The Princess of Two Worlds

chapter one

Clothes lay strewn all over the floor, including materials such as toothbrushes that had the bottom tips sharpened in a desperate attempt to make a knife. A pair of hands quickly struggled to push them all into the knapsack in the flickering light. Once done with this strenuous task, they flung it over their shoulder and headed to the barred window.

Precisely using their fingers to unscrew the left top and bottom bolt that had been messed with for years, the person stepped onto the ledge, slipping between the pillar and the secure window. Taking a deep breath of the chilly night air, they turned and grabbed a handful of the vine that was climbing up the wall. Trying not to remember the height difference between the window and the ground, they descended down as quickly as possible, their feet attempting to get a firm grasp on each solid stem as quickly as possible until finally, the figure's feet touched the grassy surface.

Breaking into a run, the hood on their head barely staying, shouts were suddenly heard mixed with the whinnies of horses. Pushing their feet to go faster, the person maneuvered around the well-trimmed hedges and flowers, having the intricate design of the maze memorized by the sound of the gardeners who worked throughout the day. The trampling of one horse echoed loudly behind them. They quickly ran right into an area where the beast and its rider wouldn't be able to go. Suddenly, there was a clink and when they turned around, he leaped onto them, making the two roll and reach the edge of the marble fountain.

Raising himself on two arms, he looked down and pulled the hood off, revealing her long caramel-blonde hair. "What are you doing out of your tower? Princess Evaline."

"Clearly trying to get away from you!" She spat in the General's face.

Unsurprisingly, he was unfazed and casually wiped it off. "You will be going back. That is an order from your brother, His Majesty."

"No! Get off of me!" The girl wriggled under. "You are the most wretched thing to exist!"

"And why should I let you go?"

She narrowed her violet eyes. He knew the answer, however, at all costs he would never listen. "I need to go to The Covered Lakes."

Grabbing her wrist, the man pulled her up and started to drag her back in the direction of the castle. Evaline dug her heels in the dirt, scratching and clawing at his hand. "General Leo, I demand you to let me go!"

"If you comply, I will."

"Okay, I will."

"Bluffer."

She threw her other hand in the air. "Oh, come on! I'm not staying in that tower! You won't make me!"

Spinning around, Leo stared hard at her, icy silence making the words die in her mouth. Before she knew it, she was thrown over his shoulder, his arm over her waist, a place where no one from the opposite gender had ever been around.

"General, I am not a bag! This is no way to treat a lady and a princess at that!"

His head swiveled back and forth. "Lady? Where?"

The girl continued to pound on his back, shouting expletives at him, at least the ones she had heard from her little window. As they entered through the guards' training center, she could feel the many eyes that were on her as they had never seen the fifth princess of Alesita since the day of the royal coronation, or from her last attempt at escaping. Finally, she crossed her arms and let herself hang from his shoulder, accepting the turn of events.

Leo put her down and told the guards that the event never happened, most likely to save everyone's hides. Turning to her, he asked, "Would you like something to eat?"