Caspian remembered the way Rurina had said his name, when was the last time someone had called him by that name?
That made his heart ache as he remembered Aurora, the way she had said his name and the way when he first started to court her, how she would get surprised when he broke her barriers.
She was tentative at first and he smiled when he remembered her professing her love for him. Caspian looked at the moon from the jail cell.
As long as they were under the same moon they could not be separated. He heard someone calling him and he turned towards the sound, it was Rurina.
She motioned for him to come towards him, and he did. She handed him a sweet potato and she rushed away.
He sat back down and was thankful for the extra food he had gotten. He ate it in a matter of minutes and he leaned back.
His looks had changed drastically, he had callouses on his hands. When he went to sleep he at times would dream of Aurora and he didn't want to wake up.
Yet the next morning would arrive and he had to face the cruel reality. He went out to the field to start his work.
"Morning!"
Caspian looked up and it was Rurina, "Morning."
"Here I bought so something."
Rurina handed him some bread, and he took it, he ate it. He was famished, "Thank you Rurina."
She had a wide smile on her face, "I'm glad my friend."
Rurina knelt beside him and began to tote rocks for him,
"You don't have to Rurina."
"I want to, this way I can spend time with you. To keep you company."
Caspian realized that there was no use in chasing her away as she would not leave,
"How was life before you came here?"
"Why are you curious about my life?"
"I have never been anywhere besides here, I want to know what life is like out there," Rurina replied and he could see that she was very curious.
"Well it is way better than here, there are balls and dances. Women wear gowns and there is more variety of food."
"That sounds so free."
"It is."
Rurina looked around suspiciously, and lowered her voice, "If you ever want to escape, please don't leave me behind."
Caspian was surprised at her request, "What of your family?"
"They will manage, Father has a lot more children and I am not in the good books."
Caspian did not know if she was trying to set a trap for him, so he would confess to wanting to escape.
He had to take a leap of faith, "I won't."
"Thank you so much, Caspian!"
Days went by and Caspian expected to get arrested if Rurina had told her father that he was planning to escape but none of that happened.
Instead, he was accosted by her at every turn, she was always around him and wanted to hear more about his life in the palace.
She would get excited every time he told her something new. Another year had gone by, and Caspian could no longer live like this, he would rather die trying.
"Rurina is it possible for you to secretly get the key from the guard."
Rurina nodded, "I can, I would have to drug them of course."
Caspian nodded, "When can you get hold of such a drug."
"It would take a couple of months."
Caspian nodded, "Work on that so we can escape at the first chance."
Rurina nodded, Caspian would be hopeful every single day. He would hope that every time Rurina came back she would have the drug.
A few months passed and when Rurina came back, she nodded at him. He could not believe it, finally, their plan could be put in motion.
That night Caspian's heart was pounding fast, and he felt like it would hop out of his chest. He remained awake and he saw Rurina walking slowly.
She opened his gate, and they snuck out, they ran fast without looking back, Caspian could not believe it, after four years of captivity he was free.
When they got far, Rurina jumped into his arms in excitement. He reciprocated her hug as this all could happen thanks to her.
"I will reward you properly when we get to the palace."
Rurina smiled, "As long as I am with you that is more than enough."
The night air was cold and they decided to take shelter under a cave. Rurina stuck to him and he could tell that she was cold.
He put his arms around her and she held tightly to him. The next morning they set out at dawn, it had been a while since he walked around freely.
They were very far from the palace as they did not have any horses, and walking in such rough weather was very difficult.
They had blisters on their feet, and when they passed a waterfall they would drink as much as they could.
Food was scarce so they would eat berries or hunt, he was good at hunting and he often caught rabbits.
They would build a fire and roast the meat, at times they would have to stop a lot as Rurina could not walk very fast.
Some days there was heavy rain, so they would have to seek shelter. They walked down the mountains, and he helped Rurina down at some areas.
They were getting closer with each step that they were taking, Caspian and Rurina sat around the fire,
"What made you want to leave?" Caspian asked her.
"When my mother gave birth to me she died in the process and my father thought it was my fault. I was always treated horribly from a young age. As I didn't have a mother and my siblings did, I would be left out of everything. My father would not even try to console me or make me feel included, often when I would watch other children laugh with their families, I didn't have that. The more I grew the more I realized that I would never be taken in and I was considered a bastard. I always wondered what life was like beyond this place. I was tired of the same thing every day. My father won't even search for me, he rarely checks up on me. I always was told that I was good for nothing, and I always vowed I would leave someday."
Caspian felt very sad for her, she could see the pain in her eyes, "I'm sorry Rurina."
"Don't be, I am glad that I met you and you have made my biggest dream come through to leave there. I don't know how much longer I was going to last there. I had reached the end till you came along and hope ignited in me. It was definitely destiny that we met Caspian."
"I agree I am indebted to you Rurina, I am thankful for all that you have done for me."
"You saved me Caspian as much as I saved you."
"I will make it up to you, everything you have missed out on Rurina."
They fell asleep around the campfire, and he realized that everyone out there had a story to tell. The next morning they woke up early and set out, after a couple of days Caspian could not believe that he could see the palace.
"Is this where you live?" Rurina asked as she looked at the palace in awe.
"Yes."
He got up to the gate,
"You can't enter the palace without an identification token."
"Do you know who I am?"
"Identify yourself then."
"I'm Prince Caspian, and I would suggest you let me through."
"We will let you in with a guard but if you are not who you claimed to be, death will soon come after you. You better make the right choice."
"I am positive."
Caspian And Rurina made their way into the palace, so many years had gone by and he everything seemed different to him.
"Wait here." Said the guard and went inside his parent's villa. After a few minutes, his mother came running through the door.
She stopped in shock, "My boy, you finally made your way back to us."
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