Chapter 38: The Devil’s Den
As many breathless seconds happened to tick by in Anna’s head, she was mentally prepared to expect the worst out of this outcome as she has never done something like this in her years of living, but being hesitant won’t save her from this predicament so it’s either she tries, or is willing to die trying.
At this point, those were the only two options that sounded pretty absurd but equally convenient due to the direful situation in her hands.
Soon enough, the heavy footsteps unceremoniously stopped walking as though it had come to a halt right outside the door, leaving Anna’s gaze to instinctively lower to the door knob. Her nervous gaze was expecting to see the door knob twist a little in accordance to her pounding heartbeat but as she anxiously waited for the person to burst the door open, nothing happened.
Her brows furrowed slightly in worry, wondering why whoever was at the door hadn’t come in yet but after noticing it was getting her a little distracted, she refused to give up her guard and remained positioned at where she was, not willing to drop her guard after making it this close. One could even feel the tension arising in the quiet room as a single sweat rolled down her forehead.
Her gaze still remained fixed on the doorknob.
A few heartbeats later, the door knob finally moved to Anna’s surprise, causing her already racing heart to jump in fright but she stood her ground nevertheless without making a single sound, quietly raising the vase above her head and getting prepared to thrash it at the being with all she’s got.
The door finally creaked open and a guard stepped in instead.
.....
Without waiting for even a split second, Annalise proceeded to hit the guard with the lavender vase and she hit him hard like she had said she would at the back of his head, causing the glass shattering sound to envelope the quiet room as it broke into pieces on his head.
The loud shattering sound was enough to alert any passerby that something was happening in the room and Anna couldn’t help but freeze as well. Shock and fear took control over her body at the mere thought that she might be caught due to the sound and like a building that had suddenly grown legs, Anna slowly turned her stiff body around so she could look at the door.
Glancing at the open door, the beautiful path looked clear and empty and its side had been gorgeously darmacated, enough to signify she was in a room upstairs. But that wasn’t what actually surprised her the most, the fact that not even a single soul was nearby made her wonder if she should feel relieved about it or not.
It looked somehow stranded as though they had been forbidden to come near the walls that led to her room, unfreezing her from her panicked state.
Before she realized it herself, the guard she had brutally hit with a vase finally dropped to his knees and despite it not being Roshan, Anna felt satisfied with it and immediately dashed towards the door in a hope to escape before someone eventually shows up here.
She instantly ran out from the room without looking back, holding the length of her gown up a bit so she could run properly and as she ran, her surviving skills alerted her to be vigilant as well, in case any other guards were coming or if it was the devil himself who might appear next.
With that thought in mind, her heart picked up speed and so did her feet as she hurriedly searched for the stairs, only to come to a sudden halt after reaching the fancy corridor and that was the moment she realized she didn’t know which other direction to take. They were too many rooms and too many stairs that it left her mind discombobulated.
Was she in some sort of palace??
Despite her situation, she didn’t miss the majestic look of the place she was in but the aura surrounding it was a feeling that made her know she didn’t step into any palace, but a devil’s den.
Immediately shaking that frightful thought away as this wasn’t the right time to be bothering her mind about something like that, she noticed a guard was coming up one of the stairs by the left, hurriedly approaching the high corridor where she stood and her gaze widened once again.
She instinctively hid away completely at the corner of a wall, fortunately for her she had a slender body that could fit right in, giving her a chance to hide and wait for the guard to pass by.
Due to how fast the guard was heading past her direction, Anna came to a conclusion that he must have heard the glass shattering noise and must be on his way to check on it.
With silent steps, she quietly crawled out of her hiding spot and secretly followed him, only to give him a quick pat at the back of his shoulder, gaining his attention and successfully making him turn around, but what he didn’t expect was to be kicked in the face by Anna’s feet as she skillfully swirled around to give him a swift-kick in his abdomen before landing another one directly at his face and he staggered back.
He sprawled to the ground and Anna immediately hid him at the corner where she currently was, before searching his body for any weapon she could use. Surely guards had to have some kind of defense weapon on them in case of any unforeseen situations.
To her delight, she saw a sword hanging around the waistline of his trouser and immediately took it, before hiding his body completely in the dark corner and continuing on her quest to escape from this place.
A few and many times actually, Anna had to hide away due to the guards and maids that patrolled, it left her stunned watching all of them wander around like this, it was night time yet everyone was still so active!
Shouldn’t they be asleep instead??
Silently groaning in frustration, once the path had cleared out once again, she stepped out of her hiding spot and continued to run as usual, her legs were already starting to ache but the determination to get out of here kept her going.
It seems her life was all about her being chased.
Successfully making it to the downstairs without getting caught, she was torn between two paths to follow, the right path or the left path?
Without giving it a second thought, she instantly followed the right path, normally that’s where every exit should be located in a building.
To her quick relief, she was nearing a vast gate with heavy wooden doors, causing her eyes to glint in sheer relief as she paused to catch her breath for a little while.
“This.... This should be the exit!” Her voice didn’t come out straight but the excitement lingering in them could be felt.
Gaining a few of her strength back at the idea she was already getting out of this place, Anna hurried towards the wooden door, bursting it open and hoping to see the outside world but instead, she ran directly into someone’s chest.
The triumph smile which was slowly starting to appear on her face, completely erased itself the moment she noticed this wasn’t the outside, rather, it looked more like a grand hall and to worsen the situation, she got herself caught due to too much excitement.
Taking in the black robe in front of her, Anna’s gaze slowly traveled up with each passing beat of her heartbeat, praying silently that she hadn’t run into who her mind had conjured upon.
Raising her head up since she was only reaching him at shoulder length, Anna found herself staring straight into those hazel-green green eyes that she wouldn’t miss anywhere else and her heart hooked at her throat.
He had a tiny dangerous smirk on his lips as he pierced his cold gaze right into her and the next thing he heard was...
“Arrrrrrrrhhhhhhh!!!!!!!”
Anna’s high-pitched scream encompassed the whole room and she instantly turned around to get away from the man before her, but before she could make it to the door. It closed shut right at her face.
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