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Chapter 11 (Part 2)
She dropped the man on the ground and sprinted towards the exit. She ran outside and into the cool night air. Pansy couldn’t have gone too far, right? It had only been about twenty minutes since Arabella had lost sight of her. But where had she gone?
KoolDown was on a busy road, in the industrial district of Petal City. All around her were rich businesses: bakeries, restaurants, designer stores. Arabella was unsure of where they would’ve headed. The city around them was pretty empty, as it was getting close to one in the morning. Only a few cars could be seen around. But there were no tiny princesses anywhere.
This couldn’t be happening. How was Arabella supposed to find her? If they had taken a car, they would’ve been long gone by now. She hoped they hadn’t, but there was no way to tell.
She walked over to the guards that were standing by the entrance. They were, fortunately, the same two from earlier.
“Um, excuse me?” she said, and they looked over at her.
“Aren’t you Princess Pansy’s bodyguard?” the woman asked.
“Yeah, where is the princess?” the man asked.
“That’s what I’m wondering! She ran off and I lost track of her. I heard she left with a group of people, but I’m not sure where to. I was wondering if you saw them?”
The guards looked at each other and shrugged.
“I didn’t see the princess leave,” the woman said. “But we’ve seen a lot of people leave. Do you know who she left with?”
“I know she left with two men and a woman. So there would’ve been four in their group.”
“I did see one group of four leave a little while ago,” the man said.
“How long ago?” Arabella prompted.
“About ten minutes ago?” he offered.
"Perfect. That was probably them. Did you see where she went?”
“They went to Reymond’s Bakery,” the man gestured to the blue and white striped bakery down the street.
“That’s still open?” Arabella asked, quirking an eyebrow.
“They stay open all night for the crowds coming in from the party,” he shrugged. “Don’t ask me why. But I know they went there. Don’t know if they left or not, but you could always go see.”
Arabella nodded. “Thank you!” Then she booked it to the bakery.
The bakery was mostly empty when Arabella got there. Only a couple, who had presumably come from the party, were sitting at a corner table. She cursed when she realized Pansy wasn’t there anymore. The couple looked up and gave her a dirty look. She glared at them before walking up to the counter.
The bakery was warm and smelled of bread. There was one person working the counter: a groggy middle-aged man. He had his chin resting on his hand as he flipped through a magazine. Arabella made her way through the maze of fancy tables and walked up to him.
“What can I get ya?” the man asked, stifling a yawn. He didn’t even look up.
“I need information,” Arabella said. “A group of four walked into here about ten minutes ago. Among them was a tiny girl with a lot of energy who looked to be about twelve. Where did they go?”
The man looked up and glared at her. Then he slowly closed his magazine. “Who are you? They told me the princess didn’t have any escorts. They said she had come by herself.”
Arabella cracked her knuckles. “So she’s here, then? Just what are you playing at, huh? You kidnapped the princess. You knew you kidnapped the princess. Why?”
As far as Arabella knew, this wasn’t a rebel hideout. Neither was KoolDown. Was there more than one rebellion in Virelia that Arabella didn’t know about?
The man picked up a knife. “I’ll give you five seconds to leave and pretend you never stepped foot in here.”
“Why would you do that? Amateur move. Obviously I’d just come back with help if you let me out.” She rolled her eyes. If these guys were a new rebel faction, they were terribly trained.
“Yeah, well, I-” he sputtered, but Arabella beat him to it. She jumped onto the counter and grabbed the cash register, then hit it over the man’s head. He fell to the ground, completely out. The cash register opened and dumped its contents on the man. Then Arabella dropped it on him, a loud thud coming from where it had fallen onto his arm. Not where she had hoped it would drop, but he was already out, so she let it go.
She jumped off the counter and grabbed his knife from him. She was terrible at hand-to-hand combat, but this was her only weapon at the moment. She wished she had something else, though. Her slingshot, or a gun, or even a bow and arrow. She was amazing with the long distance weapons.
She headed to the doors that led to the back and kicked them open. Surprisingly, no one was in the kitchen. It was dark and completely empty. Which meant that somewhere, there was a secret place where they were keeping Pansy.
She walked around the kitchen, trying to find a place where they might have hidden her. Spice cabinet? Nope. Secret door on the floor? Nope. On the ceiling? No.
She eventually turned her attention to a row of cupboards at the end of the room. She began opening the doors, unsure of what she would find. Surprisingly, the entrance was hard to find. But she eventually found the switch, hidden behind a bunch of pans. She flipped it, and a section of the floor opened.
“I already checked the floor,” she grumbled, but headed into the dark anyway. If Pansy were down there, then it would all be worth it.
She dropped the man on the ground and sprinted towards the exit. She ran outside and into the cool night air. Pansy couldn’t have gone too far, right? It had only been about twenty minutes since Arabella had lost sight of her. But where had she gone?
KoolDown was on a busy road, in the industrial district of Petal City. All around her were rich businesses: bakeries, restaurants, designer stores. Arabella was unsure of where they would’ve headed. The city around them was pretty empty, as it was getting close to one in the morning. Only a few cars could be seen around. But there were no tiny princesses anywhere.
This couldn’t be happening. How was Arabella supposed to find her? If they had taken a car, they would’ve been long gone by now. She hoped they hadn’t, but there was no way to tell.
She walked over to the guards that were standing by the entrance. They were, fortunately, the same two from earlier.
“Um, excuse me?” she said, and they looked over at her.
“Aren’t you Princess Pansy’s bodyguard?” the woman asked.
“Yeah, where is the princess?” the man asked.
“That’s what I’m wondering! She ran off and I lost track of her. I heard she left with a group of people, but I’m not sure where to. I was wondering if you saw them?”
The guards looked at each other and shrugged.
“I didn’t see the princess leave,” the woman said. “But we’ve seen a lot of people leave. Do you know who she left with?”
“I know she left with two men and a woman. So there would’ve been four in their group.”
“I did see one group of four leave a little while ago,” the man said.
“How long ago?” Arabella prompted.
“About ten minutes ago?” he offered.
"Perfect. That was probably them. Did you see where she went?”
“They went to Reymond’s Bakery,” the man gestured to the blue and white striped bakery down the street.
“That’s still open?” Arabella asked, quirking an eyebrow.
“They stay open all night for the crowds coming in from the party,” he shrugged. “Don’t ask me why. But I know they went there. Don’t know if they left or not, but you could always go see.”
Arabella nodded. “Thank you!” Then she booked it to the bakery.
The bakery was mostly empty when Arabella got there. Only a couple, who had presumably come from the party, were sitting at a corner table. She cursed when she realized Pansy wasn’t there anymore. The couple looked up and gave her a dirty look. She glared at them before walking up to the counter.
The bakery was warm and smelled of bread. There was one person working the counter: a groggy middle-aged man. He had his chin resting on his hand as he flipped through a magazine. Arabella made her way through the maze of fancy tables and walked up to him.
“What can I get ya?” the man asked, stifling a yawn. He didn’t even look up.
“I need information,” Arabella said. “A group of four walked into here about ten minutes ago. Among them was a tiny girl with a lot of energy who looked to be about twelve. Where did they go?”
The man looked up and glared at her. Then he slowly closed his magazine. “Who are you? They told me the princess didn’t have any escorts. They said she had come by herself.”
Arabella cracked her knuckles. “So she’s here, then? Just what are you playing at, huh? You kidnapped the princess. You knew you kidnapped the princess. Why?”
As far as Arabella knew, this wasn’t a rebel hideout. Neither was KoolDown. Was there more than one rebellion in Virelia that Arabella didn’t know about?
The man picked up a knife. “I’ll give you five seconds to leave and pretend you never stepped foot in here.”
“Why would you do that? Amateur move. Obviously I’d just come back with help if you let me out.” She rolled her eyes. If these guys were a new rebel faction, they were terribly trained.
“Yeah, well, I-” he sputtered, but Arabella beat him to it. She jumped onto the counter and grabbed the cash register, then hit it over the man’s head. He fell to the ground, completely out. The cash register opened and dumped its contents on the man. Then Arabella dropped it on him, a loud thud coming from where it had fallen onto his arm. Not where she had hoped it would drop, but he was already out, so she let it go.
She jumped off the counter and grabbed his knife from him. She was terrible at hand-to-hand combat, but this was her only weapon at the moment. She wished she had something else, though. Her slingshot, or a gun, or even a bow and arrow. She was amazing with the long distance weapons.
She headed to the doors that led to the back and kicked them open. Surprisingly, no one was in the kitchen. It was dark and completely empty. Which meant that somewhere, there was a secret place where they were keeping Pansy.
She walked around the kitchen, trying to find a place where they might have hidden her. Spice cabinet? Nope. Secret door on the floor? Nope. On the ceiling? No.
She eventually turned her attention to a row of cupboards at the end of the room. She began opening the doors, unsure of what she would find. Surprisingly, the entrance was hard to find. But she eventually found the switch, hidden behind a bunch of pans. She flipped it, and a section of the floor opened.
“I already checked the floor,” she grumbled, but headed into the dark anyway. If Pansy were down there, then it would all be worth it.