King of Darkness

Guardian

I told Ms Thompson to bring me a different dress, one that was more subdued and not white. She came back with a dark blue dress and a grey coat. As we put it on I smiled to myself, people would never recognise me like this. I looked like just an average girl from the town, not the third daughter of the duke.

We redid my hair so that it was in a bun at the nape of my neck and pinned down my hat too. I could tell that Ms Thompson was beginning to regret her decision of telling me, but I couldn't allow her to talk me out of it now.

"You told me for a reason," I said to her, right before I left. "You saw that I was unhappy and you gave me the solution. I will be safe, I am not completely blind to the world you know."

She didn't seem entirely convinced, but I made her swear not to tell anyone. It seemed almost redundant. If she told anyone she would give herself away too and lose the job she had her entire life. I was convinced that she wouldn't tell.

I left while the party was still ongoing. All the kitchen staff were outside in a separate tent, preparing sandwiches and filling up more cups to drink from, so stealing food from the kitchen had never been easier. My heart was pounding madly as I exited the castle, even though I used the back exit that would lead me straight into the woods, I was utterly terrified of running into someone and having to explain myself.

I spent the good first hour of my walk preparing answers in the likely event that I did run into someone who recognized me. My father was duke of the county and I had been attending social gatherings as well as ceremonies since I was a toddler. I couldn't really think of something smart to say, so I figured that if it was a person from the town I would pretend to be insulted by their inquiries, something I was rather good at faking, and if it was someone of nobility or status I would tell them my mother sent me out to get a few things. The latter excuse wasn't the best, but I would just need to buy some time.

All was going well on my new adventure. I knew the woods behind our home, they were familiar from all the times I hid from the governess here. It wasn't until the night started falling that I realised I was getting a bit confused. I couldn't just walk into an inn and demand a room, the innkeeper or one of his guests would surely recognize me and send someone up to the castle. I would have to sleep outside tonight.

I was rather alright with that, much to my own surprise. I used to run around in the mud all the time when my brother Harold was still alive. Besides, even though we celebrated the end of summer the temperature hardly dropped. I had my blanket with me in my basket.

Eventually, the sky had grown too dark. I couldn't make out the path beneath my feet anymore and I didn't want to follow it in the dark, I didn't want to risk accidentally taking the wrong turn and just walking back to the house.

I went off the path to the right. I couldn't just set up camp there, people would find me too easily. In a way, it was all like a game of hide and seek, except it lasted far longer. I walked all the way to the riverbank and with the moonlight reflecting in the water I took my blanket out of the basket and laid it on the grass. I thought one would be enough, but I realized I much rather lay on something and under something.

Well, I didn't really have a choice anymore. I couldn't go back now, they must have realised I was gone. I instead wore my coat the wrong way around, so that the back of the jacket was resting on my chest. It looked a bit silly, but it kept me far warmer than I wished to be.

I was tired from walking, but I couldn't fall asleep. There weren't any bears or wolves in England, I knew that from my studies, but that didn't stop me from jumping up whenever I heard a sound. Every time I felt myself slipping away I thought I could hear voices in the distance. I couldn't let them find me, not yet.

But there was no one. Everyone was in their nice warm beds while I was sleeping on the river bank. Twice I truly considered going back, the only thing stopping me was the look I would get from my father. Ran away and didn't even have the guts to stay outside for one night. He had survived two, I must at least reach that.

I'll admit that I was a bit disappointed that I hadn't heard anything. They had plenty of horses in the stable, they could even take the car to go and look for me. But I hadn't seen anyone. I tried to tell myself that they probably didn't think I took the back exit, but it didn't sound too convincing.

I fell asleep with the moon high above my head, looking down on me as my everlasting guardian. It had gotten a bit colder, but my jacket kept me warm enough. I couldn't really say I slept comfortably, but it wasn't the worst night I ever went through. Once I had accepted the fact that I was truly alone out here I could rest easy, the moon would watch over me like in all those old tales.

I couldn't really pinpoint the moment I woke up, but I did know why. I could see the light of the moon through my closed eyelids, but it suddenly got a lot darker. Like a cloud had hidden away my guardian. Instinctively I opened my eyes, only to see nothing but the face in front of me.

His eyes were incredibly dark and his mouth was half-open, like he was going to kiss me. Luckily for me, he was as surprised by me as I was by him.

I let out a scream and hit him across his face. He jumped back in surprise, which gave me enough time to scramble to my feet. I stumbled over my own feet in the wet grass, but luckily managed to stay upright.

There was something incredibly off about him. Not to even mention him being on his knees by my sleeping body, but just by looking at him you could see something wasn't right in his head. He stood curved, not upright like a proper gentleman, though his clothes put my father's wardrobe to shame. His hair was dark like his eyes and he had quickly managed to recover from the surprise.

"What is a girl like you doing all by herself?" He asked me. He was from the new world, his accent was like uncle Rodger, if not worse. He dressed like English nobility though, what an odd contrast.

"Let me be." My voice sounded shaky at best. Ms Thompson had warned me about strange men, I just hadn't thought anyone would be out at this hour. At least he didn't know who I was.

He kept his eyes on me and didn't back down. He grabbed the blanket from the ground and brought it to his face. I felt my blood turning into ice as he sniffed it.

I should never have left.

"That's what I thought." He mumbled to himself. "They could do with a pretty girl, give them something to occupy themselves with."

I had heard more than enough. Praying that he would be taken by surprise once more, I turned around and ran away from him along the river bank. I didn't even dare look back at him, afraid that I would stumble and fall into the water. I couldn't swim but it somehow felt safer knowing that I was following the river. All great cities are built by rivers, I remembered my lessons, surely if I follow one I'll come to a town or city.

I could see the sky turning pink ahead of me and I didn't hear any footsteps behind me. I had discarded my food and the blanket, but at this point I was ready to return home. Maybe if I told them about the strange man he could take all the blame. The plan started forming in my head as I ran away from him.

I felt something heavy knock into my lower back and I fell forward into the wet grass. He was on top of me, I could feel his weight pushing me down and preventing me from getting back up. Though I struggled against him, I felt his fingers wrap around my wrists, pinning them down on either side of my head. I let out a frustrated scream, hoping that someone will hear me.

I could feel his breath on my exposed neck. I tried to scream for help again, but when his lips touched my neck I abruptly stopped. It felt like my body had completely given up, that it was only my mind who was struggling still.

He had kissed my neck softly but pulled himself away. I could feel the pressure lift from my back, yet my limbs were still in a deep slumber. I tried to will them alive again, to scream that we needed to run, but there was nothing to be done. I felt like a spectator in my own body, watching as he rolled me onto my back.

"It will soon be over." He said in a soft voice. I couldn't understand why he was trying to calm me down when he was the one attacking me. When his face came into sight he almost seemed pained to do it. His features weren’t hollow and dark anymore, but instead just seemed tired. He wrapped his arms around my back as though he was hugging me, but let my head roll to the side. The scream finally left my throat when he sunk his teeth into my neck.