I Will Be Strong

#1

Gravel crunched under her boots as she sprinted across the courtyard. The burning in her lungs and thighs screamed at her to stop, but she couldn't. Not now. Any time spent regaining her strength could sign Postea's death warrant. And she was not about to lose another close friend.

She stumbled around the corner of her old home, ignoring the burly young man who had begun to chase her. She knew he would be no trouble to outrun, but the possibility of the mountains of rock-hard muscle that he possessed grabbing her and dragging her back to that disgusting cell still caused her heart to jolt. She continued to run; nausea and a splitting headache beginning to consume her energy. She couldn't keep this up for much longer. If she didn't find Postea soon, she knew she would collapse in a sobbing heap on the unforgiving ground that she had been thrown upon so many times before.

The man continued to chase her; coughing and spluttering as he choked on the dirt her boots had unsettled. She didn't dare look back to see him close in on her, she had to try and remember where her father had built the gallows in the maze of Fylak castle. She let herself recall a memory of long ago. One she had forced herself to push down into the darkness of her mind, never again to be recalled. Until now.