The Plan to Escape

Chapter 6

WHEN Shinja was in her room, she heard a soft knock on her door. Although she was still crying, Shinja managed to put herself together. She wiped her tears away quickly, steadied her voice and said, "Come in," with a shaky voice.

You just said come in without asking who it was first?! Are you out of your mind? Have you forgotten what happened earlier? What if it is the prince from the park?

Oh my God! She had not given it much thought. She was too busy crying to even mind asking who was at the door.

But you had sense enough to let them in? Wow! Kudos, on such sense and sensibility Shinja!

She silenced her patronizing thoughts. What is done is done! She had already told whoever it was to come in so whatever happened next, she would find a way to deal with it. Bouncing off the bed, using her shaking fingers, she made right her dress and sat on her bed. She kept wiping her face with the back of her hands to disguise that she had been crying.

To the best of luck, whoever it was at the door must have had someone they were talking to so they did not come in as soon as they had been granted permission to. This granted Shinja more time to make things right.

The door went slightly ajar so did Shinja's heart rate. Her heart was running a short marathon race at the left side of her rib cage. Whoever it was kept talking with another person on the other side of the door.

Come in already! She urged the figure with her mind but that was a hopeless endeavor.

As if he heard her, her father came in suddenly and shut the door behind him. When she saw that it was Pink-White, her father at the door, her heart fell back in its right place. It had been strung up her throat this entire time. She let out a breath that she had not realized she had been holding back. Thank heavens!

"Princess Shinja."

"Yes, my king," she replied shakily, her voice slightly pitched. She coughed to disguise the unnatural intonation. Pink-White did not notice this, he was caught up in the assignment, like a man on a mission.

"I want you to go immediately and call your sisters, Shimpi and the rest. Tell them to assemble here in your room now," he said reprimanding.

"Yes, my king. I will take my leave now," she headed out of her room through the hall. She checked through each room calling to each of her sisters, instructing them thus as her father had told her.

As she was about to reach the last room, she went via a dimly lit corridor. She was pulled by the hand before she could form any other thought, her mind took her back to the park. She knew this touch; it was familiar to her.

She thought of making an alarm but a hand was put over her little lips. Having done that, she realized that it was Silver who had grabbed her. He was not in any way going to hurt Shinja at all.

"Do you love me too princess? You never gave me your response. I've been worried sick." He spoke breathily holding onto her like she had the breath he so much needed.

Dear Lord! Who did he think he is, grabbing her like that?! Did he not have any manners?

She would give him a piece of his mind. If only she was not that shy, her timid mind could only manage to say to him timidly.

"I will give you an answer when and if you learn to respect me. Don't ever do that again." She felt so tempted to stomp on his foot as he stood behind her, if it had not been for the nerves and creepy thoughts that were making rounds in her mind.

"I am sorry. It looked different in my mind. I did not intend to make you feel disrespected. Please forgive me."

He shook his head and seemed to let her go only to hold onto her again. He was running out of time and options. She had to give him something, anything that he could work with or else he was going to run mad. Night time was nigh and their encounter in the park had left him wanting, blank and hopeless. She had not given him anything to work with. This time he would get something even if it meant riling her up.

He had no other option instead he hugged her tightly from the back. She tried to run away but he pulled her closer, turned her and kissed her desperately on the lips. She reacted just enough to light a glimmer of hope in Silver's heart. He had gotten what he wanted, he let her go and dashed off into the dark hallway away from her before he did anything that would jeopardize the situation. He would sleep happy that night. It was there, he had felt it in the way she molded into him. He was now with the task to woo her.

It all happened so fast, too fast for her liking. Shinja was fighting hard to process what was going on. Things were getting out of hand.

She fought back tears as she ran to the last room of one of her sisters to call them. Shimi came out with her, she entered the room with her sister Shimi, she rubbed away the tears from earlier. As both of them entered, every one including their father wore a wearied expression. They were all wondering why princess Shinja had delayed in bringing her last sister.

Pink White cleared his throat, "I am glad you look at me and smile, my dearests. But I wonder why my youngest Shinja is not smiling. The reason as to why I have called you here is to tell you that you should respect the Silver family because they are the ones in charge of giving out the elixir," he said and hesitated.

"Jen will guide you on what to prepare for dinner. Behave girls, it is for the good of the kingdom that you do so." The girls nodded.

Pink-White went back to his room and the five sisters ran to the kitchen.

That family again? Shinja thought to herself, if you only knew papa!

Jen, the chief maiden instructed two of the girls to boil the herbs for the queen of Brown kingdom and the others had to serve the guests from the Yellow kingdom with food. Shinja was told to take dinner to Silver in his room.

"Come on Shinka! Why me? Can't Shimi do it?" Shinja looked at her elder sister with pleading eyes. Shimi scoffed in her fist fighting back a laughing fit. She knew who the winner of this fight was and it definitely was not Shinja.

"Wipe that look off your face dearie. You are taking food to the Silver prince and that's that." Shinka dismissed Shinja without further thought.

Shinja knew it was pointless trying to reason with Shinka once she had made up her mind. She picked the food from Jen's hands and headed out to the prince's room.

She walked with care this time until she reached Silver's room. She knocked slightly, in a wink of an eye, the door opened.

She came face to face with Silver who walked away from her fast enough as though she was infested with fleas. If it bothered her, she did not show. Instead she entered noticing the clothes that were strewn all over the floor, she laid the table and placed the food on it.

On opening the door, Silver had walked to the end of the room hiding behind the makeshift dressing room where Shinja could not go uninvited. When she called out to him so he could come and eat, he pretended not to hear a thing she was saying.

"Don't you like the food I brought you? But you have not checked what it is at all. Or are you not hungry?" she cried out pensively.

He walked out from where he was hiding and plopped onto the bed casually as though nothing had happened. She did not understand what this side of him meant. One minute he was cold and the other hot, she did not get it.

"Come here and I will tell you the reason, princess!" he said, his voice on a low vibrato that caused shivers down her spine.

What was he doing to her? She moved two steps close towards one of his bed posts, the one that was closest to the exit.

"My prince if you don't mind, I would like you to tell me the reason from where I am. Thank you." The prince remembered that Shinja had asked him to respect her. He stood up swiftly and said to her.

"Please Shinja tell me and don't turn me down any longer. Do you love me?"

"No, I mean, yes," she slapped her face with the front of her palm. "Heavens! I don't know my prince. I don't know what you want from me. I would say yes definitely but... but..." she stammered.

"But what princess...?" Silver asked curiously. Could it be that there was hope after all?

It was happening way too fast for her to come up with something. So, instead of answering, she gathered up her skirts and dashed out of Silver's room faster than a gunshot.

When she entered her room, a crazy idea got into her mind. Each time she felt confused and overwhelmed, she went to her grandmother's place, the Secret Garden. Right now, she felt exactly that; confused and overwhelmed, she needed an outlet. She wanted to be away from Silver, from all of this. There was a lot of pressure that her frail heart could not handle at once.

She would go to the stables first but before that she went to her closet, picked out a black coat and veil. If she was to successfully disappear from the palace, she needed something that would disguise her from recognition of curious eyes.