Chapter 24 - 024: Back again
The bear’s grip remained firm around her wrist again, but his expression had changed. The haze in his eyes had cleared, leaving behind a guarded curiosity that made Anaria even more uneasy.
His breathing had steadied, and the wildness that had clouded his eyes earlier was gone. He studied her for a moment before asking, "So now, how did you end up in my room?"
Anaria stared at him. Of all the questions he could ask, that was apparently the one he had chosen. "I was dragged here," Anaria said dryly. "Apparently, being a female who can heal a wounded beastman is enough to make half the village panic."
The bear’s brow furrowed.
Anaria sighed and continued, "A beastman was wounded so I treated him with my herbal medicine, and everyone started acting like I had done something terrible. They took me to the village leader which is apparently you but you were too sick to see anyone, so they locked me up instead."
"You escaped?" the bear asked.
"Obviously."
"And came here?"
"Listen, I didn’t exactly plan a tour of your house," Anaria replied. "I was looking for a way out. Your room happened to be where I ended up."
The bear fell silent, his gaze fixed on her as he thought over her words "A stranger had escaped the village prison, somehow found her way into his room while he was in the middle of his rut, and instead of taking advantage of him, she had helped him regain control. She had even treated the wounded beastman earlier. If she truly meant them harm, why would she help anyone?" He wasn’t sure whether to let her go or keep her under watch until he understood what she was really after
While his thoughts were still going on, a soft chime sounded in Ananria’s mind.
[Warning, Host.]
Anaria blinked "What?"
[The village leader is experiencing conflicting thoughts regarding Host.]
Her eyes widened slightly "For real?"
[His final decision remains uncertain. This may alter the current escape plan. Host is advised to act before a conclusion is reached.]
Anaria stared at the bear. She had not noticed anything unusual about him at all, before she could ask what she was supposed to do, the bear spoke.
"You cannot leave like this."
Anaria’s mouth opened. "Why?"
The bear ignored her question, pushes her aside and turned toward the doorway "Guards."
Anaria’s expression dropped "Oh, come on."
Footsteps approached after some minutes. Two guards entered and froze when they saw Anaria standing inside the leader’s room.
"How did she get here?" one guard asked.
"She was in the prison," the other said.
Anaria rolled her eyes at the confused guards bickering.
The guards exchanged confused looks before turning toward their leader.
The bear calmly gave his order "Take her to the imperial prison."
Anaria stared at him. "Excuse me?"
The guards moved toward her.
"I just helped you!" Anaria protested. "Is this how your village repays someone for helping its leader?"
The bear said nothing. He only gestured for the guards to continue.
Anaria sighed. "Seriously?"
One guard reached for her arm.
"For God’s sake, I don’t want your decorative prison," Anaria complained. "I just want to go home."
The guards caught both her arms, and Anaria resisted but her complaints earned no response. The bear watched silently as they dragged her toward the door.
Anaria twisted around as the guards pulled her from the room and glared back at the bear "When I get out of this place, I’m coming back for revenge," Anaria warned.
The bear’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he still said nothing.
"And also" Anaria added, "I have two perfectly capable beastman. They definitely won’t be happy when they find out how you treated me."
The guards dragged her farther down the corridor before she could say anything else. Anaria’s irritation remained until the fox system chimed inside her mind again.
[Host.]
Anaria groaned. "What now?"
[The initial escape plan has been compromised. A new plan must now be established.]
Anaria stared angrily at the fox system" I know already"
[Host should remain calm.]
"Just get lost!" Anaria snapped.
The guards glanced at her.
Anaria lowered her voice and muttered, "You always appear when danger is already standing on top of me. Poor me for customizing you."
[Host’s complaint has been recorded.]
"Don’t record it just fix it."
[Unable to comply for now]
Anaria sighed and allowed the guards to continue pulling her along.
Then her anger slowly gave way to worry...Rylan... Kai.
They had gone to find somewhere for them to stay, completely unaware that she had been taken by the villagers, imprisoned, escaped, and somehow ended up captured again.
By now, they were probably waiting for her and this made her chest tightened, if they started searching for her without knowing what had happened, they could easily attract trouble themselves.
"I need to get out," Anaria whispered.
The guards continued leading her deeper into Imperial prison. The place had grown quieter as night settled over it, and Anaria realized she could barely recognize the paths they were taking..
She had entered Ravenfall hoping to build a life with her mates. Somehow, before the first day had even ended, she was already being locked away again.
*********
Meanwhile, Rylan and Kai continued searching through Ravenfall, asking villagers if they had seen Anaria. They described her as a small, frail fox beastwoman, but no one seemed to know where she had gone.
With every unanswered question, Kai began to get worried. "Maybe she hasn’t finished what she went to do."
Rylan frowned. "Then why hasn’t she come back?"
Kai fell silent, unable to answer.
They asked a few more villagers, but the response remained the same. No one had seen Anaria.
Kai finally sighed. "Maybe we should wait a little longer. She might come back soon."
Rylan looked toward the distant paths before reluctantly nodding. "Fine. But if she doesn’t return soon, we’re searching again."
Rylan and Kai returned to their chosen spot, still unaware of what had happened to Anaria.
Elsewhere, Anaria was being dragged deeper into the prison, already thinking of how she was going to get herself out.