Sakura Eyes

Chapter 61

I walked inside to see a small dark room with two guards leaning against a single door. They glanced up at me wearily and continued talking between themselves. I tugged my hood closer to my face  as Gray stepped up from behind me. Instantly, the two men stood up straight and bowed their heads formally towards Gray.

"The men we gave you guys yesterday," Gray said. "Take us there."

One guard quickly scrambled to grab the keys hanging from his belt as the other hurried to pick up a dusty lamp in a lonely corner of the room. We followed the two guards quietly once the door opened, and soon, darkness had swallowed everything up. The only source of light were the torches stuck on the walls. I had no idea where and what the inside of the room we were in looked like because my eyes couldn't adjust to the dark, so I had to heavily rely on the jingling sound of keys hitting against the guards' pockets to not run into anyone.

I heard the sound of another door opening, and suddenly, the room inside lit up. Although it was still quite dark, there were occasional torches and lamps that hung along the wall. I could see the prison doors all lined up on both side of the walls in straight columns. 

As I followed after the two guards, I suddenly heard a rustle from my left side. 

Bang!

Quickly turning to the left, I looked to see a scrawny man, trying to reach me through the barred door of his cell. I stared at him for a quick second before looking away and continuing my brisk pace.

"You didn't yell," Gray remarked. His tone held a hint of disbelief.

"Yeah," I muttered absentmindedly as I squinted in the distance. Honestly, I was too immersed in trying to control the flying emotions rushing through me to care about some prisoner screaming at me. I'd just realize I'd never had a real conversation with Guren, and the fact that I'd just come to that realization made everything ten times more nerve-wrecking.

Behind me, I heard Gray chuckle and made out some of the words he muttered underneath his breath: "Justin...choice of girl..."

Ignoring him, I realized we were nearing the end of the hallway. The guards stood on the two sides of a prison door and waited for us. Taking a deep breath, I approached the prison door and without even looking in, I could feel a familiar chill run down my spine.

The weak flame that was hanging from the wall sputtered uselessly, but I could still make out the huge frame and startling purple eyes. I crouched down and smiled. "Guren."

"I was wondering when you were coming to visit," his voice rumbled deep in my ears. He moved forward from the shadows and came into the light of the flame, showing off his bruised cheek and black eye that had been left by Justin. Something started to move inside my chest, but I quickly shook it off as I stared into the purple eyes of the General of the Royal Army.

I looked up at the guards. "You can leave now."

The guards looked down at me in surprise, but Gray grabbed the two by the necks and dragged them off. Gray looked over his shoulder and gave me a condescending look. "Don't do anything dangerous. Call my name if you need me."

I waited until his footsteps died down before turning my gaze back towards Guren. He was stripped of his armor and was left with a tattered prisoner uniform. He looked younger than I'd remembered but still held a strong, imposing aura despite being in such a pitiful state.

"So? What are we going to talk about today?" Guren yawned nonchalantly.

"My mom," I said instantly. "How is she doing?"

"Your mother?" Guren tapped his chin. "Don't know. Don't care either. I'm sure His Majesty isn't being too mean since she's technically his sister."