The Curse of a Half Blood Princess

Chapter 4

"Peter, I can't," I shake my head as we stare at the best horse in the royal stable. It's my departure time and I'm having nervous break downs, something that I need to overcome immediately.

But my stomach...how it hurts...

"Why ever not?" he asks, frowning. "We planned this yesterday. I thought you wanted to."

"I did, but Peter, I may be killed," I whine, hiding my face in the palms of my hands. "This could be the stupidest choice and quite possibly the last one I make."

"You won't die, Scarlett," he coos. "Remember our plan? As soon as you're out of the human territory, search for a water well and wash the dye out of your hair. It's as simple as that. Then keep hold of your contacts in case you need them again, but other than that just take them out and leave them out."

"What if I forget?" I ask. "What if something goes wrong?"

"It won't," he disagrees, making me annoyed.

"But what if, Peter?"

"Then you will have died in the most honorable way possible," he smiles, patting my shoulder. "And I will also miss you dearly."

"Peter," I say in agony. "You mustn't do this to me."

"It was your idea, cousin. Now, I'm going to get May. If you're not on Troy when I return, I shall make the journey with you."

With me?! No!

I hurry and attach my satchel to Troy, our greatest horse, and I climb on before Peter can come back. If he attempted the trip, he would surely die. He's fully human while I can pass as a demon more successfully than a human.

He comes back with May and gestures for me to follow him. I smile and give the horse a little go kick to catch up. When we are finally in line with Peter, I slow the horse down and enjoy the ride a little while I can.

"Just think, Scar," Peter says, gazing up at the sky, "you're going to meet your father. He's going to love you and think you are insanely beautiful. He's a heartless man and we know it, but nobody can be like that to their own child. You're going to do great."

"Do you really think so?" I smile, glancing at him. "I hope so. The thing I worry about is the journey between here and the demons. I fear that I will get attacked. The world out there is unknown to me. I've been stuck in the castle my whole life. What if I get lost?"

"You need to gain some confidence, cousin. I believe in you. Now you need to believe in yourself."

I look back at my horse and bite my lip. He's right, I have problems with that, especially when my life is on the line.

But who can blame me? I've spent my life hiding from people. I've never had the opportunity to show my true self, so when the time is finally here, it's extremely hard and I don't know how.

"I'll try," I promise, looking up ahead. My stomach starts doing somersaults as I realize the gate of my departure is within ninety feet of us. Am I ready?

"Alright, Scarlett," Peter says. "There's your gate. Do you have everything you need?"

"I believe so," I say in a shaky voice. My body is quivering uncontrollably. Why couldn't I have had an identical twin? That would have made things so much easier.

"Good luck. I know you can do this," Peter says. We give each other a hug as best as we can while sitting on the horses and he points his horse toward our castle, saluting me.

"Remember, I'm going to go tell them that you went missing and you need to get out of here as fast as you can. I'll give you ten minutes maximum before I go bring their attention to it, so go give Troy a good run, alright?"

"I will. Goodbye, Peter," I say sadly, waving to him.

"Goodbye, Scarlett. I believe in you. Always remember that. Go find your father!" he waves back as I bring up enough courage to take off. Before I know it, Peter is behind the gate and Troy has us racing across the roads.

I pull my cloak more securely over my face so people don't wonder where I'm going. In this place, everyone knows the royalty on a first name basis even if they haven't met them, so if I'm not careful, someone could recognize me and ruin Peter's and my plan.

Troy is a trooper and gets us on Forrest road. He keeps running, the good boy, and I keep a firm grip on him so I don't lose him. If he kept going at this pace, we could surely make it at least half way by the end of the night.

To my surprise, there are other folks on the road and they all look to be peasants. It makes me sick to see some of them in tatters and worn down clothing while my closet is full of infinite dresses; I don't think I've worn the same outfit more than thrice I sure hope Uncle Xavier takes much better care of the kingdom than my grandfather did, because this is upsetting. No wonder my mother never allowed me to leave the castle.

Well, that and other obvious reasons.

Troy keeps running until evening, so I stop to let her take a water break. At this point in the road, there is almost no one, and honestly, it frightens me. I decide now is an excellent time to wash the dye out of my hair, so I take my cup for water and I start washing out the dye into the river. The water is a little dirty, but my black hair won't make it too obvious, so I continue to sprinkle water and get it out.

Thankfully, it comes out with ease and after a good five minutes, my hair is completely jet black. I whip it around in the air and feel it with my fingers, happy that I can finally have this freedom. After I enjoy its natural state, I wrap it in a bun and place my cloak back over my head. Troy is done drinking as well, so I hop back on him and get him running again, not wanting to waste another minute.

A journey begins with a single step, and with every step we take, we are closer to fulfilling my dream.