The Path to Redemption

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝐹𝒾𝓋𝑒

↞･:*✵*:･↠

I hurried after Raquel as she led me out of the palace, a bright grin across my face, a hood pulled up over my head. The cape I wore brushed against my legs as I continued along the path towards the large gates at the front of the palace. Occasionally, Raquel would look over her shoulder to make sure I was beside her and hadn't been caught yet, which only caused me to smile. She would merely roll her eyes in response.

Arriving at the gates that separated the palace from the town, Raquel and I paused as a guard held his hand out at her. When he saw my hidden face, he nodded in my direction, cocking a brow.

"And who is this?" He asked, motioning towards my figure. I sunk farther into the hood of the cape as he spoke.

"She's a fellow maid," Raquel spoke casually. "She's coming with me to the festival, but she was just recently hit by a guard. She doesn't exactly wish to show her bruised face in public," she whispered the last sentence to the guards in order to make the situation appear more reasonable.

The man took a moment, looking carefully over my shadowed figure before nodding slowly.

"Alright, continue on." The man stepped to the side, allowing Raquel and me to make our way through the gates, and down the path towards town. To be honest, I'd never taken the road from the palace into town, most likely due to the fact that when I had lived in this kingdom, I was a peasant of sorts, even if I did have my own book shop. I had stayed in the farther part of town, trying to attract nobles. It wasn't incredibly hard, though, as I lived on the border of rich to middle-class.

I fiddled with my cape as the two of us continued on, Raquel saying nothing, clearly not in the mood to converse. The two of us soon entered the town where streets were bustling already. I watched as people filtered out of their homes, all forming a humongous clump in the middle of the square. On both sides, bright and smiling shopkeepers had propped up little stands, hoping to sell their goods to those attending the festivities.

All of the people wore shades of burnt red, dull orange and pale browns. Bright colored leaves had been braided into the hair of the women and little girls as they passed us by. The large houses seemed to be alive with the bright buzz they were sending, or perhaps it was the people all around me giving off the serotonin that fueled my happy mood.

From the crowd, I could spot both the rich and the poor—but it seemed that today no one cared about statusas they all danced together. A band that consisted of a violin, cello, flute and viola played a bright melody that pierced the air as it swayed around the people, enlightening their moods. Just listening to the music made me wish to run into the crowd and join those dancing there, but Raquel stopped me.

"Now, listen, Aria," she started, holding onto my arm as she spoke in a hushed manner. "You must be on your guard here, understand? Although these are fun times, there will still be pickpockets in the crowd, along with others who hold all the wrong intentions, understood?" She spoke to me slowly, forcing me to listen for longer than necessary. I nodded swiftly as she stopped, attempting to take a step forward although she held me back once more.

"If anything goes wrong or something bad happens, come back up to this exact spot. And if you cannot see me from here, go back to the palace right away, got it? And don't let your guard down. You can have fun, just don't become foolish, alright?" Raquel finished, and I nodded once more. She glanced over me for another moment before letting go of my arm reluctantly and heading to the left towards a stand, leaving me behind.

Beaming, I started in towards where the music was being played, cutting through dancers as they swayed along to the rhythm, some more advanced in the art than others. I soon was out of the bustling crowd, scanning the carts along the right side of the crowd, trying to locate any book stalls in hopes of finding the one I was looking for. I bit my lip as I saw no shops that had what I was trying to find. I let out a sigh, turning on my heel, only to accidentally bump into someone as I did so. I slipped, hitting the ground on my butt, my arms keeping my torso propped up.