𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 ❀ 𝙏. 𝙁𝙪𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙪𝙧𝙤 ❀

II - Runaway

My mother and father had never been so quiet before. They're silence made me feel worse somehow. After I had gone off to bed I could hear them talking in another room. "I'm going to pack her a bag, with some clothes and food, all the money I have. And I'm going to send her out. We can just say she ran away. If it falls back on us I'll take the blame. I will die in her place. She's barely 19. She hasn't courted a man, she's hardly left the village. There is so much left of her life. I refuse to let this be her demise." My mother says.

I wish I could see my father's face. I'd assume it to be a mixture of horror and madness. He was a calm, collected, hardworking man.

-

His daughter was his pride and joy. A beautiful, kind, smart woman that was just as hardworking as he. Now she was due to serve a man that was sure to kill her before she saw 20 years. Sorrow was not a good word, nor was fear. This feeling was much more violent, much more dangerous. This was anger.

First he blamed the townspeople, they are the ones who drew his daughter's name from that retched box.

But then he began to think of the people, his people. The people he worked amongst, the people he counted on, the people that counted on him. He knew they would never wish harm on him or his family. Everyone loved his daughter. Her very presence could brighten the room. She was not only known and loved in her own village, but neighboring tribes had grown to know and love Honey. What was there not to love.

He shifted his anger onto the true tyrant. King Fushiguro. No, he shouldn't soil the Fushiguro name in such a manner. Fushiguro stood for justice, for sanctity, and celebration. It is the tainted Zenin blood from the outcast that has caused this atrocity to fall onto his shoulders.

Honey was an only child. The only thing her parents had to show, and they were grateful for her. The last 19 years of razing her had been pure bliss. Her mother curses the thought. If she had only been a few years older she could have avoided this all together. Nonetheless she wouldn't just willingly hand over her daughter. Even if this sorry excuse for an escape ends futile, she will still try. She will try anything. Anything! If it means her daughter will live to see another spring.

-

I walked out of my room and stared my parents down, my eyes were heavy and I could barely breathe. "I won't leave. I won't run away. I won't let them kill you in my place." I say. It is the last thing I could choke out before breaking into a sob. "Have another child, mother. You are still young. Some wives don't have children 'till late in their 40's!" I say. My mother was only 37 years old. She could have another baby in my place. Forget about me and ... my mother slapped me.

Her hand was rough and cold.

"You listen to me Y/n. You will get on that horse. You will take this bag. And you will live." She says. Even past her brown skin I could see the light rosiness of her nose and eyes. How badly had she been crying, I wondered.

That was the first time I had heard my name in a while. The last time I had been called it was when I went swimming with my friends. I'm not sure why but I began to drown. They all called out for me. "Y/n! Y/n!" I could hear as they frantically whisked me onto land.

I was 12.

My name was only said when the situation was dire. So being addressed by it always sent chills up my spine. "Do you hear me Y/n?" My mother called out, grabbing my face and pulling it down, forcing me to stare her in the eyes. "Yes momma." I say, letting the tears cascade down my face. She pulled me into a deep, tight hug. "No matter what. Live. Never ever embrace death. It is cowardly and sick. Whatever you do my child, live!" She says. My mother pulled me into a tight hug, tight enough to break my ribs.

She breathed in deeply, and exhaled with a sharp sigh before relinquishing my body.

My father was never a man of many words, but I didn't expect him to only utter three to me. "I love you." He said.

Along with it he handed me a letter and a photo. It was a family photo from back when my grandparents were still living. I wanted to break down all over again when I saw it, but I managed to hold myself together.

My mother strapped a bag to my back and kissed my jaw. Her body was trembling. "Please, If you can. Write to me in no more than 3 months time. Honestly any time before I die would be beautiful", she says.

I stepped outside and looked back at my parents, glossy-eyed in the doorway. I hoisted my body onto the horse and trotted down the paved road into the thick forest.

There were hard branches and scary figures surrounding me, but I continued further. I needed to travel through my tribe into the Zenin territory to escape the Jujutsu empire. On horse with no access to main roads it was about a week's journey.

-

After the lottery, the selected are due to report to the castle the next evening to become acquainted with the palace life. When the king's loyal servant was nowhere to be found an all out search to find you. If you left the forest your capture was inevitable, so you stayed put. There was a small cave-like dwelling that you stayed in for about two days. Trying to ration out food and water as best you could. The nights were hot and dewy so you didn't have to worry much about making a fire.

On the fifth day of my travel you could see the edge of the Zenin territory. If you were able to make it a few more miles you would be free. It was shocking that you had even made it this far without being captured. For a moment a tinge of excitement surged through your body as the horse galloped along the thick wickets of the forest. There was one open green pasture in front of you. There were no trees to hide you but it was the only way to freedom, so you had to take the risk. There had been no signs of people not any sounds of guards so you were sure it would be safe. Just as you made it to the clear you heard a loud thunk. The horse slowed and finally collapsed.

You looked back to see the entire Zenin army lined up behind you. As if they were awaiting your arrival. Your father's horse had been shot in the hind legs, and the men had began making their way over to the disheveled scene. You grabbed ahold of your bag and began running on foot. You were oh so close, you could practically taste it. The vast terrain beyond this empire was in your grasp.

You ran and ran as fast as your legs would take you, until you could hear the sound of rumbling gallops filling your ears. So loud you could bleed.

Before you knew it you were surrounded. Arrows pointed at you in every direction. Men whose daughter's you've called friends. Men whose son's you have yearned to have for yourself. These same men drew swords in your presence and looked down on you in pity. "I have done nothing, nothing! So why must I go serve that wretched man. He is not my king, and has brought nothing but terror onto our land. You have to let me free. Please, I beg of you to let me free. I-I was so close." you plead.

You could hear a scoff from the crowd.

"You know the longest anyone has ever lasted in an escape attempt is two days. I'm quite impressed. I expected my servant to be some mannish boy that I would train as my guard, not some little girl. Congrats. You've impressed me." A voice coos. One of the men jumped off of his horse. He was the tallest and most muscular of all of the men. He took the knightly shield off from his face to reveal himself.

There he was, the king. Your new Lord.

"Why so quiet. Weren't you just begging for mercy a moment ago? Begging these guards not to take you to the wretched King?" He asks. You stayed impossibly silent, with your head glued down and my knees kissing the dirt beneath me. "Lucky you, no one will bring you to the tyrannical King. For the demon himself has come to take you himself. Lucky you indeed!" He says turning and walking off. A guard kneels down to your level and whispers.

"Crawl beside him. The last servant to walk behind him when he was upset was beheaded in seconds." He says. You choked back a sob and began to trudge by on your hands and knees. Toji stops and looks back at me. "Can you not walk? Did you hurt yourself on the horse?" He asks. "I- the- I- N-no." you stutter out. For some reason you couldn't speak right. The words wouldn't form in your throat. He sighs. "You are truly a handful." He says walking over to you and whisking you in his arms.

The other guards stood silently astonished. "You all are free, thank you for finding her. He says lifting himself onto a horse, balancing all the weight in your body in one hand. Toji took off and left the army in shock. They hadn't seen him so kind in years.