Anarameha

Chapter 44

Ana never understood why her father insisted that the tutors taught her more things than what her brothers learned. She'd grown up with the belief that because she was not the eldest, she was not heir to the throne, so what she knew meant little to the world. Of course, now that Keoni had revealed the truth that her father had never told her, Ana understood why she had a ramped up education.

In her teen years, Ana learnt history, politics, economics, several languages, etiquette, how to play many musical instruments, conversation skills, and weaponry. Ana always smiled at that one. She loved being on the gun range with her brothers. No one believed that it was necessary for the children to learn weapons, but the king and queen deemed it to be worthy of inclusion. Ana didn't want to think that maybe they knew that their future was always doomed. She wanted to believe that it was just a fun day out in the world and away from the humdrum of royal life.

In addition to the lessons, Ana also learned the geography of the city and the world. Seeing how big the world was made Ana eager to get out and explore it. She believed that once she was old enough, it might be a possibility. That still might be the case, but not in the way that Ana hoped it would be. Political tours were not the same as playing tourist for a few weeks.

Ana was taught how to dance with esteemed company, how to have riveting conversations, and how to entertain without being vulgar. Ana was made to stand before the staff and give speeches that she'd created. She had to answer odd and sometimes fiery questions that were directed at her by the staff who were pretending to be reporters.

Curiously, she also learned the entire layout of the building. Ana understood the reason for that one much later in her life.

Entering the building via a staff door, Ana made her way through the corridor. Her steps were light, barely a sound made as she crept along. She was grateful that they didn't echo, considering the corridor was completely empty.

The boots she'd picked were not made for any part of this mission or even jumping from the building. They were boots that went as high as her calves, and the heels on them were four inches high. The only consolation in Ana's mind was that the platform under the ball of her foot sat at two inches and the heels were a wide square shape so she wasn't teetering on a pole or stretching her foot in an uncomfortable position.

There were not many choices given that when she was living in this building, she wasn't running around or trying to hide from murderers. She was a princess in a world that lived and breathed high fashion. Everyone wanted to know what the queen and the princess wore, so they had to keep up with the latest trends. That meant that Ana had a cupboard full of platform knee-high boots.

The flight suit had been an odd addition to her wardrobe. Her father gave it to Ana in the days before the coup, telling her that training on how to use the suit would begin soon. The lessons never eventuated. At the time, Ana could not figure it out. Her father was a complex man that often did things that never made sense until much later on. He'd bought the children flight suits in case they needed it to escape but also planned for other routes out of the building.

Ana ran her hand over the soft material, thinking of her father. He would have known. Keoni said that he'd told the truth. He'd warned her father that things were turning bad. This suit had been bought so that she could jump and survive.

For a moment, Ana thought that she was mad for returning to the building that she'd just escaped from. To be fair, she knew that Pierre wouldn't expect it. It was guaranteed that he would think that Ana would run and hide from him. Which, in her opinion, was the smarter thing to do.

The problem was, Ana knew that no matter what she did, Pierre would always be a threat. Run and hide, stay and fight. He was an issue in both situations. At least with this, she had the chance to take him down forever.

Carefully Ana opened the door, checking inside of the room. There was no one in there, which she found to be odd. Hearing a noise, Ana slipped in and quietly closed the door.

Moving across the room, she reached the counter. There was no one behind the bulletproof shield. Mulling it over, Ana decided to continue onwards.

Her father taught her a secret, one that Ana figured only a few knew. There was a hidden key to the gun room. Running her hand under the counter, she searched until she found a tiny divot in the panel. Pushing it up, it clicked and then lowered, dropping the key to the floor. Ana returned the hidden compartment to its former state and picked up the key.

Entering the gun room, Ana quickly found herself a few choice guns. They were all light and sleek. Ana picked the energy guns over the laborious and space consuming bullet orientated guns. With an energy gun, all she needed was the power packs, of which she took several belts worth.

Wrapping the belts around her waist, Ana picked up two holsters and tightened them to her thighs. Slipping a gun into each, she moved back to the door.

The key was in her hand. The possibility of it being found was on Ana's mind. She didn't want anyone in this building accessing the large room full of weapons.

As she moved through the door, Ana decided that she'd snap the key in the lock. The room and its contents would be safe from anyone else accessing the deadly cache.

Before Ana could put the key into the lock, the handle on the main door began to turn. She turned, pulling a gun from the holster. The door started to open, and Ana raised the gun, pointing it at the figure who had stopped in shock.