GuinMon Oneshots

Prompt #2 | The Runaway Princess

The Runaway Princess
Part One

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The abrupt sound of a brown leaf crunching beneath her feet caused her beating core to skip a thump as she hesitated in the darkness; the woman glanced down at the placement of her foot, slightly lifting it as she looked around nervously, her green eyes reaching beyond the tremendous trees that towered dangerously above her.

Guinevere Baroque, the auburn-haired princess from the prosperous Castle Gorge, felt fearful for the second time after her brisk escape. It was certainly unusual of her to allow an emotion that rarely made an appearance to alter her behaviour for she was the youngest yet the unruly member of House Baroque.

The princess could handle any situation well and prevent her emotions from governing her thoughts or actions, no matter the circumstance. However, it seemed as though ever since she had discreetly left her castle, Guinevere was struggling to maintain her ordinary manner. She followed her older brother's actions and departed like he had done, though this time, she was searching for him in need of assistance.

It was said that the nobles from House Paxley, a family with an extremely high magical status, had proposed marriage to House Baroque; Guinevere is undoubtedly the only and reasonable alternative, however, her father did not have the decency to raise the important question to Guinevere himself. Instead, the Duke of House Baroque had agreed to go through and accept the marriage proposal without her consent and only informed her about the subject after the private arrangement.

The woman had been speechless as her father had informed her delightfully, unable to comprehend the bravery of the aged man as he created a decision without one's approval. Still, he did not seem to listen to Guinevere's instant refusal, and after their hectic disagreement and the tantrum she carried out when she had furiously thrown the nearest vase and screamed like a young child, the woman had fooled her father into believing that she had steadied and that her temper had subsidised, only to persuade him into describing her potential husband. She should at least know that much.

When her father had first mentioned the man, Guinevere's breath had stumbled in her throat as her twinkling emerald-green orifices broadened.

"Duke Paxley?" she had whispered to herself as her father paced around his dimly lit office, bobbing his head at his daughter's mumble. Her arm had instinctively tucked under the other and acted as support as her finger lay on her chin thoughtfully. The applauded Duke of House Paxley wished to be connected to her by marriage, and such a thought had sent a vast surge of astonishment coursing through her veins, causing her to nearly disregard her earlier refusal.

There was certainly no questioning when speaking about the man's, Aamon Paxley's, attractive features and captivating manner. He was truly different from the rest of his family as he possessed the most intriguing atmosphere that wavered in the air around him, causing the other nobles and their pride to scuttle back under the rock they emerged from. However, his unique ash-grey hair and pale-grey eyes along with the minor scar at the bottom of his cheek was something that Guinevere could never privately dislike.

She recalled discerning the Paxley during an annual ball that took place every chilly October, when the trees had lost their natural colour and the toned leaves had huddled together on the ground. Even then, Guinevere could not deny it herself that the duke had been appearing finer than ever with his choice of colours: a clean white along with a fair red and a small amount of black.

Through the throng of nobles and guests, Guinevere had unconsciously met his icy-blue stare and like that it had remained until she had to forcefully tear her orifices off of him. She evidently recalls the rush of immediate emotion tingling her senses as she fused into the crowd and slithered out of sight. That particular ball had been last October's occasion, and now it was September, almost a year since the last event had taken place. So had she truly caught the eye of the well-respected duke? If so, then why had it taken him extremely long to conduct a marriage proposal?