Runaway

Chapter 1: Princess Duties

A young girl was sitting by a river. She gazed at it longingly. How she wished she could go for a swim. She wished she could be a carefree child. Just for a day, she wished to let go of her duties. She wanted to go play with her brother and her friends. She had a daring idea. She would neglect her duties for an hour. She would play here. Then she could return home and accept her punishment. It wouldn't be so bad. After all, this would be her first time disobeying the Queen. She reached her foot to the first stepping stone. It was ritual to cross the river before play. All the children could do so with ease. She had never tried but it looked easy enough. Balance was the key. Her dress scrunched up in her tiny hands, she took a step. One foot after the other foot. She was nearing the center of the river.

"Victoria! Where are you? You're late for tea time!"

Victoria's concentration wavered for a split second. That was enough to send her tetterring. She fought to keep her footing on the slippery rocks. She tried so hard, but it was to no avail. She let out a small screech as she slipped into the river's rushing water.

The water was cold around her. In he fear, she forgot how to swim. Her arms and legs felt awkward. She didn't know what to do with them. The current pulled her along, down the river. Her dress was weighing her down. It was trying to drag her to the bottom of the river.

She felt something pulling her back. Her dress had caught on a rock. She didn't know if she was relieved or frightened. She was stuck in a freezing cold river with her dress caught on a rock. The current was racing around her legs. She felt little animals and plants floating around her legs.

She realized the river was not nice at all times. She should have remembered that children only played here at noon. The river was calm then. Now, in the early morning, the river was a cold-hearted beast. It was not at all a time for play.

Rip! Rip!

That didn't sound good. The girl started panicking. Her dress was ripping. What would she wear if it ripped? She would be humiliated. A princess shouldn't be seen in a tattered dress. That was a peasant job.

She hadn't wanted this. She hadn't wanted this at all. All she wanted was a break. A break from being princess. A chance to be a carefree child. But she wasn't a carefree child. She would never be one. She was being raised as a princess. She had been chosen. She should feel honored, but she didn't. She felt a huge burden on her shoulders. She wanted to leave all.

Rip! Rip!

But before she could plan her getaway, she had more important matters to deal with. She would have to survive this river and maybe a punishment.

She tumbled forward as her dress ripped free of the rock. She flew down the river. The current's speed was rapidly increasing. She saw why. She was headed for a waterfall. She would die. She was ready to accept her fate.

She had been stupid for thinking she was like other children. She would never be like them. She would die trying to become one. She was raised to accept the consequences for her mistakes. If she were like other children, she would have fought till her last breath to stay alive.

She closed her eyes as she neared the edge of the river. It was time. Time for her doom. She relaxed. She wanted her spirit to move on. When she died she did not want someone else to have to help her rest in peace. When she died she wanted to go on her own. Not like her mother, who died cursing the world. Who was now haunting her deadbeat husband. She wanted to be like the Queen, ready to rest in peace.

She plunged down. She was nearly upright. The water was colder than freezing. It was faster than ever. She knew that there were rocks at the bottom of the waterfall. Rocks that would painfully impale her.

She knew that the children would find her. She pitied them. She would most likely scar them for life. Her body would impaled through her stomach. Her dress would be covered in blood. It would be tattered. Her guts would probably be spewed everywhere. She would not look like a princess. She would look like a traveler in a dress. After all, no one here would go to the river in the morning. Only a foreigner would that. She would have a peaceful look on her face for such a gruesome death. That would be her only princess feature.

She envisioned hundreds of other gruesome scenarios. She didn't have the innocent princess mind that could evolve into a mature Queen. She had seen life's horrors before she came here. Her brother. No. Don't think about him. She forced him out of her mind. She would not let him ruin her peaceful ending. She would not let the resentment take over.

She stopped. She stopped falling. What? Was she dead? This didn't feel like death. She still felt the cold water pounding down on her. She wasn't impaled. She wasn't bleeding. She felt suspended in air. If that was the case, who? Where were they?

She opened her eyes. She stared up at a ceiling. It was gray and dark. She was in a cave. Wasn't she falling to her death? Why was she in a cave? Who saved her? Why?

"I know you must have a million questions running through your mind. Don't worry. I will answer them all."

A man was sitting opposite of where Victoria was sitting. He was wearing a suit, oddly enough. He looked like a businessman.