TO ESCAPE

"Jump. It's easy." Noctua said as he then lifted himself using the power of the wings while looking at Felicia who still refused to jump, having cold feet. "The night is not becoming any longer. If you wish to celebrate—FELICIA!" 

As Noctua exclaimed, Felicia had already jumped off, holding tightly into the sheet as she landed on the ground, rolling off the grass. Oh shit, that was totally not a good ending with the way she just jumped off.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?! YOU COULD'VE LOST YOUR LIFE THERE—"

"I'm fine, see? I'm fine." Felicia answered her knees slightly trembled after the impact of jumping from the third floor down to the ground. She had forgotten to grip her hands tighter on the sheet, resulting in her epic flop landing. 

"And lower your voice, they would've heard you shouting like that." She said, glaring at him and trying to walk perfectly, like normal. 

"Mistress..." Olivia quietly called, making Felicia look up, meeting Olivia's gaze, concerned about her. "Don't stay late there, or else they're going to figure it up." She whispered but it was enough for Felicia to understand as she nodded her head, waving her hand started walking away from the room. 

"The market is quite far, how will you plan to reach it fast?" Noctua asked, landing on her shoulder as she continued to walk, not towards the gate but rather towards the training grounds which made Noctua frown. 

Why is she walking towards the training grounds?

"I'm going to ride a horse." She said that made Noctua feel very reluctant about this idea. "What? Have you truly lost your mind back then? Goddess me, do you even know how to ride a horse?" Noctua asked as he found it quite a boofonery. 

"What? I learned how to use a sword in no time, much less if it's a horse." With pride in her voice, she answered Noctua's answer smugly, which made Noctua want to mentally slap his head after hearing her answer. 

"It's a living thing! It moves, Felicia! Unlike swords where you can control it, you can't control a horse! For Goddess' sake, you're making me turn into a dumb bird!" He exclaimed once again, glaring at Felicia. 

"You're worrying too much, trust me on this, I will learn how to ride one tonight." She added, sighing while approaching the stables. The only good thing is that no one was roaming around and there were no servants inside the stable. 

"If this plan fails and you get an injury, I won't be able to keep my head sane," Noctua mumbled as he flew towards the nearest arch inside the stable. Meanwhile, Felicia just rolled her eyes in return and didn't let his words affect the integrity inside her. 

"So what now?" She asked, looking through the horses who were wide awake after she deliberately intruded their nap time. "Don't ask me what to do, this is your plan. Not mine." Noctua replied with a cocky tone, making Felicia glared at him in return. 

She will definitely grill this damn bird.

As her eyes then looked over the horses, the black one caught her eyes. It was a majestic-looking horse, a big one and a strong one. Yet the Black horse looks like it's hard to tame it. 

Yet with great determination for success, Felicia chose the horse, making Noctua winced, even his facial expression turned quite crumpled, fearing the outcome of Felicia's actions. 

"You're such a beautiful horse..." She whispered as she tried to reach out for the black one, trying to touch it but the horse responded with hostility, even trying to bite her hand off, making her retract back her hand. 

"See?! Didn't I tell you that it will definitely kill you? Oh Goddess, have mercy on us—"

"One more word coming out from that mouth of yours and I'm going to grill you and feed you towards that brat." Felicia glared, threatening Noctua as she was getting annoyed with its words leaving his beak. 

It immediately worked as Noctua closed his mouth, shaking his head as if he was swearing not to talk anymore, which made Felicia sigh and turn back her gaze towards the hostile breed. 

"Relax... I'm not going to hurt you." She added as she tried to extend her arm once again, to close the gap between the horse and hers. "If I hurt you, then you can kick me so hard. But trust me, the only thing that I wanted to hurt is that bastard over there." Felicia added, pointing at Noctua who silently glared at her. 

"You see... I want to run wild tonight and you're the horse that caught my eyes. You're just so majestic that you look like the night sky above. Even if your eyes are black, everything about you is black. Such beauty." 

She looks like a fool talking towards a horse. As if a horse could ever understand her. 

"Let me open up this cage for you and run wild and free with me tonight. Just for tonight." She begged, slowly reaching out for the lock that prevented the horse from running away. 

She was silently praying for the horse not to bite her hand or attack her. She was nervous as her heart palpitated at such a fast pace. Even fear was present in her expression as she managed to unlock the door, waiting for the horse to kick it.

However, the horse didn't even do it and just stood there, watching her. She was shocked at the horse's behaviour as she slowly grabbed the gate and opened it widely, letting the horse escape. 

However it just didn't run away, and just exited the gate, looking at her through her eyes. It even lets her nudge its head, allowing her to hold it. Felicia's eyes fluttered, sparkled in amusement as she managed to capture the horse's heart.

Who knew it only needed to be talked about in a calm tone? 

"Wow, you managed to tame it." Even Noctua couldn't believe that she was able to tame a horse that fast. "It could be due to my ability." She said, shrugging her head as she tried to study how to ride a horse. 

"There's no saddle... How can I ride it?" She asked, frowning as she circled around the horse. However, what she didn't expect was the horse kneeling for her, allowing her to climb on its back and to sit down without a saddle on. 

"Holy shit it understands me!" She exclaimed, even letting out a laugh as she climbed herself at the horse's back, holding at its long neck while rubbing it gently. "Thank you for letting me ride with you." She said and the horse replied, making her laugh.

"Noctua... I can't believe it! What a strong buff. To think animals understand me..." She chuckled, holding tightly as the horse then stood up with its legs, walking out of the stable. 

"Must be the reason why you understand Helena." With such contempt in Noctua's voice, Felicia laughed at his joke, which she agreed to it anyway. "I do. Damn, I'm such a talented woman." She praised herself, earning a scoff from Noctua. 

"Alright, horsey, bring me to the market— T-TOO FAST!" She let out a yelp as the horse didn't let her continue her phrase and just ran to its content, making Felicia hold tightly, afraid that she might fall as she had no saddle to keep a hold of herself. 

Noctua was even left behind as the horse became one with the strong wind, flashing towards where it was taking her. This horse is too fast!

—

The ride that usually takes a lot of time was beaten by only minutes as Felicia arrived in no time. She could feel her knees weakening because of the horse ride, unconsciously letting out a barf while the horse looked so damn proud. 

The horse brought her towards a hill that overview how the night market looks so festive despite not having any feasts being celebrated. The lights around the capital were shining, as music filled the serenity of the place. 

"Wait here, I'll be here okay? Don't leave me alone here because I still need to return home." Felicia said towards the horse and it replied to her, making her pat the horse due to its extraordinary intelligence of understanding her. 

After her conversation with the horse, she went down the heel with her cloak hovering over her head and her body. It wasn't a tall and far hill for her to walk down. In fact, once she reached below, she was already met with the loud music enthralling the whole atmosphere, creating such festivity. 

There were a lot of performances happening, with the fountain blasting its water, the food stalls in the corners, everyone dancing because of the music, and a lot more activities that made her feel excited. 

Of course, she bought silvers with her in order to enjoy the unlimited feast tonight, from the food to its game. It's even better than what she had imagined it would look like. 

Her eyes couldn't contain their excitement as she started to travel to each stall, buying everything she wanted as if money didn't even bother her. She let her desire control her, tasting a lot of food, enjoying the games she played, and even dancing with the crowd. 

She felt... Free. 

Free from the responsibilities she had to uphold as Felicia, free from the chains that bind her towards her duties as a princess, and free from the bullshits that are wrecking her life. 

She was truly feeling the freedom that she hadn't obtained. The delight and even the sense of feeling better by spending her time in this town made her release all of her negative feelings at once. 

One with the crowds where no one is able to judge her, in the middle of the crowds where no one would criticize her for being the evil sister, away from the eyes of the crowds who bullied her for the thing that she didn't even do. 

Alas, this must be the feeling of what it means to be alive, to what it means to become free from her shackle—

"Ouch!" She yelped, landing on the ground with her butt first. That was totally unexpected as it seemed that she had crashed into someone. 

However, as she looked up, she noticed a hand being extended, offering her to stand up. That made her blink twice as she slowly looked up into the person whom she bumped with. 

"Are you okay, Milady?"