The Outcast and the Survivor: Chapter Four

“A princess and a spy,” she continues as I approach. “You’re more resourceful than I imagined you’d be.”

Her tone is so warm that I don’t know what to make of it, causing me to just stare at her blankly.

“I’m sorry for being so terse with you earlier, but there is a lot on my mind that is troubling me, as you can imagine depending on how long you’ve been listening in.”

She then looks at Severin, who speaks as if on cue.

“I’m actually kind of glad you’re here,” he says. “I was meaning to tell you, we’d like to leave a guard outside your room, someone to keep you safe and escort you wherever you want to go while you’re here in Sanctuary. Is that okay?”

“Yeah,” I reply, confident I have little choice in the matter.

The kindness with which they speak bothers me more than the brusqueness that they had used earlier in the day. It comes across as disingenuous just when I was starting to acclimate to Anastasia’s more direct nature. Maybe I’m being paranoid, but the fact that she didn’t seem to recognize the

name Eliana when I said it troubles me. If she really knew my father, she should also have a clue as to who Eliana might be.

With that in mind, I leave the two of them and make my way back to my room. When I arrive, a guard is already posted outside, confirming to me that I was already going to be watched whether I liked it or not. Despite the reassuring words Anastasia and Severin both gave me, I don’t trust this place, if for no other reason than it doesn’t seem to trust me.

Before lying down again, I open up my pack and pull out the animal-skin pouch. To my surprise, the temptation to open it is completely absent now that I know what’s inside. For just containing a gem, it is quite heavy, but then again, who knows what something like a world stone is even made of.

With the pouch in my hands, I lie down on the bed and stare up at the ceiling feeling discouraged. Prior to my brief interaction with Anastasia and Severin, I had almost accepted everything that I had been told, but now I am left sure of only one thing, that they need more from me than just the stone. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be putting on these faces and acting the way they are. Whatever power the stone might provide them, it is not enough for whatever they are planning, even if it does involve creating some sort of protective shield around Sanctuary. They are lying to me, at least about why I’m really here, and I need to learn the truth before it’s too late.

Just as I close my eyes and start to drift away, a loud thud from the hallway brings me back, the sound of someone being knocked to the ground. I spring to my feet and brace myself for whatever is coming as the door swings open.

The last person I thought I’d see walks through it. Wade.

“We need to get out of here.”