Broken Away

Eric Montague

"Eric. Eric Montague. That's my name. Now can I ask you why—"

"You're the prince? The prince? The one who refused to go to the training camp?" Chase felt a drop of sweat fall into her eye. She blinked furiously, rubbing at her eye. The boy, who was apparently the prince, came towards her, with the intent of helping. Chase backed away, refusing to let the stranger touch her.

"Don't be stupid, let me help you."

Chase shook her head, her eye stinging, but like everything else, she ignored the pain, "if you're going to help, then just tell me a way to get out of here."

"I know a damsel in distress when I see one. I'm a prince, I have to help."

"First of all, just because I'm in distress doesn't mean I'm a damsel. Second, just let me use your sheets and I'll be out of your perfect hair."

Eric scoffed and rolled his eyes, "no, you will not be riding down my sheets out of the third story window. Not without me, at least," he threw her a white towel that he had grabbed from his nightstand, "use that to wipe some of the blood off of you."

Chase caught the towel in her hand, "why would you want to come with me? You're the prince."

Eric rolled his eyes again, "that's obvious, isn't it? I'm not happy with how things are done here. I hate living in this palace and in this bland room. I hate my father. I hate his laws. Most of all, I hate this kingdom. If you're leaving, I'm coming with."

"You don't even know who I am!"

Eric shrugged, ripping the sheets off his mattress, "so? At least I'll be living my life to the fullest now. Also, may I add that it's not my fault you haven't introduced yourself."

Chase threw back the towel, "alright then. Hello, Prince Montague, I'm Chase Never."

Eric choked, "you're Chase?"

Chase shushed him as she heard shouts in the hallways. Her eyes widened in panic.

"We need to go. Now. Come with if you'd like." Chase snatched the sheet from his hands and tore it more as she approached the window. She slung it open, judging the fall. She tied a sheet strip to the handle of the window. Chase quickly knotted two more strips together and started climbing down. There was still a fall of four feet, but it shouldn't have done much harm. Chase was used to being in prime condition. She slung down without thinking. She cried out in pain as she heard the crunch of her ankle. The door swung open. Eric, still determined to leave his life behind, jumped down after her, his hands on the fabric. Eric fell beside her. Eric got up quicker than Chase as he wasn't weighed down by multiple wounds. He helped Chase up, allowing her to use him as a crutch.

Chase winced as they hobbled down into the forest surrounding the kingdom. Eric leaned them towards the left, away from the villages.

"What are you doing? We're heading back towards the castle!" Chase hissed.

"That's the point," Eric whispered back, "they'll never expect it."

Chase whimpered, "I can't go on for longer."

Eric huffed, "don't worry, we're almost there."

"We're almost where?"

Eric didn't respond. Then, all of the sudden, he stopped, looking down.

"Here."

Chase looked around her, expecting a tree house or a shed. She saw nothing but trees. Eric carefully set Chase up against a tree, much to her displeasure. Eric started brushing aside some leave. After some intense digging, his hand clasped around a rope. He pulled it up, revealing a trap door and a tunnel leading down into the ground. Eric rubbed his hands together, brushing off the dirt and lifted Chase's arm over his neck. He wrapped an arm around her waist and hoisted her up. Eric led her to the tunnel, then stopped.

"Realized the problem, huh?" Chase asked.

"Well, I could always just drop you in there."

"Don't you da—" Chase felt her head start to spin. She grabbed Eric's sleeve, trying to not fall.

"Eric," she muttered, "Eric, I don't feel that great." Chase's eyes closed as her body couldn't push itself anymore. Eric grunted as she fell into his arms, completely passed out.

When Chase came to, she felt her entire body feel stiff. Her eyes still felt heavy, making her struggle to even open them.

"Hey," a soft voice said, "you're finally awake."

"Eric?"

"Yeah, it's me. Do you want some food? There's some sandwiches for you."

Chase looked down at her ankle. It was wrapped with bandages. Eric was sitting in front of her, eating a sandwich.

"Did you do my ankle?"

"Yeah, I studied basic medical necessities just in case I were to run away. I even managed to build this place. I think your ribs are broken and you definitely have a concussion. Your nose is probably broken as well. I don't know how to treat ribs and your nose, but I do know that your ankle is sprained. You'll be out of the bandages in a few days. I've applied some ointment on you cuts and bruises to seal them up."

Chase gaped at the prince as he passed her a plat of cucumber sandwiches, "does anyoone else know about this place?"

"Nope," Eric replied, "didn't have anybody I could trust. Before you at least."

"But you barely even know me."

"You're Chase Never. You probably hate this kingdom more than I ever will."

Chase rolled her eyes, brushing off the comment as a joke, "what about you? Are you alright?"

Eric shrugged, "a few cuts, but I'll live. We'll need to get you professional help, though, which won't be easy."

"And why is that?"

"Because you're Chase Never."

Chase shot him a confused look, "you keep on saying that. Why does me being Chase Never matter so much?"

Eric placed his sandwich down, "you're kidding, right? You don't know?"

"No, why would I know anything? What would I know?"

Eric sighed, "Spear sent out a letter to all families. From what I heard, the letter basically said that anyone that associated with you would gain ultimate shame upon their family."

"Why would Spear do that?"

Eric chuckled, "she's jealous of you. Your skills. You were able to take down multiple people during the small training sessions in middle and grade school. She felt threatened. Spear thought you would succeed her as lieutenant."

"How do you know all this?"

Eric brushed his hand through his hair, throwing his head back against the wall, looking at the ceiling, "because I'm her fiancé, Chase."