Protecting the crown

Chapter 4

Chapter 4 | Camila |

The psycho threatened Anubis, and god did his breath stink. It was rancid like rotten tomatoes. I wished he would shut up so I wouldn't have to smell it this close to my face. I was so focused on his breath, I didn't notice the knife pressed to my skin. 

I tried elbowing him to escape, but he caught it, pulling me closer to him and pressing the knife deeper. It was choking me now. My eyes bulged as I thought of other ways to escape. I looked desperately at Anubis, silently pleading with him to do something. He was standing there like an idiot, his face twisted in shock. I mentally rolled my eyes, he was useless. 

I drove my foot behind the psycho's legs and pushed him to the ground. He pulled me down with him, but I twisted out of his grasp and threw his knife. I pinned him to the ground like a bug, placing my foot on his throat. 

"Thanks for the help." I said sarcastically. Anubis didn't even look at me. We hauled the psycho up and dragged him to the nearest pole. Anubis whipped up a pair of handcuffs out of no where and cuffed his hands to the pole.

 A witness would call the police and they will handle the rest. The police in Ardella weren't equipped to handle fighting people. They mostly dealt with the small things, like burglary or drug/weapon trafficking, where all they have to do is show up to someone's house and arrest them.

I stepped away from the criminal and turned from him. I could see the wide gazes of the bystanders hiding in shops or peeking through the window to see if the commotion was over.

"You can all come out now." I announced, "The criminal has been dealt with."

They warily came out, still unsure whether he was truly gone. More people exited the buildings after seeing him tied up and defenseless. That was my cue to leave. I didn't want to swarmed by excited fans. Believe it or not, there was a whole fan base dedicated to me and Anubis. 

I reached the roof of a nearby building, overlooking the courtyard underneath me. Business began to return to normal, people filling the streets once more. I felt a presence behind me and turned around. It was Anubis.

"Why the hell did you not do anything?" I demanded. He had the nerve to look guilty.

"I apologize. I froze up." Thanks for stating the obvious. He did genuinely seem sorry though, so I accepted his apology.

I sighed. "It's fine. I guess it was partly my fault for being overconfident." I was rusty. It had been a month since the last incident. 

Wait a minute. What's the time? It was sunset when I dropped Izzy home. It was night now. Shoot, I'm supposed to be home before eight. "I gotta go." I hastily called out and rushed back home, hurtling through alleyways and jumping across rooftops to get there in under ten minutes. 

I came to a stop when I reached my window, panting to catch my breath. I quietly opened it and peered inside. The door was locked. Good. I hopped inside and quickly grabbed some clothes from the closet. I entered the bathroom and leaned against the door.

"Fall." I whispered, and watched as my costume slowly faded away, leaving me in my underclothes. This was one of the reasons why I didn't like transforming. I would often toss my clothes and forget to retrieve it later. I took a hot shower, washing off the sticky blood. I felt disgusting after having that psycho's hands on me. 

I came out of the bathroom with dripping hair and saw my mother sitting on my bed. Her arms were crossed and she had a stern look on her face.

"Where did you go?" She asked. 

"What do you mean?" I said in an innocent voice, "I went shopping with Izzy."

"Hmm, okay." She was suspicious. I would just show her the dress I bought and she'll forget about it.

"I'll show you the dress I bought for the ball."  I said. 

Wait, where's the dress!?

I looked around in a panic, though there was no chance the dress would be in my room. I didn't take it with me when I snuck in.

"It must be with Izzy." I assured her. "I'll get it right now." I walked out and went straight to Izzy's house. It was a few minutes away since we lived in the same neighborhood. 

I knocked on the door and anxiously waited for her to answer. Her father opened the door and welcomed me inside.

"Hello Mr. Milbourn." I greeted him. "Izzy is upstairs right?"  He nodded and I sprinted up the stairs and barged into her room. "WHERE IS THE DRESS?" I screeched.

She looked up from her book and gave me a deadpan stare. "You didn't scare me."

"I don't care about that. Where is the dress we got?" I could see my words register, and she was stunned.

"I think we left it at the shop." she shakily replied. I marched up to her and pulled her from the bed. 

"You're coming with me." I said as I dragged her out of her room. 

"Mom, I'm going for a walk. I'll be back in 20 minutes." Izzy tried to say before she was hauled out of the house.

We hurriedly walked towards the shopping district, which was almost empty now, reaching in ten minutes. Most of the shops were closed, including the one with our dress. Upon closer inspection, the shop was just closed by the faint glow of the lightbulb and the sign read, 'Closed'.

I checked to see if anyone was in the streets. I whispered to Izzy when the coast was clear. "Give me your hairpins." She pulled out five hairpins hiding in her hair. Her copper brown hair was let down, cascading down her back in small waves. Why did she even have them? 

I worked both of the pins into the lock, using them as lockpicks. After a few tries, the lock budged and opened with a soft click. "We're in." I declared triumphantly. 

"I should have brought a flashlight." she said. 

"Mhm," I agreed, "Why didn't you?" She punched my arm.

I crept behind the cashier counter. "The dress is probably one of these." I pointed out to a large pile of dresses hidden under the table. She came next to me and we both rummaged through the pile, tossing the dresses that weren't mine behind us. 

I froze as a bright light shone through the window. It was a watch guard. He squinted into the darkness and I ducked, pulling Izzy down with me.

"Hey what are you-" I cut her off by placing my hand over her mouth. 

"Shh." I hushed, but it was too late. The guard was on full alert and came closer to the door. I forgot to lock it from the inside, so he would open it if he tried to come in. We both looked at each other in horror as he drew closer.