Chapter 78- Maya

Arabella Toussaint:

The moment I slipped out of the dining hall, I ran. Even though Jasmine had strictly asked me to stay calm and act normal, I guess panic had gotten the better of me.

My heart was still pounding from the chaos behind me.

Please be alright, my King.

I made a silent prayer for him.

Pushing away his thoughts, I hurried to my room and slammed the door shut. I kicked off the high heels and shoved my feet into a pair of comfortable leather shoes.

Without wasting another second, I rushed out of the room. After barely taking a few steps, I suddenly stopped.

Uh-huh. The potion bottles.

I slapped my palm over my forehead and spun around to run back inside. I grabbed both the bottles and quickly hid them inside the folds of my gown. Halfway down the corridor, another thought struck me.

I forgot to change!

I was supposed to wear a hoodie!

I looked down at the expensive deep red gown and sighed in frustration. I wanted to turn back, but then I shook my head.

No. There isn’t enough time for that.

I broke into a run and kept chanting to myself.

Don’t forget to apply scent suppressant. You need to hide your scent.

I kept repeating the words over and over in my head as I ran through the gardens. At last, I reached the Southern Gate and saw a lone warrior standing beside it.

I came to an abrupt stop. The warrior looked at me for a brief second and stepped aside without a word.

He worked for Jasmine.

I didn’t know where Jacob was. Maybe he took his leave before dinner when he saw the King accompanying me.

I pushed open the heavy gate and sprinted outside. For a single heartbeat, King Lucien’s face flashed through my eyes. And along with it, a sharp pain in my chest.

"I don’t have time for this!" I said through clenched teeth as I kept running.

Freedom.

That was all I needed to think about. I was finally going to meet my best friend. I followed the narrow trail as Jasmine had described. My lungs had started burning, and my legs ached. But I didn’t slow down.

Deep down, I had this small fear. What if I couldn’t find the car just like I couldn’t find that cherry blossom tree?

Then I saw it. An old black sedan was parked beneath the giant oak tree. Good Goddess. I wanted to cry. Relief flooded through me.

I hurried over and knocked on the driver’s window. It rolled down. A middle-aged man sat in the driver’s seat. He looked at me and gave me a silent nod.

I climbed into the car, shut the door behind me, and the vehicle pulled away.

No questions were asked by the driver. Exactly as Jasmine had promised.

Oh. Thinking of Jasmine reminded me of the scent suppressant. What if they are following me? With trembling hands, I took out the bottle and poured one drop on my palm. After applying it, a long breath escaped my lips.

I couldn’t believe it. It had been almost too easy. I hoped Jasmine wasn’t betraying me. I rested my head against the seat and closed my eyes for a brief moment.

Maybe this was the Moon Goddess’ way of helping me. Maybe she also wanted me to leave all the politics and hatred behind.

Another long sigh left my mouth as I realized that freedom didn’t feel like a dream anymore.

***

"We’re here," The man said after the car finally came to a stop. Morning had only just begun, and the city was just beginning to wake up.

I thanked the driver before stepping out and stared at the enormous stone gate standing before me. Beyond this wall lived humans.

A long time back, the beasts made a promise to humans that they wouldn’t interfere in humans’ lives, nor would they take their beast form in their world.

I fisted the fabric of my gown and walked through the gate. The streets were alive with children laughing while running. Shopkeepers were calling out to the customers, and a faint smell of fresh bread drifted through the air, making me realize that I was hungry.

I didn’t have any money. Nor had a clear location or information regarding Angela.

After walking to the main market, I started looking from one shop to another, searching for Angela.

What was it? A bakery? A boutique? I had no idea.

I stopped beside a young woman arranging flowers outside her shop.

"Excuse me... do you know where Angela is? I mean... is there any shop by this name?" I asked her, trying to hide my nervousness.

"Angela?" She frowned, and I quickly nodded.

She shook her head and moved her gaze back to her flowers, "I’m sorry."

I thanked her and continued walking.

It’s okay. Don’t panic. It will take some time. Don’t give up!

After an hour, I was too disappointed. I asked every other person, and nobody knew about Angela.

"I don’t know."

"Never heard of it!"

My excitement had slowly begun to fade. What if I’d misunderstood Maya’s message? What if there wasn’t any Angela at all?

I was about to give up when I noticed an elderly man feeding pigeons near a fountain. I walked over to him.

"Sir. Do you happen to know a place or a shop called Angela?"

He scratched his gray beard thoughtfully, and for a moment I thought he’d say no like everyone else. Then his eyes seemed to light up a little, "There is an Angela’s Salon about three streets from here."

A salon?

"Are you sure?" I asked him in confusion.

He nodded, "Yeah. It’s a newly opened salon, so not many people know about it."

I thanked him and hurried away. A salon? Yes, Maya loved makeup and tried new hairstyles on me whenever she got the chance.

But a beauty salon was never her thing. That didn’t sound like Maya at all. I needed to find her before it got dark or I’d be sleeping on the streets.