-Y/N's POV-
"Pip, I can't do it, I really can't do it." I was hyperventilating and in tears as I sat on my bed, my hands tugging at my hair.
"Y/N calm down, you're going to hurt yourself!" Pip exclaimed alarmed, gently trying to pry my hands out of my hair and grab a hold of them,
"I can't, I can't"
Today was the day and it was hitting me hard; call me dramatic- but my life is about to end.
"I know, sweetheart, I know." She embraced me,
"Y/N, we have to go soon wha-?" My mum walked in and her expression fell as soon as she saw the state I was in,
"Oh honey..." she immediately rushed to me, pulling me into her chest,
"Mum, I can't do this. How am I going to survive this, oh my gosh." I sobbed into her chest as she cradled me like a child,
"I'll leave you be." Philippa bowed before leaving my room,
"Shh." My mum soothingly rubbed my back, in an attempt to comfort me.
Not once did she utter about any chances of escape; she herself knew that would never happen.
"Please calm down, Y/N, deep breaths now..."
I attempted to calm myself down, but even though my sobbing had stopped my heart was still pounding and my mind was racing with never ending misfortunes that were bound to come with this god forsaken marriage.
"Are you better now?" She looked me in the face,
"No, sorry." I wiped my tear stained face with my sleeve,
"I know this isn't what you want to hear, but you're going to have to go into it with a strong mind. I promise I'll try and let you stay here for as long as I can but I can't guarantee it."
"I don't mind, just please get me away from that monster." I whispered,
She said nothing, pursing her lips into a thin line, before sighing, "We have to go," she pet my head,
I sadly nodded, standing up and grabbing my bag.
~•~
It was impossible for me to smile; even as the assistants tied my kimono, even as the makeup artists applied my makeup and even as the hairstylists styled my hair; not once did I crack a smile, not even my usual fake one.
I now remained with 3 assistants who were doing the final checks, when my mum entered with a tray carrying 4 teacups with tea. She also wore a kimono, but it was much simpler than mine.
"Here you go, ladies." She placed the tray down on the coffee table,
"I'm not thirsty." I muttered blankly,
"How about you girls?" She turned to the assistants,
"Oh, we're fine ma'am..." one answered,
"Oh no, I insist. Please." She gestured to them and nodded,
They seemed afraid of offending my mother so they all took a teacup and drank the tea.
"Ah, I forgot something. I'll be right back." She rushed out of the room,
I sat there bored, staring off into the distance as the assistants continued to tamper with my hair and whatnot.
It had been a while before I heard a thud, followed by a few others. My head whipped around to find the girls on the floor. My eyes widened as I rushed to one of them,
"Hey are you ok? Can you hear me?" I shook her but she didn't respond,
I put my ear to her nose to check if she was breathing and luckily she was.
Was there something in the tea?
Suddenly, mother came rushing in, making sure to close the door behind her, "Y/N, you must come with me." She hurried over to the wall behind me, pulling open a sliding door, which didn't even look like one.
"Mother, they all just collapsed what's going on?!" I stood up,
"They're asleep, don't worry but they'll be awake soon so hurry!" She waved me over,
My heart was racing as I took ahold of her outstretched hand and followed her out the secret door which led to some stairs,
It was hard to run in the kimono and the zori however we both made it down the stairs fairly quickly,
"Mum, was it you who sedated them?"
"Yes it was." She led me round the dark corridors, seeming to navigate through them fairly easily,
"But why?"
"You're my dearest daughter, but goodness aren't you slow!" She started, "Did you really think I was going to let you go to that evil man so easily?"
"Mum..." I wanted to cry in joy, I was free,
"Don't celebrate yet, you're still not out of here." She warned, "Here, You'll need this." She handed me the gift Shinya, Mito, Sayuri, Shigure and Goshi gave me, as well as Shinoa's,
"What is it, do you know?" I raised a confused eyebrow,
"You can check that later."
"Mother, won't you get in a lot of trouble if you get caught?" I muttered, jumping to a new topic,
"That's a risk I'm willing to take."
I skidded to a stop, "Hey, no. If that's the case I'm not going anywhere."
My mother groaned, "Don't be silly, I've been planning this before your father came to get you, do you really think I plan on getting caught?" I sighed in relief, "Come on, we're here." She turned and there was another set of stairs,
"Mind the steps." She warned,
I nodded following her.
When we reached the top, she opened another secret sliding door, which surprisingly led outside. I winced my eyes adjusting to the sudden bright light, however when my vision properly cleared I gasped in surprise.
"Please look after her."
"I will. You should hurry back."
"Of course, bye sweetheart." She kissed my cheek, before returning the way she came,
"Mum..." I felt somewhat empty, we'd just gotten close and we were parting too soon.
Despite that, I couldn't help but be slightly more focused on the fact that I stood face to face with Guren Ichinose.
He grabbed my hand, "We have to go, before someone realises you're gone." He said, gently tugging me along with him,
I nodded my head lost for words, as I followed him to an isolated forest area away from the security,
I struggled to keep up and could only just about keep my hand in his, he noticed this turning his head to look at me, slowing down a bit,
"Is it hard to run in that?" He nodded to my attire,
I could only nod again,
He bent down a bit to lift me up bridal style, my arms automatically wrapped around his neck.
I hadn't seen Guren for 2 months, so it felt incredibly strange to even hear his voice let alone be in his arms.
I was too overwhelmed with emotions, I'd done a lot of crying recently yet I still wanted to cry, although this time I couldn't find the tears to do so.
He opened the car door, gently placing me down on the passenger seat, before running over to the drivers seat. He wasted no time with starting the engine and driving along the forest path.
I looked behind me and caught sight of security turning their heads at the sound of the car starting, although they didn't appear to react, it seems like they weren't yet aware of my escape; but when they find out it'll already be too late.
I looked ahead at the road again. It seemed to be awkward between Guren and I, but that was probably my fault. I felt guilty for being the cause of all this, if only I'd just listened to him in the first place...
"It was you." I mumbled,
Guren hummed in confusion,
"You came to the dinner yesterday, to see my mother." I continued,
"That's correct." He confirmed,
I nodded, slumping down in my seat, "Where are we going?"
"To the safe house." He replied,
"Of course you have a safe house." I muttered to myself, he chuckled,
"Only a few members of the moon demon company know of it and use it."
"Does Shinya know?"
"No."
I quietly nodded, that meant the others couldn't have known, except for possibly Sayuri and Shigure.
After a somewhat long silence my attention was finally drawn to the gifts that I'd been unconsciously fiddling with, "Did you know about this joint wedding present, did they all go broke so it was combined?"
"I was wondering where that smart mouth went." Guren scoffed,
"It's still here." I re-assured,
"I can tell." He continued, "As for the gift, I didn't know about it, perhaps you should open it." He finally suggested,
I nodded, unraveling Shinoa's gift first, and as I was expecting my pack of pills fell out,
Guren's head slightly turned at the rattling of the box but he still said nothing,
Next I tore open the envelope, and out fell a note and a rather large sum of money.
Get the hell out of there. xxx
Was written in Mito's handwriting and I giggled, "Money." I muttered,
"Ah, so that's why they were all broke." He sighed,
"In that case, here. They're better of with it." I put the envelope on Guren's lap only for him to return it to my lap,
"No can do, you're going to have to buy yourself some stuff; you're practically starting a new life."
He was right, I slumped down on the seat, saying nothing after that.
I had many questions but expected to get my answers later. In this moment I could only take a deep breath and wallow in my thoughts; so much had happened this year and not once did I take the time to stop and think, so I took the time to do so now.