The princess only had one thought circling throughout her traumatized mind: run.
It wasn't easy; she ached and she was scared. But nonetheless, despite her heartbeat racing much faster than it ought to and her breaths coming in fast and panicked, she persisted running.
She didn't know where she was going or where she was at. The looming forest confused her, and she wasn't sure if she was just running in circles or actually getting somewhere.
The shouts behind her frightened her. They were chasing her, not too far behind. She had to keep moving. Her ash covered dressed snagged against the low lying bushes, ripping its hem, but she didn't care.
Keep moving.
She refused to look back, to know how close they were to her. It would only scare and distract her more. She needed to find somewhere safe. Somewhere with people.
No.
No people.
The princess was over people. If she found people, how did she know that they wouldn't just hand her back over to her captors?
But, if she was around people, there was a chance -a small chance- that someone could help her. That they wouldn't be able to take her back in front of others. She was uncertain, but she had to try.
The thought was feeble though. She didn't know where she was going, so how was she meant to find a village? The never-ending vastness of the forest drained the hope within her. She was growing tired, she wouldn't be able to run forever. And when she did tire out, they would get her.
The shouts continued behind her; they were getting closer.
She was almost done, ready to give up and face whatever brutal treatment they had in mind this time, but that's when she saw it. A row of houses on the horizon. Hope sparked in her chest as adrenaline refilled her body, propelling herself towards the village.
When she reached the houses, she didn't stop. She dove herself further and further into the village, running up and down alleyways in attempt to lose those chasing her. She was admittedly doing a great job, gaining distance by weaving in and out of the alleys. She quickly realized this village was much bigger than she had thought.
She was growing more confident that she had acquired a much greater length away from her pursuers. As she approached the inner city, the princess began to see more and more people. The adrenaline rushing inside her refused to allow her to stop and ask for help, so she kept running.
It wasn't long before she hit a crowded marketplace. People all over were bustling to and fro, trying to shove people out of the way. She saw this as the perfect way to officially separate from her captors.
She dove right into the middle of the crowd, traveling as far she thought reasonable before taking a sharp left and diving into yet another alleyway. Unlike the bustling marketplace, the alley was empty. She raced all the way to the end and turned right-
Just to smack right into someone.
—
When the girl smacked into him, Tom was completely unprepared. Despite this, he managed to reach out and steady the girl, lightly placing his hands on her shoulders out of instinct.
She immediately shied away.
He looked at the girl, who was sweaty and dirty and looked to be breathing extremely hard, no doubt from the run that Tom had just disrupted. Her hair was a mess, down and tangled, and also sticking up in funny places. She had a common dress on, but it was torn at the bottom and looked as if it hadn't been washed in months.
She had no shoes, no socks, and the most concerning aspect that threw Tom off guard was the littering of bruises on her body. She had a particularly bad one of her cheek as if she had been slapped, perhaps repeatedly. Other smaller bruises lined her arms with a few cuts and scrapes here and there.
And lastly, she was terrified.
He could tell by her frantic eyes, scrutinizing him, trying to decide if he was worthy enough to be trusted.
"Hey, are you okay?" He asked gently, not wanting to frighten the girl anymore.
The girl backed away a bit. She didn't answer right away either, instead, she continued to study him. She appeared to be trying to think of a perfect answer.
"I'm okay." Was all she said.
He wasn't convinced. The girl kept checking behind her as if expecting someone to randomly jump up and grab her.
Admittedly, Tom didn't know what to do. The girl wasn't going to trust him, but she was obviously in some sort of trouble. He couldn't just leave her.
"Do you need any help? I can walk you somewhere that's safe." He said gently once again.
He didn't want to freak her out. Some guy trying to "walk her somewhere safe" didn't necessarily sound safe in all circumstances.
The girl only stared once again. But, after a moment, as if she recognized the sincerity in his voice, she lightly nodded her head. He nodded back and then lead the way down the alley.
He honestly didn't really know where exactly to take her. So, he took her to the place where he lived. At least there he could get her some food and try to figure out what exactly her deal was.
She followed tentatively close behind. Not close enough to where she was touching Tom, but enough for him to realize that she was definitely hiding behind him.
When he approached the building where he had a one-room living space in, he went up the stairs with her still following behind. He opened the door and politely gave her the chance to walk in first, but after looking at him with her uncertain gaze, he stepped in first. She looked both ways down the hall, and then ever so tentatively stepped inside the room.
—
The princess was unsure about the boy.
But, of course, after slamming right into him, it knocked her adrenaline completely away. She no longer had the energy to keep running, and it seemed, so far, that the boy was genuine in his help.
He looked to be about her age, perhaps a little older. His curly brown hair swept over his face making him appear even younger, however, he still looked strong and intimidating, like he could hold his own in a fight.
And as much as she didn't want to admit it, she needed help. She had no clue where she was or how to get home.
She took a bare tentative step into what she assumed was the boy's living space. It was only one room, a small cot in the corner with clothes in another. A few food storage cabinets were lined against another wall with a window to the outside market adjacent to it.
Much different to how the princess was raised.
That was beside the point now. After enduring what she had endured the last three months, she would take a clean spot in an alleyway over returning to her captors.
After a moment, she tried to relax, recognizing no immediate threat around her anymore.
The boy waited a second before asking, "What's your name?"
Panic rose back within the princess. She couldn't just tell him who she was. She understood that perfectly clear. Not everyone was supportive of the royal family, and who knows what would happen if he knew who she really was.
Luckily, the princess was an excellent liar.
"Samena. Sam for short." She replied as quietly as she could.
She had learned that trick from one of her tutors. Providing two options as a name made it more believable. When she was little, her parents told her to come up with a "secret" name, just in case. She chose "Samena," because it was a common name in the kingdom and it also meant "secret." The princess was fond of underlying meanings.
The boy nodded and then offered his own name. "I'm Thomas. Tom for short."
The princess eyed him wearily, thinking that maybe he had just used the same trick she had. But, she could tell that he was telling the truth from the look in his eyes.
A long pause settled in the room. The princess didn't want to break it. She didn't want to talk to anyone, she just wanted to be home with her parents and loved ones- not in some strangers house.
Tom, fortunately, was the one to break it.
"Who were you running from?"
The princess held her breath. Truthfully, she didn't know how to answer. So, she didn't.
Tom quickly noticed that he was not going to get an answer out of the girl.
"Okay...um..." He stuttered. He didn't know what to say either.
"I need to go home." The princess said matter-of-factly.
Tom's eyes widened, happy to get a real answer on what he should do next.
"Right. Of course. Where do you live? I'll walk you home."
"Ornate," She said gently.
Tom's eyes bugged out of his head.
"Ornate? You live in Ornate? That's a three weeks journey by foot!"
Suddenly, the princess had a fleeting memory of the first few weeks of her imprisonment and remembered it was on a carriage. She shuddered at the memory.
"Right. Sorry. I'll go on my own. Sorry to bother you. Thank you for your help," She said while looking down and beginning to back up towards the door.
Tom took in a sharp breath and let out a quick, "Wait!"
He gritted his teeth like he was thinking about how he was going to regret this decision later.
"I-I don't want you to go by yourself. I'll escort you as far as I can."
The princess hesitated, looking up at the boy.
"You don't have to. It's obvious you don't want to. I'll be fine," She reasoned.
He shook his head. "No, don't worry about it. Look," He paused and then started again, "I can tell that your running from someone. You don't have to tell me who, the king's men or some other bad person, but I see the bruises. I'm not letting you go alone."
The princess was shocked. After three months of the most horrible treatment she could ever imagine, this random stranger was being extremely kind. He was gentle, almost as if he had experience with dealing with broken people. Albeit, he did sort of classify the king, her father, as "a bad person," but there was no denying that the princess would need help and protection on her journey.
So, she nodded.
And it was settled. The two would leave at dawn.