5

As she was starting to get lost in her dark thoughts once more, her gaze flickered over to the open closet, where the sword laid abandoned on its side. She clenched her fists tightly as she watched it, hoping that somehow that would help calm her a little bit. Maybe if she just grabbed the weapon, she could run away. They were hunting after her, she didn't doubt that. It was unlikely that they wouldn't catch her, especially considering how many times she had broken the rules. But it was better than letting them hurt her family. It was definitely her best idea at the moment anyway.

Slowly and quietly she crept towards the closet. As soon as her hand touched the hilt of the sword though she gasped, feeling herself start to freeze. No. No, it couldn't possibly be true. She didn't want to hurt her dad anymore. Not ever again. Slowly, almost hesitantly, she reached forward and grabbed the hilt, but immediately let go and jumped backwards as the sword fell on the floor with a dull thud, causing a few strands of hair to stick to her forehead and a couple drops of sweat to appear on her skin. The small movement had startled and confused her, and as she looked around, taking some time to recover from her surprise, she suddenly spotted the wooden box lying in the corner beside the door, almost hidden under the blankets inside.

Quickly, her head snapping upwards, she rushed over and grabbed the box, pulling it out from underneath the blanket, her eyes scanning it closely, searching for anything important inside. She breathed out shakily when she noticed some clothes scattered around the bottom of the box. She glanced quickly around, wondering whether the knight might have already come upstairs, but she couldn't see him anywhere. Quickly picking up the clothing bundle and slipping them in her skirt pockets she hurried over to the open closet door and peeked her head out cautiously. Thankfully, the knight wasn't around. She quickly slipped her shoes back on before glancing around again, making sure that nobody was watching her as she pulled on the rest of her outfit as well, including the cloak, and then quickly made her way out of the bedroom, shutting the door carefully behind her before quickly exiting the castle grounds, not stopping until she found herself hidden away from sight by some bushes and large tree roots. Once she managed to find a relatively secluded spot, she collapsed onto her knees, letting the tears fall freely from her eyes, falling silently down her cheeks. Everything was just too overwhelming. Too much. Too much was happening all at once. It all felt far too real, far too painful, far too terrifying, far too much…

She buried her face in her hands and cried until the tears stopped flowing, only then noticing that her mouth was full of mud. She sniffled softly before getting back to her feet and wiping her mouth roughly with the sleeve of her dress, leaving a muddy trail behind her as she wiped her eyes and cheeks. She looked up towards the sky and blinked back the tears that continued to stream down her face as she waited patiently for the rain to stop. She stood still for some time.