Yori leaned bato the shadow of the building feeling even more fused about their situation than before. Rather than finding answers as he hoped, new questions rose. Troubling questions that burned in his mind for want of solving.

  Eudokia’s words whispered to Yori in his mind. ‘The King holds a very important position for us besides g. The King maintains Atntis and allows for the tinued survival of his people.’

  ‘Yes, I do. This is my home and only I uand it. You forced your way to e with us. I didn’t ask you. So I’m not obligated to give you anything!’

  ‘Only she uands,’ thought Yori over her words. His thoughts tried to mull it over. A few possibilities came to him, but the ck of solid informatio him debating his options. It made him want to listen around for more, but he doubted his luck would hold out.

  Oruth became apparent from Eudokia and the townspeople, a history id deep within Atntis with its yers of tradition. Something guided all of the as. ‘She uands better than the rest… She knows the meaning of what I heard!’

  ‘Whehey going to annouhe new King? We’re running out of time!’

  ‘It’s beeuries since a new Kihis long unannounced.’

  ‘We’re going to be the first to suffer!’

  ‘It’ll be like after King Theseus died! So many people died and so mud was lost!’

  ‘Our homes will be destroyed!’

  Yori smmed his hand to his face struggling with questions that tormented him. ‘What is it? What isn’t she telling us yet? Is it something she fears? Is she afraid like these vilgers are of beiroyed? Is it because of those wanting trol or is it because there is no King?’

  Fumiko felt only more fused by the words of the vilgers. She thought with the answers from Eudokia she started to uand Atntis better. More mysteries and uainties filled her heart. However, Fumiko focused herself realizing that they drifted too long. “We’re out of time, Yori. We should be heading baow.” Nothing reached his deep thought, appearing almost soulless. She grabbed a hold of his shoulder shaking back to reality. “Yori, it’s time to leave!”

  “…r-right!” Yori turned his face back up to follow Fumiko, keeping out of sight. ‘I’ll find the answers. I’ll figure out what she hasn’t told us yet!’

  Chapter 103 – The Darkness of Innoce

  The inn stood only a building away from them, but it seemed to bee even further away. Out in front on the main street Eudokia and his sister hauled ihing they purchased. A signifit haul for them sidering how loaded down both appeared. It cut them off from the entrance of the inn. Yori and Fumiko stared at each other, calg their situation and risks of anything they attempted.

  Yori looked back down the inn, seeing their only option to prevent being caught. He grabbed Fumiko’s hand, guiding her along not thinking about a response. Behind the inn he came to stop under a raised window. “Hey! Someone by the window?”

  Fumiko tilted her head up realizing that they stood o their room in the small inn. They had no gss for any of the windows or shutters, just simple wooden frames. In such warm weather it hardly seemed important. “Hayashi? Furukawa? Are you there?”

  Moments passed for them in tension with no words. The height of the window made it impossible for them to know if aood around it. However, to their surprise, Haruo leaned out of the window looking down at the two of them. He realized what they needed and offered a hand out to them. Fumiko went first at Yori’s insistend then him afterward.

  Ihe room, Yuki and Saki joihem at the wall, a little taken back by their entranbsp; Saki checked on Fumiko to see that she wasn’t hurt. “What happened? Did you learn anything?”

  Fumiko and Ynced over at each other in silence p their response. her had the ce for an answer as Eudokia opehe door. She searched around the room with her eyes to che everyone. The gathering by the window and uneasy almost guilty looking expressions on Yuki and Saki made her suspicious.

  Eudokia pced a couple of the packs casually oable he door and the rest on the bed as she approached the wall. She fixed Yuki with a thick stare not wanting any excuses. “Is there something wrong?”

  Yuki shifted an uain g Yori before w up a pleasant expression. “Nothing at all! They’re just really tired from all of the walking today.” He hoped that she believed him and didn’t press further. The pierce gaze of her eyes unnerved him, breaking down his mask.

  A calg moment from Eudokia lengthehe tensioween them. Not a single word made the air thick around everyone. The others in the room watched, keeping to themselves with ued faces. “Then you better help with the unpag,” she decred pointing to Yori’s sister filing about with the weight of half of their load.

  Saki and Yuki wasted no time rushing over to help relieve her, bravely struggling to keep together. The moment they effortlessly pulled the packs from her arms she colpsed to the ground as though they had been the only thing holdiogether. “I thought my arms were going to fall off!” Yori’s sister cradled her arms against her stomach w oing feeling ba them.

  Everyone’s packs id about the room with some of the supplies overflowing from the tops. Yuki looked over at Ayumi, a little ed that she bought too mubsp; “You sure you didn’t go overboard? Do we have the money for all of this?”

  “Of course,” she replied sharply, “All of this is necessary to limit the number of stops we make.”

  “And this?” he asked, pulling out a tuni a pa the bed. Underh there were several more of varying muted colors. “Shopping for clothes?”

  “Your clothes stand out here! It’ll be easier to fit in without my powers if you wear Atntean clothes.”

  “I guess so…they’re kind of bnd though…I won’t pop off the page…”

  “They don’t o stand out! Do you want to be caught?!”

  “…no…” Yuki pulled himself away from Ayumi not wanting to be in her line of fire any longer. He caught the sight of food and remembered his own hunger. “Hey food! Who’s hungry?” The mention of food gave everyone energy, throwing the room into chaos.

  They argued and fought over which to eat and to save, even Eudokia managed little against them. Once food finally settled ihey calmed down and scattered. Hunger had been the only thing to keep most of them awake. So they started falling asleep around the room without much thought to location.

  Haruo id out against the wall and turned away from the group. Seiji took his pce at the door seated up with his arms crossed and head hanging a little low. Chiharu disappeared, uo be found by ahough no oried to find her. Saki sprawled out in the middle of the floor with little thought in mind to any surroundings. The siblings reed in the er o each other. While, Fumiko rested at the foot of the bed, still managing to make it seem small stretched out fully. Left to the packs, Yuki leaned against the artly supported by the table.

  Eudokia turned about the room, still not pletely clear what had happened. “They were so full of energy a moment ago… Hmm…” She eyed the bed taking it into sideration before turning away. Her back pressed against the bag of the bed presenting her with a view of the door. ‘I guess we’ll resolve the rest of the matters in the m before we leave…’

  Oskirts of the vilge of Skoupa, a small band of soldiers gathered with the Captain of the South Gate in front. The search drove them into the te hours of the night. The rest of the nd slept while they worked tirelessly to keep them safe. A dark unknown fog cast over them in the face of the straruders. Each man stood on edge and resolute behind their Captain. Their honor rested upon their success.

  Two shadowy figures approached from the vilge, their biforms w well in the night. They came up to the Captain halting together in routine unison. “Captain Simonides, initial perimeter searpleted!”

  “Report, Kalliope and Philon!”

  Kalliope, a twenty-five year old woman, rictly to her Captain. “No signs of straivity around the vilge surrounding nd.” She had a long service with the border patrol distinguished by several captures. “If the fners are here they aren’t hiding outside of the vilge.”

  Simonides gave pause to pn his move. Skoupa id behind the two soldiers sleeping with a great unknown. A vilge made searg difficult with the number of pces to hide. The further ck of signs from them around the nd had him questioning his previous decision. ‘In the end, this will rule out a pce if nothing else. We must be thh.’ The Captain focused ba his men dividing up tasks in his mind. “We search the vilge! Leave nothing unturned!”

  The new orders brought all of them to attention with the expectation of ands. “Kalliope and Philon take the south entrand work towards the vilge square. Temon you’re with me on the north entranbsp; Eusebios takes the rest of the men as up a perimeter around the vilge. No one escapes, uand?”

  “Of course, Captain!” snapped Eusebios and saluted him. The white uniform of the group, his powers came into importance the enemies were captured. He directed the attention of the men motioning them into positions in the field to set up.

  Reag the north entrance for Simonides meant cirg around the vilge to the opposite side. His men waited on a dey under his pn. He calcuted the time it took to make the entrand scheduled the search to begiemon and he made their position. The north entrance of Skoupa sat in front of them in anticipation.

  A few moments remained as predicted by him. ‘It’s been a while since I’ve had to personally do a search like this…’ His positio that he often stayed behind at the South Gate while he issued ands to his men. This situation drew him out into the field.

  He gave the signal to Temon to head into the vilge. Simonides followed behind him carefully watg everything in his field of vision. No intruders would escape him. Ahead the sounds of splintering wood and shouts told him that the south entraeam began their move. The first house, a small hovel, stood darkened before the two of them. He examihe exterior slowly cheg for any unusual signs.

  Ohe Captai satisfied he motioo Temon to make for the door. The twenty-three year old man from the northern region tightened up as he prepared. His biform went well with his dark brown hair cut ly around his nebsp; A toned and honed arm reached out to kno the door. They were still citizens of Atntis, so breaking down the door came as a sed option. Temon gave the door another firm knock that nearly turned into a pound.

  A man’s voice came out of an adjat room crawling through the window. The pounding came to an end hearing it received aowledgement. Moments ter the door opened revealing a half awake man in his thirties wearing a light tunibsp; “What’s wrong?” the man asked not seeing who stood in his entry.

  “Stand aside, sir! I must search your house by order of the Captain of the South Gate!”

  The title tossed out sobered up the man quickly. “What’s the meaning of this?!” He refused to get out of the way of the soldier without a good reason.

  Temon pressed his stance closing the distand using stature to fill an imposing effebsp; “Intruders from the outer world have been seen in this dire. We have to firm that you’re not hiding them knowingly or not!” He raised his hand up for the man’s shoulder to cast him aside.

  “Intruders?! Around here?” Panic struck the vilger as he thought about the possibilities of a stranger in his vilge. While the soldier already let himself into the house the man gave way, dropping to the side leaning against the wall. Sounds of valuables breaking and shattering didn’t matter to him. A soldier ripping apart everything in his house no longer meant anything.

  Outside Simonides coldly watched the home and neighb homes for any stirring. A hidden enemy worried over their safety teo flee when it came into jeopardy. He saw it py out often with the few that mao survive past the barrier long enough. The only wish he had desired was a rger team to make the search more effit. Unfortunately, he had cast a wide with his men for maximum ce. Preventing the further invasion of the enemy deeper into their territory came at a higher priority.

  Temon came out of the house to report back to the Captain. “Nothing to be found, Captain!”

  “Very well, move on!” He watched the soldier rush over to the opposite side of the street to the home. The polite knog didn’t receive a greeting and Temon forced his way in with a well pced kibsp; A couple of screams from the back came before yelling for the intrusion into their home. Disregarding any pints Temon tinued with practiced precision. ‘They all act differently. This is for their own good though.’

  Towards the ter of the vilge the ied untouched. However, the otion from outside awoke the lighter sleepers, Eudokia and Chiharu (Seiji remained sound asleep). The two girls looked around the room before Chiharu silently sprio the window. The window faced away from all of the noise, but her features narrowed. She disappeared out the window before Eudokia had a ce to stop her.

  Eudokia picked up the screams and shouts of the vilgers building in chorus. ‘Damn, Simonides is faster than I thought. We’ll have to escape now while we still have the advantage.’ She turned bad rushed over to Yuki, stirring him awake. His sleepy eyes barely aowledged her. “Start waking everyone up! We’ve got to leave now!”

  “Huh?”

  “There’s soldiers in the vilge searg for us!”

  Yuki leaped up to his feet pletely awake. “What?! They found us!”

  “Not yet, but we’ve got to leave now!”

  “Alright…I’ll help you wake everyone up!”

  Getting most of them awake didn’t take much effort, apart from Seiji. The greater problem came to dealing with the mess they had. They had to scramble around to put all of the food bato their bags. Eudokia insisted on them putting the new clothes on as well. It meao carry and easier to blend in with the rest of the vilgers.

  Chiharu returned bato the room after her long disappearance. “I t four in the vilge and another five around the vilge blog routes for escape. It should be pretty easy to escape.”

  “Only nine for the search party...” remarked Eudokia. “That’s a lot fewer than I thought. They must be spreading their forces thin.” She became pensive for a few moments. Her pns factored for a rger forowing how they preferred to operate. The new developments pleased her. “This’ll make things a lot easier for our escape then. Finding a hole to escape through will be easy. The Meso Prosecho is outside the city?”

  “Yes, I saw the white uniform to the north.”

  Eudokia sed the room cheg on the dition of everyone. A strange feeling came over her that ed her. They seemed ready. The uliioronger as well as the feeling she fot something. She tried to focus on the immediate problem of getting out of the inn and vilge. “Yuki, it’s time to go!” Eudokia looked around for Yuki, no longer seeing him among his friends. “Yuki?” She turo the window, finding him staring out with a lost expression in his eyes. “Yuki?”

  “I hear them…” He gnced ba the room, his eyes carrying guilt. “They’re destroying the vilge looking for me.”

  “Yuki, no!” She saw where his wuided him. Eudokia rushed over to him, grabbing him by the arm. “No! You ’t!”

  “They didn’t do anything wrong, Ayumi! It’s my fault! I ’t let them suffer for something that isn’t their fault!”