Crown of Roses

7 - Escape

For as long as she would live, Vianna would never forget the night she escaped Oriane.

For as long as she would live, she would never forget the screams. She would never forget the blazing fires, how they consumed the houses and stores. She would never forget how the castle looked, foreboding in the darkness and illuminated by the flames of the burning city around it. She would never forget the sheer violence of it all.

As she ran, she saw soldiers march. She caught glimpses of them converging toward the castle, pillaging and such on their way. Most bore Aclanian features--the dark skin, the broad bodies, the fierce faces. They bore the Aclanian Royal Family's crest on the backs of their red and orange uniforms, the colors matching the licking flames of their torches as they tore through the streets of the city she grew up in.

Many seized fleeing individuals and more than one tried to grab her as she fled. Each time she yanked away, avoiding their grasping hands as they tried to catch her. She pushed magic through her system, urging her legs to move faster and her feet to push off the ground harder. It nearly exhausted what small stores she had, but it got her out of the situation faster.

It only took a few minutes to weave through the crowded streets, dodging soldiers and fire as she sidestepped around the carnage that littered Oriane's streets. She came to the wall that separated the city from the world, looking up at the towering thing. She knew the gates weren't an option, her only plausible escape being that she scaled the wall somehow and fled.

She heard shouting, Aclanian words being spouted in a rapid-fire. While her knowledge of the language was small, she did catch a slur for magic-user being used frequently. The sounds of soldiers were enclosing on her on both sides of the small alleyway she was in, and she knew her time was running out with each step the soldiers took.

She looked at the wall and knew that her upper body strength wouldn't help her. While she was not weak, she wasn't exactly strong. Carrying packages and stirring cauldrons weren't really exercise. Her magic was low, what small amount she had nearly spent. She knew she would regret what she was about to do tomorrow and for many more days to come.

More shouts, a woman's voice mixed in. Great, a military official from the matriarchal society. Just lovely.

She looked at the home behind her, felt the burn in her muscles, heard the steps and shouts of soldiers, the metallic taste of magic heavy in her mouth, smelled the smoke of fire and copper of blood. Terror filled her, crowding her mind with unwanted thoughts. What if she failed? What if they caught her? What torture would she suffer?

The light of torches filled the dark alleyway, furious faces of soldiers charging toward her. Twenty steps on her left, seventeen steps away on her right.

Now or never.

She clawed up whatever magic remained in her, filling her burning limbs with the strength she needed for the stunt she was about to perform. Then she ran for the wall, angling herself so she could run up the side. At the right height, she pushed off, flipping and landing on the house she had just been against. Below, soldiers cried out with anger. Then, she backed up to the edge of the roof, sprinting forward and leaping up to grasp the edge of the wall.

Her arms burned as she hung for a moment, the Aclanians below shouting as they tried to grasp her dangling cloak and drag her back down from the alleyway she had just escaped. She heaved herself up onto the top of the wall, momentarily turning over so she lay on her back. Her chest heaved, her heart stuttering from the exertion of magic and strength she had just pulled off.

For a weak witch like her, it was a true feat.

Below, orders were shouted by the female Aclanian officers, trying to find ways to get her. She looked at the sky, studied the stars. This would be the last time she might ever see Oriane's sky. Her sister's voice in her pounding head softly named the constellations. Her own thoughts interrupted, reminding her that she was not yet out. Other Aclanian forces were on the horizon, coming to claim Desmor's capital and take control.