Page 86 of Outnumbered

Branson stood behind me, his back to mine as he kept watch and protected my blind spot.

“How are you paying the fee?” the man asked.

“Cash,” I said and pulled it out of my pocket, counting it out before setting it in his hand.

“Perfect,” he said with a nod and resumed typing.

A smattering of gasps and excited chatter started the instant I felt him through our connection.

Sighing softly, I shook my head. Of course he came.

Branson shifted to the side as Caleb stepped up behind me and he set his hands on my hips.

“Hello,” I greeted without turning around.

“You felt me?” he guessed.

I nodded.

“Y-Your Highness,” the man greeted nervously and bowed his head.

“Hello,” Caleb greeted him. “Thank you for your hard work and for taking care of her.”

“I-I’m just doing my job, sir.”

Turning around, I looked up at him, and my eyes widened at the blood smeared on his face. “What happened?” I asked and reached towards it.

He shrugged. “Just a scratch.”

“H-Here,” the man said and set a pack of wet wipes on the counter next to me.

“Thank you,” I said, took one, and wiped the blood of his face.

Caleb smiled wide as I did it, his hands squeezing my hips.

“Did you make your dad teleport you here after you finished your task?”

Caleb shrugged a shoulder. “Maybe.”

Sighing, I shook my head. “I have four people guarding me and you still didn’t trust me to be safe?”

“I’ll always be worried when you aren’t with me,” he said. “Plus, I just wanted to see you. You’ve been helping Mom finalize Papa Dan’s birthday and haven’t had much time for me.”

Pushing his chin, I made him tilt it up so I could wipe the blood splatters on his neck. “Sorry. Do you want to hangout tonight? We could watch a movie or play games.”

“Yes.” He grabbed my hand and lowered it. “How about dinner and a movie?”

“Okay, you’re all entered in the system,” the man said. “You just need to go down to room two hundred to take your picture for your IDs. They’ll print them in the same room.”

I spun around, closed the wet wipe package he’d offered us, and slid it to him, then gathered all of my documents and put them in the folder. “Thank you for your help. Have a great day.”

He bobbed his head quickly. “You’re welcome.”

Caleb walked ahead of me, gathering lots of attention, but thankfully since he was ahead of me, they didn’t stare at me.

It took us ten minutes to get the picture taken and my IDs printed. Part of the reason it took that long was because the employees were so nervous having Caleb there. I didn’t understand the nervousness since he just sat calmly in the room and didn’t even watch them.

Finished, I checked the time and smiled. “Great, let’s head to our next stop,” I told Ezio.

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