Half a mile from Trout Gate, the setting sun dragged a long red glow through Crescent City's staggered spired rooftops, dyeing them pink. The alley is like a snake that keeps wriggling its body, and after the corner is another corner, endless, and the shouts of the pursuers behind them never go away for a moment, clutching the heart of the fugitive, holding on, letting go, holding on tightly, and letting go again. Vanessa felt like there were countless steel needles stirring in her lungs, running was never a lady's forte, let alone a princess, she couldn't run anymore, she fell into the open back door of a building, and couldn't get up again.

Reyna then closed the small door, and the pursuers, not noticing them, slammed into another corner and whizzed through.

As soon as the gasp had settled, Vanessa crawled over to untie Elia's hands and feet, and the poor little princess had been lying on Reina's back for half an hour, and her breath was weak and sweaty, and she vomited as soon as the rags in her mouth were removed.

"Illya, great, it's good that you're okay." Vanessa excitedly took Elia in her arms, rubbing her back for her, "Slow down, slow down." ”

Reiner looked around, and found that there was a bitter apricot tree in the small yard, and there was a stone mill under the tree, and there were several bags of turnips stacked next to it, and there was a porcelain jar in the northwest corner.

"Who are you?" Elia, who had recovered, looked at Vanessa warily.

"I'm Vanessa, your sister."

"You're a liar!" Elija shouted, desperately squeezing out of Vanessa's arms, "Stay away from me!" ”

Vanessa obediently stepped back a step away, booing in her mouth, "Tap, they haven't gone far yet." ”

"Who are you?" Ilia asked, "Are you in the same league as Maguire?" ”

"I'm Vanessa," Vanessa remembered that she had been in Da Zhou for four years, and the Land of Midsummer had only passed for a month, and of course Elija couldn't recognize herself when she grew up, and in a short period of time, it couldn't make sense to an eight-year-old girl, "Okay, I have the same name as her." Vanessa had no choice but to lie to her, "I'm Weima's niece." ”

"You're lying!" Ilia screamed, "Weima is an orphan, she has no relatives!" ”

It's troublesome now, Ilia is very close to Weima, it's okay to lie and deceive others like this, but it's not okay to lie to her. Damn, how can you convince her that she's a good person?

"Who is Maguire?" Reyna asked, "Is it the circus owner?" ”

"Yes, he snatched my Kima," Illya pouted unhappily and wrapped her arms around nothingness, "and wanted me to stay and put on a show for him." ”

"Show?" Vanessa repeated vigilantly, shuddered at the thought of little Elia being locked in an iron cage like a beast, "Don't be afraid, he'll never force you to do anything again, we've dealt with him." ”

"I don't believe you." Ilia raised her chubby little hand and shook it, "I'm going back to Winterfell to find Weima, but before that, I'm going back to the circus to find my Kima." ”

"Kima?" Vanessa suddenly recalled the lady doll that Elija never left with, "Yes! Kima! Kima with 24 pleats in the skirt! ”

"You know her?" Illya clapped her hands in surprise, "Hah! It's my Kima. Maguire said that if I would like to perform with a big spider, he would give him back to Kima, but the spider was too ugly for me to be happy about, so he locked me up. Now, I'm going back to Kima, and I don't have to perform with any animals. ”

"He wants you to compete against poisonous spiders?" Vanessa gasped, "This Maguire is insane!" ”

"He's ostensibly a circus owner, but in fact he runs a semi-public underground casino," Reyner nodded, and said with a solemn expression, "When I woke up, the Scarface was asking him for a reward, and Maguire was going to catch outsiders, especially the fugitives who had been murdered, and these people didn't dare to see the light, and the lord wouldn't hold the circus responsible for killing a fugitive, so he picked on us." ”

While speaking, Ilia had already stood up and walked towards the small door, Vanessa hurriedly went to stop her, but was stopped by the little girl: "Don't follow me!" Her round little face was filled with anger, "You're not good people! Vanessa was shocked by her momentum and retracted her hand in fear, and she looked up at Reina for help, only to find that the other party was also hesitant. What's the matter, seeing my lost sister striding out of the door, but I don't even have the courage to catch up, am I really not a good person, not worthy of being Iliya's sister?

"Let her go," a mellow and sweet voice sounded behind her, "as long as she's in Crescent City, I'll keep her safe." A woman stood in front of the building behind them, her hair shining silver, her sparkling eyes filled with years of experience and wisdom. She was tall, taller than Reina, slim, and wore a gown made of glittering silk and a silver crown encrusted with precious stones.

She looked at them with sincere sympathy, as if she could read every thought of them, and was fully aware of the mess they themselves were still sorting out.

"Peace up, Your Highness Princess." She spoke in a voice that sounded like sweet music.

"Polly (Hebrew: Bitter of Resistance, Daughter of the Sea), are you Polly Gauwen?" Vanessa vaguely remembered that she was the only daughter of the Crescent City Lord Gowen and his heir. She was about the same age as her mother, Chloe, and they would stay close to each other for a while every time they came to Crescent City.

"I didn't think you were all so old," Polly caressed Vanessa's cheek with her gentle palm, and the princess shrank back as if she had been pricked by a needle, and Polly didn't expect her to hide, and smiled awkwardly, not taking it as an insult, but adding a little melancholy, "Look, you're almost as tall as I am, and I remember the last time we met, you were a little girl who ran out to buy candy for my sister." ”

"Well, yes, I've been through a lot, and you're just going to be too much sugar and inflated by the sun in Neverwinter." Vanessa stared at the back door of the small courtyard, and while maneuvering with the other party, she was ready to run away at any time, "You knew we would be here?" ”

"You stumbled upon the Lord's Chapel," Polly smiled and pointed to the building behind her, and Vanessa and Reina realized that it had a towering dome like no other, "I was worshipping in there and was led here by Elia's screams. ”

"So, you heard it all?"

Polly smiled and nodded.

"What are you going to do with us?" Vanessa glanced at Reina quietly and motioned for him to be ready to run away, "Stick my head on the flagpole and ask Solanda to show your loyalty?" ”

(l~1`x*>+``+