What I'd Do For You

Chapter 23- The Chase

When I opened the door, I was already shaking. My fight with Caroline pissed me off. I wanted to scream into a pillow. I immediately began throwing things into my handbag and I didn't notice Shawn was staring at me until he cleared his throat.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm packing, what does it look like I'm doing?" I said through gritted teeth.

"I can see that. I meant why?" he clarified.

"I'm going to find Luther. If you want to come then pack your stuff, we're leaving in an hour." I opened the cupboards searching for food to carry along.

"I'm supposed to be hanging out with Nick right now. He's coming in a minute."

"Good, he needs to come too." I stated, focusing on finding snacks and not bothering to glance over at Shawn.

"Hey hey stop. Look at me. What's going on?" he asked.

Before I got the chance to answer him, Nick walked through the door.

"Uh, did I come here in the wrong moment? I'm sorry I should've knocked." He apologized, feeling awkward.

"No, you came in the exact right time. Pack your stuff we're going to visit Luther." I informed him.

He didn't seem to process what I was saying. He just stared at me and carefully shut the door.

"What? Why?"

"Because, I'm pretty sure the king and his counselor are trying to poison Caroline, and she doesn't believe me. So I'll ask Luther to inspect what they've given her and he'll tell us who's right." I explained.

"Emma are you being serious? You think the king would poison his own daughter? I cannot let you speak about him in that manner." Nick's words made me cringe.

"Of course, you think I'm seeing things. Just like everyone still believes Kevin is innocent. Everyone says they want the truth, but no one can actually handle it." I let out a deep sigh.

"It's your duty to protect her Nick, she's your princess. Don't risk her life because you're too loyal to the king to see his true intentions."

The room went quiet after I said that and you could feel the tension in the air.

After what felt like an eternity, Nick nodded at me. "I'll start packing."

I thanked him for that and he left me and Shawn in an uncomfortable silence.

He didn't say anything to me, but he brought out his backpack and started stuffing his things in it.

Nick came back an hour later and the three of us left the palace. Every time we passed across the royal guards, they'd ask us where we're going. But luckily with Nick on our side, they let us pass. He told them he was escorting us to visit a friend, and they didn't ask any further questions.

We had been walking for about five hours, and my face was covered with sweat. Both Shawn and Nick were panting at this point, but not as heavily and loudly as I was.

"One more hour to go come on people," Nick's words were supposed to be encouraging, but to me, it sounded like he was saying '3600 more seconds of exercise, exhaustion and bodies drenched with sweat.'

Yay, how fun.

"Shh," Shawn confused me by shushing us, and I was too tired to guess what he wanted.

"What is it?" I asked. "Don't tell me you need to pee. You already peed like three times already. Let the trees live for god sake-" my words were interrupted by Shawn pushing me on the ground.

I was going to yell at him until I saw an arrow flying right above my head, and into the tree behind me.

What the hell?

We looked around, but didn't see anybody. 

"Get up, they already saw us," whispered Nick.

I didn't know what would be a better option, but he's right. We'll be easier targets if we're just lying on the floor, unable to move.

We all stood up and took cautious steps towards the arrow they had shot at us. Once I approached it, I noticed it wasn't just an arrow. It was a note. The arrow had ripped the piece of paper but the writing on it was still clear.

"The chase has just begun."

Footsteps sounds were getting louder, and I started looking everywhere, not knowing where the sound was coming from.

"Run!" yelled Nick, and we immediately sprinted through the woods, hoping to escape whoever was behind us.

Our little plan didn't work though. We were soon surrounded by a circle of armed people, wearing huge black cloaks that covered their faces. Before we knew it, they formed a circle, leaving the three of us standing in the middle of it, with nowhere to go.