The Dragon Bond: Heirs of Lyra

Chapter 4

As she walked down the castle steps Elysia silently went over the plan in her head. She would tell the guards that were currently following her down the steps, that she wanted to spend the evening in the Square. The Square was the part of Lyra that separated the upper living from the lower to middle class people. The closer you lived to the castle, the higher financial and social status you held. The Square was an open area of land where upper class people typically ate their lunches and played with their children. The trees that lined the back portion of the Square were what truly separated the different styles of living. Once you made it through the woods, you would enter the middle class area and if you turned left you would be going toward the lower class where Phillip lived.

Having lunch in the Square was perfectly acceptable for a royal such as Elysia. She would be surrounded by upper class citizens, people of high society. Therefore, eating lunch there would be considered both acceptable and safe in the eyes of her father. Not only that, but it would explain her reasoning for getting some food from the kitchen, which she planned on giving to Phillip and his family. She hoped the food would serve as an offering of apology when she broke the news to Phillip that she would no longer be able to see him. She also had half a dozen Pents in her pocket to help them financially. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

The hard part of devising the plan was figuring out how to break free from the guards. Anything drastic would ensue the wrath of her father, but drastic measures were what Elysia knew best. She needed a reasonable way for the guards to willingly go with her into the Phillip's village. Unfortunately the only reasonable thing she could think of was against her very nature. If she could think of nothing else, then she would have to resort to wooing at least one--if not all--of the guards. The mere thought was enough to make her cringe.

The guards came to a halt as Elysia stopped in front of the kitchen's side entrance. She heard one of the guards' stomach rumble with hunger and looked back to find that several of the men were practically salivating from the effects of the sweet aroma drifting from within the kitchen.

"Perhaps now would be a good time to take a lunch break," Elysia suggested.

She noticed now that two of the guards were younger, barely even considered men. This made them weaker targets as compared with the other three older and more experienced men. If she could get rid of even one guard then that was one less thing she needed to worry about.

"Whenever you eat, we will eat," An older man with a greyed beard replied.

Elysia eyed him suspiciously. He had an air about him that made her suspect he would be the hardest to fool.

"I wasn't planning on eating until I reached the Square, but maybe a couple of you could stay behind and enjoy lunch while it's hot and fresh." After her suggestion she noticed the two younger guards instantly perked up at the idea.

"You're not getting rid of us that easy," the grey bearded man huffed, crossing his arms.

It took a great deal of effort for Elysia not to roll her eyes in annoyance. "I'm not going to misbehave or try anything outrageous," she lied. "All I want is a nice lunch in the Square while there is still a nice breeze in the air."

There was a pause and then finally someone said, "Maybe two of us could stay behind. After all, she's only going to the Square and King Alan didn't say we couldn't have a lunch break. We've been following her around all day and nothing remotely mischievous has happened."

The grey bearded man sighed in defeat. "Fine, you two can stay and eat," he said pointing to the other older guards. "When you're done, report to General Hank and see if he has anything else for you to do." Then he turned his attention to the other two. "You lads will help me watch her."