It was half an hour later that they managed to hide behind some alleys again (safer this time, hopefully!)
Of course, they had to separate to be able to hide better, perhaps do some distraction tactics (i.e. Fable pushing them cuz they're obviously enjoying the attention anyway) to give him some more time.
Instead of getting beat up though, the girls didn't really bother with them at all.
This was both relieving and sad.
Getting beat up at least meant they got surrounded by women, right?
Depressed!
Anyway… Fable, who was very experienced in hiding, and the remaining 'survivors' from his group were able to hide well.
Unfortunately, he didn't know if it was the skill of the lord here as a person, or a skill of a lord of a territory, but he was still found in the end.
The woman appeared with her high heels which was different from what she wore before (did she stock up on it?). Closely beside her was a small harem of handsome men.
She was a bit chubby, but curvaceous, and she had a fairly decent face. By most standards, she was even pretty.
But Fable paled in terror at the sight of her.
It's her! The Lord!
…
Kimmy brightened at the sight of the handsome man with sandy hair, looking at her with wide eyes filled with admiration (note: Terror).
Kimmy Smith was a very rich spoiled 29-year-old girl who had rooms filled with jewelery, gold, and other shiny things.
During the apocalypse, she sold most of these things, along with the family treasury, and this allowed her to earn thousands before the Migration.
It felt amazing to finally lead and create her own territory. Most importantly, she could do whatever she wanted!
As for her parents, wherever they were, she could only pray for their souls. After all, when the disaster happened they were in other countries with their respective lovers.
As someone who had been neglected by her parents for as far as she could remember, her greatest joy in life was watching actors or idols, collectively called Husbands.
Back in Terran, she had watched every concert of her husbands, took the best spots, had backstage passes, bought all merchandise, and funded their fanbases.
She had almost taken one—her favorite—to hug in her house some days ago but he regretfully disappeared.
Who knew, he would actually come back.
Was it fate?!
She sauntered to him, and seductively—well at least she thought so—wiped his chest with her manicured fingers. "Shall we continue where we left?"
Fable almost squeaked in terror. "No, no! No, thank you! I'm not even handsome!"
"Don't underestimate yourself!" She said, "You're one of the most handsome men I ever laid eyes on!"
He was so creeped out that his brain seemed to have died for a moment. "No, no, in my territory there were plenty of more handsome men!"
"Really?"
He did not even have the time to regret what he said because his brain died again when the finger climbed up his chin. "Yes, yes, really."
"Okay! I see you were about to leave? How interesting! Maybe I'll go there soon!"
His stomach dropped. Wouldn't bringing this woman to Altera be a disaster for all the handsome men in the territory?!
He didn't have the time to backtrack as she already wrapped her arms around his, and basically dragged him out to the streets.
As they walked, Fable felt like his legs were as heavy as lead. Raine, Kimmy's current favorite, saw this and chuckled.
He walked closer to him, just close enough to whisper.
"Don't worry, she never really forced anyone… well, except you. You were a very good entertainer."
"Er… thank you?"
Kimmy wrapped her arms tighter around his well-toned arms and Fable tried his best not to push the woman away.
She was completely unaware of his tension, thinking he was just shy. "What are you waiting for, Silly Fableboi?"
"Err… what?" Fable asked as they walked along the streets. Fableboi? The endearment used by his fans was clearly Fablecious, right?
Ah, wait, that would've been creepier coming from Kimmy.
"Oh, you silly goose~" She giggled, rubbing his nose like he was the most adorable idiot. "To your territory! Let's gooo!"
"A-Already? Right now?!" Fable gasped, startled by how quickly things were happening. "Altera is half a day away! Y-You're the lord, aren't you?"
She shrugged. "My husbands can handle it." She said, pulling him forward. "Let's go now!"
"..."
Eventually, they met up with the rest of the team by the gate, as agreed upon before they separated from all the running. They decided to meet up there within an hour, and together they would escape and head back to Altera.
It was a decent plan. Too bad Fable had a massive baggage.
The team gave him weird, weird, looks when they saw who he was with.
Fable wanted to cover his face.
How embarrassing!
Could he say he really didn't have a choice?!
The people who got 'captured' with him were holding back their laughs. No doubt they will spread all that they witnessed to the whole of Altera when they could!
Jerks!
As they walked to the gate, Kimmy saw the people in his party, looked them up and down, and couldn't help but ask again, a little questioning.
"Are they really handsome?" She asked, looking at him as if he was lying. "This is what you call handsome?"
The others: "..."
The laughs were cut short like that.
But these complicated emotions of his companions had nothing to do with Fable. To him, this was an opportunity.
Could this be his chance of backtracking?
He didn't take it in the end though, his gut was telling him he may be trapped here if he lied. Self-preservation still prevailed.
I'm so sorry handsome men of Altera…
"Yes. Some even had odd hair colors like bright gold and crimson red …"
"That's amazing!" Kimmy brightened, "I look forward to meeting them~"
Fable gulped at her obsessive expression and shivered.
He prayed for Oslo, Rowan, and even Drake never to know of this conversation.