Getting back to my senses, I pushed away the man holding me close to him—or at least, I tried to. I wanted to get away from him but my body felt too weak to do so. Catching my breath, I stared at the man, trying to understand what had just happened. What did he want from me? Why was I feeling like this so suddenly?
His red eyes were still staring at me as I asked, "What did you do?"
"What you had wished for," came his reply.
His answer puzzled me. He seemed to realize that I didn't get what he meant so he deliberately looked around us as if signaling me to check our surroundings.
Only then did I realize we were no longer inside the royal residence anymore. In fact, we were no longer inside the royal palace itself. With my eyes wide open, I pushed him away again and this time, he easily allowed me to get away from him.
I turned to look at the outer gate of the palace located quite a distance from us, which was closed at this time and guarded by the royal guards.
"Why am I here? How did you do it?" I asked in disbelief, but the red-eyed man gave no response to my questions. I turned to look back at him but there was no one beside me. I was all by myself. "Where did he go?"
I tried looking around for him but there was no one nearby. The entire place was quiet as if not a single living thing aside from me was in this street.
My current situation reminded me of the memories when I was young and had tried to run away, only to discover that there were two scary shadow-like things following me. I could not help but gulp as I tried to clutch my outer robe closer to my body. My initial relief about that red-eyed man leaving me was short-lived now that I found myself alone.
Suddenly, the streets of the capital felt scary. What if those shadow-like things appear again? Should I try calling out for the red-eyed man to come back? At least, that man was neither a demon nor a ghost.
"No need to be scared. I am not a kid anymore. I can fight," I consoled myself and ran in the opposite direction from the palace. I made sure to avoid the main streets, where most city guards would patrol, and took the narrow alleys that had no people loitering around.
As it was late in the night, all the stalls I passed by were closed and the houses were locked as everyone must be in a deep sleep. It was a good thing for me, or I never knew who would cross paths with me and create trouble.
A young lady out alone in the streets at night was pretty eye-catching enough, and those who had common knowledge could recognize me if they were to notice the color of my eyes and this veil on my face, as these were telltale signs of my identity as the cursed daughter of the witch living inside the tower.
I ran as fast as I could through my body didn't allow me to. I was mostly out of breath, but the determination to leave this place was stronger than the weakness my body felt at the moment.
After crossing a certain distance, I felt like someone was following me and I stopped to look around. I also used this chance to catch my breath, but there was no one around me aside from the patrolling guards which I managed to avoid two streets back. I didn't have much time. Before my body gave out, I needed to run outside of this capital. It would be better if I reached the forest outside. I could at least hide there, away from anyone who could see me.
Struggling to catch my breath, I continued to run as I held onto the skirt of my dress tightly. Along the way, the feeling that someone was following me remained, but I didn't bother to pay attention to it anymore.
Avoiding the patrols, hiding if there were people in sight, taking detours in narrow alleys, my legs were numb by the time I reached the outermost perimeter of the capital. I did not know how long I had been running when I finally succeeded in stepping out from the last circle of houses. The forest was just right in front of me. It was so close, but my legs would not move at this point. Before I knew what happened, I was kneeling on the ground. I closed my eyes as I tried to breathe through my mouth. My feet were so numb that I felt like I wouldn't be able to take a single step further after this night.
"Just a little...little more…" I kept mumbling under my shallow breaths. Forget my legs, I felt like my head was spinning and I would go unconscious anytime soon. But what would happen if I pass out now? The city guards would most likely find me and bring me back to the palace. I could not let all my efforts go to waste when freedom was so close at hand.
Gathering the last bit of energy from my body, I forced myself to stand up and walked towards the forest. It was slow and unsteady, but at least I was moving towards something precious to me. Precious? It was my freedom that was precious and I needed to get it.
"I can't just leave one prison only to get into another one. Never!"
Even though I was as fast as a snail, I was determined to put my foot forward, one step at a time. After what felt like a lifetime, I finally reached the trees and entered the forest. It was nighttime, and the forest was many times scarier than the streets of the capital. At least there, I could still use the moonlight and the street lamps to guide my way, but deep within the forest, it was dark to the point that I could not see what was in front of me.
The darkness was terrifying, but I needed to bear with it. With my hands groping the trees in front of me, I managed to make my way forward. However, since there was no visibility, I could not see the uneven ground and felt the lower parts of my skirt tearing along the shrubs and bushes. Just as I walked a few rows of trees farther in, my feet were caught in something and my body fell down.
"Ouch! It hurts!" I hissed under my breath.
When I fell down, something hurt my knees. Even the palms of my hands were hurt. I was already tired and this pain felt too much for me to bear. Still, I tried to get up with my hand pushing me off the ground that seemed to be covered in dried leaves and branches and stones.
Just as I thought I could get up, my hands slipped and I fell back on my stomach. There was no strength left in my arms. I could barely feel my legs. I couldn't move at all and kept lying on the ground. After a while, I rubbed my fingertips together, only to discover a slimy wet feeling on my hand. It was as if there was mud stuck to my hand. Soon enough, my entire body felt cold underneath my dress.
The ground was muddy, and why not? It must be due to the heavy rain I caused a few days back.
"I can't give up...never!" With pure willpower, I managed to make my upper body move. I crawled on the ground, pulling my body forward somehow but stopped again after several failed attempts. At this point, my arms were going numb as well.
"I need water..." I mumbled and continued to lay on the ground as if someone would bring me water if I asked for it. Of course, there was no one. I was alone now.
I turned around and lay on my back. I had no energy left to move. I didn't even have the energy to feel disgusted at being covered by mud at this moment. All I knew was that my body felt cold.
'Did I go far enough not to be found?'
Feeling helpless, I looked up at the small space where the foliage of the trees did not cover the sky. Through the open area among the leaves, I caught a glimpse of a starry sky. It was the same night sky I saw from the tower, but it didn't look like the same sky.
My eyes turned heavy although I struggled to keep them open. I knew I shouldn't sleep, but I couldn't stop myself from losing consciousness.
When I heard the sound of movement beside me, I forced myself to remain awake. Though I was dizzy, I was conscious enough to realize that someone was approaching me.
With what energy I had left, I got to open my eyes, but only managed to force only a tiny crack. In the darkness, I managed to see someone with a familiar pair of red eyes.
I wanted to see clearly but everything turned dark.