Being in the castle the past few months taught me a few things. Even if you are related to the royal family, you may not get treated as such. It's not although I believed that they would accept me over night but I thought that at the least they would acknowledge me. Queen Lenora occasionally invites me to tea when she isn't busy to check in. The others barely even look in my direction. All the staff always whisper when I walk by and only talk when I talk to them or they were told to do something. Being in the castle is honestly suffocating, and I feel isolated; not that any of that bother me. No matter what, I can't give up here.
Today the king is hosting a royal invitational. All noblemen are to be in attendance. The contents of the discussion are a mystery to me but I think it has something to do with the first princess. She is of age to be married, so naturally i believe that the king wants to find a suitable partner for her.
I was told to stay out of the castle during this meeting so I walked around the outside. Due to the huge area of the caste the outside is rather large as well so there is lots to cover. Around the back entrance there happens to be a trail that leads to a flowery field. I discovered it on a previous venture, from time to time I would go there to get peace and quiet. This time however, I witnessed the secret of a life time.
"Persephone, my love; till when must we keep this up?" A man asked
"We mustn't tell anyone. You could be thrown is prison or even killed if my father found out." She said.
"But you are to be married soon, I cannot bear the thought of losing you to another man." He said.
"I know my dear, and I cannot bear the thought of marrying any man other than you." She said with teary eyes.
The man embraced her tightly.
"Let's run away than! You and I." He suggested.
"Are you mad? We cannot, they would find us before we even made it off the premises." She said taking a step back.
"But we have no other option. What if you are to be wed to a man from a different kingdom? I won't be left with even a hope of seeing you again." He frowned.
Persephone paused for a moment, her face said it all. She didn't want to be married to any other person. She really was in love with this man who looked so poor that I wondered how he even got into the castle. But on both of their faces was genuine love.
"If you guys want to escape out of the capital I can help you." I said, leaving my hiding spot.
"You? What are you doing here? We're you spying on me?" Persephone argued.
"I was coming here for some quiet, I was technically spying on you; yes. But, I can tell how much you two want to be together so, I want to help you." I said.
"Really? You'll do that for us?" The man asked happily.
"Why would you do that?" Persephone added.
"My mother told me that family should always help each other out in their times of need. And no matter what you think or how you feel about me, we are family at the end of the day. And besides, you happen to be one of the nicer people I've encountered since I came here." I said.
She looked thoughtful.
"How can you help us?" She asked.
I explained the plan to them.
There is a specific rotation that the guards use every night when patrolling the castle. The inside is easier to move around because most guards are posted outside to make sure nobody goes inside or in this case leaves outside. The Queens garden has a gate that connects to the outside so it would be the perfect spot to escape from. Persephones lover should wait for her outside of the gate that way they can leave together. My room is the least secure and happens to be right above the garden so that is where she will escape the castle.
"Thank you, so much for helping us Salaeli." She said grabbing my hands before leaving the castle forever.
"So where will you guys go? The king is going to be looking for you all over the kingdom." I asked.
"There is small village on the outskirts of the kingdom, it's a very cozy place and usually overlooked so we will go there." She said.
"Well, you two better be happy okay?" I said.
She looked at me tenderly and with so much compassion.
"Don't let the people in this place corrupt you. And don't let appearances fool you. You are a smart and clever girl so I hope you'll be able to survive here." She said seriously. Looking me dead in my eyes, before dragging me into a very strong but very comforting hug, and exiting the garden gate.