Royal Disaster

the disastrous guide

here is the long awaited update (i'm sorry i'm dragging things out. i just don't want to rush anything; i'm a stickler for pacing in stories.)

"I did not come here to die!" I exclaimed, hoping someone would speak up. The barking was getting louder and I was slowly backing away from the entrance that they were going to enter through.

"Why don't I believe that?" Arthur snapped sarcastically, his gaze on the door.

Fuck, fuck, FUCK!

North and my parents were frozen, too, which really didn't help the situation. Especially since they were probably the most capable of coming up with something to get us out of here.

But frozen them didn't seem to have any cogs whirring and the pain in my hands was stinging too much for me to be as immobile as them. Gotta do something!

"Fine, if none of you are going to do shit," I snapped. Something was better than nothing. Since my hands were disabled, I had to use my forearms to push the couch forward. It was heavier than it looked, which, I guess, was a good thing, but if I didn't get help soon, I'd be wasting my time.

"Arthur, North, a little help here?" I asked through gritted teeth.

That got those guys moving. Arthur assisted me with the couch and I suspected North was pushing the others, too. I wasn't sure if this would help, but buying us any amount of time would do. We just needed to figure out an escape.

By the time we had the two couches and a cabinet blocking the doors, the dogs sounded like they were just on the other side. My eyes widened in a panic and I turned to my parents, holding my hands up and yelling over the barking, "Anything?"

My parents had their heads dipped together, planning between themselves. It was as if they didn't hear me. But as long as their brains were working—I turned to North. "Do you have a plan?"

He shook his head, his gaze falling to my parents with hopeful determination.

"Fuck."

I turned to Arthur, next. "What about you?"

He was bent over a desk, rifling through its contents and scattering objects on the floor. What a pig. Even as we were about to get ravaged by dogs, he was making a mess.

I moved closer, thinking he didn't hear me and repeated my question. He glanced at me, shook his head, then returned to his rummaging. "What are you doing?"

"Not sure! I'm just hoping something'll come up!"

What an idiot.

"Now's not the time for you to bank on coincidence!" I remarked incredulously.

"It's not like we can bank on anything else!"

He had a point.

The banging on the doors started and the dogs seemed even wilder and thirsty. And I was beginning to rethink my stance on dogs. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

I began to fidget, my head swinging all around the room as if another sweep of the area would reveal something none of us had seen before. But that kind of luck only happened in the movies and books. Admittedly, this possibly could be something that would happen in stories, I wouldn't count on luck since my idiotic self basically sentenced us to death. Why, why, why didn't I get more assurance?

"I'd just like to point out that this place is a pretty old place," a cool voice commented from behind me. My neck snapped around so fast, I winced at the crack. When I turned, my eyes widened at the sight of Gabriel examining his nails nonchalantly. What in the actual fuck. A moment ago, there had been a dresser covered in statues right where he was now leaning against a concrete wall. "There's a bunch of secret panels and rooms, I'm surprised none of you tried checking for any hollowed out spots." He glanced up, shoving away as he stalked into the room.