Rags to Riches. Really? (1st book of Really? Series)

Chapter 10

I was in the kitchen after I had finished changing and getting clothes for my grandmother and Ramont. I was still anxious, and my body felt like it was crawling as if something alive wanted to come out.

The urge to do something dangerous, something that I had promised I wouldn't do, was fresh on my mind. I knew that I could get caught or seriously injured, but I didn't care. I needed to do this. I needed to focus on something else rather than what I had learned today.

"You're thinking about it, aren't you?" Tony hissed, touching my elbow. "Mir," he warned when I moved away from him. "Don't you dare."

I shook my head. "I need to do it, Tony," I whispered. I started to walk outside with Tony following me. I made sure that the door was closed before I turned to look at him. "I need to do it. I-" I moved a hand through my hair and grimaced.

"Can't you wait for tomorrow?" Tony asked. "You can go to the gym. I'll drive you there, even."

I shook my head. "I can't wait until tomorrow," I said. I stuffed my hands into my pocket and looked at the frozen wasteland in front of me. My breath came out in a white puff of smoke, the smoke disappearing into thin air.

"But, it's getting dark outside. How will you find your way there? What if it isn't there anymore?"

"It's there," I said, "and I'll be able to find my way. It's not the first time that I would be trudging through the snow to get there."

Tony grimaced and moved a hand through his hair. He shook his head and huffed, and I could tell that he didn't like me going out there. "You're a Princess, now," he said, causing me to glare at him. "If you get caught, or if you get killed, then what will happen to everyone?"

"I know that I am a Princess," I said, coldly. "That is why I want to go there. I... I need some time to myself and to think over some stuff."

"Like what?"

"Like the fact that my mother lied to me, again." I kicked the ground in front of me, and some snow fell off of the porch. Annoyance filled my body, and I looked at the ground. "And..." I licked my lips and cleared my throat.

I had no idea how I was going to tell him that I was moving. I had no idea how far away we would move, and I had no idea if my grandmother would allow me to continue what I was doing. I did not know if she would allow me to continue working, and I prayed that she would, at least until she was ready to have us move back to Erinshire.

"And..?" Tony pressed, raising an eyebrow. He caught my frown, and it caused him to frown. He flicked his eyes across my face as he tried to figure out what I wasn't saying. "Did she say something to you?" he asked, and I nodded. "What?"

I took a deep breath and licked my lips, clearing my throat. "She... wants me to move in with her," I said, looking up at him. "She wants me and my siblings to move away from here."

Tony cocked his head in confusion. He studied me before he figured out what I meant. "Does that mean..?" he asked. He looked partially excited and happy, and the other part scared and sad.

I hesitated and nodded my head. "She wants me to leave this hellhole."