The Fog of Airyll COMPLETE

Chapter 18

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Next update: July, 26th! I hope to see you there ;)

And now, on to the chapter...

As soon as he stepped away from Nephelle, Fox had a bad feeling... Which only grew stronger as he was surrounded by a sea of happy faces that - very politely - ushered him away. Before he could understand what was happening, he was outside of the building, the gates closed in front of him.

"What is goin' on..." muttering underneath his breath, Fox ran his hands through his hair. "This can't be a coincidence..."

Attempting to enter again only earned him an angry glare from the guards - which, by the way, seemed to be scowling at him. Had he been that rude?

No, that shouldn't be it, he thought as he studied the gates. If he had been that rude, he'd have noticed it... Not to mention Lord Alastair's adoring fans would have let him know about it. No doubt.

This had to be something else... the movements of those people surrounding him and herding him outside, that had to have been planned.

It was too perfect not to be.

Stepping away from the gates, Fox studied them. There had to be a way back into the ball... Scratching his chin, Fox inclined his head to the right. He could climb over the gates, no doubt about it - then he'd have to slip past the guards... Which would be tricky.

Not to say painful and impossible.

Maybe if he tried entering through the back? It tended to be less guarded, but he had never been to the back of this building, which meant he'd be at a disadvantage. He thought they had a kitchen in there, but he couldn't be sure... And even if he was right, what's to say that the people in the kitchen wouldn't kick him out?

Maybe he could borrow a uniform? People in uniform tended to pass by unnoticed, which would help as he sneaked in. If he managed to find something to cover his head then, all the better.

"Just give up and go away, friend."

Looking for the voice, Fox found a guard standing, arms crossed, in front of the gates. "Lord Alastair wants your girl, we all know he'll get her."

"Nephelle and I are in love," Fox said, apologizing to Nephelle inside his head. He knew she wasn't in love with him, but well, he guessed she'd rather him lying than leaving her behind in that place. "So I'm not going to give up on her. "

"That's plain stupidity. " the man shook his head and Fox scratched his chin, wondering whether he could change that man's mind or he'd be better off following his second plan. "There's no way you'll be able to win, and in all honesty, you should just give up. After all Lord Alastair suffered so much for all of us, for our country... the least you could do was give him a little bit of happiness."

Deciding not to respond, Fox pretended to give up and walked away from the gates.

If they thought he'd gone back to the Inn, perhaps they'd leave the front gates unprotected? Or at least easy up the security in the other entrances... Hm... it was worth a try.

Turning away from the building was one of the hardest things to do, but he didn't have another choice. He wasn't a bad fighter, no, but he couldn't deal with so many guards at once... It would be stupid to even try.