She and Kenna were really close. There was only five of us now. But I admit, being able to go outside the palace grounds, was so exciting. Even if I had to have an escort with me.

I rushed to my room and finished up my blueprint updates of the castle. I didn't have much, but I made sure to make these incredibly detailed. Windows, doors, and whether or not they needed a key were included. I signed the corner of the layout with a small heart and giggled to myself.

I quickly folded the paper up and slipped it into an envelope when I heard Hannah enter my room.

Hannah then helped me with an outfit for the day. We decided on something sophisticated yet casual, because I apparently can't dress myself. I hurriedly joined Avalon as she walked down the steps of the castle, and into the parked limo before us.

Avalon seemed pretty sad Kenna left as well, but she stilled managed a small smile to me, as I sat beside her.

Valentina and Nessa whispered quietly to each other, across from us, and I peeked out of the window as we drove off. To my surprise, I saw four more limos park in front of the palace steps. The Queen and her sons graciously stepped out, and placed themselves atop the staircase, as they waited for many suited gentlemen to emerge from the vehicles.

I furrowed my eyebrows as the many people got smaller and the distance between us got greater.

***

I've never been to a town as nice as this one. The streets were practically washed clean and the people strolled around like looking good was their part-time job. Myescort for the day was some burly man named Jimmy.Jimmy was bald and muscular. Maybe between the ages of 40 and 45. Perhaps two children, out of the house by now, and a divorced wife who has a restraining order on him. At least that's my guess for Jimmy.

He didn't talk much. He simply grunted instead of saying words. Probably why his wife left him.

"I'm going to drop this letter off at the post office," I said, showing Jimmy my envelope.

He stared at the paper in my hand and then back at me.

We stared at each other for a second more and then I nervously broke into laughter, "Okay! I'm going to walk this way now!"

I had no idea where I was going, but I just started walking down a random direction as Jimmy followed. To my relief, I found a sign that read "Post Office", pointing in the exact direction I was heading. Thank GOD.

Once I got that, I mean- WE got there, I slipped my letter into the express mail box.

I spun around on my heel and clapped, "Perfect! That's really all I had planned today so I'm just going to walk around now!"

Jimmy stared.

I pressed my lips together, smiling, "Onward!"

 I really had no idea where anything was. All the other girls and their escorts seemed to have run off. They probably have been to this town before and have gone off to shop, but I've never been so lucky. This whole experience is brand new to me.

My stomach started to grumble when I caught the scent of freshly baked pastries and coffee. Mmmhh...

I made a sharp right down a street and let my nose point me in the right direction. It was a beautiful day. The sun was out and warm. The faintest of breezes blew by. And the sky was freckled with tiny clouds. I wanted to skip down the streets, but that would probably be too much. Maybe Jimmy will skip with me?