Adrianna's vision blurred for a brief moment as the realization of Eve's absence hit her square in the face. She rubbed her eyes and looked around the massive room. She stepped inside and looked into every corner, the closet, under the bed, behind the curtains, under the sheets! She checked everywhere! She was having a panic attack. Did Eve want her dead that badly? Surely the king would have her head for her carelessness.
Drawing the curtains aside, she looked down the window and gasped. It could not be, Eve could not have gotten out of her bed room from this window. Oh, but the more she examined the window, the more she saw how possible it could be. Eve's window was directly above a shingle roof top and right under the roof top stood another window that had what appeared to be a ladder with flowers twirling around it, leaning against the wall. The ladder led right down to the palace grounds. Not a single guard could be seen on ground either; they must have all gone to welcome the prince.
What would poor Adrianna tell the king? That his daughter had managed to escape and run to God knows where?!
She leaned her arm against the window, mourning her soon to be funeral.
****
The sun had disappeared completely and darkness took it's place in the gray sky. Eve chose dark corners to conceal her identity; she did not want to bring unnecessary attention her way and thankfully, the evening helped conceal her properly and she had managed to wrap a scarf around her head and neck to conceal her identity.
But where was she headed? While she had no destination in particular, she could no longer pretend to be happy in the confines of the palace, she could no longer bear so many fights with Father. She needed to leave and the arrival of the Prince had helped perfectly in her unplanned escape. Thankfully, with everyone so distracted, they had not noticed when she slipped away.
After so many hours of walking, her feet began to protest. She could no longer go any further. Oh, how she desired so much to have brought her horse. Mayhap she could buy one? But where? She had to go as far as she could before Father got a wind of her disappearance.
Her eyes scanned the streets as many people passed by. Her gaze finally settled on a man who was walking by, holding the reins of a black horse. So black, he blended perfectly into the darkness; just what she needed. She approached him.
“Sir?” She called with a wave of her hand. He glanced at her, confused. She hastened her pace, pulling her skirt up as she ran. “Yoo hoo! I would like to purchase your horse” She announced.
“It is not for sale” He said dryly.
“How much?” She persisted.
“Two hundred gold coins” He laughed sarcastically.
Knowing fully well that the horse was not even half that price, she pulled out a satchel of gold coins she suspected contained about a thousand and tossed it to him. He pulled it open and gawked at what was inside.
“He is yours” He handed her the reins.
She took it and mounted the horse. Then, with a kick to the side of the animal, it transitioned into a run.
The wind carried her hair like the wave carries the sea, each strand dancing with the soft breeze. She giggled. For the first time in many weeks, she was happy.
She rode the horse outside the city gates and pulled it's reins to a stop.
“There, there, boy” She stroked it's mane. “I forgot to ask what your name was. But you know, that does not matter, you are my hero... You are hero”
She dismounted the horse and pulled it along as she walked to the sea port where she saw some fishermen.
“I seek an escort to Graceland” She announced to the men who sat cleaning their nets.
“Nobody goes to Graceland from here, lady.” One of them answered without an upward glance her way.
“I sent a letter to Graceland some weeks ago. I find your information to be false”
“Truth is, we go to Graceland but for an expensive fee especially at this time of the day. You do know the situation of things between the two kingdoms. To get in, we must pay a bribe to the men at the sea port.” A man in his late thirties rose to his feet. “Fifty gold coins” He said, sweeping a gaze over her.
“I will give you one hundred if you promise to tend to my horse until my return. ”
“No problem, lady” He smiled a crooked smile.
“Hero” She turned to the horse and stroked his nose. “Wait for me” She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned close. Releasing her hold on him, she faced the fisherman. “We leave now”
Author's note:
Hey guys! I am so terribly excited about the break I took from being online. You know why? Well, with nothing else to think about, I could finally focus on my writing and I got so inspired. Miss me?. If you are paying much attention, you would notice that the chapters are much longer and I don't feel like I am going on and on about nothing (yup, I am my greatest critic. This is because I don't just write, but I love to read my stories over and over again so I get to see it from your eyes and make amends where appropriate).
I am super excited about posting the other chapters but hey, you will have to wait a few more days. Haha. I know, I am mean like that.
Love you Guys! Oh, remember when I talked about things that inspired this story in the beginning? Well, some time ago, I read about amazing rivers that meet but are distinguished from each other because they never mix.
Well, being the African that I am, I imagined what people that weren't so enlightened or educated or superstitious(where the African Comment Comes in. Haha. We are way enlightened just attach a lot of spirituality in simple things) would think if they saw such a river and I guessed they would take it as a sign of God dividing them. Lol. I have a crazy mind. Anyway, that's what inspired this entire story.
So, if you love this story so far, I have my fingers crossed that you do, then show some love by voting. Plus, I realize that some people add a story to their libraries and read offline. Well, it's okay to still vote offline cause I do that sometimes and when I connect to my Internet later on , the vote does count. I think the vote is saved automatically.
Anyho, if you made it to the end, thanks for reading my author note. I love you! Have an awesome day ahead. Bye now! Phew!