Anarameha

Chapter 50

Ana offered another smile before leaving the room. There was a lot of clicking of cameras, murmuring and shouting of questions. Ana wouldn't mind staying to answer their questions, but she needed a moment to breathe. To just relax in the knowledge that she'd beaten a monster. It didn't bring her parents or siblings back but Ana had accepted that a long time ago.

She made her way to the twenty-fifth level, where Keoni said that he would meet her when he was finished for the day. Ana was surprised to see him already waiting for her.

Keoni turned when he heard the door shut.

"How's the security?"

"Tight and exactly as I like it."

Ana nodded, moving to the dressing room. Keoni was hot on her heels which made her smile.

"You know, I realised that you never got to tell me what happened with Pierre when the coup was happening."

Keoni's smile lessened, and with a shrug, he sat on a plush stool. Ana sat on the chair opposite him.

"The guards found me and dragged me out to the main area. It had already been cleared, so I had no idea what happened to your family or the other guards. Pierre was angry that I'd betrayed him but then crowed that it didn't matter anyway. He'd won. He was the leader and my efforts to warn the king were pointless. Then he said that as I receive my beating, I should think about how I failed as a general. The king was deposed and I was not worthy of anything because I did not protect him. I got my beating but my thoughts weren't what he wanted. Pierre never knew that my task was never to protect your parents or your siblings. It was always to protect you. Still, I knew that I'd still failed in a roundabout way. I was the leader of the SC's. I planned who would protect the king, the queen and each of the princes."

Ana clutched his hands. His eyes lifted from the floor where Keoni had been looking. She could see the sadness and offered a sympathetic smile.

"You warned my father. He chose the path that he walked. He made plans and no one can help it when things don't go accordingly. You did your job and you did it well. I'm here, aren't I? I'm alive and that is what my father asked of you. Why do you think Garlet sold me out after all these years of hiding me?"

Keoni shrugged. He had no idea because it didn't make sense to him. She was right. Garlet had kept her secret, but it was obvious that he had told Pierre where she would be waiting.

"Don't know. Maybe he expected that something would happen and Pierre would be removed by you."

"That's a bit of a risk considering that I was a thief for him, not a murderer. This still does not make sense. Do you think that maybe Bran saw an opportunity and took it?"

"Knowing Bran, absolutely. He already made it quite clear that he was not happy with the situation that he was in and wanted to do something about it. Sorry but I think that something changed, and Garlet definitely told Pierre where you would be."

Ana found that to be a depressing thought. She'd trusted Garlet for years and had never found any faults with his friendship or associating with him. Ana wanted to know why he'd done it, but with Garlet dead and Pierre on the run, she was running out of options.

"Enough of him for tonight. Tell me about how you didn't need my help to escape and rescued yourself."

"I knew that Pierre had only one plan for me, and that was to be an heir incubator. I also knew that once I was pregnant, I would be chasing death because there would be no need for me anymore. So, I decided that I had to escape and I wanted to do it as soon as I could manage because I hated being around him. His version of being nice to me was odd and creepy. When I formed my escape plan, I knew that I had to get back into my room for this suit. Originally, I'd been put in a guest room but Leearin, the fool, was easily manipulated and I was allowed into my childhood bedroom. I put the suit on and when I had the chance, I jumped."

"From where exactly?"

"The balcony on the twentieth floor."

Keoni stared blankly. He'd heard the words, but they did not make sense.

Ana was wearing the suit that the king had purchased after they'd discussed the various options. All of the royal family had a suit like that one. It was one of Keoni's suggestions that they started wearing flight suits, and they both liked this brand because it was created to look like an ordinary outfit.

"That suit is not rated for that height."

"Trust me, I know. I'd planned it all out. Of course, the GAR line and the wings of the flight suit decided to malfunction at the worst time. But I made it so yay for mediocre equipment. Do you remember the day that father gave the suit to me?"

"Yep. He said, don't go jumping off the top of the building to test it out. It's not surprising that you didn't listen."

Ana smiled as she remembered his silliness.

"Well," Ana hummed. "Technically, I didn't jump from the top of the building, just the twentieth floor."

"Still bad enough," Keoni muttered.

She put the wrist panel on her forearm, switching it on.

"Anyway, moving on. It's a more advanced version of the one that I used to run around in. The other one was all that I could afford in the beginning. Then it became comfortable, and I understood everything it did. This is far more upgraded. Like the health monitor for one."

"I know. Your father and I discussed several models, and we agreed on this line of suits. I never got to see the suits though."

Lifting the panel, she showed Keoni how it worked. An image of a body lit up above the panel, and it showed a few red dots.

"What are those?"

"Cuts, bruises. You know, anything that's happening."

"Interesting. I get the feeling that you're showing me this for a reason, yet I can't figure out why."

Ana grinned as she looked at him.

"Then maybe you need to take a better look."

Moving her arm between them, she let Keoni look at it.

"What is that red mark on your stomach? Did you take a hit to the gut or something?"

"No."

But it was the reason that Ana's determination to escape Pierre grew dramatically.

"Then what is it?"

Ana zoomed in on the mark and showed that it had its own vital signs. Keoni frowned, lifting up from his hunched position. His eyes rose to Ana's.

"You have two sets of vital signs."

Ana nodded.

"Seriously?"

She nodded again and removed the panel from her arm. Keoni still couldn't believe it.

"It was once."

"I know. Who would have thought that you could get me knocked up in one go?"

Keoni chuckled, wrapping his arms around Ana's waist. He lifted her up, unable to resist the lure to her embrace.

"You are definitely never getting rid of me now."

"Forever and ever?"

"Until the end of time."