her expression, or maybe take a final look at her face: the girl that had brought me here, and to all of this, the same one who was helping me out of it.
I took a deep breath and did as I was told, despite everything in me that wanted to just curl into a ball and cry over how scared I was. I walked out of the wing and to the stairs right under the guards’ noses, the same guards that, true to Janna’s word, looked down at the floor once they saw us come out of the wing, keeping their gazes down until we’d passed through.
The minute that we spent in the female guards’ presence was the hardest. They looked friendly with Janna, their voices had a smiling tone, but I couldn’t tell if they were really smiling or not, since they were completely covered from head to toe in black, aside from the bandage on their left arms. It was green with some kind of logo on it, something that declared their status as female guards, I assumed. For a moment, I wondered how on earth they would be able to do anything with those clothes on, but I didn’t find it in me to question it in my head any further.
I breathed a sigh of half-relief when we were finally away from them. A limousine was waiting just outside the door. I was even surprised that one of the guards was standing there beside the car and holding the door open. I wondered if the female guards had reported that Janna was coming out of the palace, or if he was just standing there an hour early–I really had no idea.
Janna said her goodbye to me with just another tight hug and a long shadowed look, only breaking her gaze when the car moved away, with the same guard that had held the door open now driving.
A few minutes and too many guards later, the palace was finally out of sight. A small smile wanted to creep to my lips and make itself comfortable there, but that ache in my heart prevented it from emerging. I just relaxed my back against the seat, though every single inch of my body was as tense as ever.
Minutes passed, and I could see through the glass that kind-of-familiar road I’d come from just five days ago, only one day before the wedding: the road to the airport.
Relief started to make its way to my heart, for I knew the hardest part was almost over. I just had to get to that jet and get on it, and then I wouldn’t speak until later, when we would be in the air already and as far away as I could get from the kingdom. But sadly, my dreams simply crashed when our car was stopped by another car. A BMW kept cutting us off to make the limousine stop, until finally the driver had to pull over so as not to cause us to crash.
For a moment, I thought that the person who would step out of the BMW would be the prince coming to drag me back to the palace, but I was mistaken. It was not the prince, but a guy in his late thirties or early forties with pitch black hair, a thick black beard and light-colored eyes. I couldn’t tell if they were blue or green since the glass was making most of the things outside of the limousine appear gray.
The guy barked something at the driver and a small conversation went back and forth between them. All I could understand from it was that the guy was angry and the driver was scared.
I gripped my cross and prayed silently, because it didn’t seem like it was going to go well from that point on.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
The driver