But this… being outside. Breathing fresh air. Not being contained within the tower. This was a huge accomplishment and one that I wasn’t soon to forget. Even if they caught me now, I was experiencing something that I’d been denied my entire life.
I’d tasted freedom, and it was far better than anything I’d ever had before.
Gathering the rope and the wood that had aided in my escape, I tossed them into the bush. Breathing in deeply, I gave myself three seconds to look around.
Three seconds to take in the dark forest that stood before me, the stone wall at my back, and the sudden rush of freedom that was flooding through my bones. Three seconds to pat myself down and feel the reassuring hilt of my daggers.
I’d traded everything for those blades, and they carried with them a sense of security that I desperately needed. Three seconds to look up and see the dark wings of the soldiers patrolling the walls of the keep.
My prison looked… unremarkable from the outside. Like I imagined any other stone tower attached to a keep would look. How was it possible that something that had contained my entire life was so… small?
Then the shouting began.
“Where is she?”
“Someone find her.”
“Tell the king.”
That was all I needed to hear. I shook myself free of my thoughts. There was no way I was going to let the king get his hands on me today. I had already risked everything by befriending one of the servants.
It had taken me nine months to convince Lithani to help me escape. In the end, she’d only been able to do so much. She had brought me the clothes I now wore, and the daggers strapped to my thighs. Hopefully, the jewels I’d given her would be enough to see her to safety.
Straightening my tunic and pulling on my hood, I wrapped my cloak around myself before taking one final glance at my childhood prison.
“Good riddance,” I muttered, before darting into the welcoming embrace of the King’s Forest.
* * *
Twigs cracked and leaves crunched beneath my feet as long, thin branches whipped at my cheeks. My face stung from the force of a dozen small lacerations, my lungs burned from the effort of exercise. Within ten minutes of running through the forest, my body was aching like it never had before.
Tiny bugs flew around me, nipping at my skin and leaving painful reminders of their presence on my face and arms. I swatted at them, never stopping the constant movement of my legs.
And still, I pushed forward.
For years, I had stared at the trees longingly from my window, but now that I was in their midst, I realized the forest was much larger than I could have ever imagined.
Being outside was… exhilarating. The vibrant colors of the trees were unlike anything I’d ever seen before. The fresh air was intoxicating. No one had ever told me that. Granted, no one had really spoken to me unless commanded by the king, but still.
Even breathingfeltbetter. It was different. I hadn’t realized how stale the air had been in my tower until now.
At that moment, it struck me. One second, one minute, one hour of freedom from my tower would not be enough. It would never have been enough.
Freedom, I was finding out, was like a drug. Once you tasted it, it opened your eyes to all the things you had been denied. It was addicting, this thing called freedom.
Leaving, it seemed, was going to teach me far more than I had ever thought possible. The entire world was waiting for me to discover its hidden treasures, and I was an eager pupil.
I ran, and I ran, and I ran.
Every second felt like an eternity as my feet pounded through the muddy terrain. Glancing at the still dark and stormy sky, I hoped the storm would cover my escape. The King’s Forest surrounded my tower on all sides. At least they would have no inclination about which direction I was headed.
My feet squelched through the mud as my every breath sounded far too loud to my nervous ears. My lungs burned, and still, I ran.
The further I went into the forest, the thicker the surrounding growth became. Trees of varying shapes and sizes loomed over me, their leaves a lesson in shades of green.
Seeing them, being surrounded bywildernessfor the first time in my life, I regretted my lack of education surrounding all things flora. I did not know what they were called, only that they were providing me with my escape.
My heart was hammering in my chest, my muscles aching as I pushed my body harder than I ever had before. The exercises I had done with my guard Matthias in the tiny attic above my room had done nothing to prepare me for this mad dash through the woods.