I didn't want to cry. I didn't want to let them get that response out of me. Even if they couldn't see it, I wouldn't give them that victory. I was going to stay strong. I was going to keep fighting to get out of here. That was what I resolved to do.
It was still morning when they locked me in my room, if you want to call it locking me in. That meant that I not only had to wait out the rest of this day, but a good chunk of the next day as well.
I had a plan. Sort of. I was going to find a way to get out of here, but I wasn't going to escape until after they left tomorrow. I knew that they were going to make sure that I was still in the room when before they leave. That just seemed like something that they would do. Reaffirm my misery while also reaffirming the fact that I was not a threat to them.
Once they were gone, I would somehow end up getting out of this room and then climb down the side of the house. Elin would help me to get ready and I would show up to the ball in time for me to steal the prince's heart.
Ugh. That thought made me want to gag. I knew that the prince would want to 'sweep me off of my feet' and he would want to 'rescue me' just like they all did. Well, honestly, gag worthy or not I would let him fucking save me right now. It would get me out of here and I would be able to move onto the next story.
I didn't want to make too much noise while I was up here. Even if my 'family' had been in their rooms, they would hear me moving around. The more they heard me the more curious they would get about what I was doing.
With all of that in mind, I started to silently move around the room. That silence cost me time, but I had plenty of it to spare. I first tried to open the window. It was not able to be opened all of the way, of course. It was one of those that tilted to allow a little bit of ventilation and that was it. It was also not very big at all. I felt that even if I was able to open the window all the way, I wouldn't be able to get out of it.
After that, I started to think about maybe removing the tilting part to the window. I didn't have tools though, so I would essentially be breaking it. I didn't care about that though. I needed to get out of here no matter what.
That center part of the window, the one that tilted and allowed it to open, didn't want to come out too easily. I was pulling hard, pushing on it in different directions, trying so many different ways to rip it off of its hinges and nothing was working. At least, nothing was coming loose on the window itself.
"That is one sturdy fucking window." I whispered to myself. "Good thing everything else isn't like that." I was grinning. I couldn't help it. The window wasn't breaking at all, but the boards around the window were becoming loose. If I kept up what I was doing, I would be able to remove the entire window, not just the part that moved. And then, with an even bigger opening, I would be able to get out that much easier.
It took what felt like hours to get the window and the surrounding boards to come out of the wall. And by the time that I was done, my hands were red and raw. I had scraped them in several places. That alone was going to cause issues for me. The prince would be less likely to want me if I was injured and my hands felt like they were rough and not at all soft. I wouldn't have the hands of a 'lady'.
"I can take care of this later. Maybe Elin will have something that will help. She is this story's fairy godmother. She would be able to fix it. I just know that she would." I was giving myself a little bit of a pep talk as I continued to work. I needed to make sure that I was able to flee this hellhole once and for all.
After the window was out, and the opening in the wall was big enough for me to fit through easily, I stuck my head out and got a breath of fresh air. It felt nice, and it actually helped me to calm down a little as well.
"Well, that is done for now."
After my anger had started to subside, and my escape route was secured, I decided to lay on the bed and rest. I really was tired after all of that. And that was on top of a night with practically no sleep at all.
Before I knew it, I had drifted off to sleep. I wanted to forget about everything that was happening to me in this story, but I guess that my mind didn't want me to forget. The moment that I slipped into sleep the memories of my entire life here started to flash before my eyes.
I saw the moment that Gilly dragged me into this house and the chores were thrust upon me immediately. I saw how evil these people were to the girl that was in this story, and I instantly felt sorry for her and the poor existence that she had led. Even though she wasn't a real person, I felt bad for her and the life that she had lived.
The dreams lasted all night long. Thankfully, they include the reprieves that I got to experience when I visited Elin and Jannick at their house. If it weren't for the two of them, then I probably wouldn't have survived here.
I woke up with the rising sun. I had fallen asleep early in the day and slept through the night. I was well rested and felt like I could take on the world. You know, if I hadn't been locked in the room like I was.
The only problem at the moment was the fact that I was hungry and thirsty. I hadn't had anything at all since the night before last. I had not gone to have my breakfast at Elin's before the others took their anger and frustration out on me. It was annoying, but I would survive. I knew that soon enough, I would be able to have something.
"I wonder if Elin is worried about me." I whispered to myself as I went to the hole where the window used to be. "She must be, since I didn't come by at all yesterday."
As I looked across the street, thankful that my window had faced her house, I started trying to look for her. I saw her standing in the window, staring at the house. I couldn't see her face but judging by the set on her body she was very upset.
I leaned out the window, trying to get her attention and let her know where I was. I waved my arms, but I didn't dare call out to her. She wouldn't have heard me through her closed window anyway.
She couldn't see me though. After a minute or two, she walked away. I hoped that she kept holding onto the hope that I would make it over there tonight. I wasn't going to let them stop me.
I had nothing to do while sitting in the room. I was just waiting for the time to pass until the family left. Hour after hour I waited as I listened to them moving around downstairs. I heard their frantic shouts and nervous voices, but I couldn't make out what was being said. I didn't care what they were saying anyway, I was just bored.
Finally, the moment that I had been waiting for had finally arrived. There was the sound of footsteps stomping up the hall toward my room.
"Can you hear me?" Milly's voice called out.
"Unfortunately." I snapped back in annoyance. It felt good to be able to piss her off still.
"You, little bitch." She sneered at me. "We are going to the castle. You will soon be executed or tossed out with your father. And just to make sure that you don't do anything stupid, Gilly is staying here with you. He will be guarding you."
"Whatever. I don't care." This was actually bad news, but I could deal with it when the time came.
"You will care soon enough, Ashenella. When my daughter becomes royalty, you are the first to be punished."
She stomped away then, I could tell that she was smug with just the sound of her steps. She thought that she was winning here, I'd show her. She would be so pissed off when that happened too.
I needed to wait until I heard them leaving the house. I needed to make sure that they didn't try to stop me or catch me at all. However, the moment they were gone, it was going to be escape time.