Wherever it takes us.

Paid freedom

"Would you look at that; he isn't dead after all." I heard the voice once more.

'A boy, somewhat young.' I thought, my brain trying to keep up to speed with everything; my eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Ugh." I groaned as my eyes tried to get accustomed to the sudden bright light in front of me. After blinking and squinting, I scanned around to understand my surroundings; simultaneously ignoring the black dots that clouded my vision. I felt the whisper of the afternoon wind brushing past my cheeks and the toasty warmth from the sunlight over my face. Underneath me, my hands grasped the dark green grass on the earth floor, "A garden?" I questioned out loud; my brain felt somewhat overloaded with information.

"I think of it as more of mother nature's messy hair." A voice spoke not too far away from me. I jumped, somewhat surprised, and I felt caught off guard causing me to spin around to the source of the sound.

A woman who seemed to be in her late thirties stood before me with a warm smile present. She wore a somewhat similar get-up to aunt Lucy's old maid outfit, with some distinctions here and there. Her clothing seemed to have been a blue cloth made of cotton, and she had on black leather slippers. "Whatever you say, Mrs....." I said, not knowing how to address the woman that stood in my way. "My name is irrelevant." She told me her smile never faltered.

"Huh...understood."

She slowly gestures behind her, "We've been expecting you." There stood a wooden cabin with a few glass windows. The wood was thick brown. Surrounding the whole building was just grass, or 'Mother nature's hair.'

'Whatever that means.'

"Is that a chimney?" I asked while pointing towards the top of the construct. There stood a long vertical tunnel-like opening made out of red clay bricks. "Let's get a move on." She calmly told me before spinning her heels towards the house, her back towards me. I took a deep breath while brushing the dust and grass particles off my clothes, "Yeah, yeah, don't rush me." I complied, one hand held to shield my eyes from the intense sunlight.

It didn't look like a long walk as I followed the woman toward the building.

"That was anticlimactic." I heard, "I thought you would have talked back at me or something similar." She paused to turn toward me, eyes keen on my response. Her beady black eyes were deadset on me. I slowed down, taking my time to gather an answer, "I'm not an imbecile..." I started before glaring in her direction, "The only reason I'm still alive is that you people deem it fit to be." She stares back before muttering something inaudible to herself. "Wow." She giggles before turning away from me again, hands interweaving behind her. "Who knew Royalty could know their place." I froze for a second.

'How did she know I was a royal how much background info does she have on me; why did the last sentence feel dark.'

The next second, I was right behind her, matching her stride.

In half a minute, we stood in front of the door.

She calmly readjusted her black hair into a bun, placing a silver needle to hold it together, "Are you ready?" She questioned me, though it felt more of a rhetorical one.

Regardless I glanced at my hands and across myself.

I still had on the same get-up from Lancer Market square, and my bag with supplies hung on my right shoulder. My heart ran faster than ever as I stood across the wooden door handle. 'Anyone there?' I asked CX, for once hoping to hear an answer from the voice in my head. The silence that greeted me couldn't have been any louder.

I took a deep breath, 'Handle everything accordingly.' I thought to myself.

"Yeah, let's go," I responded; she smiled, her hand hovering over the handle.

The door swung open no amount of mental preparation would have worked for what I witnessed.

The interior decor was as I had expected. Simple yet efficient.

We stood in what seemed to have been the living room, with the floor and walls having the same design pattern as the last house I had seen, with somewhat better ventilation with small openings created here and there with glass windows being present around. In front of us was a red carpet covering the latter half of the flooring.

Now unto the intriguing part.

Inside the house were people my age, all except one seated on wooden chairs. 'Seven,' I counted, as only five chairs had occupants. The group seemed to have been in a discussion before abruptly silencing themselves on our arrival. The six chairs were kept in a somewhat half circle manner, with one chair placed; right in front of them.

"This feels like an interrogation," I asked her quietly, raising an eyebrow in confusion, "Feels like more of a show and tell." She sighed a response before turning her attention toward the group.

I glanced at the right-hand side of the wall, which had a selection of red bricks with an opening for a fire. Some leftover coal was evidence that it indeed worked.

"Everyone," She starts gathering the attention of everyone present, "Our guest has arrived." I could feel the stares of everyone present, not helping my thought process. The woman strolled towards one of the empty chairs in the half circle, taking her seat before beckoning me to do the same. I took my time between each step while under scrutiny from everyone present, ensuring I did not look weak; even if it's been a while since I was a prince, I could still handle this much. 'This was nothing.'

I took my seat while surveying the overall mood.

"Told you guys he wasn't dead." I heard a familiar voice announce. To my far right sat a young boy: He spared a glance towards me, hazel brown eyes looked towards me with fires of curiosity, he had an olive skin complexion, with pitch black hair which seemed to look like a big curly mess. "See Ralph, I did tell you." He turns his attention toward the boy on the opposite side of the seating arrangement.

"Your luck never seems to run out." The boy Ralph replied; his voice had a certain gruffness as his overall posture gave off waves of intensity; that demanded respect.

Therefore I automatically decided that I was doing none of that.

"Yet by the looks of it, yours never really got going, did it?" I smiled rhetorically. Ralph throws a scowl in my direction, causing me to smirk back cockily in response. I was only temporarily enjoying this.

"Andrea, what do you think?" He asks the girl by his right while he ruffles his black hair. The girl in question seemed bored out of her mind with her legs crisscrossed; her eyes held my look for a moment before glancing elsewhere, shrugging her shoulders. "I couldn't agree more," Ralph replied, causing me to stare at him in bewilderment cause I could swear the only noise I heard was the quiet chirping of birds. He seemed content with her response, causing him to rest his back on the chair. Suddenly everyone's attention turned towards the girl that hadn't spoken, eyes eager for her take. 'Guessing she's the leader then.' I thought.

"Hmm." She held my gaze, her black eyes full of intensity. 'Don't back down.' I told myself while holding my gaze and holding a poker face to match hers. The stalemate held for what felt like hours as I held my breath; her presence in the room alone was enough to warn me that any mistake wouldn't be good for my health.

Without breaking eye contact, she asks, "Oliver, what do you think?" Her voice seemed unreadable; impossible to guess what she felt as she spoke. The small boy glanced between her and me before sharing his thoughts, "Let's get to know him."

She held the look for a second more before throwing a smile full of contempt, "I've always trusted your judgment..." She paused, giving me one over, "Who are you?" She asked me.

I looked toward the supposed caretaker, who wasn't planning on dealing with what was happening. I've just got to tell the truth, but not all of it.

"Jason Hart." I nodded toward the group, informing them with a calm, leveled voice. "You mind me asking where this place is?" I replied back.

The woman stood as she smiled in my direction, "Jason, this place is your home."