The wind blew numbly through Reyna's ears as her stallion galloped at full speed. The night air was still warm and seemed to weigh down on the princess. The sky was clear, making the stars shine down brightly upon Craylith. Reyna's horse followed them east, toward the ocean, where she'd be able to think, maybe even cry a little, without anybody bothering her.
Reyna hadn't even taken the time to change out of her dress after rushing through the halls to her room. All she had done was bring a change of clothes, a brush, some food, and water. The silence in the castle was so horrible that it, along with her thoughts, suffocated Reyna. She quickly figured out that she needed a ride. The silence of the outside world wasn't really silence, with animals scurrying about, trees swaying, and little gurgles of streams, it was just quiet. An absence of any noise that was not of nature, if you will.
After packing a bag, Reyna rushed out to the stables, avoiding the guards with a skill that could only be developed by countless secret outings. Marie and she had snuck out of the castle more times than the princess could count, and to this day, had never been caught. The two had gotten into a fair amount of trouble in the streets of Aleta but always managed to get out of it without revealing their identities. Thinking about Marie made Reyna wonder if she knew or not. It was more than likely, but she'd like to believe that her lady in waiting would tell her something this important.
Anyway, Reyna had her stallion sprint out of the city at full speed, then let him take over, as she just wanted to recede into her own mind. After hearing the sound of a stream, Reyna pulled at the reins, effectively stopping her horse. It was clear that he wasn't happy, as he was just getting into a comfortable pace, but she ignored it. Dismounting Reyna snatched the bag of clothes and headed towards the sound of the stream.
Once she found it, she stripped and stepped into the warm water. It wasn't very fast, or wide, but it was deep enough to come up to Reyna's shoulders. After scrubbing her face aggressively, she started on her hair. Pulling the pins out, one by one was extremely painful. Reyna relished it, as she was feeling way too numb for the situation. She wasn't crying, yelling, or even thinking of ways to get out of the betrothal to Lord James, she was just there, in the moment. Her thoughts seemed to be a fuzzy gray that wouldn't fade. Every pin that pulled at her scalp, pulled away that fuzzy gray. Every bit of pain, brought Reyna further out of her numb mind.
When she finally managed to take the last one out, a wave of gold exploded around her, finally set free. Reyna's hair was thick and waist-length, meaning that she had a lot of it. The color was considered rare, a dirty blonde mixed with red in a way to make it look golden. Reyna's mother had made her promise to never cut it short, and Reyna never broke promises.
Her mother was the one that wanted to name her Reyna, but her father wanted it to be more proper, so it became Reynalda. Still, the nickname stuck even though everybody else called her Sybil. Remembering the queen put her in a sourer mood if that was possible. She'd died over seven years ago when Reyna was ten. Her mother made the king swear to never make her marry for anything other than love as if she had known Reyna's secret long before she did.
Thinking about that promise made her angry. The King had broken his word, and for what? Why make her marry a pompous lord at all? It didn't make much sense, as nobody except Lord James would profit from it.
Reyna ran her hands through the thick hair, trying to find any leftover pins. When she found a couple she swam to the shore to put them with the others. After repeating the process a few more times to make sure they were all out, Reyna left the warm waters to change. She had brought leggings that were meant for riding, boots, both black, a green shirt that had long triangle sleeves, a black bodice that went flared slightly after the ties, and a brownish cloak. Neither the bodice nor cloak were really necessary as nobody would see Reyna, but she wasn't going to take chances.
After she was dressed, she mounted, and they were off toward the cliffs. Behind Reyna, her hair waved like a golden flag. When the cliffs were in sight, her stallion slowed into an easy trot. He always seemed to know what to do without instruction. Him being intelligent was the reason she loved him, besides his speed, of course.
Reyna took the saddlebag towards the cliffs, leaving her stallion in the tree line where he could graze. The sounds and smells of the ocean filled her senses, calming the princess. She wasn't really a believer of gods, unlike many of her people, Reyna felt that believing in something with absolutely no proof, or just because it was tradition was stupid. But at that moment, she thanked Eteus for the ocean, and it's calming effects.
A second later, the world around Reyna stilled. The slight breeze disappeared, the animals in the forest quieted, even the ever constant waves became stagnant. The princess could feel the difference in the air, as if it was filled with tension. It was like the whole world was holding its breath, waiting.
At first, Reyna tried to ignore it, tried to pretend that goosebumps didn't crawl up her arms, or that shivers weren't running down her spine. She just sat on the edge of the cliff, gripping her bag. Eventually, though, the princess had to relent to the creepy atmosphere. She stood up, and began walking back to her stallion. "Alright," She practically whispered. "Let's get back." Before, Reyna could get to her horse, he reared violently, forcing the princess back towards the cliff, then ran off. "Well, that's just great."
As she said it, Reyna could hear a violent cracking sound, like rocks hitting against each other. The sound made her ears ring. Before she could do anything, the princess felt, or rather saw, the world tilt. Around and around, she went, with rocks flying everywhere. Reyna didn't know that the cliff edge had slid off into the ocean, until she hit the water.
Now, usually, when you hit the water, there's a slapping sound, and a burning feeling where you hit, but when Reyna hit the water, the waves seemed to catch her and cradle her fragile body. She was still underwater, unable to breathe, her body trying to overcome the shock of the water's low temperature, but there was no burning pain. Suddenly, the waves that had been so gentle before, began to rock aggressively, throwing the princess back and forth, up and down, until she no longer knew which direction was which. She tried to swim in the direction she thought was up. Please, please, I don't want to die. Her arms flayed about in an attempt to grab or feel something to direct her up, but she came up empty.
Reyna's vision turned splotchy, and her ears began to ring, a headache formed like a pressure building until she thought it would explode. The princess tried to breathe in but was only rewarded with saltwater. Her last thought before entering oblivion was, "At least I won't have to marry that bastard."