288 All Gone

CHAPTER 288

"This is our chance to leave, Astrid and we must do it now. Trust me on this."

After contemplating on his words, Astrid finally agreed. "I know a sleeping spell. It would make him sleep longer and I can create a four corner high covering to keep him protected from any wild beast or insect," Astrid explained.

Left to Jareth, he was going to leave him like that, but Astrid's good nature could not let her do so. She quickly finished setting everything and making sure he was safe from whatever danger laid in wait, before they set off on their journey.

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By the next morning Brad went to check in on them and see to it that their old house was repaired so they could move back in.

A gentle knock came on the door once, but there was no answer. He tried it again for the second time and still got no response.

On a normal, he would have not been so gentle when it came to knocking on anyone's door but after the problem of yesterday, he knew better than to do what he normally did.

'What in heaven's name is taking them so long to answer the damn door? Or are they still angry about the incident of yesterday? He should calm down, she is a beautiful girl, and virtually everyone wants her.'

Brad was still thinking about different possibilities why they wouldn't answer the door and how well he should approach a discussion with them, when he lost his patience and finally decided to push open the door.

Immediately he stepped his foot inside, he was greeted by a serene room, peculiarly and particularly empty.

"Where the fuck are they?!"

He moved in to the other room but there was no sign of anyone in the entire house and not even a cloth to prove they were still there.

Without wasting more time, Brad raced to their previous house to confirm if they went there very early in the morning.

After checking again, he found nothing. Both houses were empty. His eyes darted to and fro in their sockets and his blood began to rush.

Badum! Badum!

He could hear the loud thud of his beating heart against his chest as his brain tried to process what was going on.

He was sure they were nowhere else as this was still very early in the morning.

By now, several guards had seen him running frantically from one house to the other, searching in all the unoccupied new houses for them.

After his running around, he decided to try Cari's house and ask I he had seen Astrid and Jareth or the little mystical beast.

By the time he knocked hard on the door, the door pushed open on its own.

EMPTY!

Brad was already losing it. What was he going to tell Clive when he woke up?

"Master Brad, what is going on?" One of the guards asked him when he got close to where he was standing.

He knew his master. Clive would not take it lightly and they would all go in for it.

"Master Brad?" the guard called out a second time, causing him to jolt in shock.

"Yes? Oh it is you, Damion."

"What is wrong?" Damion asked him. He noticed his mind was not still there and he probed him harder. "Brad, you are scaring me. What happened?"

"She is gone."

"What?"

"They are all gone."

"What do you mean by they are all gone?"

"Don't you understand something that simple? She, the elf, the beast and even the merman. Not a single one of them is left behind. They escaped."

"Bloody mess!"

"Yes, bloody mess. You are in trouble too. What were your guards doing that four people disappeared in one night? I hope you have a reasonable answer to give our leader."

"But how is that possible?" Damion asked again, his own eyes now seemed as lost as Brad's.

Now he understood the situation his friend was in and why he spaced out like that. Never had they seen their master so into any girl to the extent he planned the death of her lover just to have her and now, they let her escape.

Phew, what a trouble they found themselves in.

"Are you asking me?"

Brad was not ready to deal with meaningless chatter. He too had his own big problems to handle. He was the one who would get the worse punishment out of all these.

He left the stunned Damian behind and approached the next guard. "Sound the alarm, the elf, merman, beast and the girl, have all escaped."

"Yes, sir."

The guard took to his heels to inform the others about the situation on ground and to sound the alarm.

"Damion, prepare your men. We chase after them."

"Yes, sir."

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~ELVEN KINGDOM – PALACE TRAINING GROUNDS~

Just like every other day and time, Avery began her training first thing in the morning with her father.

At first she had hopes and expectation but at the end of it all, what he gave her was just breathing exercises and some endurance training.

This was totally out of place from what she had hoped he would teach her. She thought they would spar till she can increase her speed to match his and maybe defeat him in a duel.

But up until now which had been nine hours since their training session started all he thought her was breathing, endurance in the harsh weather and nothing more. All of which and more she could take, so why was he making her go through with this?

At the tenth hour, Avery could no longer take it and walked out of the training grounds.

In anger she matched into the palace to look for her father and after much search, she got information that he was in the throne room.

BANG!