Jacque the Fox runs as fast as he can.

He might reach their kingdom quicker if Jacque was not carrying the woman he met in the woods. Jacque could not give her his real name. He does not want to trust her easily, even if she looks innocent and harmless.

People who traveled to their kingdom were those rejected by society from other lands. But the woman quickly got his attention when she spoke as if unconcerned about where they were. She does not seem to belong to that place. He needed to stand and face her to be sure he was not hallucinating. Her hair was as white as clouds, but her eyes were as black as coal. And her stature is not that tall.

He pondered at that thought for a moment while he ran. He was carrying a human body. However, it felt like nothing was inside it. It was not warm, not cold either. It was only a body with the same texture as human skin. He was like carrying a container with nothing inside it.

“You can put me down now.”

He did. Not because the woman asked him to. He wanted to check if what he felt was right. He held her shoulders and stared at her from head to toe. Then, he abruptly looks at her face.

“What are you?”

“I cannot tell you.”

“Fair enough. You do not trust me. And it is wise not to trust a stranger, especially the ones you met in the woods.”

“We need to go back to your kingdom before night falls. It will be easier for you to see our path and avoid danger. Raven will also be our lookout from above.”

Jacque looked upon the trees. He saw her companion perching on a branch while gawking at them. Jacque did not hear anything behind him, so he assumed they had left her companion somewhere. But it seems her companion is also her protector.

“Hurry,” she commanded. “The young man chasing us will soon know our location.”

“You saw who was chasing us?”

“I saw him while you carry me like a sack of rice.”

Jacque smiled at her way of speaking. He sensed she was only stating the truth, yet he felt a fake apology was in order.

“Apologies, my lady,” he said while bowing to her. “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

“Were you that desperate to escape?”

Was he? If Jacque could be honest, he would say he only acted purely on instinct. He needed to run because he was unsure if his opponents outnumbered him. And whenever they do, Jacque acts like a coward and hides from them. Lately, he was too lazy to beat any of his opponents.

He only carried the woman because it would make their escape faster. But he could not say that to her for it would make her ask why he saved her.

“Never mind. You do not need to answer any of my questions,” Aia said before walking away.

Jacque scratched his head before following the woman who left without him. This time, Jacque no longer knows if he should apologize sincerely.

He soon caught up with her. Jacque leads the way without touching her again. It seemed that she knew how to take care of herself. Aia avoided rocks that seemed slippery. She walked for more than an hour without complaining. And she does not seem to mind that they are not talking along the way.

It boggles Jacque to meet someone who looks like a deserted princess. And yet, she still acts like royalty. But when she found some footprints, she lay her hand on the ground and opened her legs wide, which made her skirt spread. There was nothing to see. Really. But Jacque looks at her as if she was a child who found something interesting on the ground. Well, at least she was only feeling the ground. There was no reason yet to stop her from doing it.

The sun was already setting. Yet, there is still enough sunlight for him to see where they are heading. The Kingdom of Knaves is just ahead of them. And Jacque felt glad to be back in that place. It is still a mystery what happened with his fellow knights. What matters is he is still alive.

“Are you expecting some people to fetch you?” the lady asked him.

“No. Of course not,” Jacque answered while feeling confused.

No one else is in the forest. Yet Aia spoke as if another person was approaching them.

“Can you still run?”

“Of course, I can still run. Why do you—”

“On my mark, we will run towards the gate. Raven, you know what to do.”

“Yes.”

“What do you mean he knows—”

“That is the entrance to the kingdom. Am I right?” Aia asked to cut him off.

Jacque looks at the metal gate. It is the only entrance to the tall, thick wall that covers their kingdom. It was not that they were afraid thieves would steal their property. It was to cover up the trash that other lands left to rot. A plain surrounds the outer wall. It was meant for anyone to see those coming in and going out.

“Yes,” Jacque replied.

“We will both run. None of us should look back. Ready?”

He could not argue. But Jacque was unsure what they were about to do.

But three possibilities could happen.

Someone will catch up with them and attack them from behind. It could be that the Black Wolves had already gathered and would attack them as they ran. Or, it was possible there was a wild animal he did not sense nearby. What about the invisible force that manipulated them in the river? Did it know that he had survived?

In an instant, Jacque wiped those possibilities from his mind. He focused on how fast he could run and how loud he could yell.

I hope those bastards were not asleep while guarding the gate.

“Now.”

She commanded firmly and quickly.

Jacque could not help but be a few steps behind the woman running. The distance between the forest and the wall is ten meters or so. He knew he would not get tired by running towards it. But not being able to fight back is what was bothering him. And that is rare for Jacque. To worry, especially if it is not for his safety.

He calculates what to do. He wanted to protect the woman if their pursuer reached them. He knew he needed to secure her first. Then, kill like a madman later. He held her hand in case their enemy got to pass through them from behind and to avoid making Aia the target.