Rune Chasers: Polaris Rising (sample)

Chapter One

Leaning out the window, staring at the gray, snow-covered ground far below, Hope felt a chill run down her spine; the height had always made her feel like a princess from a fairy tale, living in the tallest tower. Outside, the world was covered in a thick blanket of gray, ever-falling snow, but it was not the cold which touched Hope. No, it was the knowledge of what was going to happen that night which made her tremble. Gradually the feeling would go, but for that night, Hope knew that she would be filled with the fear and excitement.

Looking to the door of her room as it opened, she felt a slight wave of relief as her friend walked in smiling.

"I think it's now or never," Natasha grinned as she continued, "are you excited?"

"Very," Hope replied. Excited, however, was only a portion of the mixture of emotions that she felt in that moment.

The night had only just begun, but the two of them had been planning the night for more than a month. Hope looked at Natasha one last time, trying to match her friend's smile, but unable to do so. Eventually, she took a deep breath, and glanced to the open door.

Delicately, Hope took a few steps across the small room towards her friend. Remembering every feeling of pain that she had experienced in the small room, Hope knew that she should have been more than willing to leave. Again, she took a step forwards, towards Natasha, and the door way that she stood in. Gathering all the strength she had remaining from the horrors of the fortress, Hope nodded.

Opening the door further, Natasha looked at her, and asked "are you ready?"

"No," Hope replied.

The two young women descended the many flights of stairs so quickly that Hope did not have time to process all that was going on, and the only thought which came into her head was the knowing that she was leaving, forever. The man that had abused her, the guards that had laughed, and the father that had sent her away likely with full knowledge of what she was going into. Briefly, she wondered if the feeling she felt was that which an innocent person would feel escaping prison. She was certain it was similar, as although she had never been in a prison, the fortress had been prison enough for her.

The cold bit into her skin as soon as she stepped out the door, and sent a shiver down her spine. She took a deep breath in, and glanced to the door behind her one last time, before continuing to follow Natasha. She did not know how her friend had managed to get the timing perfect, or figure out all the details of the guards to make the escape flawless, but it she had done it. The guards were moving their post just as Hope and Natasha walked through the front gate, and although Hope was certain that the guards should have been able to notice the movement, no sound could be heard; not a cry, a bell, or even a whisper to show they had seen her.

"Come on," Natasha whispered, her voice causing Hope to nearly jump as the two moved along the base of the wall. "We have to go quickly, if they find you, I'm sure he'll beat you to death this time."

"Only if they see my leaving," Hope replied, her voice barely audible. "No one will truly care if I'm gone. I doubt even he will notice."

As she ran with Natasha through the darkness, Hope remembered the one other time she had run away; or, when she had tried. She had made it as far as the forest by herself, but once she had gotten there, Hope realized that there was nowhere to go. The only road out of the fortress lead to the docks on the ocean, which was controlled by the same men whom controlled the fortress. It was because of this that Hope was forced to return, or starve to death. No one had realized that she had been missing until she returned, but once the realization hit them, they had punished her, making her wish all the more that she had starved. Now, however, she did have a place to go. She knew no more about the world beyond the fortress than she did before, but Natasha did, and that was enough for Hope.