A Tale of Crown and Country

Lea

Lea ran. She sprinted through the back alleys of Aldira, letting the soft wind rush past her ears, revelling in the slap of her shoes on the stone, smiling at her own audacity. The city looked different to her now. From down here amongst the lines of ill-fitting buildings, between the rows of sandy coloured structures, stepping over wooden crates and stepping around stray cats, she felt as if her whole life she had been a stranger to her own country; as if she'd always been looking at it through foggy glass. Now it wasn't only crystal clear, it was deafeningly real. Sounds were louder, smells stronger, her eyesight sharper. Lea was overwhelmed by the intoxication of her senses. Aldira was a lot to take in, and despite living here her entire life, she was taking it in for the first time.

    Once the adrenaline of her actions passed through her system and she stopped running in the shadows, she realized what she had to do next. As soon as the duke realized she was gone he'd send the footmen looking for her. Once he returned to the castle her father would send every available soldier to infuse the streets of Aldira. They would cover the city faster than she could. She had to get out of here; there was no going back after this. Father would be angry beyond belief. No, she had to get out of Aldira; see more of the country in the same way she'd come to see Aldira for the first time. The faster she could get out of the capital the better. She didn't know these streets well, and she knew that the gates were already heavily surveilled. Top that off with the added problem of the soldiers looking specifically for her and Lea knew it'd be a feat just to get past the walls.

    First things first, she needed to get out of these clothes. The bright colours, long sleeves, and silken  fabric gave her away more than her sun-kissed brown hair and dark brown eyes. She hadn't been planning on running away, but she did have her coin purse on her, tucked into the wide belt at her waist. She had more than enough money to get by, she figured. More than enough to buy a new dress anyway. Lea pulled the purse out and let a few coins fall into her palm. They clinked together as she counted them: three was enough for a simple dress, right?

    Out of the corner of her eye she caught a flash of red. She looked up to see the back of a soldier, looking up and down the street. Panic flashed and Lea's stomach roiled. She stepped into the shadows and flattened herself against the wall behind a stack of crates. She peeked out over her hiding place to see the soldier peering into the darkened alley. Immediately she pulled out of view again.

    The soldier's boots crunched against the unkempt cobblestones. "Hello?" he asked into the darkness. "Someone there?"

    Lea pressed her hand against her mouth to block the sound of her own breathing. The soldier was slowly stepping ever closer to her hiding place, and she was not about to be caught minutes after her first real adventure. If anything the soldier added to her adrenaline, and it felt good. The fear rising in her chest gave way sporadically to elation. She was having a proper adventure and it was amazing.

    "Hello?" the soldier asked again.

    Lea panicked and tried to imitate a cat meowing.

    The soldier stopped his advance. Lea peered over her hiding place again to see him looking around the alley, his head on a swivel. He scratched his head and looked very confused.

    Lea tried meowing again. She cringed at her own efforts, glad no one was around to hear her embarrassment except for the confused soldier.

    "I know there's someone there," the soldier called. Lea's short glances and the soldier's uneasy declarations gave her hope; he was young, inexperienced, and most likely scared to advance deeper into the dark alley. He thought someone was messing with him. He'd placed his hand on his sword but hadn't yet drawn it.