I Will Not Be A Slave

Aisha's eyes blinked rapidly as she stared at the vaulted ceiling of her Chamber. She turned to the left. And then to the right.

She wanted to rest at this beautiful royal Chamber. She needed all the strength that she could get for her escape plan.

However, no matter how much she tried to, she couldn't find herself being comfortable enough for her eyes to be at ease and relaxed.

King Leandro just came into her room! Fortunately, he didn't do anything to her. Yet!

"What should I do? He must be thinking that I'm the Chosen One!" Aisha thought as she curled under the bedspread.

"It's too bad. We could be *Christian Grey and *Ana Steele. But I don't want babies. And besides, my family may still be alive," she sighed as she sat up in bed.

Aisha was still in bed inside one of the Ladies' Chamber. She decided to stay for the meantime in the room that King Leandro gave to her, since it was already nearing early dawn.

Before Rosalia tucked her in bed, she already checked the area outside the Castle to see what route she could use for her disappearing act.

There were Castle Guards everywhere! But she saw a field where it seemed like there were only a few Castle Guards around.

She stood up from her bed and inspected it again. Now there were two Castle Guards that were securing it.

"Now's my shot," Aisha muttered to herself as she drew in a deep breath and grabbed a thick forest green cloak from the drawer.

"No one has a right to take away my freedom," She resolved to herself in a steady, lower-pitched voice as she tied the knot on her chin, enclosing her identity inside the stocky cape.

Her muscles were rigid as she opened the door of the Chamber. She recalled the face of King Leandro.

Her heart thumped within her chest. She may have wanted to get to know him more. But not like this.

She didn't know what lies ahead of her. But she would not allow herself to be somebody else's slave.

She recalled the times when she would escape from their maids and their mansion. "This was just like a bigger maze," she encouraged herself as she was already outside the room and in the hallways.

Fortunately, the room wasn't locked. And the two guards who were watching her had fallen asleep.

She slowly closed the door so as not to awaken them. Then her alert eyes darted to the left and right.

Aside from them, there was no one around. It was just an empty hallway with torches on the stoned walls.

Like lightning, she quickly surveyed the scene for the nearest route to the area with the minimum number of securities.

She was about to turn a corner when she heard footsteps approaching her.

At a fraction of a second, she immediately stepped back and laid her body as close to the wall as possible.

She clamped her lips, preventing even a small amount of breath from escaping from them.

The footsteps were getting nearer. They were heavy and seemed to be like one of the warriors of Gaea.

As she inhaled a lungful of air, the musky smell of horses penetrated her nose. "I must be near the stables!" A glimmer of hope rose in Aisha.

If she could just get there, she could ride a horse and get away from the Castle as far as she could. But the problem is, no one must see her. Or they would bring her back. Much worse, punish her.

And the footsteps were getting nearer and nearer her area.

Fortunately, another Castle Guard called him back. "The King wants us to go to the South now," he said to him, stopping him from getting closer to where she was.

"Now? That's too far from here. I haven't informed my family yet,``he answered him. Now she couldn't hear his footsteps anymore.

She decided to peek at them while they were having a conversation. Indeed, the stable was just a few meters away from them.

"We will get back immediately. Lord Emilio said he will take care of them," the one who approached him said.

Aisha's eyebrows furrowed. "I could probably go with them. That's a faster route than walking barefooted. And that is miles deep from here. They could not find me there."

Her hands formed into a steeple as looked at where they were headed.

There was a huge cart with the back, filled with trunks. It seemed like they would use it for the ride as they checked on them.

"Let me tell my wife first," the one who almost saw her told the informant.

"All right. I will tell mine also. But let's be quick. The King's instruction was to leave at early dawn," The other replied.

As soon as they leave the area, Aisha runs to the cart at breakneck speed.

She quickly hid at one of the larger trunks. She left a little opening, so she could breathe.

It was her first time to be in a dark, dusty, and closed space such as this. It felt like she would run out of air anytime.

"Hold on, Aisha. You will make it out of here alive," she cheered herself.

She didn't know if she would be glad or afraid that the two came earlier than she expected.

Within a few minutes, the horse was already galloping towards the Castle Gates.

They were about to open the smaller gate. However, the Gatekeeper asked about the contents of the trunk.

Aisha gulped a lump in her throat. Drops of sweat formed in her forehead. "Please don't open my trunk." She pleaded in a whisper.

To her relief, the Guards who were driving the cart showed him a letter with the King's seal.

"We need to get there before sunrise," He explained to him.

The Gatekeeper, seeing the King's seal, nodded his head at the servant as a signal for him to open the Gates.

"Hiya!" The driver tapped the horse to move forward.

Aisha's lips curved up in relief. Now she was truly on her way to her freedom.

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The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are.