Chapter 118 Bickering in the Forest
THIRD POV
They had been walking all night through the thick forest without stopping even once. At first, they’d been elated to be out of the cells and breathing fresh air again. The conditions down there were terrible and they never thought that they would actually be treated like that in their entire lives.
Hannah was surprised when she saw Luke opening up the gates for her that night. How on earth did he get past all those guards and come down here without being detected?
It was a very risky thing for him to do and if he had been caught, he would have been put to death immediately without question. She knew how much Elijah hated imposters and people who betrayed him and his trust.
Lisa didn’t know much though. She didn’t know who this strange man who had broken her out of prison was but she didn’t say anything either. She just followed quietly as he led her and Hannah out of prison and into the dark forest.
She had been down there for at least two months and it was like she had been forgotten by everyone who ever knew her. She thought she was going to rot down there and no one would ever remember her or even think about her. She wanted to think that her father would come save her but when she thought about it and concluded on the kind of person that he was, she knew that she wasn’t going to be getting out of there anytime soon on his account.
“Luke, I’m tired. We’ve been walking all night and my feet are sore, I’m hungry and very sleepy. Can we rest for a bit please?”
He didn’t respond to Hannah nor did he even turn around to acknowledge her complaint at all.
She knew that if she stopped walking, she was going to be left behind in the forest alone.
“Maybe instead of whining about everything, you save that energy and walk faster so we can get there quicker.”
She looked at Lisa, who made that snide comment with a smirk on her face.
“Who do you think you are to be talking to me like that? You shouldn’t even be here in the first place. Luke came to save me and he just pitied you so watch it.”
Lisa laughed, amazed by her threat and completely unbothered by it.
“Or what will you do? Beat me up or go back to your pack and report me missing? Before you throw stones at me, remember that you’re in a glass house as well and you’re standing so close to the window.”
As Lisa walked away confidently, her anger bubbled up inside her and she burst out. Lisa didn’t have the right to speak to her like that at all. She was the one who knew Luke and she was the reason Luke had even come down there in the first place, or so she thought in her mind.
“You bloody bitch! I’ll make sure I—”
“What in the world is wrong with you?!” He finally addressed them both with anger in his voice. “Are you trying to get caught? Or what do you think you’re doing exactly? Listen to me very carefully, just shut up and follow me. There’s no time to rest right now. The more time we waste here arguing, the higher chances of getting caught. Do you think when Elijah notices that all three of us are gone, he’ll send just a few guards? He’ll send the whole army because both of you almost killed his son. So shut your mouth and let’s keep moving forward.”
It didn’t stop Hannah from being angry and cursing at Lisa under her breath as they continued walking. The sun was just coming up and they were cold so they stopped by a cave and rested so they could set a fire to warm themselves.
Luke didn’t know where he was going exactly at this point. He hadn’t received instructions from the Grandmaster since the last time they spoke. He was just walking and hoping that he’d hear his voice soon with directions. They had no food or water but at least, they had shelter for now until they figured out what to do next.
When the fire died out completely, they rested for a few more minutes and then Luke stood up to continue their journey.
Hannah groaned loudly in frustration.
“Do we have to leave now? I mean, why can’t we just stay for now and rest properly? As you can see, no one is chasing us at all.”
Luke was beginning to feel that he shouldn’t have brought her along at all on this journey. In fact, he should have just killed her and dropped her body somewhere in the forest and moved on without her.
He ignored her though, she wasn’t going to be the reason for his bad mood right now. All he just needed to do was hope that they didn’t catch on to the fact that he didn’t know where he was going and he hoped that the Grandmaster would say something as soon as possible to guide him.
Right on cue, he heard a voice fill his mind clearly.
“Keep walking straight ahead without stopping. You’ll get to a huge tree, I’ll be there waiting for you.”
Hearing this, he couldn’t contain his happiness and relief. He urged them ahead, eager to stop dealing with their whining and fighting.
Just as he had said, Luke did see a huge tree a few meters up ahead but he didn’t see the Grandmaster anywhere around it.
“Why are we stopping here? What’s going on?”
Luke was silent as he looked around carefully, hoping to pick up any movement around him. He was sure that he had heard the Grandmaster’s voice so where was he exactly?
“Turn around.”
As Luke did, he met with the old man’s eyes staring right at him.
“Welcome. I’ve been expecting you, dear friends.”
Hannah and Lisa looked at each other in confusion, wondering who this strange old man was and what he wanted from them.
Luke just stood there silently, waiting for the Grandmaster to give them further instructions on what to do next.
The forest was quiet around them except for the sounds of birds chirping in the distance.
Hannah was exhausted from walking all night and wanted nothing more than to rest properly, but she knew that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
Lisa on the other hand kept her distance from Hannah, still annoyed by her earlier outburst. The tension between the three of them was palpable as they stood before the Grandmaster, waiting to hear what he had to say to them. Whatever it was, it was going to change everything.