Nadine

36. The Runaway

I'm trying to think fast. They will expect me to go for a horse. So I can't do that. I can't run. They will catch me. I guess I'll have to fly.

I get in the hidden tunnels. I need to find somewhere to hide till it's dark. They'll check my office. My dad's hidden office. I bet no one but him even knows about it. And he won't check there.

I hope I can remember how to get there. I think I do. It was near stairs. I fell back through a hidden door. I think it was the 2nd floor. Damn ball gown is hard to run in. And why did I have to pick such a light colored one. Black would have been easier to hide.

I hear guards running. They know I'm still in the castle. No way I could have gotten out by now.

I push with my butt and topple in the hidden door. The room is pitch black. I have to sit here until it's all the way dark outside. My dragon is all black with lines of red. It'll be hard to see.

Alarm sounds. They think I'm outside by now.

I can't believe he lied to me. He wants to break the contract. I wasn't going to do that. Mom said I'll meet lots of men in my life. Some I'll even have feelings for. But he wants to break it after 2 weeks. There's no way he actually likes me. One stupid rumor and he wants out. No way he'll make it 15 years living here.

I won't even make it 15 years here. This place is killing me. But where will I go? I'm not going to Galhurst. I can't go anywhere close. I'll fly away and find my own place in the world.

Maybe I can live like a normal girl. Those girls I went to school with so long ago. I can find a mate that will love me just for being me. If there is such a thing. We can get a little house and maybe plant some berries. I can sleep in warm arms every night. We can be happy.

I can go south. Where the water doesn't freeze. I know how to catch fish. It's a weird way, but I won't starve. I can make fire and cook the meat off the fish. I should have grabbed a knife that would have been helpful for cleaning the fish. I'm not going back for 1.

I can find human cities to mix into. Maybe steal some regular clothes somewhere. I'll stand out so much in this dress. I should get a new one quickly.

I can do this. I have to wait till it's dark enough.

After what seems like forever, I open the door and peek out. It is very dark. I can go now. I have to stay quiet. But everyone is probably outside the castle now. I shouldn't run into anyone or very many guards at all.

They really need to shut that stupid alarm off. Actually, it may be helping me sound quieter.

I go up a couple flights of stairs and I'm on the roof. I hunker down and waddle to a far corner. So far no issues. I stand up. The veil fly's off in the wind. There's Dipak. He's on the ground but he's staring right at me. He will never catch me flying. I make eye contact with him for a second. "I'm sorry I thought you were going to hurt me and I'm sorry I never got that kiss." I know he can't hear me, but I wanted to say it anyway.

I can do this. I have to go fast. Close eyes. Believe I'm a dragon. Step into it. Time to go. Bye castle. Bye Dipak.

I fly south. I get up as high as I can as fast as I can. I really don't think anyone can see me up here. I'll keep going south for now. I should stop in a town for some blood though. I don't know if being a dragon takes blood or not.

I also don't know how far the guards may have gotten so far. I should definitely keep an eye out for any of those.

I fly for 2 hours. I'm faster than any horse. I don't think the guards could have made it this far. I start dropping. I need to find a town or an animal. I'll get some blood and keep going.

I see a house. It's all dark. Near a little woods. They have horses. I've never drank horse blood. But I'm sure they have a lot of it. I can drink a little. The horses will be fine. If they let me get close enough to them anyway. If not, I'll try the woods. There have to be little animals in there.

I drop closer to the house. It's a human house. That's good. I'll land slow and walk to a horse. I hope it's a nice horse. Here I go.

"Hi pretty girl. Can I pet you? You're a good horse. I need a little of your blood please. I'm feeling week. I won't kill you. I just need some blood. Ok?"

The horse neighs and my fangs come out. I bite the horse and she jumps back a little but doesn't run. I take about half my fill and stop. "Thank you."

I go to another horse. "Can I take some from you too? Please a little?"

The horse neighs and the same thing happens. "Thank you so much. I really needed that. You are a good horse. So soft. Thank you both. I need to keep going now." I lay my head on the horses head for a second then I climb over their fence. I take a few steps and fly south again.

After about an hour, I come across a little village. I think everyone is sleeping, but maybe I can find somewhere to sleep there too. I am tired. I'm really far from the castle. I've made good progress. I can sleep 3 or 4 hours and then fly some more. I've heard of inns. Maybe they have that. I don't have any money though. I'll snoop around and see. Maybe I can find a spot to hide and sleep even. I'm so tired. Flying takes a lot of real energy.

I land behind a tree on the outskirts of the town. I see a couple bats but no other animals. I turn back to human form and pop out from behind the tree in my ball gown. I walk down the center of the path through the village. It's a human village. No weird scents here.

I see a place with torches lit inside. I sneak up to the window and peek in. There's about 10 men in it. No women. They are laughing and playing a game of some kind. I don't know about going to a place with no girls.

A few houses ahead of me, a girl runs out a door with a man chasing her. They seem to be having fun. They are laughing. He catches her after a few steps and they kiss. They look happy. They hold hands and go into another of the houses and shut the door. It makes me wonder if I'll ever find something real.

After a couple more buildings, I sneak and peek in another window. This one has men and women. They are laughing and smiling a lot. The girls aren't wearing many clothes. They are showing a lot of skin and kissing different men. I don't want to do that.

The next one is men and women. A bunch of them. They are sitting at tables together. Some people are sitting by themselves at a long tall table. I watch for a few minutes. They seem to be happy. Maybe they won't notice me. I can ask if there is a place to sleep.

The second I open the door, everyone looks at me. "I'm sorry." I run away. Maybe I can find a woods to sleep in.

"Wait!"

There is a woman standing there. "Are you ok?"

I shake my head. "I was going to ask. Well I don't. I don't have any money. I was wondering if anyone knew a place I could sleep for a few hours. I'm very tired."

"Are you on the run sweetie?"

"I had to run. They were going to kill me."

"Ok come here." I run to her and she gives me a hug. "You are so young and to skinny. You can stay at my house tonight. You'll be safe there." She holds my hand and takes me to a little house. "You can sleep on my couch. Right here. I'll bring you something to eat in the morning." She gets me a blanket. "Lay down sweetie. Get some sleep." She throws a blanket over me. I fall right to sleep.

I sleep so well. I keep dreaming about warm arms around me. It felt so nice. But I must have slept 10 or 12 hours. I need to find some food, blood and keep going. I sit up and there is food on the table in front of me. Well, that one was easy. I eat as much of the food as I can.

Right before I leave, the lady comes in. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you so much. I'm sorry that I don't have any money and thank you for the food too."

"I have 1 more thing for you." She hands me a dress. "You really stand out in that. This will make it easier for you to blend in."

I start sobbing. "Thank you so much."

She helps me get my ball gown off and the new dress on. It goes to the ground but it has short sleeves. I've never shown my arms before. "Do you want to stay longer? You can."

"I can't. I have to keep going. Do you want the gown?"

"Really? It's beautiful."

"Yea, I can't take it with me."

"I love it. Thank you. Here, put food in those pockets at least. It will keep you going for awhile."

"Thank you so much for everything."

"Of course, sweetie. Good luck. Wherever you end up, I hope it makes you happy."