Piles of blonde hair were scattered all over the floor. Aeliss studied her reflection in the mirror, barely recognizing the person she saw.
Her former long bangs hung into her eyes, and the hair that had almost reached the waist before now barely reached the back of her neck.
The person in the mirror didn’t look like her. Or rather it did.
The long hair had always made her look like a lady. But she was no lady and neither was the person in the mirror.
Staring at her new reflection, she felt the numbness lift. This was the person she was. Under the short blonde hair, a pair of blue eyes shone with fire.
She heard footsteps in the hallway outside. Panic running through her, she froze. She could not do this. She could not marry this man and become some insignificant trophy wife.
She had to get out.
Someone knocked on the door. “Milady?” A voice asked. She had to think fast.
“Please give me fifteen more minutes.” She yelled. She heard the person on the other side of the door agree, and asking her to please hurry. Oh yes, she was going to hurry…
Pulling out a bag from the closet, she started collecting her belongings. There was not much she really cherished, so she hurried packing some clothes. Reconsidering, she grabbed her jewelry and whatever other values she had. The money she had on her wouldn’t support her for long, so she needed a backup plan.
Grabbing a coat and swinging the bag over her shoulder she looked around the room, trying to locate the best flight route. Leaning out the window, she stared at the ground. Two floors down…
There was no way she could jump down there without breaking a leg. And that would seriously hinder her escape…
The only other possibility was the door to the hallway. She learned against it, listening for any movement outside. Then silence was all that met her, she made up her mind. She prayed to whatever deity was listening before grabbing the doorknob and opening the door slowly.
She carefully stuck her head out of the door and looked around. She found no one in sight, so she stepped out into the hallway.
Everyone should be at the dining hall, preparing for the ceremony. The only way towards the hall from her room was turning left from here.
Careful not to make any sound, she turned right and started running down the hallway. She passed several doors, each time praying that none of them would open.
She came to a stop as she reached the end of the hallway. The left turn would take her towards the servant’s entrance. If she was lucky, in all the confusion she would manage to pass by there without getting noticed and get out of the door there. If she turned right she would get to her grandfather’s study…
A sudden thought struck Aeliss. Without hesitating she turned right and ran.
There was something else she wanted to bring with her.
She reached the door to Kiann’s study, after passing several more doors and going down a staircase, without encountering anyone. Praying it wouldn’t be locked, she turned the doorknob. The door went up with a slight creak. Hurrying inside, she closed the door slowly behind her.
She looked around the large room. Where could it be?
Wasting no time, she went to the large bookcase that covered an entire wall. It was filled with books, documents and boxes of varying sizes. Starting from one side, she searched through all boxes lined up on the shelves.
YOU ARE READING
Valkyrie's Judgment
FantasyAeliss grew up as a noble, far from the reaches of the criminal underworld. Never had she thought that she would end up as an assassin’s apprentice, and later become the assassin known as Valkyrie. A valkyrie, the female warrior who judged who shoul...
