Royal Blood

Chapter Fourteen

The night was another restless one. I didn't have any bad dreams but I just couldn't sleep. Believe it or not, old, out of use sewers are not the most comfortable of places to sleep in. I was tossing and turning, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in, all while trying to stay quiet so I didn't wake Jasper and Max up. None of that mattered though because when I woke up, I found out that neither of them had managed to get much sleep either.

Through a yawn I ask them, "how did you sleep?" which in response I got two yawns back. I think that's all I needed to know.  "Is really any point of us staying here for any longer? It's not like we are trying to sleep anymore." I ask them both.

It is Jasper who responds first while Max still seems to be yawning. "I think that you're right although we should have some breakfast first. It is the most important meal of the day after all." he says. The three of us unpack some food from our bags, mainly just some berries that we can snack on, and then we carry on with our journey.

The three of us leave behind the area where we spent the night and make our way towards the ocean tunnels. According to Jasper, if we just keep walking and don't stop then  we should be able to reach the ocean tunnel by the end of the day. I'm hoping he's right. It would give me some piece of mind to know that I am leaving The Island far behind me.

Walking seems to be getting easier for me. I've never been unfit because while I lived in the palace I had to participate in numerous physical activities that included working out on a regular basis. However I have never been prepared for running away. The forest floor was nothing like what I have trained on before. Running and walking across it was a lot harder but now I am getting use to most surfaces. Even the one I am currently on, in the tunnel, is getting easier to walk on although it is covered in some sort of liquid. Jasper keep reassuring me that it isn't urine and is probably just overflowing water. Well that is what he keeps telling me.

Anyway, it means I am able to make more distance than what I originally could so I am not slowing the other two boys behind. I can feel myself walking faster than before without losing my breath or my feet aching which helps us cover a lot of distance. After around six hours of continuous walking we stop to have another break.

"I think there should only be another couple of miles or so until we reach the ocean tunnel. When we reach the tunnel, I'll go and find some sort of shop before we enter it. I'll get some more food and clothes if I can and then we can move forward. You two will have to stay down here though until I come back." Max says to us while we are sat eating more berries from earlier. I feel relived knowing that we have made a lot of distance already today and the idea of having more food to eat other than berries really lifts my spirits.

"Do you know what I really miss?" I ask them. "Coffee. I really miss coffee." I say.

"Out of everything in the palace, you miss coffee the most? You're a strange human being, you know that right?" Jasper says to me.

I look at him and roll my eyes, "obviously I  miss other things such as my bed but yes, I really miss coffee. I used to always drink it and now I'm not actually sure how I am functioning without it." I miss the smell of coffee, how strong it can be. Right now I would love to be smelling that rather than the remaining smell of human waste which haunts the tunnels.

"I hope this isn't your way of providing me with a shopping list of items to get while the two of you remain down here." Max jokes, or at least I assume it is a joke. The thought of the two of us getting along is something I never thought would happen.

"Don't worry, I don't expect you to get any. Just try and get something that is more filling than these berries though. I'm starving and we have only just finished eating." I say to him.