Althea
Inching toward the icy pool, I stalked the iridescent glow seeping from its rim. The water lapped at the banks, calmly, coolly. Sound was absent, although the soft, dampened crunch of my boots echoed through my head as It begged to be silent.
Tracking the treeline as I gained precious steps forward, limbs aching and arms sagging, my heart a thunderous betrayer within my chest. Id trekked days at this point, only the weeping sun gave away the passing of time as it bled into the moons. How long could I survive like this?
I shook my head; hopelessness isn’t going to help me survive. I’d made it to the water’s edge, and I fumbled the lid off of my canteen preparing to plunge it, seeking some relief from the overwhelming dehydration claiming what felt like my very soul. I’m being dramatic, but it’s been a shit awful life thus far.
I’d escaped at daybreak, not with the cover of night as they would have expected, but in that slither of misdirected attention, where lords and ladies were lazily slumbering in plush beds, maids hastily shuffled to prepare ornate garments, gamekeepers presented fresh kills to the kitchens, and the hustle of life was rallying for another day.My moment came and I took it; I just needed to make it a little further.
Over the last 8 years, they had become lapse in their assessment of me. I’d made myself small, obedient, quiet, why would they even bother to look at me. I spent my time tracing the outlines of words in books, my fingers bumping along the time warped indentations of letters that scarred pages and pages of books. My safest sanctuary beside my dusty friends in the darkest corners of the Tomewood. It needed to be dark you see, it needed to be quiet and secluded, I couldn’t let them see.
