Knight to the Silver Throne

Chapter 1: Run away

As soon as the sun went down, a dark cloaked figure climbed out of the widow of a dark mansion. A witness who saw that figure would most likely think that this would have to be a burglar. But who would have thought that the person who seemed to try to flee from the mansion in the dark night, was actually the daughter of the mansion owner, Feamir Arleen Vaughar?

Just recently her engagement with Viscount Durchville was announced and that was the only reason she was really known in the aristocratic circle. Her family tried to keep a low profile about her because her situation was... peculiar.
A few years ago, her father Morys Vaughar married Anna Le Pravoux, the daughter of the Baron Le Pravoux, after his first wife died of a terminal illness and he took the family name family name of the Baron. It was an open secret that he payed the baron to receive his lands and authority after his death as a de facto heir and in return he would provide the barony money and other resources he gathered as an influential merchant before. While on paper Anna Le Pravoux was the heir, everyone knew that Morys Vaughar tried to pay his way into royalty.

However, his daughter from his first wife, Feamir, did not receive any recognition. She was basically locked up in the mansion and was only used as a bargaining chip for more influence, power, and connections when it suited her father and stepmother.

Until recently Feamir tried to be docile and endure, in hope of regaining her "freedom" when becoming an adult at 18. The engagement announcement however completely broke her delusion. Her father never intended to not use her. He did not have any affection for her, or her late mother left anyway, so marrying her off got her out of his side as well as some benefits.

Luckily, he seemed to have forgotten that Feamir learned a few things from her mother when she was still alive. Her mother was never a typical lady. She loved fighting, sneaking out of the house late at night. And of course, she taught some of those "tricks" her daughter. So Feamir thought that she had a realistic chance of sneaking out and running away. She did not intend to marry the Viscount.

In Feamir's opinion, climbing through the window was one of the more difficult tasks, because there was still a high chance of accidentally being spotted by some of the servants. After she was able to bring a bit distance between her and the mansion, she should be harder to spot in the wide garden around the majestic house. As a girl with tomboyish tendencies she knew most of her surroundings from her "adventures". Getting to the fence should not pose any problems for her.

But then suddenly she heard a sound. Someone was also walking in the darkness of the night. Feamir tried to hide in one of the bushes, but the dull sounds of rustling grass still came closer. Then she heard a sound that made her blood freeze. It was barking. The sounds were not coming from another person, they were coming from a dog and Feamir knew what kind of dog her father was keeping.
Her father bought a group of massive Mastiffs and hired dog trainers to make them into aggressive, bloodthirsty, and salivating monsters. The dog just destroyed her plan of stealthily sneaking out, now she needed to run for her life, because of course no one cared about the dogs acknowledging her as one of the owners as well. When they would find her, she would be shredded into pieces by them.

As she started dashing in the direction of the fence that was surrounding the mansion and its gardens, she would not be able to reach the gate unnoticed with the dogs following her anyway. The barking behind her intensified. It seemed like they now found their "pray".
While running the hood from her cloak fell and her long black hair flowed in the wind and blended in with the shadows of the night. However, getting seen was not her biggest problem at the moment. She had to be fast now, if not torn apart by the dogs their barking would have already attracted people.

Feamir did not dare to look behind her, she new that the dogs were following her already. Looking would cost her valuable time or could even cause her to stumble which would both be her end. Instead she tried to concentrate on her goal up ahead. The fence was coming closer, but the dogs were as well.

She had to jump over the fance without stopping, because Feamir feared that the dogs would be able to latch onto her food while climbing. That was not an easy feat though. At the part of the fence she had run to it was relatively high. Without the dogs on her heels she would have definitely chosen an easier approach, but she did not have this choice anymore.

Increasing her speed, the young woman tried to gather not only her strength but also her resolve. With one big jump she was able to reach the higher ledge of the fence. The barks where direct behind her, but Feamir only needed to pull herself up and over the fence now. Her freedom was in sight.
While mobilizing all her remaining strength, she hauled herself over the edge. She did not even consider how to get down on the other side and as result fell down headfirst. The impact with the earth hurt, but it was considerably less pain than being bitten by dogs.

Because she was now on the other side of the fence, the black-haired woman dared to look back at the dogs. They were still barking and growling on their side of the fence. In theory Feamir liked animals, but these Mastiffs had the misfortune to be purchased by her father and to be turned deliberately into aggressive monsters. The dogs were just one of the milder examples how her father considered everything as "assets" for himself.

Anyway, she should get going now. Her plan was to "find shelter" at her grandparent's village until she had a better idea of what to do with her newfound freedom. Originally Feamir had been able to organize a horse, because the village was quite far away, but the detour would pose an unnecessary risk now that people are likely to look what riled the guard dogs up like that.

After discovering her escape, her father would most likely want her back. Her marriage with the viscount was quite valuable for him, so he would try to use his already existing influence and money to find her.
Because her family on her biological mothers' side were elves, she should be relatively safe staying with them. Elves normally lived by themselves and did really belong to any human country and as such did not answer to human royalty. They could shelter her definitely.

With a horse she was confident to be faster than people hired by her father, so her original goal was to follow the roads, but avoid human settlements as much as possible. However, she needed to change her plans.

Taking the roads were actually quite the detour, even though it was the saver route. The elven village her mother came from was located in the Silver Forest, the biggest forest in Cathun. The most direct way would be exactly through the depths of that forest. But as the biggest wildest forest in the country, there were many stories of people getting lost or killed trying exactly that. Thus, if she really wanted to take that route, Feamir also needed to decide how much she was willing to risk.