A Royal Ransom

XI

Blank stares, faithless, vampires at the same places, shadows, traces, I know that you feel me you're, runnin', runnin', runnin', runnin'

-In the Dark, Camila Cabello

♛

"Holy crap. Why does everyone want to hunt us?" Ryder asked aloud.

"Well—"

Ryder cut me off, "That was a rhetorical question."

I scoffed as best as I could whilst running, "Just keep moving. We'll lose them soon enough."

We stopped running once we were well away from the store. The two men were long gone and the night fell silent once again. Excluding my never-satisfied stomach which began to growl.

"I don't think I've ran as much as I have in my whole life as I have in the past five days," I stated, my breathing ragged.

We'd only just managed to lose the two men who'd chased after us. At first it seemed as though they might actually catch up, but one of them tripped and the other stopped to help them.

Thank God for good friendships.

"Trust me it shows, you're really not fit," Ryder smirked at me.

I punched his shoulder. "Shut up."

"Wow. Big punch for a little girl."

I rolled my eyes, trying to steady my breathing as I leant against the wall.

We were outside what appeared to be an old bookstore. The lights were on inside.

"Do you think we could ask whoever is in this store for help, or a charger?" I asked, turning to Ryder.

"We can give it a try, but if they end up chasing us, I'm not sure you will be able to run much more," Ryder shrugged, "Worth a shot though."

I brushed past him, playfully sending him a glare.

It surprised me how calm I was although moments before I'd been preparing to be sent to jail or something. I guessed being on the run for a couple days made me less fazed by the idea of people constantly after me. Watching my back had just become a second nature.

"Hello, dearies," A woman smiled as we walked in, "How can I help you at this hour?"

The woman looked fairly old, maybe in her fifties or sixties. I noticed a walking cane grasped in her right hand.

I observed our surroundings, there were shelves upon shelves stocked up with books and a mini coffee table surrounded by three chairs. There seemed to be no one else in the bookstore.

"Coast looks clear," Ryder muttered from beside me.

I sent him a nod, turning to the lady and giving her a polite smile, "Yes, Ma'am. Do you by any change have a charger that would work for my phone?"

The lady took my phone from my hands, "I believe so, come follow me, my grandson just attached a couple chargers."

I followed her around a bookshelf, Ryder trailing behind.

The old lady abruptly turned around, whilst plugging my phone in to charge, "My dear boy, would you mind waiting here a second, I just need to have a little word with your girlfriend."

"We're not dating." Ryder and I replied simultaneously.

"Whatever you say, dearies." The lady laughed, "I still want to have a word with this one, just a little girl talk, you don't mind do you?"