Contracts of the Fallen

Duck and Cover

The crowd boomed and bellowed behind me as I scuttled through the city. I could still see the fireworks flying over the buildings. I needed to find somewhere to lay low until all this excitement died down. I hadn't thought this all through. I was so thrilled in being able to clear Elias' name, that I drew too much attention to myself. Plus, with that huge crowd, there's no way I'd be able to walk around the city anymore. I needed to duck down, somewhere inconspicuous.

"Excuse me" I rushed over to a white guard standing by the library. He looked so shaken, that when I approached him he jumped back in fear. I'm guessing the illusion broke over the entire city, so suddenly remembering the prince must've been shocking. 

"Y-Yes?" He turned to me, assuming his posture again after rubbing his eyes.

"Can you tell me where this address is? A friend of mine lives there" I pulled out William and Henry's address and showed the guard. Apparently, their home was quite high up on the cliff face, and I was told it would take nearly an hour by foot to get there. He offered to call me a taxi, but I declined. I needed to keep a sneaky low profile, so going by foot was the safest bet. 

I walked along the street and saw a massive flight of spiral stairs that twisted up the entire cliff face. Small platforms stuck out from it at different levels, letting people get on and off. Apparently, they lived on the fifteenth level. I counted the platforms. The fifteenth level was at a dizzying height, but I didn't really have a choice. I was lucky Alice had given me thick boots, or else this barbed wire metal would've dug into my feet horribly. There was hardly anyone about, and a sudden thought came to mind as I passed the tenth level. 

'What if both William and Henry were at the execution?' I thought. But I didn't have the time or energy to abandon them. Arriving at the fifteenth level, I gazed out over the metal fences. The sun was setting now, and a subtle hue of red was coating the city. Without there being houses ahead of me, as every building was fixed to the cliff, the view was undisturbed and elegant. I looked down at the piece of paper. The guard had told me their house was called 'Clairvoyance'. I wandered along the cobbled road of this level, checking the markings on the paper to the ones of the doors. I managed to pick out which part said Clairvoyance and began to panic as I started reaching the end of the street without finding their home. However, I finally found the matching markings. It was a cream coloured house with two floors and large windows. I glanced at the nearest window, to see a small girl with bright red pigtails. I tried to wave, but she instead scoffed at me and leapt from view. I heard some shouting inside, and could only pick out one word 'stalker'. Oh.

"WHAT?!" A much clearer bellow followed, and the door in front of me was blown open. In front of me, was Henry. He had a blue apron on, and was clutching a spatula threatening in his right hand. He looked terrifying, but on sighting me, his battle stance dropped. "Flora!" He laughed, ruffling my hair. 

"Hello, Henry" I chuckled, as he released me.

"How are you? What happened to your hair? Come in, Come in!" His welcoming personality ushered me inside. Inside the house was a modest all in one living room. A large wooden kitchen with a furnace was illuminating the room, and a cosy lounge area with pillows and blankets was sat on the other side. A small staircase led upstairs, and the same girl from before was glaring down at me. 

"Elizabeth, this is Flora. Come and say hello," Henry closed the door and beckoned his daughter. Her eyes narrowed. But before she could answer, a small set of footsteps came up behind me, and something grabbed the bottom of my skirt. I turned. Below me was a tiny creature. I'm guessing this was Grace. If Elizabeth was the spitting image of Henry, Grace looked just like William. She had dirty blonde hair that was almost as long as her, and misty grey eyes. She was incredibly adorable and grabbed my cheeks when I bent down to greet her.