Faith

Chapter Four

A/N Hey guys, sorry it been so long I will try and make updates more frequent.

It was a few hours before the royal family had finished dinner but she promise to deliver the leftovers, slowly she walked down the stone hall way towards the princes chambers being careful not to drop the tray of food. She comes to a halt at an iron branded door. Shifting the tray into one hand she uses her free one to knock on the door, suddenly the door is swung open and she is abruptly pulled inside all the food crashing to the ground.

Maria stumbles into the room trying to regain her balance; she hears the door slam behind her and quickly spins around gaze locking on to a frantic Hunter swiftly darting around the room trying to pack enough stuff into a satchel. At first she is puzzled by his actions but soon comes to the realization of what he intends to do, he has been acting strange ever since his dad told him that the crown will go to him and not and not his older sister. It would never have occurred to her that he didn't want it.

"Maria I need you to do something for me" Hunter said slowly his speech so it would come out as a sentence instead of a jumbled mess.

"And what is that your Highness?"

"When I go to leave the castle I need you to cover for me or come with me" he says looking Maria straight in the eyes, his eyes betraying him showing her just how desperate he actually is.

"How am I going to cover you? The castle is crawling with guards how in the world am I supposed to distract all of them!?"

"I will dress in rages and we can sneak out together, if I'm with you they won't suspect a thing" Hunter says with a little too much enthusiasm.

Marie puts her hand on her hip and looks sternly towards the ignorant prince. "So I am nothing?! Just an insect towards you people, like nothing valuable in anybody's eyes! You have some nerve you posh twit...but I will help you since you asked". The corner of her mouth lifted showing a small smile as she thinks. 'He needs me, a prince of all things.'

Maria quickly leaves the room, rushing towards the wash room to find some rags that will actually fit Hunter. Opening the door to the washroom she can smell the soap in the air of freshly washed clothes, Maria searches around the room for a few minutes before she comes across a large pile of material with just the right clothes in them. She bends down and takes a handful and then leaving the wash room quicker then she arrived, running back down the hall all she can hear her heart beating like a drum in her chest and the slight ache in her knees as her feet hit the stone floor.

When she re-enters Hunters chamber she finds him shifting nervously in the arm chair by the window, looks of uncertainty spread across his face.

"I have the clothes you requested, I suggest you get changed now and that we leave as soon as possible"

"I agree my father will be doing his checking routine soon and I want to be as far away as possible before he realises I'm gone" Hunter says quickly as he takes the pile of material from Maria.

Maria turns her back to Hunter so he can change into the rags. 'Hopefully he looks the part' Maria says quietly to herself so Hunter wouldn't hear. Once Hunter finished changing, he put his satchel strap over his head so that it could rest on his shoulder; Maria's back was still turned so as he was ready he grabbed her arm and ran towards the open window in his chambers. Maria knew what he was planning and she began to struggle as they ran. They came to a halt as they reached the window and a smirk appeared onto the prince's face. He released his grip from her arm and picked her up so that she was cradling in his arms. "You ready?" Her eyes widened and as soon as she opened her mouth to protest he had already jumped. She held in her scream as they were falling from the height, in a matter of seconds they had landed in a soft spot, as it felt, a pile of hay below his window. All Maria could think. 'He knew it was there...cheeky bastard'.

They both got up from the pile and dusting the hay off each other, Hunter noticed a few pieces in her delicate red hair. He reached his hand out towards her and took the pieces out. Maria's cheeks flushed with a bright pink but Hunter did not notice from the darkness. They both looked to see if the coast was clear and it was, he again grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the stables as they ran. Hunter let go of her arm as he approached the stables quietly, he opened the doors and whistled as to call something; in the next moment the proud white stallion approached the couple and Hunter smiled as he put his hand on the horses head. "Meet Boue, my best friend. He will take us where we need to be but we better hurry".

Maria nodded as she walked to the horse, she was cautious as she has never been so close to these creatures. Hunter came up behind her and placed his hands on her waist to lift her onto the saddle, once she was in place Hunter then climbed on himself and put his arms around her as he held the reins. Again Maria blushed without the Prince's notice. He moved the reins to indicate the stallion to move; as they passed through the gardens behind the palace it was strangely quiet. No sounds of guards but only the sounds of the hooves hitting the gravel. Once they were out of earshot of anything they picked up the pace and rode fast out of the grounds, concealed by the trees within the garden. As they approached the back gate at the end of the gardens, they came to a final halt. Maria could feel the tension within Hunter as his breathing rate became slow. Hunter looked back at the castles, reminded of memories, those good and those bad. "Goodbye...shall we meet again". He sighed as he spoke quietly. He looked back towards the gate and tightens his grip on the reins. Ready. They rode straight towards the gate fast as they burst through them. Surprisingly they felt no pain as they rode on into the darkness of the night. Leaving everything behind. 

Maria's grip onto Hunter went tighter as they rode passed the great trees that seemed to fly by at their speed. Boue's legs were practically flying as they crossed the wooden bridge that lay over the wide river, where hunter used to play as a child with Cassandra. Hunter stops Boue for a second to look at what he is leaving behind, his face shows no emotion except for the little tear that rools down his cheek. Turing back around Boue starts to gallop again taking them far away from the castle.