A/N: Guess who got that good old quarantine inspo(Hope y'all who read this are doing okay-world's crazy right now, isn't it?)
No, I am not dead. My drive to write was. And it still kind of is? Idk, I just know that I want to work on trying to finish this story at least(famous last words, I know). It's over three years old now, ain't that crazy?
I know its really late and all that but thank you to Kitkatkatester for the review on chapter 30. :)
This chapter starts a bit all over the place with perspectives and time, but grounds itself by the end(I think). That won't become a pattern, it just felt necessary for this chapter.
Enjoy!
A few more days passed before folks were on the road again, back to their respective homes and whatnot, with the exception of those who already made their main residence the capital and those such as Mike, who were not in a state to leave their location at present. He remained in Hatchet's care for the time being, but would not be for much longer. Mike spent his time there resting, once more dodging any damning questions from Hatchet, and replaying the events of that equal parts wondrous and dreadful evening in his head. It helped numb some of the worse pain, although the medicine he'd been prescribed to deal with it certainly aided that as well.
Back in the capital, Ella had spent the days after the party as an anxious and guilty mess, not a good look for her. She sat in her bedroom in the palace, her sister trying her best to comfort her-Sky wasn't well versed in being positive but she was trying her best. "It's all my fault…" Ella insisted, crying into her hands. "I never should have left him there!" She felt horrendous, unable to do anything herself about the situation. At least, that's what it felt like.
"You didn't do anything wrong, Ella…" Sky tried to tell her, arm around her sister's back. She herself was feeling a sense of guilt, having been the one to pull Ella away from Mike in the first place. She hadn't anticipated that he might up and get whisked away by some figure in the dark. They really needed to tighten their security.
Speaking of security, the guard in charge of entry to the castle on the night of the party had been approached to be the one in charge of the larger search, having come into contact, however brief it may have been, with everyone that had attended. She took this position seriously, sending those who could be spared to ride out and score the kingdom for the poor sucker the princess had been making heart-eyes at, one of which had been shut out by Hatchet, so close but so far from their goal.
After all resources in search had been utilized, with nothing of promise arising from those who had finished their routes and had returned to disappointingly report their failure, the guard in charge decided to take matters into her own hands. She herself rode from town to town, her presence commanding enough to get most people's attention as she described the missing person in a much more convincing manner than her subordinates could ever dream to. One would think she could have done this from the beginning to save some time and resources, but she did not have such sense when it could have made a difference.
One of these towns was the home of a large portion of the story's cast. It was a week out from that night, and anyone who had waited to leave had made their way back. The personal searches done by those who knew Mike had also come up dry, and if any one of them was aware of his location through some means, they had kept quiet about it.
Mike's recovery was not going to be instant, but he couldn't realistically stay there in that office forever. Being such a long term case, and having not made contact with anyone Mike knew, Hatchet offered to refer him to another doctor in a different town who supposedly had more resources and space. "It'll take a day o' two to let 'em know but I need you out if you ain't gonna be healed up anytime soon, kid," Hatchet had told him.
"You don't have to do that…" Mike had replied, his voice quiet. "I can go…"
"'Less you got someone to look out for ya in the meantime and to pay up for all this treatin', I can't promise you recoverin' anywhere."
Mike sighed, understanding and wishing he had a means to contact someone, anyone. He'd been staying in a smaller room off to the side of Hatchet's office, so none of the people walking in and out were aware he was there. Sometimes he'd wake up and feel like he was being watched, even when it was dark and no one else was there.
The day before he was supposed to be transferred was the day the head guard came to town, specifically the town square, to do her thing. Anyone who was anyone in town was there to hear what she had to say, with the exception of a few, including Mike. "Alright! Some of you people have already been approached about this, but I'm here because those guys who asked were too shallow in their investigation!" She pulled a written description from a small pouch attached to her belt and started to rattle off adjectives and whatnot to describe the missing person. Somehow they managed to be equal parts specific and incredibly vague; no wonder no one could find the guy. "It is very important to the Royal family that this guy is found, so if you know something, do me a favor and speak up so this can be over sooner than later!"
Hatchet had stepped out to hear the guard speak, as his office was in that same area. The only red flag in the description was the part about the person being injured, tall, and 'a stick' as said by the guard. He moved to speak, but something stopped him, a hand on his large shoulder. "I wouldn't," an unfamiliar voice whispered in his ear before removing their hand.
Hatchet jumped-it had been so unexpected he did so reflexively, it wasn't like it had scared him or anything, no, it took a lot more than that to spook him-and turned, but whoever had done that was now gone.
Mike was able to hear snippets of what the guard lady was talking about, but not enough to grasp that she was referring to himself as the person she and every other guardsmen in the kingdom had been looking for the past week, nor enough to understand that she was there to search at all.
He was trying to listen closer when he heard the office door open and footsteps. They were familiar but didn't belong to Hatchet.
"Mike? You in here?"
Mike redirected his line of sight towards the door of his little room. That sounds like Duncan… he thought to himself. "Yes," he replied with his weak voice.
A few moments passed. The door opened. Yep, it was Duncan. Somehow he knew where Mike was. "Good, you're still here," Duncan said with relief.
"I'm...supposed to leave tomorrow...for another doctor," Mike told him. He was confused by Duncan's wording. It sounded as if Duncan had known he was there the whole time. But how could he?
"I know. But you won't have to," Duncan revealed. "I'm getting you out of here."
"What...really?" Mike was surprised. Of all the people, it was Duncan who was first to get to him. Strange, really… but hey, at least it wasn't his stepfather or one of his step brothers. "To go where?"
"Don't worry about that right now. I've got to talk to that Hatchet about taking you with me."
Mike had several questions pass through his mind, but now was apparently not the time to ask them. "Okay," he said in response to Duncan.
They had to wait a little while, as the crowd outside would hinder their travel, and after Hatchet came back into the office soon after his strange experience outside, he and Duncan talked, and Hatchet seemed glad to have Mike off his hands again.
Mike was given a makeshift-looking crutch of sorts to use. Because he was so tall and oddly proportioned Hatchet had had to improvise. It would work for the time being, hopefully he wouldn't need to use it too often. He followed Duncan out of the office after some time had passed and the ruckus outside was finally over- the guard had moved on but wasn't completely out of the town's vicinity. There was still a chance for the two parties to meet.
It was only a matter of time.
Please let me know what you think by leaving a review, if you want. I'll see you next time, hopefully soon :)