The Dawn of the New World

Princess Inara turned to the same guard that was about to inspect them a moment ago with a stern expression.

"Take them to my place. They will stay there until everyone gets settled."

"As you wish, my lady," the guard bowed from the waist and before Arnett had a chance to say anything Princess Inara along with her escort had gone past the barricades towards the city gate.

Arnett stared in her direction in silence with quite a mixed bag of feelings. On one hand he was glad it all worked but on the other...they had let the snake into the coop themselves.

The guard let out a breath of relief and quickly brought the children into the heart of the city, most of which was locked out for any refugees because of security concerns.

They were stopped a few times but with the guard to lead them, it didn't take long before they arrived at their destination.

Unlike what Arnett expected the place wasn't a grand mansion or some sort of a palace. It was a simple two-story building that was just a little bit bigger than the ones around it.

There were no special decorations, or extra security, not even a slew of servents one would expect from royalty, nothing other than a lush garden to set it apart from the rest of the buildings.

The guard went up to the gate and knocked. A few seconds later it was opened by an old demihuman lady that had greyish cat ears and large spectacles. She had a sharp gaze and a well-kept appearance which along with her slightly authoritative aura, made her look like a school principal.

He told her the situation and immediately took his leave.

The far-off sounds of muffled explosions that sounded like artillery fire were still reaching them here but it was barely noticeable if one didn't pay close attention.

The old lady looked quite strict as she stared at them in silence for a moment before vanishing behind the gate.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Come inside quickly and close the door behind you," her surprisingly soft voice came from the other side.

Arnett looked over to the teenagers especially the boy who was holding the 7-year-old sleeping girl in his embrace. He gave a soft nod in response and one by one they all entered.

The old lady was standing beside a large wooden door that led into the main building.

"This is the guest room. You will be staying here until we can find you a proper home. Dinner will be ready in an hour and a half. Wash up and change into the clothes I will leave next to the door. If you need something call for me. My name is Marie."

And with her chin facing the roof she walked off without giving them another look.

Arnett went up to the wooden door and pulled it open to check inside. When he was sure it was safe he gestured for the others to join them.

There were two large beds inside along with a weapons rack and some worn-out clothes and robes laying on the floor. Someone was obviously living here but that was not one of their concerns right now.

The teenagers that were lethargic just a moment ago suddenly became active the moment the door closed. They checked left and right, under every piece of furniture, nook and cranny in sight.

One of them then went up to the door and locked it before biting her forefinger to draw blood. She made a few simple-looking symbols on the door while murmuring something under her breath.

By the time she finished the blood had seeped into the door to create a red-colored barrier. But unlike a simple semi-transparent shield of light that the barrier would normally take the shape off, this one had strange protrusions in it.

It looked like numerous palms were put together and sewn into a sheet to make it. There was even a strange flickering movement to them just like real skin.

"It's safe now," she commented proudly at her handy work.

The teenage boy threw the little girl onto the bed while the other who was holding the wrapped up infant also tossed it aside. The sudden movement was enough to wake up the infant and it started crying loudly.

One of the teenage girls craned her neck to check the infant with a deep frown.

"Can we just kill this thing already? How long do we have to lug it around like this? If I had known it was going to be this troublesome I would have buried it with the mother."

One of the boys laughed and patted her on the back, "It's okay, you will get your maternal instincts back soon enough."

"Ptew, keep them," she spat at his feet, "There is no way I am ruining this body by bearing more children."

Arnett in the meantime ran up to the bed to check on his sister, "Eva, are you okay? Can you hear me?"

But there was no response from her. Her eyes were tightly shut while her forehead was covered in sweat.

He looked up at the teenage boy that had been carrying her all this time, "She has a fever.. I need to get a doctor."