11 2.5

All abilities to plan an effective escape route or hiding place flew out as the adrenaline pumping through my veins replaced it, my heart strumming in my ears. Relying solely on instinct and muscle memory, I pulled Elenora up two flights of stairs, halfway down the hall, and into my bedroom. The door echoed with a bang as it slammed closed behind us, ringing in my ears as we both bent over, my hands on my knees and her sinking into a crouch, taking a moment to catch our breaths from a reckless run that neither of us had prepared for.

Once I had enough oxygen to counteract the pounding of my mind, I forced my brain to think clearly, several issues demanding answers as they bounced against the walls of my skull. I awkwardly sat on the floor next to where Elenora was still crouching, taking the pressure off of my sore legs and diverting enough energy to my head to properly piece it back together.

I managed to organize my thoughts into two primary questions, the first being who was stupid enough to chase a woman through a room filled with witnesses? I couldn't imagine anyone stupid enough to risk the reputation of their entire family by getting drunk enough to harass another guest, and there were enough guards around that abduction seemed like a laughable option. We may not be the king's main residence, but we were well enough staffed that guards should be at every main intersection at the very least.

The second question branched out from the first but was just as resistant to the goal of providing answers. Why did Elenora head for the unoccupied back hallways instead of running somewhere with easily accessible guards? The probability of her meeting anyone along the path was slim to none; a minute earlier or later would likely have resulted in us never meeting at all.

After recovering enough to speak, I turned my head to regard her before pressing on with the first of what would likely become many questions.

"Who's chasing you?"

She turned toward me as well, silently scrutinizing my face while failing to acknowledge my question. Her face had a disturbing amount of serenity to it, in stark contrast to my own. What happened to the terrified girl that had tackled me in the hall?

I watched with a stupefied look on my face as she rose back to her full height from where we were crouched on the ground to recover, absently noting that her heels had managed to stay with her through a headlong run, keeping up with my longer stride almost effortlessly despite them. The soles lightly clicked against the floor as she elegantly strode over to the heavy oak door I had slammed a minute ago, doing up the three layers of locks added to buy time in the event of an attack as she went.

The maid to my room had one of the keys, with the other two in the hands of the head housekeeper and the captain of the guard respectively. The idea was that, in a true emergency, they would have to be tracked down, with the door reinforced enough to deter everything but a truly desperate assassin.

Ignoring my question, Elenora turned to face me and asked one of her own. Her voice matched her face in serenity, all traces of exertion having long disappeared from her bearing.

"Is there any way out of the room beside the door?"

Her presence increased in intensity from what I had seen earlier, enough that my shocked mind could only point in the general direction of my one window, the potentially stunning view of the horizon this room could have had marred by an ancient maple tree that has likely stood longer than the castle walls. It was locked, and likely to do no good, but it was the only thing that occurred to me at the moment.

She took several long strides to the window, skirts rustling as she went. Trying the latch and finding it locked, Elenora regarded me with her serene gaze, capturing me with her impenetrable eyes.

"Do you have a key?"

I shook my head once, in a jerky movement reflecting my current state of mind. The brain I had worked to clear minutes ago was frozen in place, gears grinding against one another as they desperately tried to comprehend the situation at hand.

The only answer that broke through the noise was that there was a chance that the stress of the ordeal had caused a mental break, separating Elenora from her emotions and leaving her in a trance-like state. Nothing else made sense.

A heavy knock sounded at the door, making me jump halfway out of my skin. My head swiveled to face the door fast enough to give me whiplash as I stared at the wood mindlessly.

"Your highness?" The voice on the other side was tentative, the familiar tone running down my spine like a clawed finger of dread. I was fairly sure I knew who had spoken, and I turned to the window, desperately hoping that my current fears were nothing but a fantasy borne from an over-imaginative childhood. I repeated my question, heart sinking to my bowels in fear of the response.

"Who is chasing you?"