Once again I wasn't able to sleep for a single minute but this time it wasn't because I was worried about having the same nightmare. This time my mind was whirling around in circles wondering what I could do to escape from here. There had to be a way out of this place. My mind kept playing through scenario after scenario trying to come up with a sure fire way to escape. Since my mind was far from being able to be calm I stayed awake all the way till my breakfast came in the morning. I ended up shoving down my breakfast eager to keep my strength up all the more now so that I could escape.
When another knock came at the door I was surprised when Lucia walked in to the room. What was she doing here? Normally Charlie would come get me himself for my lessons with Lucia. Where was Charlie? My mind instantly stopped when I saw Lucia unsure of what I was supposed to make of this situation.
"Instead of just sitting there with your mouth hanging open you could get up so we can get this lesson started." she snapped.
"Y-yes." I said quickly standing up following her out in to the hallway. "Where's Charlie?"
"He left on business. He should be back within a weeks time." she answered without remotely looking at me.
I could feel my heart flutter with excitement hearing that news. With Charlie gone it might be quite a while before he learns that I've gone missing. I wasn't sure when I was going to get an opportunity like this. Within this week I had to get out of this place or I might very well be stuck here for who knows how much long. Learning that my parents are safe made the itch to run as far from here as possible all the stronger. If Lucia wasn't directly in front of me I would have bolted on the spot. If she saw me running away from here I wasn't sure what she would do to punish me for that but it couldn't be any worse than what she's all ready put me through. Then again I wasn't sure what I would do to Lucia if given the chance and the fact that the thought crossed my mind scared me. I didn't want to someone like Lucia or Charlie that would willing want to hurt another being no matter how much I hate them.
Today during my lesson with Lucia I had a pretty hard time concentrating on anything that I was supposed to be doing. All my mind seemed to want to focus on was my escape. As a result though I ended up reopening some of the burns that had been healing. I could feel the warm blood trickling down my back yet I knew better than to whine about it. The first time I moaned or whined about being in pain Lucia only hurt me all the more. Instead I had to keep it to myself and just shake it off when all I wanted to is get in to the fetal position crying. That sadly is the only second thing that Lucia has taught me outside of learning how to use magic. My tolerance for pain was very high now that my eyes didn't tear up any more and I barely registered pain on my face.
By the time Lucia said that the lesson was over I could tell that she was pissed off. My level of concentration was far from what she expected from me. I barely made any progress today in learning anything new. Lucia pretty much shoved me out of the room at the end of the lesson not caring in the slightest about the fresh burns on my back. I gritted my teeth in pain as her hand came in to contact with my back. I was barely out the door before she slammed the door shut behind me so hard that it echoed down the hallway. Today was a relatively short lesson because of how frustrated Lucia was with my progress today. So I made my way down to the kitchen to get something to eat as well as knowing that the cooks could help me with the burns on my back.
As soon as I walked in to the kitchen I was hit with the wall of heat from the many ovens working at full blast to feed all the people that live here. The person in charge of the kitchen was a stout woman that looked like she could fall off a cliff and walk away. Her skin was a leathery tan color that went well with her curly dark brown hair that she held back with a simple bandanna. When I got to the kitchen was busy kneading a rather large piece of dough. As always she was covered in flour along with some other foods that splashed up on to her apron. As I walked in she looked up at me giving me a warm smile. She quickly directed someone to take her place before walking over to me giving me a gentle hug knowing about the burns on my back.
"I see that you had another tough lesson with Lucia." she commented taking a look at my back.
"I was having a hard time focusing today." I replied.
"What was on your mind?" she wondered.
"The fact that Charlie is gone." I answered.
"Why would that make you lose focus during your lesson with Lucia?" she inquired as she led me over to a chair.
"Because all I could thinking about was how I would get out of here." I muttered.
"So you want escape from here in to a world you know very little about." She pointed out as she began applying a cream to the burns on my back that she uses on her burns.
"I would much rather be wondering aimlessly then stay here." I stated.
"I know you dislike it here but there are a great deal of dangers in this world that you've never dealt with let alone heard of." she said.
"Katherine, I would much rather face down a charging bull than have to stay here any longer than I have to." I said looking her squarely in the eyes.
"Are you completely sure about that to the point you feel it in your soul?" she asked.
"Absolutely."
"Then follow me."
I got up from my chair to follow Katherine out of the kitchen wondering what it was that she wanted me to see. One of the good things about making friends with someone in the kitchen is that there is so much noise going on that you could have a private conversation. The number of times I've been in the kitchen I've watched them yell at each other to try and get anything across to each other. I was very sure that none of the other cooks overheard anything that Katherine and I talked about. Katherine led me through a set of heavy wooden doors that led in to the pantry where all the vegetables and meats were kept that Katherine cooked with. She led me through some shelves to the very back of the pantry. I watched as she took a firm grip of the a part of the shelf and with a huffed pushed on it. I felt my jaw drop when I saw the shelf swing forward like a door revealing a long passageway behind it. This had been here the whole time and Katherine had waited till now to show it to me. The question was where did this tunnel end at?
"This is a tunnel that the servants use in case there is an attack on the castle. It goes underneath the whole place and then opens back up at least three miles away from the castle walls." she explained.
"Is this the only way out of the castle without being seen?" I wondered.
"That I know of yes." she answered. "At least this way you'll be able to get a good distance between you and this place before any one notices you are gone."
"I'll need that because the moment I'm discovered missing I'm sure that Lucia will hunt me down." I sighed.
"I really wish you would reconsider doing this. There are things out in this world that can be more dangerous than Lucia." she pointed out.
"Tell me this. Are there things out there more dangerous than Charlie?" I asked.
"No."
"Then I'm taking this one chance I'll have to get away from here." I declared.
"Just be careful and don't let any one out there know that you're from another world. I'm sure people won't hesitate to get a reward from Charlie to give you back to them. It's been known for years that Charlie is looking for someone special from your world and that he'll do anything to get his hands on that person." she warned.
"Thank you."
I helped her close the door before making my way up to my room. I immediately got to work pulling one of the pillow cases off. I went to the dresser pulling out the pair of trousers that I managed to get a hold of in the time I had spent here. I quickly changed in to them knowing that it would be difficult to run in a dress. I put together some more spare clothes just in case the ones I'm wearing get damaged in my travels. Before leaving my room I peaked my head out the door checking that the hallway is clear. When I was sure that there wasn't any one around I made my way back down to the kitchen. I was extra careful this time to make sure that no one saw me. It was current that someone would get suspicious of me walking around with a pillow case full of clothing. I nearly ran in to several guards but managed to duck out of sight just in time. Just as I was rounding the corner to the kitchen I quickly took several steps back. Peering around the corner I spotted Lucia talking to some of the servants that looked like they were terrified to be near her right now. She was yelling at them about how there were some parts of the castle that had been neglected.
I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. If she saw me right now I knew that I would most likely end up in a cell locked up so that I couldn't ever get out. I took another look around the corner again holding my breath that she wouldn't spot me. When I saw that Lucia was walking in the opposite direction with the servants following her. I held my breath all the way till I couldn't hear or see her any more. When I finally let my breath out I felt a little light headed for a few seconds. I quickly made my way in to the kitchen where Katherine was waiting for me. She had actually cleared out all the cooks so that none of them witnessed me leaving through the passage. She had even put together food for me to take with me so that I wouldn't starve. I was even surprised when she had a pack for me that I could carry over my shoulder. It would definitely be easier to move with a pack than a pillow case through the woods.
She led me back through the pantry to the passage way opening it for me once more. She gave me one last tight hug before pushing me through the passage way. Katherine quickly closed the passage behind me before someone walked in on us. Thankfully the passage way was light by fire burning in bronze brackets mounted along the walls. I quickly walked along the passage wanting to make as much progress as possible before I was discovered that I was gone. I knew if I ran I would only just wear myself out before I got very far. At least at a fast walk I'm making progress steadily.
I lost track of time as I made my way down the passage. I kept moving thinking only of how much distance I could put between me and this place. If they did end chasing after me like I'm sure they will I'll fight tooth and nail to keep from coming back here. As soon as I stepped out of the passage to find myself in the middle of the forest that surrounded the castle it took me a moment to process it all. I was actually out and was free. Now I just had to make sure it stayed that way till I figured out a way to get home where my parents were waiting for me.
"This is a tunnel that the servants use in case there is an attack on the castle. It goes underneath the whole place and then opens back up at least three miles away from the castle walls." she explained.
"Is this the only way out of the castle without being seen?" I wondered.
"That I know of yes." she answered. "At least this way you'll be able to get a good distance between you and this place before any one notices you are gone."
"I'll need that because the moment I'm discovered missing I'm sure that Lucia will hunt me down." I sighed.
"I really wish you would reconsider doing this. There are things out in this world that can be more dangerous than Lucia." she pointed out.
"Tell me this. Are there things out there more dangerous than Charlie?" I asked.
"No."
"Then I'm taking this one chance I'll have to get away from here." I declared.
"Just be careful and don't let any one out there know that you're from another world. I'm sure people won't hesitate to get a reward from Charlie to give you back to them. It's been known for years that Charlie is looking for someone special from your world and that he'll do anything to get his hands on that person." she warned.
"Thank you."
I helped her close the door before making my way up to my room. I immediately got to work pulling one of the pillow cases off. I went to the dresser pulling out the pair of trousers that I managed to get a hold of in the time I had spent here. I quickly changed in to them knowing that it would be difficult to run in a dress. I put together some more spare clothes just in case the ones I'm wearing get damaged in my travels. Before leaving my room I peaked my head out the door checking that the hallway is clear. When I was sure that there wasn't any one around I made my way back down to the kitchen. I was extra careful this time to make sure that no one saw me. It was current that someone would get suspicious of me walking around with a pillow case full of clothing. I nearly ran in to several guards but managed to duck out of sight just in time. Just as I was rounding the corner to the kitchen I quickly took several steps back. Peering around the corner I spotted Lucia talking to some of the servants that looked like they were terrified to be near her right now. She was yelling at them about how there were some parts of the castle that had been neglected.
I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. If she saw me right now I knew that I would most likely end up in a cell locked up so that I couldn't ever get out. I took another look around the corner again holding my breath that she wouldn't spot me. When I saw that Lucia was walking in the opposite direction with the servants following her. I held my breath all the way till I couldn't hear or see her any more. When I finally let my breath out I felt a little light headed for a few seconds. I quickly made my way in to the kitchen where Katherine was waiting for me. She had actually cleared out all the cooks so that none of them witnessed me leaving through the passage. She had even put together food for me to take with me so that I wouldn't starve. I was even surprised when she had a pack for me that I could carry over my shoulder. It would definitely be easier to move with a pack than a pillow case through the woods.
She led me back through the pantry to the passage way opening it for me once more. She gave me one last tight hug before pushing me through the passage way. Katherine quickly closed the passage behind me before someone walked in on us. Thankfully the passage way was light by fire burning in bronze brackets mounted along the walls. I quickly walked along the passage wanting to make as much progress as possible before I was discovered that I was gone. I knew if I ran I would only just wear myself out before I got very far. At least at a fast walk I'm making progress steadily.
I lost track of time as I made my way down the passage. I kept moving thinking only of how much distance I could put between me and this place. If they did end chasing after me like I'm sure they will I'll fight tooth and nail to keep from coming back here. As soon as I stepped out of the passage to find myself in the middle of the forest that surrounded the castle it took me a moment to process it all. I was actually out and was free. Now I just had to make sure it stayed that way till I figured out a way to get home where my parents were waiting for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment