Chapter Six
William didn't waste any time, quickly grabbing Abey's hand and dragging her again through the backstreets of the town that lay just beyond the Palace walls.
"We did it!" William laughed, turning his run into a skip, a huge grin on his face, "We actually did it!" He pulled Abey into his arms and lifted her up, spinning her round as he continued to laugh joyously.
"Wait, wait!" Abey said breathlessly as she was returned to the ground. "William, what are we doing?" She couldn't help but laugh at the Prince's delirious happiness.
"Isn't it obvious?" He said, holding her waist, his eyes alive and sparkling. "We're running away. I'm running away with you!" He grinned and kissed her passionately before she could react. Abey stood in shock at first, before realising any attempt to stop him or change his mind would be fruitless. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, hearing him give a small laugh in delight as she did so.
After several minutes, William reluctantly pulled away, leading them through the backstreets until they could see the blurred outlines of the countryside through the darkness. After scouring the Palace and the gardens, the search was bound to spread to the local town.
It must have been nearing midnight when the pair finally stopped running, finding an old abandoned shed on the edge of a rundown farm, far enough away from the town for them to feel confident they wouldn't be found until morning.
William secured the door behind them as Abey threw their two bags into the corner, before walking over to her and continuing the kiss they had began earlier. They weren't sure how much time passed until they were both stood, breathless, their foreheads resting against each other as they laughed in relief, ecstatic at what they had just achieved.
"I think, time to sleep" Abey said, rubbing the top of William's arms, then pulling the rolled up blankets out of her bag, arranging them among the old and broken crates littering the floor of the shed.
William watched her for a moment, taking her in, before helping her; both of them finally settling down, their arms wrapped around each other, still wearing their thick coats and covered in blankets.
"Can I ask, how did you know? How to get out?" Abey asked in the darkness. It had just occurred to her that William had found it all too easy to find a route out of the Palace.
"What do you mean?" He replied, kissing the top of her head as she snuggled closer to him.
"The door. The gate."
"The door that led to the gardens?" He felt Abey nod. "Well, there's quite a few of them, all around the Palace. It's called the King's Escape. They're for if we ever find ourselves attacked or under siege, hidden ways to sneak the Royal Family out. I didn't know there was one in that room, just a lucky break" He smiled to himself, it really was lucky. Someone obviously wanted him and Abey to be together, even if his parents didn't. "As for the gate," he continued, "that's the gate I used to use when I would sneak out, back when I was younger. I haven't used it in years but I knew exactly where it would be."
He felt Abey give a small chuckle, and smiled as he looked down at her, just making out her face in the darkness, her eyes closed and her expression contented.
"Goodnight, Mast-" She began to mumble, cutting herself off with a frown. "Goodnight, William" She mumbled instead, this time with a smile.
"Goodnight, Abey" William kissed the top of her head again, before closing his eyes himself and drifting off to sleep.
He woke up what felt like five minutes later, cold and stiff on the floor. Only the feeling of warm light hitting his eyelids told him it must be morning.
"Wake up!" Hands gently shook him, getting more violent as he didn't move. He groaned and brought an arm up over his face as the blankets around him were pulled away. "Get up, lazy!" He heard Abey laugh at him as she pulled his arms down and saw his squinting, pouting face. "It's morning, time to get going"
He sat up properly and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Now he could see more clearly, he noticed it was still quite dark, only wispy rays of light filtering through the gaps in the wood of the shed. 'More dawn than morning' William thought, watching sleepily as Abey repacked everything into the bags, before handing him his and unblocking the door.
He stood up, and realised how useful it was that Abey had a knack of waking so early. By moving off at dawn they had bought themselves extra time to get as far away possible, before deciding on their next plan of action.
Abey opened the door and poked her head out, when she was satisfied the coast was clear, she stepped out, William following her and closing the door. As they walked away across the fields it was as if they had never been there...
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T FIND THEM?!" The Queen raged, "ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT THEY HAVE DISAPPEARED INTO NOWHERE?"
"We have searched the entire Palace, and all the gardens, as well as extending the search into the neighbouring town." The Head of the Armed Guard stood in the middle of the throne room, managing to keep his composure, despite the force of the Queen's rage.
"It's been less than 12 hours. There is no way they could have travelled beyond Castlefield. It's impossible!" The Queen said agitatedly, now pacing in front of the row of thrones.
"My dear, you know William. When he doesn't want to be found, it can be very difficult to track him" The King said. He was deeply saddened by his son's departure, and didn't have the energy to rage and shout like his wife.
"He managed to sneak out a few times when we were younger, that doesn't make him the master of disguise" Georgiana drawled from her throne. Although she didn't care about William, she wasn't about to miss out on the drama of a crisis.
"Exactly!" The Queen agreed. "So obviously someone is not doing their job properly." She turned accusingly to the Head of the Armed Guard, who tried his best not to flinch under the Royal's stare.
"We are doing everything we can, Your Majesty, and are confident we will find them both within the next few days" the General said hopefully.
"Well that's just not good enough!" His answer had done little to placate the Queen, and had in fact seemed to make her angrier than ever. "They should have been found last night! As soon as the alarm was raised!"
"My love, let the man do his job. Shouting at him will not make him find them any quicker. In fact, it is more likely to slow them down." The King explained softly, the Queen pausing before she saw the sense in his words.
"Very well. Continue" She said curtly, sitting back down on her throne as the General bowed and exited. "This is madness. Utter madness" She muttered as she frowned out of the window, trying to guess where on earth her son could have gone...
Abey grunted slightly as she jumped up and grabbed an apple that was hanging onto one of the lower branches as the tree.
"There are plenty of the ground, you know" William laughed, picking up a fallen apple, giving it a quick shine before starting to eat it.
"More fun this way" Abey shrugged with a grin, taking a huge bite of her apple, making William laugh again.
They walked all morning through what seemed like endless fields, the only other living things they had come across being the occasional cow or sheep herd. It had been Abey who had spotted the cluster of trees, and when they had approached it they had found it to be a small orchard. The owner was nowhere to be found, and neither had eaten since the day before, so they now strolled among trees, eating apples and enjoying their newfound feeling of freedom.
William watched Abey as she swung around the tree trunks, smiling to see how carefree she was. She was swinging around, looking up at the sky when she suddenly felt someone grab her, and prepared herself to fight them off, relieved to see it was only William, one hand on her waist while he placed hers on his shoulder, taking her other hand in his.
"What are you doing?" She laughed nervously.
"I'm dancing with you" He replied simply, beginning to move slowly, causing Abey to stumble and nearly trip over her feet.
"No, you're not." She said, pulling herself away, "I don't know how" she added, hoping this would deter his attempts. William simply chuckled and pulled her into position again.
"Then I'll teach you"
It was a long lesson, but eventually Abey began to feel she was getting the hang of it. After much stumbling and stepping into each other, she had found it possible to keep in time, even if that meant by staring resolutely at her feet.
William had to smile as he watched the concentration on Abey's face. As a Prince, he had been forced to learn to dance from a very early age, and so it now came to him as naturally as breathing. It was funny seeing someone having so much difficulty with something so simple, especially as he could hear her quietly mouthing the counts to herself as they moved slowly around.
Just as she was beginning to feel confident she was doing the right thing, Abey found her head being gently lifted upwards, William's hand under her chin.
"You know you're meant to look at your partner when you're dancing with them" He smiled, his face illuminated by the glow of the afternoon sun.
Abey simply stuck out her tongue, William giving a mischievous grin before started to spin her round the orchard so fast that everything became a blur, ignoring her laughing squeals of protest and laughing himself.
"HEY!" an unfamiliar voice suddenly rang through the trees, their tone anything but friendly. "WHO ARE YOU? WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY ORCHARD"
William and Abey froze, their heads snapping towards the source of the voice, their shocked expressions and wide eyes the mirror of each other.
A short, portly man was making his way towards them, his pace thankfully slowed by the uneven ground he was moving across. He had just been on his way to the nearby town, and was stopping off at the orchard to take some apples to sell them, when he had seen the sight of two indistinct people running around.
"Run!" William said, letting go of Abey and starting to run through the trees, Abey following close behind, but not before she had managed to pick up a few of the remaining apples from the ground and stuffing them in her bag.
"AND WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING WITH THOSE? GIVE ME BACK MY APPLES"
"Abey! Come on!" William shouted, pausing as she caught up to him, grabbing his hand and sprinting through the neighbouring field, the sight of the orchard owner slowly growing smaller as he stood at the the edge of the trees, shaking his fist and shouting obscenities after them.
"That was close" Abey laughed breathlessly when they finally stopped running, standing in the middle of another empty field.
"Too close" William said sternly, before collapsing into laughter as well, putting Abey in a headlock and kissing the top of her head.
"Don't you ever do that to me again!" He told her off, still laughing as he got his breath back.
"I'm very sorry" She apologised, not a hint of sincerity in her voice as she grinned. William released her and sighed, running a hand through his hair and shaking his head, still laughing.
"Come on, it looks like there could be some kind of forest or wood down there, lets head that way and see of we can make a camp for the night" He said, noticing a thin strip of green just a few fields away.
Abey nodded and took hold of his hand as they started to walk steadily towards the distant trees.
"Just as long as it's not another orchard" Abey said, a pause before they both fell into more fits of laughter, William swinging his arm around her shoulders as they carried on their journey...
Abey smiled up at William as he sat back down next her, the small but persistent fire in front of them now burning brightly. She leant her head on his shoulder as he put his arm around her and wrapped the blanket closer around them.
It was nightfall, and they had managed to find a small clearing in the middle of the wood where they had decided to set up camp for the night. They had eaten the rest of the apples Abey had managed to swipe from the orchard, and had found some other berries and mushrooms when they were walking through the forest.
But now they sat together, just staring into the fire, listening to the sounds of the wood in the twilight.
"So what do we do now?" Abey broke the silence.
"Do you mean now this minute, or now tomorrow?" William asked.
"Now tomorrow."
"Well, I think we should maybe try and find a village or town-" He paused as Abey looked up at him with a frown.
"I thought we were avoiding towns?" she said, confused.
"We can't live in the woods forever, living off berries and stolen apples"
"We could try" Abey joked, putting her head back onto William's shoulder.
"I don't think so" he said with a soft laugh, holding her even closer and closing his eyes. "No, I think we should find a town. We should be far enough away by now, and we can get some proper, warm food and find somewhere to have a proper rest"
"Then what?" Abey yawned.
"Then we keep travelling west, to the border. We can find passage into one of the neighbouring Kingdoms, somewhere no-one will know who we are." He continued, his eyes still closed, picturing their new life together.
"Other Kingdoms?" Abey said tiredly. She had spent all her memorable life in Angrokor, and had never thought of there being other places. As a slave she had never been taught about the Kingdoms surrounding them, and she had never questioned the idea that Angrokor was the entire world.
"Yes" William replied, "I'll tell you all about them sometime."
"So we make our way to the border" Abey yawned again.
"I think so. Though there's something else we have to do before we can leave Angrokor" William said with a smile.
"What's that?" Abey said absentmindedly, not fully listening now that sleep was beginning to take over.
"I have to find somewhere I can marry you" He said matter-of-factly.
Abey didn't reply, but simply smiled and sighed happily, resting fully onto William. He smiled down at her and kissed her forehead, before gently lying her down and settling next to her, his arms around her and their faces inches apart.
"I love you" Abey said quietly, letting sleep take her over completely.
William watched her for a while, the embers of the now almost extinguished fire casting dancing light over her face.
"I love you too" William whispered back, never wanting to close his, but happy to, knowing her face would still be there always.