The carriage rocked gently as it traveled along the well-worn path, the rhythmic clatter of hooves against cobblestones a steady beat in the background. I watched the landscape change outside the window, the capital's towering spires gradually giving way to the rolling hills and dense forests that marked the borderlands between the empire and Falheighed. It was a quiet journey, one that allowed me too much time to think.
But what was there to think about? The crown princess title was gone, and with it, any obligations tying me to the imperial family, thank god or gods. I should have felt something—anger, sorrow, even relief. But all I felt was a strange emptiness, as if the part of me that should have cared had been hollowed out, leaving behind nothing but a vague sense of detachment. I understood this though because i wasnt Lura, if anything i should have been allowing myself to mourn my previous life but i had mourned my health so much back in the hospital that i didnt have the energy to do that either. This was the tiring role I had written for Lura. The villainess who was meant to fight and claw her way through the story, only to be broken in the end. Apart of me felt guilty for doing it and apart of me was wondering where Lura was, but its not something i had time for.
All that mattered now was that I was free. Free from the palace, free from the crown prince's cold, disdainful gaze, free from the cunning of the social world that had ensnared the original Lura. My hands clenched in my lap as I stared out at the passing trees, their leaves rustling in the soft breeze. I had been given a second chance—no, a new chance to rewrite my story and this story, to live in a world that had once only existed in my imagination. I wasn't about to waste it on regrets.
But just as the tension in my shoulders began to ease, the carriage lurched to a sudden halt, throwing me forward in my seat. The horses whinnied in protest, and I heard the muffled voices of the driver and someone else—someone whose voice I recognized all too well.
No.
The door to the carriage was flung open, and I was met with the cold, furious gaze of the crown prince. His golden eyes burned with a hatred that was almost palpable, and for a moment, I could only stare at him in stunned silence.
"What are you doing here?" I finally managed, my voice coming out far calmer than I felt. "I'm leaving, just like you wanted. You should be happy."
He didn't respond immediately, his chest rising and falling with barely restrained anger. "You think you can just leave?" he spat, his voice low and venomous. "After everything—after all the humiliation you've brought upon this empire, you think you can simply walk away?"
I blinked, genuinely confused by his rage. "Yes," I said bluntly. "That's exactly what I'm doing. I have no interest in staying where I'm not wanted. So, if you'll excuse me—"
"Never come back," he cut in, his voice sharp as a blade. "Do you hear me, Lura? Never set foot in this empire again."
I tilted my head, regarding him with a dispassionate gaze. "Is that a royal command?"
My gaze and retort seemed to anger him more i thought he was going to start stomping his feet. Had I really created such a character..?
His lips curled into a sneer. "No. But when I'm king, it will be."
A small, humorless laugh escaped me. "Fine whatever you say your highness," I said, turning away from him to signal to the driver who was standing confused off to the side, when he noticed he climbed back in position. "I don't care. I won't come back."
His hand shot out, grabbing my wrist with a force that made me wince. "You don't care?" he hissed, his face inches from mine now. "After everything, you don't care?"
I met his gaze, my expression cold. "Why should I? You've taken everything from me—my title, my future in this empire. What else do you want?" Not that i cared but i mean...
"To see you suffer," he snarled. "To see you pay for what you've done."
I pulled my wrist from his grasp, my patience fraying I wouldve laughed if his insistence on increasing my travel time hadnt been pissing me off. "I don't have time for this," I said, my voice hard. "Driver, let's go."
I grabbed the door handle and pulled it closed in the princes face.
As the carriage began to move again, the prince's voice rang out behind me, full of fury. "Get out! Face me, Lura! Don't you dare run away like a coward!"
But I didn't look back. I refused to give him the satisfaction. The carriage picked up speed, and soon, his voice was drowned out by the wind and the steady beat of hooves. Whether he was still standing there, screaming after me, or whether he had finally given up, I didn't know. I didn't care.
All I cared about was the road ahead, and the freedom that awaited me on the other side of the border.