Aleeza-the Star Summoner

Runaway

I'm trying to speed up these background chapters as much as possible. I don't hate them-I'm just eager to get to the best parts!

When Aleeza woke up, she looked at the damage done by the strange blade and was relieved that it stopped bleeding. It looked like an abnormally long scratch. Thankfully, it didn't go too deep.

She still looked disgusting with blood all over. So she immediately took a bath while thinking over the plan. She would leave today. She couldn't wait any longer.

As soon as she finished bathing, she got dressed in travel clothes. They needed to be practical but still show everyone she was a member of society and shouldn't be messed with. It wasn't cold; autumn had just started, so she only grabbed a light coat to wear and packed everything else. She used a lot of suitcases and bags. It would be hard to carry them, but that was what a carriage was for.

After she finished packing everything she might need, she still needed funds. She carefully packed all of her jewelry which might be worth something, but she needed more, like her Mom's jewelry or her Dad's money. Both would be great options.

She knew stealing was wrong, but the way she saw it, she wouldn't take more than her dowry so that her parents could use the money themselves.

A fair trade, she thought to herself while looking for her Mother's jewelry. She could sometimes sense what type of stone it was or where it was located, a skill that came in handy, especially now. Aleeza's parents couldn't leave the valuables out in plain sight but hidden in a drawer, apparently.

She paused before filling her bag with all the jewelry. Her Mom might have sentimental value to some of them. Besides, cash would be easier to make purchases with. So she fumbled around the other draws until finally-

"Yes!" she exclaimed quietly when she found it. Gold bars and bundles of cash were precisely what she needed. She began to fill her purse. When she finished, she only had the matter of a carriage. She couldn't use her parents. The diver was loyal to her father and would definitely rat her out.

So instead, she decided to walk into town and hire someone with her newly acquired cash and told them to meet her at her house. She knew she risked someone seeing, but she just hoped to be quiet and quick. Her parents surely wouldn't make that much of an effort to find her. Right? She told the driver to come in the middle of the night to avoid getting stopped before she left the driveway.

She waited all day in anticipation, hoping no one would investigate why her room looked so empty or why her father's money wasn't in its place. But no one noticed anything amiss, and the family's day went by smoothly.

When night came, she watched out the window with anticipation, her suitcases at the ready. Then finally, her carriage pulled up. She smiled. Everything was working out.

She quickly went downstairs and greeted the driver.

"Can you help me with my bags? They're upstairs first door to the right," Aleeza said, and he nodded. "And be quiet, please," she added.

The driver nodded again. He noticed something was off the minute the girl told him to come at night.

And they were off to Os Alta. Thankfully nothing went wrong as Aleeza slept most of the way there.

She awoke to a knock on the carriage door. "Ma'am, some soldiers would like to talk to you," her driver informed her.

She yawned and stepped outside to talk to the soldiers. It was simply a security checkpoint. They asked what she was doing, and she was forced to lie, saying she was visiting her cousins that had a permanent house there. Which was true, just not the fact she would be going there.