10 - Against

Maria carefully opened the door with little to no sound at all. She gritted her teeth while slowly pulling the door's handle from the room. Once there's already enough space for her head, she hesitantly peeks outside to check the surroundings. She let out a long sigh when she saw that no one is around. She carefully pulled the door again for her body to fit and tip-toed her way out of her room. She squinted her eyes in nervousness and held her breath as she pulls the door close and when she finally heard the door click, that's when she only released her breath. She looked around the hallway for the last time before she started walking away from there. Her steps are light, but they are wider than her usual steps. She's walking in a very slow manner with the boots that the people- the creatures there lend to her. Contrary to her feet, her heart is beating so fast and so loud. She felt bad leaving this place without saying goodbye to the- fine let's consider them as people- that did nothing but good to her, well except for the person that they are calling Your Highness. Still, Maria was determined to do this. She was going to escape this place and find a way to get back to her family.

The cold air kissed Maria's cheeks when she finally gets herself out of the palace using the back door. Like what she observed for straight 3 days, there's really no one guarding this part of the palace at this time of the night, passed 12:00 in the morning. The breath she let out became visible with her naked eyes as the water vapor in her breath condenses into lots of tiny droplets of liquid water due to the very cold environment.

Maria pulled the cloak even tighter against her body as her breathing slightly quicken its pace. The cloak that she accidentally found while cleaning was the only weapon, she has brought to fight the coldness of the night. Maybe she would successfully escape from here but would freeze to death in the middle of the night. Still, that is not enough to stop her from continuing her plan. She can always find a way to fight the chilly night but if the people that were living in the mysterious palace discovered her plan, there's no way she would stand a chance against them.

Maria, for the last time, looked back at where she came from. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly then snapped her head again on the dark forest. Not the dark forest, the wild animals, or the coldness is the one who will scare her, it was the fact that she won't see her family again.

Maria ran past the forest not caring if she will stumble on the roots of the trees or step onto something. She doesn't have anything aside from a wooden torch that she doesn't have any idea for how long it will last. She doesn't know where she would go from there. She had never stepped her feet outside the Kingdom of Floria. She doesn't know where exactly she is or the Kingdom of Floria. She just kept on running and decided to just mind her other problems when she was far away from the palace already.

Before her torch die, Maria was able to find a cave where she can spend the night. She gathered twigs and dried leaves to make a fire to help herself keep warm. Due to exhaustion, she fell asleep in the cave and when she woke up it was already morning. Maria immediately gets back to her feet and walked towards the threshold of the cave, slightly dizzy from abruptly standing. She squinted her eyes to adjust them to the light and smiled at the thought that she managed to escape from the palace. But the corners of her lips turned down after a split second in worry that someone might've followed her there. She looked around and heaved a long sigh when she saw that no one seems have found her there yet but that didn't put her at ease because she knew that the people in the palace had probably discovered that she escaped and were already out there searching for her.

She no longer wasted time and started moving her feet already. It's not that cold compared to last night since the winter is at least a week far from today. Still, she kept her cloak on and pulled the hood even lower to hide her face. She picked fruits along the way that she assumed were edible to stop her stomach from growling.

The blond-haired teenage girl was so confident that God is favoring her when she walks past a middle-aged man that tells her where the Kingdom of Floria is. It never became easy for her as she spent another 3 days of walking and running all the way back to the Kingdom of Floria. The only thing that she stuffed on her stomach are fruits that she was not a hundred percent sure as edible. If it's delicious or its sourness and bitterness were bearable, then she's fine with eating them. As for the water, she learned from Alice that there was a particular plant that was capable of storing rainwater. There were a bunch of them in the forest so that wasn't considered a problem in the first place. She was exhausted. She already lost count of the times she fell to the ground because her knees gave up. Due to that, she got bruises on her arms and on her face. Her cloak is full of dirt and its material has already loosened up because it grazes on a stone or accidentally hooks on a branch of a tree or taller and sharper grasses. Maria doesn't even have time to pity herself.

When she finally saw the tall walls of the Kingdom of Floria, a joyful tear escaped her eye. She wiped it off at once and fixed her appearance: get rid of sweats and dirt off her face with her cloak so the guards will recognize her. Maria can't tell the exact time, but it was at least past midnight already. She can feel her adrenaline rushing to her, giving her more energy and strength to continue walking. She's only a few meters away from the humongous gate. She's only a few meters away from safety.

Maria was about to take a step to get herself out of the forest and ran towards the Kingdom's gate when a cold hand stops her by pulling her. The intensity of the pull was harsh and strong which caused Maria to almost stumble on her feet as her body turned around to face the culprit.

"What do you think are you doing?"

Maria's eyes widened at the sight of the girl that she hasn't seen for weeks. It was the mysterious girl that was always wearing a cloak and a white mask. She's grateful for a second but when she remembered that this girl is also a servant of that beast, the beats of her heart quicken in nervousness.

"Y-You-" Maria audibly gulped down, thinking of something she could say to get herself out of the situation.

"Y-You scared the hell out of me. Y-You shouldn't just grab someone's arm like that and appear out of nowhere in the middle of the night with that mask of yours. I thought you were a ghost at first." Maria uttered, holding the part of her chest where her heart is, pretending to be surprised at the sudden appearance. She was surprised but she's more nervous now as the thought of her escape plan messing up when she's just a step from the ending.

She needs to calm herself. She needs to fucking calm herself so she will be able to think of a way to run away from the mysterious girl.

Alaia furrowed her brows, confused by the tone that Maria used. It's like Maria doesn't know her at all or at least doesn't know her real identity.

Maria tried to pull her arm, but Alaia's grip is just too tight. After trying to break free for several long seconds, Maria finally gave up and just sighed.

"Look, Miss Mysterious Girl, I knew you are also a servant of that beast, but I beg of you. Please just let me return to my family. They need me. My father is already old and taking care of my younger siblings while working will be hard for him alone. Please, I'm begging you."

That statement only confirmed Alaia's confusion. She can't blame Maria though because she had never said that she's also that person, and she assumed Leo also kept his mouth shut. Alaia had decided to just let things be like that. She will just clarify it some other day. What's important for now is to get Maria back to her palace.

Alaia ignored Maria's begs and started pulling the younger girl away from there. Maria panicked at that and at the top of her lungs, screamed "Help!"

Maria saw the guards on top of the tall walls snapped their heads in her direction, so she screamed the four-letter word one more time, but Alaia was quick to cover her mouth with her hand and pull her to hide behind a tree.

Maria heard the guards having commotion that give her more strength so without any hesitation, she bit Alaia's palm. Alaia cursed at the pain that Maria's teeth inflicted as she pulls her hand away from Maria's mouth. Maria took that as an opportunity to run away from Alaia but was again stopped by her. For the second time, Alaia pulled Maria's arm and pushed Maria against the tree. As for Maria's mouth, she also stops it from making any sound but not with her hand, but with her own lips.