Inferno's legacy (On Hold)

Chapter 11

Eretria pushed through the crowd. She could hear Roman calling her but she refused to pay attention to him. This was definitely not what she was expecting when she decided to meet up with the old man. Who knew he'd be so knowledgeable? Honestly, she had no expectation. She didn't even know what to think after the fire. Now this? She was a descendant of some kind of goddess that humanity idolized because she saved them?

If she had expected to hear the worst, this wasn't on her list. She had questions and they needed to be answered. First, she'd start with the king. He had to be keeping a lot from her and she was going to find out what.

She broke into a run before she knew it, relishing in the way the wind whipped on her face. She had discarded her coat at the physician's place. Her black hair was free, flying with the wind as she ran. She didn't know why but running felt like the only sane thing to do. There was something at the back of her mind, urging her to run before all this became too much to bear or escalated into something she couldn't handle.

But why had she believed his words so easily? She didn't easily trust people. Definitely not the nonsense the old man spewed. But she believed, because somewhere at the back of her mind, she had always known she was different. Denying it didn't change it.

She had long lost Roman in the crowd. She stopped for a moment to catch her breath and glanced around the market place. The market place was lively, bustling with people, filled with chatters. She began strolling leisurely, seemingly forgetting about what she had earlier learned and taking in her surroundings. Being a princess was nothing but a bondage. A supposingly free bird trapped in a luxurious cage. She couldn't even freely enjoy the small things of life.

She walked around, glancing at the stalls, at the merchants and the people when she felt someone mirroring her steps. It could be Roman, he finally found her. For a moment, she felt guilty running off like that but she couldn't just stand there and swallow those words while Roman basked in a painful silence. She glanced over her shoulder. She was met with a mop of dirty brown hair and hawk like eyes staring straight at her. A chill ran down her spine. Something about the scrutinizing look he was giving her made her uneasy. She faced forward and kept walking. Maybe he had recognized her. It hadn't been so long since her father had introduced her to the people.

She shook her head. They were no commoners at the ball. She glanced at him again to find him stalking behind her. He wasn't even hiding the fact that he was following her. For some reason, that made her panic. She hastened her pace, he did too, and soon, she broke out into a run. But she hadn't gone too far when she bumped into someone, falling backwards and landing on her butt. She glanced up with a frown and found him staring at her.

No. She hadn't bumped into him. He stepped in her way. He was stopping her. Her eyes widened in realization and fear. She sprang up and attempted to run in the opposite direction but he grabbed her arm harshly, she was sure she was bruised.

"Found you." He said with a sinister smile, grabbing her other arm.

She wiggled in his grasp but his hold on her was strong. She noted with a frown that the lively market place was behind her. Had she walked that far?

"Let me go!" She struggled, raised her knee and collided it with his crotch. His hold on her loosened in surprise. She took that as an opening, kicked him in the stomach and ran off.

She ran for a while, her head throbbing when she tripped and fell face down. Before she could pick herself up, she heard footsteps, then she saw them. Glancing forward, the large forest laid in front of her, her only escape. Ignoring the pain in her thigh, she got up and ran. Her heart was pounding against her ribcage, she  had no time to answer the questions flooding her mind. She had to be alive first to able to seek answers. But as she ran, she couldn't help but curse her luck.