Lady Of Starlight

Chapter 2

It was about thirty minutes later when Alina finally saw light at the end of the tunnel. She was completely and uttearly filthy. She couldn't even begin to imagine how many spiders were on her right now. She was now belly crawling because the tunnel had gotten narrower a while back. She could feel her stomach bleed from being dragged across the ground for so long, her shirt now shredded to pieces. The end of the tunnel got closer and closer when finally she reached the end. Alina's fingers gripped the edge of the exit and pulled herself forward one last time. There was a grate sealing it closed. Alina flipped onto her back and started to swivel sideways to get her feet against the iron grate and her head further in the tunnel where her legs had once been. It was a tight fit but she just managed it when she tucked her legs in to reduce space. Once she was in position she propped her legs up on the grate and pushed. All she got was a groan from the rusty iron. She sighed and pulled her legs back as far as possible before slamming it into the exit, her bare feet barking in pain.The crash echoed throughout the tunnel.Alina lifted her head slightly to see... grass. Alina hadn't felt grass under her feet in years. She squirmed and squirmed until she started to move slightly out of the hole. Alina's heels dug into the ground as she pulled her upper body out. Her head finally hit ground and she lay there in bliss. The castle wall towered over her, she lay basking in its shadow. Alina hadn't felt the dewy grass, breathed in the fresh summer air or seen mother natures true beauty in over a decade. She only got to view it from a tiny prison cell window, no bigger than her head. A tear slid down her face as she sat up and took in the route in front of her. This was the back of the castle where all the kitchens and cells were. This was the back enterance toward the woods where the cooks would take in fresh meat from their hunt. The woods was probably the safest option Alina had. She ran her hands through the grass again, the strands tickling her palm. She went to put a hand through her hair but grunted as her fingers tugged on a knot. Her hair was matted from the dirt and grime from the tunnel. Alina stood and dusted off her plain black shirt and brown shorts and rolled on the balls of her feet. They weren't used to being on soft ground, weren't used to being used. Alina would pace her cell sometimes but the majority of the time she was stuck sitting on her bed and reading or sleeping. Her legs were thin and wobbly. She took a step forward but stopped as she heard the bristle of a nearby horse. It had come from around the corner to Alina's right. She breathed in quietly as the hooves came closer. Was it alone?
Clip, clop, clip,clop.
The first thing she saw was the hooves,it's stern, hard body looking like a coat of silk against the suns humid beams, then it's chocolate coloured head, and then the soldier sitting atop it's back. He looked down at her like a piece of dirt under his shoe. He sniffed at her and looked back over his shoulder.
"Guards!" He shouted as he stared Alina down. The sound of heavy, rhythmic footsteps echoes off the castle walls. Alina's eyes widened as she turned back towards the woods and took off. Running was a bad idea. She hadn't run in years so her legs were unstable, not used to this foreign action, her feet ached with each step, her shoulder in agony from where the guard had prodded at her with the hilt of his sword from before.
The sound of the oncoming guard's armoured bodies clanging with every movement became the only sound next to Alinas ragged breaths. She could hear her rapid heart beat, feel her head throb so intensely she felt that she might faint. The fact she was bare foot made the whole situation a thousand times worse, sticks and twigs and rocks struck her exposed skin. She held back tears as she turned a sharp corner and hopped over a large rock.
The horse neighed nearby, too close. She pumped her arms harder, relying on the adrenalin to carry her to safety. She needed to hide somewhere that the soldiers couldn't spot her.
She was in an open space, there was no way of hiding without them clearly seeing where she was going.
"You're outnumbered girl," the guard shouted after her.
She was going to have to chance it.
Alina took another sharp turn to the right and ran towards the closure. She heard the horse skid as it tried to turn abrubtly and follow. Unfortunately it didn't fall. Alina gritted her teeth as every inch of her body yelled at her to stop and just give up, surrender and there will be no more pain. But Alina knew if she was caught she would emdure a new level of torture for the rest of her life. Not that she had much of a life any way.
"Faster!" the soldier bellowed to the guards swarming the surrounding area. Alina groaned as she started to slow down. She was so tired and so dizzy she was close to unconsciousness. Her temples felt like they had weights pressing against them, her eyelids felt like lead. Her body was going to shutdown soon and she needed to get away fast.
Just as she felt like her luck was running out Alina spotted a chance. Through the trees she spotted an overhang, a cliff that stretched out into open air to the river below. She looked back to see the guards still on her trail. She ran straight for the trees. The closer she got to the cliff the narrower the spaces between the trees got. She heard a man shout in protest and the horse huffed. Alina looked back to see that it was too narrow for the horse and rider to get through. She sighed with relief but her hope was cut short as the twenty or so guards still charged after her.
Close. She was close.
She tripped over a root protruding from the filthy ground under her.
She swiftly caught herself before she went face first into the dirt. She pushed herself back up in a heartbeat and ran again. That one second where she had stopped moving was pure ecstasy.
Alina reached the base of the cliff. It was uphill from here and she didn't want to admit it but she had a lot if doubt about her capability of getting to the top.
The cliff was very rocky and it was a struggle to keep her balance as she surged forward. The guards seemed to not have mastered it either as a few of them lost their balance and took their comrads down with them. There was about 9 guards left by the time Alina could see the top. It was more leveled now but what came next was a fifty fifty. The edge grew closer and with each step a new bead of sweat appeared on her brow. She had to make it, she was a survivor. But if she didn't survive, at least she wasn't a quitter.
Come on Alina.
"Get her!" A guard shouted as Alina was a few steps away from the edge. The pads of her feet pushed against the rocky, uneven ground beneath her. She stumbled over and over, her arms out in front of her waiting to catch herself. She scrambled to the edge of the cliff and threw herself forward.
Three. Two. One. Airborne.