31 THE NAME VEROLA
Verola stared at Edmund for a while trying to recognize him. She knew someone had called her this but couldn't fathom where she had heard so. She blinked severally and peeped closer at him but still couldn't recall his face.
She drew her eyes to his entire body and noticed that he was still dirty with only his eyes clear of mud.
"Miller, take this man away and get him cleaned up." She ordered and a lady came out of the group walking towards him.
Edmund looked in awe at how much power this lady seemed to have. The people seemed to all be in her control.
His thoughts were interrupted by a feminine voice. "Come this way,"
He stared at her for a while and recognised her to be the lady who fought with Verola that night.
"This way." The voice repeated drawing his attention.
Edmund followed Miller and they walked to the first floor. It had a large hall-like structure which looked more like a sitting area. There were about 11 people present. Some were playing cards, some talking and others shining their blades.
Edmund took a deep breath and gulped in some contents which had gathered up in his mouth before proceeding to catch up with her.
They walked into a door at the end of the room, which led into a hall with a set of rooms each lined opposite the other.
Edmund moved his eyes about trying to scan the number of rooms but paused when he felt Miller move again.
They walked to the edge of the hall and she opened the door. In it, was another set of rooms but these were smaller than the previous rooms. They were covered with some clothing which look more like a curtain.
He walked into the first room and Miller suddenly turned to leave.
He understood what she meant by that. It was the restroom after all and he needed his space to wash up.
She got to the door and turned to Edmund.
"Some clothes would be prepared for you to put on since this is already ruined."
She gazed at him once more before exiting.
Edmund hurriedly took off his already itching clothes and placed them in an empty bucket beside him.
He stretched his hand to one of the buckets filled with water and began to pour some on his body. He made sure to clean himself properly using his hands.
In a matter of minutes, he was done. He waited for some minutes pondering on how to leave the place since he had nothing to put on.
"She said that she had prepared some clothes for me, but how do I go to get them?" He soliloquized to himself.
A few seconds later, someone walked into the restroom. Edmund widened his eyes on hearing the sound of the door being opened.
'It can't be that lady. She can't be here.'
He began to ponder to himself till he felt a hand being stretched into his bathroom opening a part of the curtain.
He took the clothes in his hand and let out a silent sigh on realizing that it was a man.
"Thank you." He said and turned to put on the clothes.
The light was a bit dim in the room, moreover, he couldn't get a clear ray due to the curtain covering the bathroom.
He used his hands to trace the trousers and began to put them on his body. He turned the shirt to the outside and also put it on.
He noticed the man leaving the room, so he also came out and began to follow him.
Edmund noticed that the man walked quietly and kept a straight face while walking. He also noticed the manned in which he moved. 'one and a time'.
'Was this some kind of training for the warriors or was this their normal walk step.' Either way, he made sure to emulate the man incredibly as he didn't want to be seen as an outsider.
Although he wanted to meet his warrior princess, he didn't want to meet her other warriors and worse be in their midst. The thought of his situation made him so frightened.
He didn't even know if he would be able to return home. Or if he was going to be sold in the dynasty or taken to another kingdom or even an empire.
He kept his silent movement continuous till they got to the main door. He didn't even realize that he had gone past all the men in the main hall.
He began to rush down the stairs but stopped at soon as he got to the first staircase landing. He looked around before continuing but this time he didn't rush but began to walk silently just like he did in the main hall.
For one, he didn't know whether he was being monitored so he couldn't afford to make any suspicious movement. If he was going to escape from here, he had to do so wisely.
He got to the ground floor almost immediately and was surprised not to see anyone there. Not even Miller!
He began to move his eyes around maybe they were somewhere else. He cleaned his eyes for any dirt and maybe he was just hallucinating but he didn't disappear from his position.
He couldn't find Miller, Verola or any of the guys that rescued him.
"Was this another method of trafficking? His family wouldn't even know where he was and wouldn't even expect him to be alive." These thoughts brought fear to his heart as he began to check around the room in search of them.
He rushed back to his original position hoping to find them returned but he didn't.
This was all a good setup.
