Chapter 20: Discussion

"How did you find me?" I asked. Father chuckled darkly.

"You weren't very hard to find once the guard saw you in Miami," said Father. He leaned forward in his chair to continue, "from there I sent out a wave of guards out across the Northern part of America and it wasn't long until you were spotted with Frost."

"Is that why you attacked the guardians the first time?" I inquired.

"Yes," said Father, "I would have liked to build up my strength again before fighting them but it seemed that it was the only way for them to be weakened during this past fight as well would have been to fight them before hand."

"So you knew Jack would take me to the pole then?" I asked.

"Of course I knew! He's predictable, I just had to be patient," explained father. I locked my jaw to keep from speaking out against father because I knew that he was saying this not only because it was half true but to get a rise out of me.

"Why didn't you simply take me back instead of fighting them first?" I asked after a moment.

"That is none of your business. Do you have any other questions for me or is it my turn?" father replied in a bored tone. I felt my anger flare and took a deep breath to calm myself down.

"It is my business because it involves me. Therefore, I have the right to know," I said pointedly. Father seemed to have almost lost his cool for a moment before he caught himself and calmed himself down.

"The guards lost you and so, I couldn't find you. Besides, it never hurts to have the guardians weaker and I figured I would check if they had seen you," said father in a nonchalant manor.

"One last question," I said and father nodded, telling me to go on and that he was listening, "When I was out in the world the place where I was staying was about to celebrate something called thanks giving and I was wondering if we could still partake in this event? Apparently all that is done is people are thankful about stuff and they eat a feast with something called a turkey. I wanted to try this so called turkey."

The plan was simple really. Not much to it. The turkey was the distraction and a fairly good one at that. Father wouldn't suspect a thing. The main reason for this, of course, was for the art of resourcefulness. I would need a weapon to get out of here seeing as I will be escorted by the guards wherever I go. Therefore the knife that I would use to cut my turkey would be enough to help me disable the guards and get out.

"Very well. We can celebrate this thanksgiving," said Father after a moments consideration. Perfect.

"Could we do it tonight?" I asked. Father sighted and then nodded.

"Well then, that is all of my questions," I said as I leaned back in my chair and looked over my shoulder for a moment. I felt as though someone else was in the room, watching and listening. It certainly put me on edge but I ignored the feeling and focused on father.

"On to the matters around the guardians then," said Father and I nodded, letting him know that I understood where this was going. Father stood from his chair and at his full hight before he continued, "you are not to see them ever again Hunter. Is that clear?"

I locked my jaw to keep myself from talking again and nodded. I had to cooperate now if I wanted to get out again later when I will be healed.

"Furthermore, you are forbidden from leaving the lair ever again, unless I say otherwise. Understood?"

I continued to clench my teeth together and nodded once more. Speaking out would only result in a harsher punishment.

"Lastly, you are to be locked up in your room for the next one hundred years. Meals will be brought to you on schedule by a guard and you are not to leave without me knowing about it."

I nodded and Father turned to leave with a sinister chuckle. I relaxed my jaw which was my first mistake since seeing him because in that moment I spoke out, "So that's it then? I'm chained here with no choice? No say in anything?"

Father turned around sharply, "I do what I have to, to keep you safe."

"Keep me safe? This isn't keeping me safe. This is keeping me for yourself so that you can feel safe! You've been terrified of losing me since mom died! I can practically smell how fearful you are of me moving out and living my own life," my second mistake.

"You know nothing, Hunter," said father with a growl. He took several steps forward and stopped in front of where I was sitting and used his hight to intimidate me. I felt my eyes go wide with fear and father continued, "Your mother died at the hands of the guardians! She, like you, was caught in the cross fire of this feud and we ended up losing her because of them. You might not realise it but this is our only choice to insure your safety. I'll not lose you too. Now, I have business to attend to with a certain Jack Frost."

Father turned to walk away and I stood, "Don't you dare hurt him or I swear-"

"You swear what? To run away again? I have re-enforced security around you. You can't do anything," said father as he walked out of the living room. I sank back in my chair, now I had to get out. Leaving now would be impossible. I had no way of fending myself off against the guards and any other sort of attacker. I'd have to wait until tonight to get out and find Jack. I hoped that he would be okay until I would be able to find him.

I sat there with my head in my hands for a long time just trying to come up with a clever way to get out of this situation. I didn't want to fight father but I know that I had to if I wanted my friends to be safe. My opinion on the guardians had not changed because of the behavior I had seen them demonstrate while I was with them. Besides, Father has lied to me before so his story about mother could have just been that, a story. Regardless, I didn't want fighting on either side. My father's side nor the guardians. Therefore, I had to warn the guardians about father and I had to find a way to get father to leave them alone so we could all live in peace. I sighed and squeezed my eyes shut. I wasn't cut out for this.

I couldn't figure out a plan that could be executed without any flaws. The only way to get this to work would be to take things one at a time and go with the flow. I had to relax and take things as they come if I wanted this to work. I finally came to the decision to leave as soon as the guards handed me my dinner. The knife would hopefully be there and I could use it to get out.

The question that everything came down to, however, was what would I do if no knife was provided? I thought about the various things in my room that I could use to help me leave. A wooden chair and some books. Sure, I could break the chair and try to use that but it wouldn't be of very much use. Books would also be fairly useless in that situation. My best bet would honestly be to out run the guards and try to make it to the weapons room. Of course this wouldn't work either because the weapons room is probably guarded now and I can't out run a horse.

I sighed and looked up, seeing both guards standing in wait beside the door. I stood up wearily and allowed them to escort me back to my room. I'd simply cross that bridge when I get there. The walk back seemed to last only a second and the time that followed seemed like I could have been in there for days. I was tired of sitting around. I wanted to get something done.

The leggings that I requested from father were waiting for me when I got back to my room and it only took a moment for me to slip them on. I was now completely dressed in black with my black leggings, black dress and black coat. Now, I could blend in the shadows more easily and I was ready to get out of here. I just had to get the knife and go. I wondered about Jack as I waited and worried about whether or not father has made a move to hurt him yet. I sincerely hoped that he hadn't yet and that Jack was still okay.

I hated all of this uncertainty and it doesn't help that I can't do anything about it. I just want to help my friends and then live my own life. Is that so much to ask for? I sighed and did my best to numb my mind. Over thinking at this point could be dangerous because I can start second guessing myself and that is not what I need right now.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang at my door and I ran up to it and threw it open. In the door way was a guard carrying a tray of food and most importantly a knife. I smiled wickedly as I pointed to my desk, telling the guard without words to set the tray down there. I stood to the side to let the guard walk in and grabbed the stake knife as it began to walk by. A sinister smile made its way to my lips as I raised the knife and got ready to plunge it into the guard. Show time.