• Royal chains and cages •

| • 1 • The Day • |

Madilyn's POV
•
Us, people, we're like a flower.
Some, with brighter colours, some darker, some small, and some with a thicker stem.
Some stand alone, and some grow close together.

But in the end, all of us are vulnerable. All of us break eventually.
There is no endless tugging. We are temporary. We are easy to end.

But I had never realized how roughly the wind of life could blow.
How hard it could be not to snap.
How desperately you could want to bow, give up, and be blown away.

And there was not a single part of me, that expected this day to turn into that amount of devastating wind.
•

"Today, today is finally the day.. Can you believe it?" My fiancé turns to me, the biggest smile on his handsome face, his warm hand lightly squeezing mine, as his eyes once again trail over my figure, in the wedding dress his mother had handmade for me. It was slightly too big.

My gaze rests on our intertwined fingers. I look up at him for a split second and serve him a warm smile, one that I believe he deserves. 'I never thought it'd come.' His laughter fills the empty, loomingly pale, white hall where our reception is supposed to be held. Realizing this ties my stomach into a tight knot, and I swallow- feeling his sharp gaze upon me.

"Madilyn..?"

No answer. I can't bear to look him in the eye as I let my fingers slip away from his, taking a small step back. Ever so small. And yet shallowly observed by my husband to be. 'I won't run. I can do this. But I need a small walk..-' "Why, Madi?" He snaps.

The sharp undertone, concealed by the depth of his voice, awakens my fight or flight instinct. But I force myself to smile at him. And keep calm.. God, please keep calm..

'I'm sorry.' I really am.

'But I need this right now. I promise you, me and the dress will be back in good quality.'

A joke he made first, but this time he doesn't laugh, simply sighs. He agrees- I know he does that just to keep me happy. The real struggle, he'll never understand. So I take his hand between mine and raise to the tips of my toes to kiss his cheek, which is evenly covered in unshaved peach fuzz. He knows I adore it this way.. Not too long. Not too short.

'It's going to be a beautiful day.. Why don't we savour it?'
After another sigh, he finally looks me in the eye and forces a small smile. "Alright, Mads. Whatever you need. But don't be back late, I love you."

He presents a quick kiss to my cheek- and then takes his leave to go fix up the flowers. Or so, that was his excuse, at least. I know he doesn't understand how to handle these issues. If he has a choice, he tends to leave on the regular. I've gotten used to it by now.

And so I turn my back on the old castle for rent, just minutes later, the white of the veil swirling with the wind behind me. I don't tend to leave for long.. But these fields carry such beauty. It'd be a wasteful shame if I didn't let myself enjoy the freedom, that the stretched land offers me.
I look back once more, my green eyes darting over the ivy covered walls of the old castle. A place in Scotland.. Where my fiancé dreamt to get married. And I couldn't say no to the landscape.

Now, in the present day, I don't regret my choice. When the walls closed in, and my heart called out to be surrounded by the chilly breezes, this was out here, just waiting for me. Beauty.

A bit farther from me- something sparks in the light of the sun. I adjust my gaze towards the quick blow of white light I saw and discover a river, with water clear, and more bright blue than the most adventurous of eyes. My steps immediately lead the way towards the small stroke of cold liquid. I need to see it, I need to dip my fingers into the fresh pit of nature.

For myself. And to bring ease to my pained heart.

I kneel down next to the cold water, counting the many silver stones that lay at the bottom subconciously. There's many, is what I decide before letting my fingers glide over the surface of the river. It's nice. It's cold. It's heartwarming and yet freezes the skin.

Minutes pass me by without me realizing it.
I know, somewhere in my mind, that I should head back- that I should get up, before the liquid nature presents would soak the fragile fabric of my dress. Oh, the effort that poor woman put into every stitch.. She sure wants to set her son up for a proper marriage.

A gentle sigh escapes my glossed lips. 'I don't know if that's something I'll be able to bring him, I'm so sorry miss.' Is what I should have said. Instead of the stumble, the agreement.

I love him, of course I do.. But I cannot give him what he needs.

While my thoughts wander, with the freedom of the wind, I forget the world around me. And sadly, bitterly, heartwrenchingly, I do not hear the faint steps behind me that very same second. Oh, if I would've paid just the least bit of attention to my surroundings..

I miss the shadow- just when it's too late, I notice the lingering shape that the sun reflects beside me on the pale coloured rocks. I turn within a flinch-

A man, clothed darkly, made to look like nothing but a black hole, plaguing vision, leans over me. All that I see are his grey eyes- a different kind of grey than my partners.. Sharper.. Colder..

A shiver runs down my fragile spine and I open my mouth to speak.

But he's faster. Instantly, his rough hands snatch the nearest rock- he raises it above his head, and a squeal slips from my lips. Straight panic widens my eyes, but no further defense I can provide for myself than my arms flashing in front of my face within a mere second.

'NO! Plea-'
TLUK.

The sharp stone cuts deeply into the side of my head, the thin skin of my temple crashing at the impact, knocking me down. "What, bitch? Say that again?"

These mockingly meant words guide my consciousness into a realm far from here- a last flutter of my eyes observing the world as it is faintly.. Then I pass out, my body slipping off of the border that the rocks created for the cold water stream.