The Crown cannot Help You

Chapter 18: The Secret Meeting

Flynn kicked one foot off his horse and jumped to the ground.

The sun had just dropped below the skyline as he led the horse down the cobbled roads. The cobbled roads which he hoped to never see again.

His feet were sore, and his stomach growled at him, demanding a proper meal, something he hadn't had in months. As all he'd been doing was searching for Audelia.

Every bit of energy went into looking for her. He spent weeks looking for her in the village she first ran from him in, but once he found no sign of her, he expanded his search radius.

And yet, months later and at least 3000 miles from the original place she went missing, there was no sign of her. So, he'd decided to return to the village, theorising if he hadn't found her, she must have never left.

Or at least that's what he hoped. Audelia was supposed to be his redemption, his second chance at life. Flynn would hand her over, the agency would stop chasing him and he could live his life as freely as Tabitha had. And yet, she escaped, leaving him back on square one, on the run.

He pulled the reins on his horse, leading her towards an open stable that most travellers left their horses in. He tied her up and gave the stable boy his last few coins as he walked back out again.

The air was colder now, which was something Flynn couldn't ignore, being that his leather clothes were so worn down that he could no longer stay warm. So, he swivelled on his ankles and head towards the inn.

The inn remained at the end of the road, just as Flynn had remembered it to be and despite it having been at least three months since he last saw it, nothing had changed. It still held that same warm atmosphere, despite the events that went down inside of it.

Flynn thought when he looked back upon the inn, that it would be with some sort of animosity being that it stood for his failures, but instead he found himself just looking forward to having a decent meal.

But those plans were quickly put to the side, as Flynn felt a chill run up the back of his neck. He stopped moving immediately and looked around the deserted road. His whole body was screaming that something was going on and his instincts were never wrong.

His heartbeat quickened and his pupils dilated, preparing him for action. Then without being fully aware of it, his feet were moving him towards a darkened alley that stood between two houses.

Flynn's hand fell to his knife that was secured upon his waistband, and he carefully slid it out. The little light that was in the sky, was blocked by the alley as he walked further into it, and he felt himself tightening his grip around the knife.

Then suddenly, Flynn started to hear voices. They were light at first, entirely muffled by the buildings, but with Flynn creeping forward more and more, they became clearer. Flynn could make out a couple of words, all of them were said with an aggressive tone.

He was almost at the other side of the alley when he made out a small break between the houses to his right. Flynn stopped to listen for a moment, realising the voices were coming from the small break between houses.

He held the knife, ready to attack and stepped carefully down this thin path. He felt as though he had to hold his breath in order to fit through the two houses, but thankfully the gap eventually opened out more.

Flynn briefly looked behind his shoulder to see the entrance he'd squeezed through was quite far from him now, and he wondered what he'd gotten himself into.

However, the moment he started to feel like this was leading nowhere, he finally made out a door in the wall to his left. It was hanging off his hinges slightly and splintered at its edges, indicating whoever was behind it, didn't live there.