Escape plan

I had carefully planned my escape from the castle and I had succeeded with my plan. But here I am in the woods with no idea of where to go. I have been running in the woods for quite some time now but now I'm lost in the woods. I knew if I want to survive, I'll have to keep running but now, I have no idea of where to go. I tried running further but my legs were becoming weak, my throat was dry, my head throbbed in pain, my whole body was becoming weak. I need water and food, I need to stop and rest for a while but I knew I couldn't cause the royal guards are after me. I had left the king on the wedding altar and ran away, I knew very well that if I slowed down now and I end up being caught by the royal guards and brought back to the king, he won't spare me.

No, I won't be weak now, I'll just have to save myself. I thought to myself and tried to run a little more. But no, my legs gave in and I fell to the ground as tears began to roll down my cheeks. I remember the day the king had announced he wanted to see me and my parents. I remember the first time I visited the castle, I closed my eyes and all the images flashed back in my head like a movie.

*****

"Ella my dear, the king wants to marry you." Jessica, my mom said to me as she cupped my cheeks in her palms and smiled at me.

"Wh... What?" I said shocked on hearing the news, my eyes flew open like I had just seen a ghost.

To every ordinary girl...this is of course great news but for me, it isn't. Not even in the slightest.

"Yes my dear, he said he really likes you and this time around, he isn't marrying you because of power or to gain allies. I've always known you will bring good luck into our lives. Right Samson?" She said as she turned her gaze to my dad who was smiling brightly.

"Yes my love, this daughter of our truly is good luck." He replied and placed his hand on my left shoulder.

If the king wants to marry me not because of power then I'm one lucky girl according to my parents...

"Wait a minute... So you mean you accepted the proposal?" I asked and walked away from them a bit.

"Yes of course." They both answered.

"Mom... Dad... How could you accept such a proposal? Oh my God... Mom, the king is already close to fifty-eight years and I'm just nineteen. He had four wives already, uncountable mistresses. He has eleven children, some even older than I am yet you want me to marry him just because he's a king?" I said as tears rolled down my cheeks.

"What do you mean by that? What's wrong with it?" My mom said as she walked up to me, "Listen here Ella, the king really likes you a lot. He's not marrying you for power or to gain allies. You should even be happy cause he choose you. He'll be sending lot of gifts, jewelries and many other things over this evening. You know what? Forget about the age difference, his wives or mistresses or children. Forget about it all and marry him. "

My jaw couldn't help but drop on listening to those words that just came out of her mouth.

"I can't believe such words are coming out of your mouth mom. Am I such a burden to you that you'll just sell me off to the king cause that's what you're doing. Come to think of it mom, I'm just a commoner so why would he want to marry me out of the blue?" I asked almost yelling at my mom and dad. "I won't marry the king mom, I won't marry a man who's old enough to be my dad. I just won't." I said turning my back to my parents.

Just then, I felt a strong grip on my hand turning me around to face where my parents were standing and something hard struck my face.

It was my dad, he had slapped me across the face.

"You'll marry the king whether you want to or not. Your opinion doesn't matter anymore, now go up to your room and sit there quietly." My dad shouted at me and I ran to my room, buried my face on my padded and cried.

The thought of marrying the king, the thought of sharing the same bed with him, the thought of him touching me was so disgusting. I buried my face on my pillow and cried even harder.

The king's men arrived at our house that evening with lot of gifts and jewelries and handed them over to my parents. They had even fixed the wedding date to be two months away from now. The news of my wedding to the king was announced all over the kingdom of Vartish and soon the neighboring kingdom got to know about it.

A month had passed since the proposal and the wedding preparations were being made I begged and pleaded with my parents on different occasions to stop the wedding from taking place but they refused. They had become selfish and greedy. The king kept on sending lot of expensive stuffs which I would call bribe but my parents didn't stop to think about me not even once. I would cry at night hoping this might just come to an end but no, it didn't. The thought of giving birth for the king then watch them fight and kill themselves for the throne was tearing me apart. I then made up my mind to run away but for that to happen, I need to know the palace well. I decided to go live on the palace a few weeks before my wedding and gladly the king accepted. It took me two weeks to study the palace well, the king's wives made my life a living hell but I didn't let that weigh me down.

Luckily for me, I became friends with a maid who promised to help me with my escape plans. She even showed me the secret passage that led to the outside world but there were royal guards guarding the area.

Finally the day arrived....my wedding day and I had decided to execute my escape plan. The maid led me through the secret passage and assured me not to worry that she had already put the guards to sleep by adding a sleeping herb inside the tea she offered them. I thanked her and escaped through the secret passage. Now I'm lost in the woods, weak, thirsty, hungry. I tried standing but no, my legs ached a lot and I fell to the ground again. My head throbbing in pain that I could bearly see. I could hear the sound of horses coming towards my direction.

Oh no! It's the royal guards, I can't let them catch me. I thought to myself. I tried standing up but no my legs ached a lot and I fell to the ground again.

"Did you hear that sound?" One of the royal guard asked the other one on his left hand side.

"Yes, I think it came from that side." He replied and pointed towards my direction.

"Let's go." The general said and they began to ride their horses towards my direction.