Alexandria: The Lost Princess

Chapter 12 - Part 2

Each step shoots fear through my lungs. A figure shifts in the window of the inn. Kalen. The same window I had looked out of, to see the market. If my memory is right, we are in the square. There is nothing but crowds to the right of the market. Crowds I can disappear into. I can't let Kalen take me to a man who orders his own men to beat women and imprison them for 'assessment.'

There is no other option for me, I need to escape this wretched city and now. Bolting into the nearest crowd, using my figure to my advantage I slip in between people. Diving down, I crawl across the uneven rock path as far away as possible before they can find me.

A foot lands on my hand, and I bite back a cry of pain. Bouncing to my feet, the shoulders of surrounding people blocking my view. Through the parting others, I catch glimpses of them. Spread out, they move fluidly through the crowds. Weaving through the crowds, they scan for their prey, me.

Pushing into a clearing, my heart pounds in distress. A fountain tricking with ripples of water blocks my path. Arthur locks eyes with me, his face hardens, and I climb into the fountain. Water splashes up around me, my dress soaking with weight. Flinging myself over the edge of the fountain I dive into another crowd, disappearing from Arthur's sight.

Shoving through the crowds, I reach out grabbing a wooden platform pulling myself out of the crowd. Looking up, the sun blasts across my vision, a silhouette stands atop the platform. Stepping back, my brow drips with sudden sweat. A cloud falls over the sun and before me is my future.

Soulless eyes glaze passed me, staring into the crowds beyond. Her dishevelled hair flows in the wind, a dark rich brown. Pale as snow, the bruises scattered across her body, her only colour. A rope holds her floating above the platform, and an urge deep inside my throat pushes out from inside me. My scream echoes through the square, captured by the wind. My heart pounds against my chest, my vision blurs and the people around spin. With a tremble, my legs collapse from under me, and I fall to the ground.

Arthur pops out of the crowd a small ways away. Shifting his head, he catches sight of me and marches over. Scrambling to my feet, I stumble into the crowd again. A hand grabs ahold of the collar of my dress as people close in around me. Quickly, tugging me back towards him, I slam harshly into his chest. Slinging his arm around my neck, he holds me close.

Clawing at his arm, I drag my nails across his shirt, ripping it. He pulls me back against the platform, holding me while Wilfrid marches over and flings me over his shoulder. Smashing my fists against his backplate, I scream, "Let me go!"

"You shouldn't have done that," he growls. Ignoring the observers, interested in the scene we are creating, he marches towards the inn, towards Kalen.

Up the stairs, Wilfrid marches, my legs smash against the walls with each swing and his fingers digging into my hips. Tears pour down my face with hatred and fear as we enter the room, Kalen flings the door shut with a roaring slam. Flipping me off his shoulder onto a chair, Wilfrid grabs my shoulders, holding me still in the chair that is conveniently placed in the middle of the room.

Kalen approaches, his fists clenching with white knuckles and he crosses his arms. "I saw you run again." An obvious statement. The monster has returned with a vengeance at my disloyalty. Struggling under the weight of his stare, I know he will never let me go again. Wilfrid presses down on my shoulders harder, holding me from flinging myself off the chair. Clamping my mouth shut, my body trembling to hold back my screams of hatred. Wilfrid's fingers curl into my shoulders, digging in with an anger of his own.

Keeping his stare, our anger swirling in the space between us. "The silent treatment? I can work with that." He leans in our faces inches apart, his hot breath blowing obnoxiously in my face. "Your meeting in the morning," Kalen spits, and irritation flares inside me.