Ever After (BakuDeku)

Chapter One

"This is an awful idea," Hanta said, peering at the makeshift rope Katsuki had made.

"Shut up," Katsuki grumbled, tying the final bedsheet at the end and tying it to the leg of the bed.

He pushed the rope out the window, watching as it dropped to the ground below.

His bed had been stripped, the sheets being used to aid his escape. He had had to get creative with the rest of the parts of the rope, using a few thick shirts and a couple of the towels from the bathroom.

Katsuki could practically feel Sero's disapproval from behind him but chose to ignore him, double checking the safety of the rope.

He turned to look at Hanta, who leaned against the closed door, still in his guard uniform despite his shift ending half an hour prior. The dark haired man had an unreadable expression on his face, perks of being a royal guard.

"Once I'm safely to the ground, you can leave," Katsuki ordered, using a piece of regular rope he'd found to tie a lantern to his pants.

Sero sighed, walking to stand beside him, glancing to the assortment of items tied together to form what Katsuki was calling a rope, "are you sure it's safe?"

Katsuki scoffed, "of course it's safe."

Hanta looked at the blond with a glimmer of amusement in his eyes as he said, "good, because I'd hate for you to break your royal neck."

Katsuki stuck his tongue out before carefully climbing out the window, lowering himself to the dark ground below.

He stepped out of the way as Hanta dropped down a bag, full of clothes and drinking water.

It was past midnight and dark enough for Katsuki to slip into the trees that bordered the castle without being seen by the guards. 

He didn't plan on being gone long, just long enough to clear his head and get away from the expectations of being a prince. As he got older, his mother began talking more and more about marriage, a topic he wasn't ready to discuss. He'd been on "dates" with foreign princesses and other nobility but none of them interested him. He couldn't quite place why and it was bugging him. 

Once he had gotten far enough, he grabbed the box of matches out of his back pocket and struck a match, letting the flame dance in the lantern before shaking the match.

~

The sun peeked over the horizon in beautiful shades of reds and yellows, alerting Katsuki of the passing hour.

His feet ached, having walked all night but he refused to stop moving, even for a moment. 

The deer trail he had been following gradually changed into a dirt trail, used by carriages and people.

Katsuki pulled the hood of his cloak over his head, not wanting to be recognized. 

He followed the path until he came across a separate one that he guessed led to someone's home, a family that by the looks of the area, was a fairly wealthy family. 

The blond debated his options for a moment. He didn't want to be seen but on the other hand, it was only a matter of time before a search party was set out to find him. A horse would get him places faster.

Deciding the latter was the best choice, Katsuki stepped into the trees around the path leading to the house, once more walking carefully.

As he had hoped, he found the stables which housed only three horses, despite having room for a lot more. So far, he had been lucky enough to avoid any workers and hoped his luck would continue.

Katsuki doubted the family would take too kindly to him stealing a horse, even if he was the heir to the throne. 

He quickly chose a horse at random and saddled it up, placing a small bag full of gold coins on the stall opening just in case he didn't bring the horse back.

The horse paced anxiously and the moment Katsuki got on it, he could tell the animal wasn't going to be the friendliest.

~

As he galloped back the way he had come, he suddenly felt something hard hit his arm, and then another and another until he tumbled off the horse, hitting the grass.

T.B.C