Royal Runaway

Chapter Sixteen

Easthaven was most definitely a city. After camping out for another night in the woods, Jaylin and Madeline had gotten up early so as to make the trek to Easthaven. Luckily it was still secluded enough to be reached by woods, but it looked like Easthaven might be the last town they could find before they would have to start sleeping in towns.

Madeline and Jaylin arrived in Easthaven at what Madeline thought had to be at least eight o'clock in the morning. The city was full of hustle and bustle, folks going to work, kids riding bikes along the streets enjoying the last few days of summer. Madeline couldn't help but feel a little pull at her heart as she walked through the streets of Easthaven, as she passed mothers with their children. Madeline missed home.

Easthaven was a rather large city, but still had the feeling of a town. The streets were crowded, cars parked along the side of the roads, pedestrians always waiting to cross the street, cars zooming past. People walked up and along the sidewalks in front of little shop fronts. It seemed as if the whole city of Easthaven was abuzz with activity.

Madeline liked being in the busyness of the city, but it did scare her. She had no idea who might recognize her and what they would do when they did. Before they had gotten into the city, Madeline had made sure to pull her curly brown hair into a ponytail and had put her baseball cap over it, hoping to hide a lot of her face. She also put on her sunglasses. If Jaylin noticed any of Madeline's strange behavior, he didn't say anything.

The two were now walking along a sidewalk, trying to find a place to buy some food. They had counted up their money the night before and they had about $400 to spend, which they would have to ration depending on how long they planned to be on the run without earning any money.

"How about we go in here?" suggested Madeline, as they passed a small mini mart. "Or should we try and find an actual grocery store?"

Jaylin shrugged. "I have no clue. I didn't really think about the whole food thing before running." He chuckled, but there wasn't that much joy in it. Madeline couldn't blame him.

"Let's just check what's in here and see if we can make do." She pushed open the door, to find a small mini mart. They were no customers in the small shop. The only employee was sat behind the counter flipping through a magazine.

They made their way through the small shop, looking at all the junk food that was available. Madeline had to admit, she found not that much of it appetizing after having eaten it for the past few days. She glanced towards some beef jerky and grabbed a few packages of that, along with some pepperoni sticks. She headed towards the chips and grabbed some of those. She had no clue what kind of chips Jaylin liked, but she just guessed. She was about to make her way towards where Jaylin was, near the drinks, when she passed the magazine rack.

She took a look at the magazine all titled something about another celebrity breakup or someone getting pregnant. But then her eyes landed on the headline: Lost Princess! Kingdom in Shock! Suddenly Madeline's heart started beating faster than normal. She could feel her face and body getting warmer. Her stomach started doing flip flops as her anxiety started up.

This can't be happening, she thought desperately. Jaylin can't see this and we need to get out of town as soon as possible. Madeline looked again at the magazine. On the cover was a picture of her, taken only a few days ago at the ball, standing next to her parents. She was smiling in the picture, but Madeline knew that she wasn't happy. That picture was taken only moments before she had spoken with her parents, Quinten, and the Lord and Lady. Moments before her life had changed forever.

Madeline tried to turn her eyes away from the magazine, but she couldn't. It was like her whole body froze up, her limbs went limp.

"Maddie?" said Jaylin, coming up behind her.

Madeline snapped back, turning quickly towards him, hoping to block Jaylin's eyes from seeing the magazine. "Hi," she said, at little over enthusiastic. "You got everything?"

Jaylin nodded, looking confused and puzzled. "Let's go check out," Madeline said, grabbing his hand and dragging him towards the registrar and away from the magazine rack. They placed all of their items on the counter and the bored looking clerk started ringing them up. Madeline kept her eyes away from the clerk, hoping he wouldn't look up and recognize her.

Madeline heard the door open, the bell above it dinging as it did. Madeline turned her head slightly, to glance over and see that a little boy and his mother had entered the store. The little boy glanced up at Madeline and smiled. Madeline couldn't help it, she smiled back and waved at the little boy. The boy had messy blonde hair and cute dimples, that reminded Madeline of Jaylin's dimples. The boy smiled back at her, then turned towards his mom who was looking at the magazine.

The clerk was just finished ringing up their food, when they heard the little boy say, "That's her momma! I just saw her, she's over there. She waved at me." Madeline's body froze. Her hair stood on its end and she started to getting that flip-flop feeling in her stomach. This is it, she thought. This is the end.

"Oh honey, don't be silly," Madeline heard the mom say, "The princess can't be here." Shit. Madeline did not glance at the clerk as she handed him their money. She hoped he wasn't paying attention to their conversation. She also prayed Jaylin wasn't listening. Most of all Jaylin.

"But mom, she's right there!" The little boy said and Madeline was almost fairly certain that the boy was pointing at her now. The clerk was finished with their stuff and handed over two plastic bags.

"Thanks," Madeline said hurriedly, grabbing them and then rushing out the door. She didn't know if Jaylin was following her, but she didn't really care. She just needed to get away. She felt her stomach do jumping jacks because of her anxiety. Her hands were sweaty and clammy because of the nerves. She walked quickly down the sidewalk, hoping to find some place where she could calm down.

She saw a little alleyway and turned into it. She leaned against the brick wall and took a deep breath. Madeline slid down the wall, dropping the bags to the side. She put her head between her knees. She took a deep breath and exhaled. She took another breath and let it out again.

Panic attacks were something she was used to. She had had them ever since she was a little kid when she had to make public appearances with her parents. She had always had horrible stage fright but had learned to control it over the years. Now public appearances were manageable, but everyday experiences were difficult. Meeting new people especially or going into a new situation. Her anxiety was always off the walls whenever she started a new year of school.

Madeline then realized, this was the first time her anxiety had acted up since she'd ran away. She hadn't had a panic attack when she'd left the palace when she'd slept in the woods by herself or when she meet Jaylin who should have scared her the most. She didn't know what this meant and she wasn't sure how she felt about it.

"Maddie?" Madeline's head was still on her knees, but she knew who it was. Jaylin. She didn't look up, not wanting him to see the tears that had started falling down her face. She felt Jaylin take a seat next to her on the cold concrete.

"You okay?" Jaylin asked. Madeline wanted to answer him, she did, but no words escaped her lips. She also wanted to lift up her head, to at least acknowledge him, but it felt as if a pound of bricks was weighing her down, not letting her lift up her head. She didn't know if she was okay. It had been awhile since her anxiety had attacked her and she wasn't expecting it. Most times she knew when it would come, but this time, it crept up, sneaking up on her to give her a surprise attack. Finally, she shook her head. No.

Then Jaylin did something completely unexpected. He put his arm around her and pulled her close to him. Madeline didn't pull back. He smelt really good, despite being out in the wilderness for who knows how long. He smelt like pine trees. His arms were warm around her, strong and firm. She rested her head on his chest. He rested his chin on top of her head. In his arms, she felt safe. Safer than she had felt in a long time. She felt like he wouldn't judge her for all her flaws. Her body, her anxiety, her princess title (even though he didn't know about that.) She felt like he cared about her, even after such a short time together. And Madeline was so grateful for that.

It was that caring nature that led Madeline to cry in his arms. She let it all out. All the pain she had been feeling after leaving the palace. All the guilt and shame. All of the hurt and loss from missing her family. It had all gathered into a tight ball and now she let it all out. And when she was done, Jaylin wiped the tears from her eyes.