Unfamiliar: Obi x OC snow white with the red hair fanfiction

28

Cress's POV

Shirayuki, Obi, and I follow behind Prince Raji as he leads us through the halls of the castle. Strange, there are so many soldiers around... I glance around at the large number of soldiers standing guard. Even more maids seem to be following us around.

I whisper to Obi, "There so many people around here."

He nods. "I say they're just spying on us."

Meanwhile, Raji and Shirayuki are completely oblivious. Raji blabbers on about the castle while Shirayuki listens. "We have many walls decorated with amber, many halls decorated with windchimes, and a greenhouse featuring some of the rarest plants in the world. What would you like to see?"

Shirayuki glances at me, and I nod back, letting her choose. She immediately says, "I think the greenhouse sounds nice."

"The greenhouse..." Raji crinkles his nose for a moment, as if he can't figure out why Shirayuki would pick plants over the other choices. "Very well."

A mischievous Obi suddenly informs Raji, "Excuse me. Going to the greenhouse should be fine, but you might want to know that you're being watched from the shadows."

"What?!" Raji gasps in surprise, glancing around him. The maids and extra soldiers all gasp, fleeing from sight. Raji looks extremely annoyed. "Now that you mention it, there does seem to be more soldiers around than usual."

Then his facial expression changes to become more calm and aloof. "If you'll follow me," Raji snaps and points his finger in a new direction. 

Confused, the rest of us follow him to a secluded area at the back of the castle. "What is this?" I ask as Raji removes the lock on a rusty metal gate. Behind it is a stairway that leads downward into the earth. 

"It's the entrance to the underground passageways." Raji explains, opening the gate. He takes a lamp in his hands and heads down the stairs, leaving us no choice but to follow him.

"These passages are not used a lot, but we can go to the greenhouse without being watched this way." Raji mutters.

"I bet it's easy to get lost down here," Shirayuki glances around at the maze of passageways in front of us.

"They were made to be used in case of an emergency. They can certainly be difficult to navigate for someone who isn't familiar with the passages."

Shirayuki gasps at this new information, looking worried. "Do you think it'll be safe for us, Prince Raji?"

Raji snaps, "How rude! I've been here enough times to know exactly where I'm going!"

"I apologize," Shirayuki says quickly with a resigned smile. "No offense was intended."

"Hmph." Raji starts to walk down the corridor with us following behind him.

Why do I have a bad feeling about this?

***

"How long will it be until we reach the greenhouse?" I ask Raji. My feet are getting tired- we've been walking for at least an hour.

"We'll be there soon, so just be quiet and follow me!" Raji grumbles as he trudges on.

Obi frowns. "Alright, but didn't we already come this way?"

Raji pales as Shirayuki's eyes widen. "Your Highness, we're not lost, are we?"

"No, we're not lost!" Raji yells, clearly frustrated.

We're definitely lost. I share a glance with Obi.

"The exit is..." Raji looks around desperately. "This way!"