Darcy

My breath comes out in heavy pants. My eyes dart around the room, looking for the most delicate thing that would have the unfortunate fate of being broken today. My hands shake as they clutch the small knife that would soon plunge into someone's heart.

I drop the knife and walk around the room with purpose as I collect my things and stuff them into a duffle bag. Shirts, trousers, shoes, money, edibles and a single sword that I owned without the knowledge of my father. This would have to do.

The crown slips off my head and the irony would have made me chuckle except it was overpowered by my anger.

I place the bag beside the locked door and tug at the strings that keep my dress together. I tighten my corset and pat the two knives strapped across both my thighs to reassure my mind that they were still there. The heap of clothes on my bed provides the perfect pair of garments to create my ensemble.

I pick up the discarded knife and stand in front of my mirror. The long brown hair is clutched in my left hand, ready to be chopped off. It is a sacrifice that I am willing to make. With one swing, I am left with almost 15 inches of hair detached from my head. I move to the makeup drawer and paint my face into that of a handsome man with expert precision. I tuck in my wings and take a step back to look at myself.

Staring back at me is a man with a body so slender that it makes him look almost boyish. The soft curves of his hips are hidden by the baggy shirt and his true face under a load of powder and charcoal.

I walk towards the door but a knock stops me in my tracks. The intensity of it scares me. It could be the royal soldiers sent by my father.

"Princess, open the door please."

Relief floods my body when I hear the voice of my handmaiden, Priscilla. I fling open the door and pull her inside before shutting it again. Her eyes widen as she looks at me. I was not surprised to know that she had no trouble looking through the glamour. She had practically raised me, of course, she knew what I looked like no matter how I was dressed.

"Its time, Priscilla. Father has finally chosen a man for me. I cannot stay here much longer. I need to leave right away and I need to take Darcy with me."

A tear rolls down her cheek at the prospect of losing her daughter – both her daughters. Priscilla is the proud mother of three sons. A day before her husband was killed, he found a girl in the middle of the woods, swaddled in her blanket and crying her little heart out. The lovely man immediately brought her back home to his wife who had always yearned for a daughter. She named her after her late husband, Darwin.

Priscilla always left Darcy with her youngest son when she came to work. But after he started going to work with his other brothers, Darcy accompanied Priscilla. I still remember the day I first met her. It was the moment I had fallen in love with her. My friend, my lover, my soulmate.

Priscilla nods once and takes a step back, "I know what to do. Meet me at the back door of the castle. I will have her ready."

I snatch the bag off of the floor and open the hidden door above the headboard of my bed just as Priscilla locks my bedroom from the outside. I step on to the wooden plank and jump on the creaking step and make a sprint for my life. It doesn't take long for me to reach the back door – Priscilla and Darcy already waiting there with her own prepacked bag. We had anticipated this day.

The dried tears on my lover's face crush my heart. I will not forgive my father for this. I soon reach them and Priscilla combs her fingers through both our hairs. "Be careful and do not come back for a while. Things will take a long time to settle."