Anger shot through Ravenna as she shot up from where she sat. nothing—absolutely nothing could describe the amount of anger that surged through her.
Seeing this Maurice sighed sadly, she had been the one to tell Ravenna about the Lord Paramount's arrest for forcing her into slavery and had gotten her hopes up about being released.
" Ravenna, I'm really sorry " Maurice comforted, her eyes shrouded with guilt even though she wasn't at fault.
Ravenna raised her hand stopping the girl from speaking further. She took in a big deep breath then sat back down like nothing happened, digging into the food again without any expression.
Maurice had been scared that Ravenna would get really mad and throw a fit, even worse challenge the crown prince. Yes, she just had a feeling the girl was capable of doing it, but what she hadn't expected however was for the girl to suddenly become this calm. Somehow it made her even more worried, her pretty face wrinkled in worry , her small hands clenched her neat uniform by the sides.
" Ravenna are you okay ? " She asked gently, bending to see the girls face that was now bent over her tray of food hidden from the light emitting from the candle.
Ravenna raised her head, her cold green eyes traveling to meet Maurice's black ones. No hint of smile was in sight and her cold look almost knocked the air out of Maurice.
She moved back scared for a fleeting second.
Sometimes she forgot how scary and cold the girl can actually be, not to mention she had no idea of her past, the girl seemed like someone who had once been involved in something dangerous.
" Umm...i have a night shift, soooo.... "
Ravenna just nodded before she could finish. Thinking the girl needed privacy Maurice left the room.
As soon as the door slammed shot, Ravenna pushed the tray of food aside, wiping her hands clean she began tending to her wounds before wrapping them again.
She re-packed her hair, took one of Maurice's court maid uniform to put on, the smell of apricots wafted from the clothes, making her nose tingle . She walked towards the small Mirror in the small yet spacious room, adjusting her looks to that of a court maid than a slave she paused to stare at herself.
' Tonight, i escape this damn palace—again ' She concluded within her, clenching her fist tightly.
She refused to be trapped in here, she refused to be a slave forever, she refused to be controlled.
With so much anger she made up her mind and slipped out of the room, but this time instead of heading towards the slave quarter, which was nothing less to a dungeon she took another route.
The loud ringing of bell reasonated throughout the palace—it was bed time, everyone must obey. If caught outside it was instant death for slaves and severe punishment for servants or even nobles included. But Ravenna was a daredevil , had always been. If not she wouldn't have joined the legendary robbers to do something as daring as stealing from high class nobles and royals.
She was confident she wouldn't get caught, her stealthiness was akin to that of a cat.
Walking like an actual court maid as soon as she saw the guards , she bowed pretending to enter the inner court before stealthily manoeuvring her way towards the forest path instead.
She had sneaked around a few times before and had noticed a small path that led away from the palace. She was sure it led somewhere outside the palace, even though it wasn't going to be easy she would do all she could to escape tonight.
Nothing would stop her, absolutely nothing would. She swore as she moved deeper into the palace, towards the dark forest.
Few soldiers were strolling by and she immediately concealed her presence, hiding from sight. She waited a bit before moving.
She had managed to study the routes and found a back alley deep behind one of the garden maize. It led out of the palace, she was sure all she had to do was follow the small stream, it surely leads to a bigger body of water away from the Palace.
A ghost of a smile bloomed on her face, seems like her time was up playing slave. she could finally escape and go find Ryles and Master Leo , her blood boiled at the thought of revenge.
She will never be anyone's puppet. NEVER !
Ravenna skipped the entrance and jumped the high walls that divided the maize from the palace. She had come this far without getting caught and she wasn't going to stop.
She halted at the sound of heavy footsteps , without wasting time she scanned the environment and immediately hid behind the huge boulder not far from where she was. She could see the lights emmiting from their torches as they passed by without noticing anything unusual. The sound of their footsteps slowly fading, till all she could hear was her ragged breathing and the silent breeze that blew past her hiding spot.
She got up, ready to step out of the cramped space but froze at the sudden presence she felt behind her. All hair on her back stood on edge as she spun around to throw a kick without hesitation.
Two legs met in the air, clashing with so much strength and skills that they both fell backwards and onto the dirt.
At the same time they turned to stare at each other
' It was the red haired girl ' Ravenna was taken by surprise, more of why exactly she was out here —unless..... unless she also planned to escape....
They both jumped on their feet at the same time in shock of seeing each other outside
" What are doing here? " They spat at the same time again, glaring daggers at each other.
"... "
"..." A stiffling silence passed before they scoffed at each other in mockery.
" Of course... " The red haired girl sneered " i knew something was off about you " she glared, she had truly found Ravenna to be odd, such cold and calculating eyes that analyzed everything with ultimate precision. No normal person behaved like that.
' was she perhaps a spy? ' The red haired squinted at the thought
Ravenna threw a glare, assessing the girl very subtly. She seemed like the type that wouldn't bat an eye if she killed someone right in front of her.
Both girls stood facing each other, dressed in a court maids uniform. With eyes assessing each other from head to toe, not even the breeze deterred their stares. As if both were being careful not to drop their guard.
It seemed they had the same thought tonight.
" You must be a spy " Ravenna heard the red haired girl and she raised her green eyes to meet the girl's brown ones.
" What about you? " Ravenna questioned back, neither denying nor agreeing.
" Who's there ! " Came the harsh voice of a guard from afar. It seemed he had picked on their voice even though they had been whispering all along.
The two girls shared a panicked look before Ravenna grabbed the girl desperately diving into the bush behind them.
A slight sheen of sweat coated the two girls as they laid in the bush regardless of the thorns. The heavy footsteps of multiple guards and the bright light from the torches getting closer made their pulse race.
" Search the area immediately" The head guard commanded....