Nothing Left to Burn [YoungWritersShortStory Contest Entry]

IV.

Hayley had never mentioned that night again and to be honest, her sister was perfectly fine with it. If anyone were to know Erin was thinking of doing anything remotely disobedient, it would have had to been reported to the district's patrols.

        But all good things have to end, right? The voices came more often and she felt a need to get to this muddled, almost underwater voice. As the days progressed, the voice began to get clearer and Erin got more snippets of conversations until she could start piecing thing together.

        The boy, she realized, not a man after the first week, was some kind of aristocrat, who either had a servant or a sister than he often talked to and a huge responsibility was resting on his shoulders. This burden which he didn't want to carry would be why he was running away soon, very soon because his tone had started to get a lot more urgent and hushed. She got that last piece of deduction by recognizing how her thoughts got more turbulent.  

Erin had known that this person was important, but when the news broadcaster said three days later that the crown prince was missing, she felt sick. She had been getting clues about Prince Jayson's escape for a while now and not known it was him. 

        Startlingly that night was the night that Erin found most uncommon, the ones where she could sleep peacefully. She instinctively noticed it when her eyelids felt heavy and the quilt over her felt warm and safe, but she also knew that tonight was the night that she leave.

Erin looked out the open window seeing the gray clouds like upturned blankets and jumped to the grass with her bookbag on her back and the hood of her sweater pulled up.