"There will always be the kind that criticize, but I know, yes I know we'll be alright"
Time has gone by and there's only a little under a week till my wedding. I still don't know who I'm marrying, and to be honest I don't really care. I wouldn't be happy either way.
I've just been crying in my room for days upon end, wondering how my parents could be so heartless. I thought they cared about me, why can't they let me be with who I love?
And Louis.
How is he? Is he okay? Did he make it home safely?
I wish he was here right now. I wish I was cuddled beside him in my bed, not laying here alone in the cold empty sheets. I feel numb. I hear a knock at my door and sit up to see the waiter I recognize as Luke carrying in my breakfast.
"Good morning, your highness." He smiled sadly, bringing over the tray and sitting it on my bedside table.
"Good morning Luke." I responded.
"Are you doing better this morning?" He asked, pouring me a cup of coffee.
"Not really, no. I don't want to be here, I don't understand my parents." I sigh, thanking him quietly as he hands me the coffee cup.
"I'm sorry, I heard what happened. It's not very fair to you." He sighs, glancing at the door cautiously. "I heard from Micheal that the guards will lessen their patrols tonight due to it being Calum's birthday, they'll be gathering for a party. That would be a good opportunity to..."
"Sneak out?" I ask, the idea feeling foreign. Sure I've ran off to my little waterfall area before to decompress, which my parents have forbidden me from ever doing again, but I've never sneaked out to go to the town.
"Yes, it's just a suggestion sir. I best get going, have a good day." He smiles, walking outside.
I sit up, grabbing the food from the nightstand and eating breakfast. My newly short hair falls in front of my face causing me to huff, trying to push it back on my head. I hate it.
I've also read through all of Gemma's letters. She talks about how she's doing, asks how I am, and asks about how mother and father are treating me. And I didn't receive any of it. The letters were opened, meaning father had read them.
Why did he keep them from me?
I finish eating and move my plate back to my bedside table. I get out of bed and go to the bathroom, getting ready for the day. I'm going to actually leave my room today.
Might even leave the castle.
I get dressed and walk out of my room, peaking into the corridor first to make sure I didn't see my parents.
I haven't seen them since they brought the priest into my living room area so that he could try and 'help me'. Fuck them honestly they aren't my parents anymore.
I walk down the hallway to Taylor's room, knocking on the door.
She opened it, shock appearing on her face when she saw me. "Oh my god Harry, come in." She says, looking down the hallway to make sure no one else was there before pulling me inside.
"Are you okay? I heard what happened..."
"They took him away from me." I mumble, staring at the ground.
"I know, I'm sorry." She frowns.
"I wanna get him back, and I need your help." I say, looking up and meeting her eyes.
"What can I do?"
"I want you to stay in my room tonight, so that if my parents or a maid enter you can just tell them we're on a date or something. I'm going to leave the castle. I was tipped off by a waiter that security is low tonight. I can sneak out." I say, her nodding slowly as she processes.
"Do you know where you're going exactly?"
"...no... but I will figure it out." I respond, her nodding again.
"And what if you're not back before morning?"
"I wasn't planning on being back before morning." I whisper causing her eyes to widen.
"So your... just going to stay with him and never return?"
"I haven't thought that far ahead, but I know I don't want to be here without him. So it's either me and him getting to stay or neither of us." I shrug, running a hand through my hair.
"God your hair is so short now." Taylor says, looking at me.
"Yeah, fucking preist cut it off to 'get the sin out of me'." I say, waving my hands in the air as if it was motioning sin leaving me. Being in love isn't sinful. "Anyways if you could come over to my room at around five that would be great."
"Yeah, I'll be there." Taylor smiles.
"Okay thank you." I say, walking over to the door.
"No problem."
I exit the room, closing the door behind me and run back to my room. I need to make a plan.
◟̽◞̽
Taylor had just arrived at my room just as I finished packing a small back with some of my items. I don't know if I'm coming back so just in case I'd like to take some things.
"Are you nervous?" Taylor asked, sitting down on the couch.
"A little bit, I've never been to the town before so I don't know where I'm going." I admit.
"When you exit the castle ground I'd recommend going through the trees to the right, to avoid the main road. Stick close enough to the road though so you don't wander. Once you get to town I remember seeing Louis walking home towards the hilltops after school, so you'd have to go to the back of town and travel to the outskirts." She says.
"Glad to know I have a human map as a friend." I laugh, causing her to roll her eyes.
"You better get a move on, I'd guess it's a four hour walk." I sigh at her words, throwing my back pack over my shoulder and walking towards the door.
"Thank you Taylor," I smiled one last time at her.
"No problem, and good luck."
I peek my head outside again, scanning for people passing by. It was clear. I make my way towards the west exit of the building, my escape being surprisingly easy.
I open up the door and look outside seeing only two guards stuck on duty, standing facing away and towards the gardens. I debate my actions before I decide to go with my gut running forward quietly across the open land and into the trees across.
I made it.
Was it this easy to get out all of these years?
I'm free. I let the feeling wash over me for just a second before beginning to walk through the trees towards the direction of the road. I'm going to walk near it, not on it, like Taylor said.
I decided not to run, not now as least. No reason to waste my energy.
I might be out of the castle but I still have to make it over the fence. It's funny that there's a fence and guards to keep people out, but you never really think about it keeping people in too.
I made my way over tree roots, finding a couple interesting looking rocks and putting them in the empty cup holder of my backpack.
I approach the fence, crouching down so that if there were any guards they wouldn't see me. I see the trees just across the road from the fence, if I jumped and ran quick enough I should be safe.
I stand up again, trying to figure out the best way to get over the fence. I end up just trying and sticking my foot on the lower part and hoist myself over. I fell. Shit.
I feel myself beginning to worry, will I have to turn back and give up just because I can't jump a fence?
I moved down the fence a little more, trying to see if there was a piece where the fence was weaker. I came across a spot of land where it appeared an animal had dug their way underneath and to the other side. This could work if I was willing to get dirty.
I shove my backpack under the fence through the hole, it is now sitting on the other side.
I try to squeeze under the fence, dirty getting all over me in the process. I can't fit.
I sigh, standing up and finding a curved rock and walking back over to the hole and sitting down, beginning to dig at the hole to make it deeper and make the area around it wider.
I'm glad I left the castle when I did, this will take a long time.
After some time of digging, I'm not sure how long my whole sense of time is off, I managed to slide under the fence, the corner of one of the bars tearing through my clothes and cutting my shoulder, causing it to bleed. Splendid.
"Fuck." I mumbled, looking at my wounded shoulder.
I hear faint talking from some guards looking at the perimeter of the castle. I've gotta move quickly. I grab my backpack quickly and throw it on my back. I run across the road to the trees on the other side, running a little while through the trees till I feel safe.
I walked and I walked, trying to stay close to the road that would lead me to town, at one point I heard a car drive past and hid behind a large rock for around probably seven minutes. I was bored and started counting.
I think a lot about my life, and how it's led to this, about what little me would be thinking right now. The little me who just wanted to make his parents proud.
After an eternity of walking I reached the town.
I don't know what I expected it to look like, I've never been outside of the castle before so I had no knowledge of how a town looked. It was beautiful.
There were small houses and buildings all spread out around each other, people on late night strolls around, a couple of children playing outside.
All this time I lived up there, alone, when I could have been here.
I try walking towards the outskirts of the town, wanting to stay far away from running into someone who could recognize me. Instead I ran into someone I myself recognize, Zayn's sisters sat outside on the porch of their house playing some sort of game, laughing together. I approached the house before I could stop myself, having no plan in mind at all.
"Hello." I say to them, all three of them turning to look up at me.
"Your highness." Waliyha says, standing up. I feel bad because she might be expecting me to show up and apologize for sending her away and tell her I want her back, but that's not the case.
"Is your brother home?" I ask, her face falls a little bit but she nods open the front door of their house.
"Zayn!"
"What!" I heard quietly from inside the house.
"Come here!"
Seconds later Zayn appeared, his eyes widened when he saw me. "Shit man what are you doing here?" Zayn asks, walking up to me.
"They kicked Louis out because they found us out, I'm here to get him back. I just don't know where he lives." I told him.
"You left the castle to be with Louis?" He question, not fully understanding.
"Yeah, but I don't know where he lives."
"I can show you." Zayn replies. He then turns to his sister and speaks to her, "Tell mum I'm with a friend and will be home shortly." She nods.
Zayn and I begin walking the rest of the way up the street, me explaining fully what happened to him.
"That's awful." Zayn says quietly, shaking his head. "I'm glad you got out of there. What do you think your parents will do when they find out you left?"
"I don't know, probably find me and kill me." I sigh. We finish walking to the end of the road.
"You see that house up there with the little farm beside it?" Zayn asks. I nod. "That's the Tomlinson's. Louis will be there."
"Thank you Zayn." I smile at him.
"No problem, I'm glad to help you." Zayn says before turning around and walking back to his house. I walk up the small hill and over to the house beside the barn.
I approach the door, knocking on it lightly. I'm finally here. I've made it.
The door opens seconds later, a little kid I recognized as either Daisy or Phoebe standing there.
"Hazza?" She questions, stepping towards me and looking up.
"Yeah it's me." I respond smiling down at her.
"You're all dirty and your hair is gone." She points out, and you've got to love the bluntness of kids.
"Yes I-"
"Who is is Pheebes?" I hear Louis ask as he approaches, him stopping his tracks when he sees me. "Harry." He exhales a look of shock and relief on his face.
He moves around Phoebe and towards me, his hands gently cupping my face as mine rest on his hips. He leaned forward kissing me softly, the kiss different from one we've ever shared before. It was so full of love and passion. I didn't want it to ever end.
But eventually we both pull back Louis looking at me in shock. "You're here."
"I am."
"How did you get here?" He asked, Phoebe had disappeared now as he pulled me into the house and guided me to what looked like the dining room, both of us sitting down at the table. I've never been in an actual house before, the feeling was something different. Cozy, I think is the word.
"I ran away. I went through the woods and under the fence, and then through the town until I got here." I tell him, moving to itch my shoulder but then wincing when I remember it's cut.
"What is it?" Louis asked when he noticed me in pain, moving the ripped fabric of my shirt to the side so he could see my wound. "Oh god, Mum!" Louis suddenly yells.
"Yes dear?" Johannah says, appearing seconds later, her face lighting up when she sees me. "Harry! You're here-"
"Can you get a first aid kit?" Louis asks her, her face turning to one of concern before she nods walking in the other room.
"I can't believe you came all the way here for me." Louis mumbled as he began trying to undo my shirt so he could better look at my shoulder.
"Of course I did. I love you Louis." I say, him stopping in his unbuttoning and meeting my eyes.
"I love you too Harry." He smiles, leaning forward and kissing me again.
"Oh my," I hear quietly, causing both of us to pull apart to see Louis' mum had entered the room again.
"Thank you." Louis said, grabbing the first aid kit from Johannah as I finished undoing my shirt.
I slide the fabric off my arms so now I sit completely shirtless in the Tomlinson dining room.
Louis cleans the blood off my shoulder, Johannah coming over and stitching up the wound for me.
"Thank you both." I smile at them once I'm all stitched up.
"No problem," Louis' mum says, giving Louis a pat on the shoulder before leaving the room.
"I can't believe you're here." Louis says, "will they come looking for you?"
"Probably, they'll search the grounds first and then probably head to the town." I responded.
"You're so brave, and I'm so thankful you're here with me." Louis smiled, pecking my lips. "How have the past week or so been for you?"
"Not good. I barely left my room and when I did it was to see the priest." I sigh.
"They were serious about that? Oh god Harry I'm sorry, what did they say, what did they do?"
"They just kept drilling into me that what we have is wrong, and that I'm supposed to be with a girl. They cut my hair off because it made me look too girly." I murmured.
"I noticed, it doesn't look bad." Louis says, reaching up and running his fingers through my short hair. No curls left.
"But you said you liked it long." I mumbled, tears suddenly falling from my face. Of course I'm crying, I'm such a baby.
"Hey, hey, hey, it's okay. You are beautiful, you are perfect. My perfect boy, okay?" He says, wiping my tears away with his thumbs as he cradled my face in his hands.
"Okay." I sigh.
"Let's go upstairs and get some rest, you must be exhausted." I am.
He smiles, both of us standing up, him holding my hand in his as we go up the stairs.
Hope you enjoyed chapter eleven!