Find My Heart (boyxboy)

35. A Distraction I Don't Need

Joel

I sat on the hill, overlooking Bournville territory. The sun was getting low in the sky signalling that there was only about an hour of daylight left.

Still I couldn't bring myself to move.

It seemed so long ago that I left here. A whole lifetime ago, yet actually it was just a little over two years.

I knew I missed my home and everyone in it, but I didn't realise how much until I was finally here. Once I saw my home, and the route I had taken out of it that fateful night, my whole body went into shut down. My legs turned to jelly, and my chest ached like someone was squeezing the life out of me.

I had been sat on this hill ever since.

The members of FLOW thought I was coming here today to do a final recon mission before the big day tomorrow. Sebastian thought I was here to make sure that Casper and Nathan had got everything in place as planned. Actually, I had come today because I knew that seeing this place for the first time in two years was going to be incredibly hard. And I had to get that out of the way today so I could focus on the job at hand tomorrow.

Thank goodness I did.

I slowly forced myself to get back onto my feet and I trudged my way down the small hill and across the field that would finally take me back home.

The boundary of Blackwood manor had been reinforced as was to be expected, but just as planned there were some weak spots which, with just a bit of agility, I was able to get through without too much trouble.

I'd informed FLOW where the best places were to get into Blackwood Manor, so of course these were the points that Casper and Nathan were expecting the attack from.

I slowly made my way through the woodland, sticking close to the boundary. Casper should have been informed that I was here this evening so I wasn't expecting to see anyone. I just hoped that Casper wasn't anywhere around.

From what Cole had told me, he was still unaware of who I actually was, and I wanted it to stay that way for as long as possible.

Don't get me wrong, I'd thought loads about what it would be like to finally see him again. Sometimes I imagined that it would just be like the old days. We'd laugh together, and make fun of one another, and be just as close as we once were. And then sometimes I would worry that he wouldn't want to see me again, and I would remember the harsh words he said the last time we spoke.

I want you to be gone by the time I get back......I don't want to have to see you ever again.

I was gone. And as far as he was concerned I had never come back. Perhaps he was pleased about that. Perhaps he was happy that I had finally followed one of his orders without question.

I was suddenly dragged out of my thoughts by the noise of rustling branches, not too far away.

I froze, my senses switching on to full alert. Thankfully I was upwind from the noise so I was at an advantage.

Chances are it was one of the guards doing a final patrol, but I needed to be careful as they might not know who I was and may attack. Equally they might figure out exactly who I was and still attack.

I crept closer and closer to where I heard the noise coming from. The closer I got, the more I could hear. There were voices. Two of them.

Another couple of minutes of slowly creeping forwards and I began to make out what they were saying,

"Hurry up, will you!"

"So sorry your highness, but climbing the tree is kind of slowing me down!"