Once night fell, I waited, lying awake in my bed. It must have been 3 hours that had passed doing nothing but sitting in my thoughts.
Will I regret not saying goodbye to my family? Will I even make it past the gates? What will my life be like if I decide to stay?
It was time I had to go. I climbed out of bed, grabbed my belongings and snuck down the stairs. I moved quietly so as to not wake anyone or alarm the staff, but quickly so I could head on my journey. As I was making my way down the last flight of stairs I heard some people. No one should have been awake at this hour. What will I do if they see me? I thought. I began listening to see If I could figure out who it was. " We can take your bags, your highness," Said Tillie, one of the maids. Then I realized that it was Prince Philip. He is the man I'm supposed to marry. What should I do? What should I do? Suddenly footsteps, coming up the stairs. I turned to run back to my room but the staff were blocking my way and I had nowhere to go. I had no time to think through a good plan, so I blew out the candles lighting up the hallway and tucked myself into a corner behind a small statue that really didn't cover me much, hoping no one would see me. The staff had reached the floor of the castle I was on. They had candles they were holding.
No , they're going to see me. As they walked past I swear me and the prince made eye contact. Yet he didn't say anything. Did he know who I was? He must have, right? I waited a few minutes before I made my way out.
I checked my surroundings before I escaped through the doors, I saw no one, though I felt that someone was watching me. I figured it was just in my head so I made my way out the doors. I still had to make it out of the gates. There are a lot of guards there, I knew this was going to be the trickiest part of the whole escape. I ran to a patch of trees and weaved my way through. I had to stop about 20 yards from the gate so I could see the best route out. As I studied the surrounding area I saw a tall man walking in my direction. No one saw me leave? How does he know where I am? Who is this? I turned away for a second and the man was gone. This must all be in my head. I thought to myself.
Just then I figured out a way to escape. I kept crawling my way through the woods to the very edge where there was still some coverage. I began to walk along the wall to an empty section of the gates, where there weren't many guards nearby. There were vines hanging down the wall and a beautiful willow tree. I love willow trees. My plan was to climb the tree as high as I could and climb the rest of the way. I made it about half way up when I heard branches snapping, and leaves rustling. Someone was walking my way. I quickly twisted around but no one was there.
What is up with me, why am I so worried about this? Even if I do get caught my punishment won't be harsh? But I'll also have to marry someone I don't know. All these thoughts went through my head as I kept climbing.
Then I reached the wall. As I climbed the stone it felt cold and rough on my hands. It was so peaceful this time of night, quiet, a little chilly but it wasn't uncomfortable. Once I was at the top of the stone gate I sat there for a minute admiring the beautiful night sky. The sounds that I heard were so peaceful as I sat there.
As beautiful as this was, I had to get going. Just as I was about to go, a tall man climbed up on the wall where I sat. It was Prince phillip. "You've come to escape as well I see." I wasn't sure what to say, part of me felt bad. I mean we are supposed to be getting married soon and I'm running away.
Prince Philip began to speak again. "It's okay haha, I get it we're being forced to marry each other no one wants that." His smile when he laughed was sweet.
As he said this I realized how selfish I was being. Even though it wasn't really my fault. My father has plenty of riches to go around, but I know him well. He doesn't care for the commoners.
Was I really going to run away and let my people starve? And all because I had to marry someone. This was ridiculous, really, that I thought this. If I hadn't been stopped surely I would have run off without a second thought.
"Maybe we could get to know each other a little so we're not complete strangers when we get married." He chuckled a little and held out his hand for me to grab. So I did. There was a nice spot to sit on the tree. We sat out in the chilly air just talking. "Were you really going to run off?" I felt a pit in my stomach, I was hesitant to answer. "Did I seem that terrible when you saw me?" He laughed. "No, no, I'm sorry I wasn't sure what to do. I didn't want my life being chosen for me. Then I realized how selfish I was being." I was a little flustered, I knew he was joking but I still felt terrible about this situation. He grabbed my arm softly as he said. " It's okay I understand, really."
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"It's getting late, we should head in before someone sees us." he shook his head in agreement. He started climbing down first then I followed after him.
My dress kept getting in the way of my climbing. We were close to the bottom before I tripped on my dress. I landed on Prince Philip. "I'm sorry Prince Philip! Are you okay?!" Things keep getting awkward between us. His response snapped me out of my thoughts. "I'm alright,are you well?" I let out a small laugh. "I'm the one who landed on you!" He laughed at my remark. "I'm not all that terrible then if I saved you from getting hurt." He said with a smirk. While I stood up I dusted myself off. I offered a hand to Prince Philip. "Would you like some help up Prince Philip?" He grabbed my hand. "Thank you. And you can just call me Philip, we don't need to be so formal. Princess Elinore." I smiled at Philip, while I helped him up.
Sneaking back into the castle was more difficult since I hadn't planned this but also because I have to worry about a second person now. Not that this bothered me, it's quite nice to have some company.
As we made our way back inside, and snuck up the stairs Philip and I began to talk in hushed voices.
"Where is your room Philip?" "It's on the fifth floor at the east wing, the very first room." His room was so close to mine." "Mine is on the fifth floor, west wing, also the first room."
We headed quickly up the stairs. Once we made it to the fifth floor we stood in the middle of the room. "Good night Princess Elinore." He said tauntingly. "What happened to not needing to be formal?" I couldn't help but smirk. We stood in silence for a minute and it felt like there was some type of energy between us, as we looked into each other's eyes. His brown eyes sparkling in the moonlight. This setting felt very warm and romantic. We both started leaning in closer but before anything could happen I threw my hand over his mouth, to make sure he wouldn't say anything.
I heard people talking. Just as I was checking our surroundings Philip pulled me into his room.
"Sorry I didn't want you to get caught." He seemed nervous or flustered. I couldn't tell. I smiled letting him know it was okay. His body loosened, seemingly calm now.
I walked over to the tall glass window by his bed. It overlooked the creek surrounded by vibrant pine trees, and the water that looked like blue crystals. "What are you looking at.?" Phillip asked me as he sat on his bed. I walked over and sat next to him. "When I was little my parents would take me back there with a picnic, we would be out there all day, when they weren't busy. Which was almost never. We didn't and still don't I guess, get to spend much time together with them ruling Luminara. So that was always special, that was before our people suffered. I can't believe I was so selfish about this marriage arrangement!" I shoved my hand over my mouth realizing how much I shared. "I'm so embarrassed, please excuse me. And I didn't mean the marriage arrangement was a bad thing, I was just upset because I didn't like not knowing what was to come." he looked at me with a half smile. "Hey, it's okay."
A few hours passed by, but we could still hear people in and out of the halls around us. I was starting to drift off, I was so tired.
I woke up to Philips Voice, "Hey, are you awake?" I turned over to face him. My cheeks felt hot realizing I was resting on him. " I know we just met but I hope you feel at least a little comfortable around me. You seem jumpy when you feel like you did something wrong." I wasn't quite sure how to respond so I just stared at him for a second before he started speaking again. "Sorry if I overstepped! I don't expect you to be super comfortable with me." I feel relieved I'm not the only one who feels like they're messing up; as cruel as that sounds. "Don't worry about it. I feel comfortable enough around you." I say teasingly. I sit up as I talk again. "Besides, we still have our engagement week, that's plenty of time to get comfortable with each other." He laughs at my sarcasm. This warmed my heart. He has such a handsome smile." I should head back to my room, I don't think anyone is in the halls anymore." We both get up as I walk over to the door. Phillip opens the door for me as he bows down. " Goodnight m'lady." I giggle at this. "Goodnight kind sir." I say playing into his joke. He shuts the door quietly behind me. I walk back to my room and it feels as if I'm floating. After I've made it back without anyone noticing, I lie down and replay that moment before Phillip pulled me into his room. What was about to happen? I swear something was about to happen before we got interrupted. Was I imagining this whole scene? I wasn't sure what to think.