Fantasy Kotlc AU

The Escape

Chapter I Sophie

The dread sits in Sophie's stomach like a stone. Each moment she was in this dressing room, the more the terror shook her to the bone. She was being clad in gold and teal, but all she could see on her dress was red.

"Oh, Milady! It's perfect!" The maid squeals and claps her hands. "It matches the groom's eyes perfectly, don't you think?"

"You think so?" Sophie examines the back of the dress in the mirror. The fabric did indeed coordinate with her fiance, Fitz's deep teal eyes, and the gold bordering the corset brought out the gold in her own eyes, which were beginning to threaten tears. "Don't you think the choker is too much?"

"Oh, nonsense. We can only have the finest for the princess. Plus, it'll match the ring. Don't you worry darling," the maid says. Sophie starts to dig an annoying eyelash from her face without even realizing it.

"Oh, please keep your fingers away,"The maid squeals, "you'll smudge the eyeliner!" Sophie quickly puts her hand down. Her bodyguard, Dex sighs from the hall. "I hope you're almost done, milady. I hear people being filed into the pews."

"Give us one more minute, Dex!"

Another sigh

The maid sat back to admire Sophie. "Wait! My, how could I forget! The bracelet! I must have left it in the closet. I'll be right back, Princess." She hurries out towards Dex, leaving Sophie alone to blink pointedly at her reflection.

 As soon as she hears the door close, tears leak from her eyes. She didn't care about the eyeliner, or the dress or the bracelet. She didn't care about the empty excuse of a man she was being married off to. All the fear and sadness that had been boiling inside her suddenly spilled over. Within seconds she was a complete wreck, her makeup smeared like warpaint on her eyes. Sophie hated the color of the dress, a wretched mix of blue and green. She hated the maid for being so naive. The tears would not stop flowing. Her sobbing stopped abruptly when she heard the door open, then close quietly. She attempted to pull herself together for the maid's sake, but let herself fall again when she saw it was just Dex. "Dex, I'm so sorry."

He wipes the tears from Sophie's eyes with as much gentleness as a guard could probably muster. "No, I'm sorry," he says with the softest of smiles. 

Steel scrapes as his dagger is drawn from a scabbard. Sophie's eyes burst open and she scrambles against the wall. "Dex! what..?" His eyes fill with tears. "I'm sorr-" his voice cracks, "I cant let this wedding happen. Do you know what will happen if your kingdoms unite? They will crush the smaller towns. Alluveterre, Candleshade, Rimeshire! The Kingdoms have already done too much damage... I cant let anything else happen. I need to protect my family." He runs his hand through his hair and Sophie sees his ears are burning red. 

Sophie lets loose a small laugh. It sounded terrible. " Oh my god," she says through sniffles, "I really don't want to marry him." 

Dex blinks. "Darn it, Sophie! You're not making this any easier! Don't you get it, I need to kill you!"

"I think it simplifies things," Sophie says, failing to hide a smile. She was giddy with relief. "How about we run away? Neither of us want this to happen. You could protect me, and I heard Fitz talking about some people in Havenfield that have been giving runaways supplies..." 

Dex puts his knife back in his scabbard. "That... could work. It'll be hard though. Once the groom finds out you're gone, everyone from here to Atlantis will be looking for you." 

"I know, but its the only shot we've got," Sophie says reluctantly. She knew the odds. In fact, she had been pondering leaving for a while, just never committed to it. There were too many eyes on her all the time. But nobody was watching her now. "We have to do this, Dex. For the good of the towns. And so neither of us have to spend the rest of out lives in misery." 

Dex gives a heavy sigh. "Okay, princess. We'll give it a shot. But you're going to have to change your dress. That outfit is a little too royal for a runaway." Sophie smiles. "I know the perfect thing. I'll be right back." 

It wasn't so much a dress, but she loved the cape. It was a deep burgundy with shiny gold trim. The pants were the same red, and a sash tied around her waist was a nice ruby red. A leather bag went around her leg. There was a hidden spot in the left boot that Sophie slid a ruby-encrusted blade into. The final and most gratifying part was removing all the jewels and gold from her body. Her nails slipped between the ends of her choker and she pried it apart. Loosened the tips of the circlet and lifted it above her head. It felt like taking the moon off her shoulders. 

 Dex whistled when she walked back. "Now you look like an adventurer."

Sophie beamed. "And you still look like a royal guard. At least take off the seal, it'll look suspicious if we go passing by any troll hideouts or something. Like you said, everyone will be looking for us." 

Dex looked down at his belt, "True, but I'll keep it anyway. Hidden, of course. It might be a good bargaining chip." His hand breaks it off the belt in one swift movement. 

Sophie's brow goes up. "Wow, Dex. You're strong!"

He looks down at his hand. "Actually, I have a metal arm."

Sophie gasps, "No way, I didn't even notice! I thought it was part of your armor or something. That's so cool!

Dex beams, his cheeks turn red, "Thanks, designed it myself."

A knock at the door makes Sophie's heart leap into her throat

"Dear Beloved, may I come in?" Its Fitz. Sophie cant seem to speak, he startled her so bad, her lungs didn't seem to be working. She manages to squeak out a few sentences, "Not now dearest! In my kingdom, its bad luck to see the bride before the wedding!" 

A soft chuckle rings from the hall and sends shivers down her spine. "Alright, lovely. But hurry, the ceremony is about to start." His footsteps recede into the hall. Dex releases a breath. "Time to go?" 

Sophie checks to make sure everything is set. "Time to go."