"There he is," Max said, immediately letting go of Evie's hand. "Brother Thorian!" Max shouted as he rushed and flung himself at a teenage boy leaning against a tree.
"Max!" the boy shouted, opening his arms wide as Max ran into his hug. "I have been looking for you the whole of last night. Where did you go and why do you look like a little lord?" he asked, looking him fully over.
"I have been with Sister Evie and Marie," Max said, pointing at them.
"And who are they?" the boy said, pulling Max behind him as he stared at them fiercely.
"Brother Thorian, they are not bad people. They bought me clothes and took me somewhere to sleep last night," he said, peeking from the side.
"Yes, and that is what kidnappers do to lure children like you."
"Where have you ever seen a kidnapper roam around the city with their victim?" Evie said, chuckling.
"Yes, right!" where would they?" Max replied. "They even asked me to show you to them," he added.
"Really?" Thorian replied, now completely on guard. "And why is that?" he asked, looking at Evie intently. She is dressed like a maid but is the leader, he said in his thoughts.
"Yes, they want you to take them to the black-market," Max whispered, loud enough for everyone around to hear.
"What black-market?" Thorian replied sharply. "I know of no such thing," he added, walking backward to put a distance between them.
"Wait," Evie said. "I will pay you. Please, I really need something from there," she added, her voice low now.
"How can I be sure that you are not from the authorities? They used a similar tactic before," he sneered, looking at her.
Max threw his head back, bursting out into laughter before Evie could reply.
"Why are you laughing?" Thorian asked as the three of them stared at Max in confusion.
"What authorities, brother?" he replied in the midst of his laughter. "How can they be the authorities when they are running from the authorities themselves?" he said as both Evie and Helga rushed to clamp a hand over his mouth.
"I am not going to take you with me if this is how you talk," Evie said, looking at Max seriously for the first time.
"Mmm mm," Max's muffled voice came out. "What?" Evie asked as he raised his hand to tap on her hand that was clamped over his mouth. "Oh," she said, letting it go.
"Sister Evie, I trust Brother Thorian and also he won't tell anyone about the black-market," his said lowering his voice at the last word. "But now that he knows what I just told him, he will take us there. Is that right, Brother Thorian?" Max asked looking at him.
"Humph. Let's go," he said, leading them into a dark alley.
"Sister Evie, are you going to leave me now? I just wanted to help you and Sister Marie," Max whispered, looking at her.
"No, you did well, but next time let me do all the talking, okay?" she said, ruffling his hair.
"Okay, Sister," Max said, the worry completely evaporating from his eyes.
The alley led them to a shanty town which was very overcrowded, and the scent of filth clinging to the air. It looked like almost everyone knew Thorian as he received greetings from every corner.
"Are you sure you want to go there?" Thorian said, turning to Evie and staring into her eyes. "Okay," he said turning back as he took them on a confusing route. It was like a maze. After almost an hour of walking, he finally led them to a small alleyway that got smaller and smaller as they walked on it.
The bright sunlight completely disappeared as the alleyway got darker and darker. Despite being a bright day, the darkness was darker than the blanket of the night. "There is no way someone would ever find this place on their own," Evie thought, now completely understanding Thorian's earlier hesitation.
It was right to take in Max yesterday, Evie thought as she felt a small hand finding hers. She opened her palm. His hold on her fingers relaxed and he clasped her hand instead.
"Who is that?" a voice boomed in front of them, and Evie's heart leaped as it lurched out of her chest. Max's hand tightened over her hand and she could hear Helga's heartbeat behind her.
"Clink clink," a chiming voice sounded. "It's you, Thorian," the voice said, clicking what appeared to be a lock, and they were all suddenly blinded by a sharp light.
Evie closed her eyes, rubbing them, and then opened them . She gasped as the scene before her appeared.
In the palace, the emperor was seated on his throne, his face pale and the circles under his eyes dark. "Captain, it has been a day and a half already and you mean to tell me you have no idea where two maids are, you being the head of the Silver Arrow Squad?" He snorted as he loomed over the captain, looking at him with the hoods of his eyes.
"Your Highness, we have mobilized our best soldiers. I am certain we will find them soon," he said, looking at his feet in embarrassment.
"You have already turned the city inside out with no luck so far, alarming civilians. As it is, I want you to withdraw the soldiers and employ clad civilians and bring me results soon. It's not like the girls have disappeared into thin air".
"Yes, Your Highness, I promise to get them back to the palace as soon as possible," Captain Conner said, not knowing he himself will be the one to open the city gates wide for the same ladies to escape.
"Now go. I don't want to see you," the emperor said, flicking his hand as the captain left.
"Once I catch you I will chain you to the bed myself, Lady Elara, I promise you that," the emperor said, rubbing his forehead.
"Your Highness," Hillary's voice interrupted him. "Lady Isabella is seeking your presence," she added.
"Uggh," Reign groaned, his shoulders slumping.