Escape II

THE RIVER had no mercy on the sixth princess of Idradale. Its strong current pushed Larissa to its depthS, hindering her from gaining access to the air that she tried so hard to breathe in. Trashing around to keep her head above the water was the only thing that the princess could do, for her bare legs ached badly from bumping with all sorts of obstacles not limited to rocks and plants in the river's depths.

"Ah!" Larissa lets out a pained scream when her body collided with another huge rock, her stomach immediately stinging in pain. "Shit!"

Water filled her mouth and nostrils as she once again fell to the depths of the river, her arms limped on both her sides as she slowly lost the will to swim back to its surface.

Oh hell no, she thinks. Mustering all the strength that she had left in her, Larissa pivoted upwards with her exhausted arms and kicked her legs as hard as she could to wake them up. Breathing in a huge gulp of air when she reached the river's surface, Larissa's dropping eyelids glanced around to see if there was any sign of the riverbank.

And there it was. Like seeing a treasure chest after years of searching for it, the sixth princess propelled herself forward as much as her arms and legs could, despite the oxygen in her body depleting quickly due to her sudden burst of effort.

Unfortunately, before she could even find herself only a few meters away from the riverbank that would serve as one of the first goals that she needed to attain in her escape plan, her legs gave up on her. Her arms came next, and then her whole body. Despite her mind screaming at her to stay conscious for the riverbank was only a few kicks away, Larissa's eyelids dropped and she felt herself fall to the river's depths.

Everything went dark.

Darkness shifted into a bright light that the sun emitted, and which woke her up. However, it was the cold that urged Larissa to move from her lying-down position. She should have known better though, for the moment she immediately sat up, all the water accumulated in her stomach after she passed out came out of her mouth without warning, like a raging waterfall.

The water that she threw up also included a bunch of leaves, small sticks, and even trash. Great.

Her attempts to stand up ended up futile as well. The wounds that she gained from fighting against her fate to drown in the river were too many to count, especially those located on her legs that still bled albeit probably not as much as they did when Larissa was still in the river.

Bruises also decorated her body, particularly on her stomach and back. Larissa almost cried in pain when she mistakenly pressed against one of the big bruises that she gained.

She also tasted metal on her lips but she decided to ignore it. As long as she didn't lose a tooth she's fine. She needs to be fine.

Fortunately, it ended up easier than she expected to find the bag of supplies that Ciel was talking about. It was really just below one of the trees nearest to the riverbank, a tall oak tree with its branches casting a shadow over the bag.

Larissa slowly walked to where it was, continuously stumbling but she soon reached her nearby destination and almost cried in relief upon seeing the items promised by her older brother inside the bag. She pulled the clothes first, which ended up being a long tunic and a pair of boots.

After wearing them as gently as she could to not hit the bruises and the wounds that she accumulated in almost every part of her body, Larissa proceeded to open a can of some provisions included in the bag. The taste of the potatoes in the small can deeply contrast the meals that she ate at the castle but Larissa didn't dare complain.

Her stomach thanked her almost immediately, anyway.

The other supplies in the bag ended up not very much helpful as of the moment except for the ointments and the three rolls of bandage.

Almost as if her older brother knew that she would be injured in advance.

Larissa bit her lip harshly in an attempt to distract herself from the pain that intensified as she applied the ointment to the biggest wounds present on her body. Afterward, she quickly wrapped the bleeding wounds with rolls of bandages.

Grabbing a nearby tall branch and using it to serve as her cane, Larissa had a sudden thought that bugged her. If Ciel had left the bag of supplies without any sort of way of hiding it from plain sight then why didn't anyone who happened to pass through take it or at least steal some supplies?

The confusion lingered for a while while she filled the small pouch with water from the river. She knew better than to drink water that came from the river, but it provided her a sense of relief to at least have a source of water even if said source shall only serve as her last resort.

Larissa slowly trudged towards the forest in front of the river. Her thoughts drifted to the thought of merciless bandits that possibly checked the riverbank often, waiting for dead merchants or anyone unfortunate to show up.

And since the dead can no longer move a single finger or voice their opinion, it would be easier to remove them from their clothing and sell their clothing to the nearest market without anyone knowing its previous unfortunate owner.

Larissa huffed. It was useless to overthink everything, especially with how many problems she already has at the moment. The stinging wounds and the painful bruises on her body were one thing, but the idea of living as a runaway terrified her further.

At this very moment, she imagined her father barking orders at a bunch of guards to discreetly find her. She knew better than to assume that her father would send the entire royal army to find her, or even the exclusive knights led by her older brothers Eclair and Francis.

Absorbed in her thoughts, the princess ended up tripping over a small rock that pivoted her forward towards a tree. Her head was quick to collide with it, emitting a pained whimper from her.

"As if the bruises and the wounds aren't enough," Larissa couldn't help but whisper miserably.

The only good thing that Larissa could think of was how the gigantic trees on both sides provided shade for her against the sun that continued to make the temperatures rise. Nevertheless, a sunny day is always better than a rainy day especially when one doesn't quite have a destination in mind.

And especially since Larissa doesn't even know where the fuck was she supposed to go once she reaches the end of the forest.

"I hope there's a village," Larissa said out loud. Gone was her reluctance to speak out loud as she usually did in the castle, afraid of anyone hearing her. Now as she is surrounded by nothing but a bunch of plants and a few small animals, Larissa has no reason to be fearful. "Or at least a small town,"

Maybe she could get a job there in the meantime and earn enough money to travel to Silicia. Larissa didn't know much about how much money did she need to travel to the Southern kingdom, but she should at least have a goal in mind to push her forward.

Larissa reached the end of the forest after at least an hour or two of alternating between walking and resting for a while. The wounds on her legs have stopped bleeding but they still stung. The bruises, on the other hand, became more painful.

Maybe she should try finding a doctor first? Larissa checked the pouch of coins that Ciel included in the bag and found out that she had fifty gold coins in total. It wasn't much, especially when one is a noble who can easily earn more than double the money with a snap of their finger. However, Larissa was already thankful for the amount and was already thinking of how to budget the amount in a few weeks' time.

Fortunately, a village was indeed just a few steps away from the edge of the forest. It was smaller than Larissa thought it would be, with rundown houses and empty stalls designated to have food sold on them.

Before Larissa could approach a house and knock, loud neighs coming from a group of horses immediately made the girl hide behind a tall stack of hay.

And she made the right decision for the one riding on the first horse that came into view was no other than her older brother, Prince Eclair.