Finding Freedom

Finding Freedom - Part 2 Chapter 1

Part two.

Chapter 1 - Escape

I let the sun warm my face as I recovered those painful memories. Eight years had passed since then, but I would remember that episode for the rest of my life.

            Much had changed since the hanging of Lil’Billy. The blueleaf vine had grown back to my balcony, but I did not use it anymore for I could now wander in and out of the castle at will.

            I smirked. The message had finally sunk into my head. It was simple: be a princess, and I’ll leave you alone. I had to admit, my conduct had been exemplary since the hanging, and so I had gained Amandina’s trust. Still, how miserable my life had been, having to be perfect all the time. My mother could always find the little thing that would make me wretched. But I could bare it all, knowing it would soon be over. My plan was ready; it had been for almost a year. All I needed was the perfect occasion.

            “I thought I would find you here,”

            I disrupted my thoughts to slowly look at my mother who had come to join me on my bench. She had not changed much these last eight years; her hair had started to turn white, and the more she tried to conceal the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, the more I found them visible. But overall, she was still the majestic queen I had always known.

            “…although I am entirely incapable of discerning why you sit alone in the castle garden with nothing to do.”

            I said nothing and she sat down on the bench beside me. I felt my heart cringe in my chest. If Amandina honoured me with her presence only to tell me something, I was sure not to like it.

            “As you know, she said, today is your sixteenth birthday, and there is a ball to be held in the castle for this occasion.”

            “Yes, mother.” I answered, still waiting for the bad things that would come.

            “I have decided that you shall wear the dress Sir Cedric has given you, as he will accompany you to the ball.”

            “Yes, mother.” I repeated. If that was all she had to say, she had wasted her time because I had guessed as much. The cringe in my heart lessened. I was expecting worse.

            “I have also decided, she surprisingly continued, that you sister Mary will go, and as the guest of honour you shall introduce her.”

            I had known I would hear disagreeable words, but this surpassed all my expectations. That my sister would have her first ball almost instead of my sixteenth birthday ball was like a blow to my heart. The blow almost broke the invisible shield between my acts and feelings; the one I had taken eight years to carefully construct. The usual words came out with more difficulty.

            “Yes, mother.” I said painfully, after a pause.

            Having said what she had come to say, my mother left me to my thoughts. Needless to say I was utterly furious. I knew she preferred my sister to me, that only proved once again it was true. The queen had made sure that Mary would share the attention on a day that was supposed to be my own. Suddenly a fact came to my attention.

            “I have my occasion.” I whispered to myself.

            I had my occasion. The plan unveiled in my mind. It was the perfect time to run away once and for all. I got up and resolutely walked to my bedroom where I found Yvonne sweeping the floor.