Escape

Once in a faraway land lived a princess, unlike many others. Her name was Vanessa, famously known to many as the warrior princess.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

“ URGH!” The sleeping princess was turning around in her sleep as she refused to wake up. She was of beauty like any other, with her long golden hair and blue eyes, she was as beautiful and gracious as a phoenix.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

“ Fine, happy, I’m up! Give it a rest already.” Princess Vanessa awoke at last as her clock just wouldn’t listen to her command. She was frustrated at the clock for waking her up this early. She stood from her bed and opened the curtains of her bedroom to let the sun in.

(Like every day, my stupid alarm woke me up from one of my many dreams about me becoming a knight, but as always, it never lasts).

Knock! Knock! Knock!

“ Princess, may I enter?” A young lady dressed as a maid knocked on the door of the royal chamber.

“ Yes, you may!” Seated on her bed, the maid entered the room. She was one of the many maids at the royal palace but most importantly, she was Princess Vanessa’s personal maid. She goes by the name of Louise.

“ I hope you had a good night’s sleep, Princess”.

“ Not really, but that’s not new.”

“ That’s true; well, hopefully, your day will get better”. The maid chuckled at the princess with an innocent, yet selfless grin. The maid gave her her morning tea before starting to tend to the bed sheets. The princess sipped the tea and liked the taste of it.

The maid suddenly remembered that she had come not only to wake the princess but also to deliver a message.

“ That reminds me, your parents wish to see you, princess.” The princess gave an off-look hearing what her maid had just reported to her. It is reported that although she’s a princess of the royal family, she doesn’t have a very good relationship with her parents.

“ Huh? Do you know what the issue is?” She finished her tea as she asked her maid for any relevant information about the meeting she was to attend.

Maid Louise nodded frantically as she replied the following,” Unfortunately not, princess.”

“ Oh, thanks for informing me anyway.”

(I hope it’s not about yesterday because I’m not to blame for mistaking that sissy of a prince for a princess).

“ All right, it’s time to get you dressed, princess. Today, you have dance lessons with Sir Luke, followed by sewing lessons with Lady Mary, and lastly, riding lessons with Sir Ricardo, and then you must meet with the king and queen”.

Simply hearing her daily schedule, she quickly got uninterested but a certain name caught her attention.

“ Ricardo? I thought I had Sir Asher.”

The maid responded to her as she said,” The king decided it was better having Sir Ricardo instructing you to ride, you seem to listen to him more than with Sir Asher.”

“ That’s true!” The princess laughs as the maid continues with her schedule which was far from being finished.

“ And after your last lesson, Sir Asher quit saying you almost killed him.” Sir Asher is the one who’s been assigning horsemanship to the princess since a very young age. She always gives him a hard time to her instructor whenever he’s around. Her attitude worsened when she grew up.

“ He’s such a coward. All I did was scare his horse so he would go faster.” The princess was trying on a dress that her maid was helping her with.

Maid Louise laughs,” You must try to act more mature, princess; your parents worry about your future.”

“ Well, they don’t have to; I know how to take care of myself and----------- ouch!” She felt a sharp pain coming from her dress.

“ Too tight?” The maid understood right away what the issue was just by staring at her. It was so easy to tell. The dress was too tight, so all she had to do was loosen it a bit to make her comfortable. After tying all the strings of her royal dress, the princess was all ready to start her day. She looked at herself in the mirror with her white-featured dress.

Louise left the room to set the breakfast table. Aided by the other maids, they prepared everything before the princess showed up a few minutes later.

“ Ah, you’re here, princess! I will now bring your breakfast.” Smiling innocently, Maid Ella saluted the princess respectfully and gracefully.

“ Thank you, and could you please call everyone to come to the dining room?”

“ Right away, princess!”

A minute later, Ella came back wheeling in a tray and followed by the rest of the staff.

Maid Ella started telling the princess the menu,” Today, we have pancakes, bacon and eggs, orange juice, pudding, cupcakes, strawberries with whip cream, and a banana spilled”. She put everything on the table afterward.

“ Wow!”

“ I also bought the entire staff except for the royal guards as they already ate and left with the king and queen.”

“ Even Ricardo?”

“ Sir Ricardo went out to eat with Lady Daniella.”

“ Ah, okay! At least everyone else’s here. Please take a seat, everyone.” She ordered all the servants to sit along with her but they were reluctant to follow her command as it was not permitted for the servants and royalty to eat at the same table. Not to forget that it had never happened before.

“ But----------” They lowered their gaze in front of the princess who just looked at them without saying anything.

“ No, buts. it’s an order!” They all sat down at the table after hearing those words.

Princess Vanessa had never shared meals with her parents as they were always busy with imperial affairs and barely had time for their daughter. Vanessa has grown up among the servants of the palace with which she shares mostly anything as she considers them her family. Having lacked motherly and fatherly love, all that love that she has been lacking was then given to her by the servants of the palace.

As she finished with her breakfast, she waved goodbyes to the servants before setting off to her daily lessons. On her way, she stumbled upon something.

“ Wow, this sword is so pretty. It must be a rare one.” Vanessa picked up the sword which had golden insignia on it and without thinking, she started swinging it around. The princess had always had a dream since she was very young; she always wanted to be a warrior and protect the weak and although she was born a girl, that dream of hers never wavers. Her parents, of course, never once supported her ambitions as it’s a masculine profession.

“ Oh, no! I got distracted. Now I’ll be late. Sir Luke will not spare me today.” She said as she put the sword back in the statue’s hand and started running towards the ballroom.

Five minutes later, she came bursting through the ballroom doors expecting to see Sir Luke, but she didn’t, so she tried to sneak out of her seat without being noticed.

“ You’re late again, princess!” She jumped when she heard his voice from behind me. Sir Luke had caught her before she had time to sneak around the ballroom.

“ You wouldn’t have been scared if you were on time as a real princess. Princesses should---------------------------------” She sat down as she knew he was about to give her his long royalty speech. Just as she predicted, he talked for thirty minutes straight and Princess Vanessa was simply there rolling her eyes with boredom.

“ This is all for today. I dismiss you.” The princess was relieved that the lecture was over at last. She stands to leave.

(Finally, this lecture is over. I couldn’t stand it anymore. I better leave now before Sir Luke gives me another of his interminable speeches).

Sir Luke stopped her as she was halfway through the door,” Just a moment, Princess!”

Princess Vanessa sensed trouble coming to her as she turned around to face Sir Luke. She had reasons to worry as she had never once been on time for his class. It’s like she doesn’t care one bit and that behavior of hers always angered him the most.

(Oh no, just my luck! What does he want?)

“ May I have a word with you, princess?”

Princess Vanessa smiled gracefully as she replied,” Sure!”

“ Why are you always late for my lessons? Don’t you think you must know how to conduct yourself in the ballroom?” Sir Luke was kind of sad rather than angry at the princess. It didn’t look like him at all.

Princess Vanessa, feeling bad for some reason, said,” It’s not that, sir!”

“ What is it then?”

She hesitated before saying,” It’s about my sleep!”

“ What about your sleep?”

Staring at him, she said with a monotonous voice, “ I’m unable to wake up in the morning. I can’t hear my alarm clock. It’s not my fault.”

“ Whose fault is it then?” She lowered her gaze as she asked the forwarded question.

“ Your dance lessons are too early for me.”

Showing an authoritative voice, he said,” Sleep early and don’t waste your time doing useless things. Your lessons are indispensable as they’ll help you become an outstanding princess. I hope it won’t happen again.”

“ Yes, sir!”

“ I dismiss you!”

“ Yes, sir!”

(That was quite a lecture there! Why can’t he understand how important it is for one to sleep? Whatever, enough about that! Next up are my sewing lessons with Lady Marry).

Five minutes later, she got to her next class which was with an elderly woman going by the name of Mary. Her lesson happened to be her worst subject, sewing which she’s terrible at.

“ Sorry for being late, Lady Marry!” She was hurrying to not be late again so she didn’t check the time. She was surprised by Lady Mary's response.

“ You’re not late, princess!”

“ I’m not?”

“ No, you’re not! You’re on time, princess. Check your watch if you don’t believe me!” Lady Marry chuckled.

After checking her watch, she said enthusiastically,” You’re right! I’m five minutes in advance.”

Lady Marry asked her,” Do you wish to start now or wait for the five minutes to pass? What do you want to do?”

“ Let’s start now!”

“ Okay, princess! Have you done the exercise I asked you for last time?”

“ Yeah! It doesn’t look pretty, though.” Vanessa was keeping her sewing exercise, too ashamed to show it to Lady Marry.

“ Give it to me, anyway! I’m your instructor; my job is to teach you, not judge you.” She slightly grinned.

“ Here it is!”

Lady Marry complimented her,” It’s not bad for a first try.”

“ You’re lying to me, Lady Marry! My sewing is atrocious and doesn’t look like anything.” The princess didn’t want to accept the compliment as she knew deep down that her sewing didn’t deserve any kind of compliment whatsoever.

“ Sit with me, princess!” Lady Marry schooled over so the princess could sit alongside her.

“ Your sewing is not bad, just a little messy. Doing it the right way gives you something like this.” She showed her the right way to do it and it came out beautifully. Vanessa couldn’t understand why her sewing never turned out the way she wanted.

“ There’s a secret to embroidery!” Lady Marry said out of the blue.

“ A secret?” Vanessa was intrigued to know what that secret was.

Lady Mary responded,” To do fine embroidery, think about someone you like. The fundamental key to success in love.``

Vanessa’s embroidery lesson with Lady Marry finished in a jiffy and she headed to her last lesson of the day, Horsemanship. She was more excited than usual as her instructor this time was Sir Ricardo.

“ You’re right on time, princess!” Sir Ricardo slightly bowed in front of Princess Vanessa. Sir Ricardo is a very handsome man with light black hair and imposing brown eyes. Sir Ricardo and Princess Vanessa are childhood friends and he’s also one of the captains of the royal knight's divisions. Lady Daniella is his younger sister.

(This is my childhood friend, Ricardo Salvinia. We grew up together, and we’re very close).

“ Let’s begin the lesson, princess! You still have to meet up with the king and queen.” Hearing the latter, the princess's expression turned sour. She crossed her arms, upset at Sir Ricardo for some reason.

“ I won’t do anything!”

“ What’s wrong, princess? Did you catch a cold?” Sir Ricardo sweetly talked to the princess with affection and care.

“ No, I’m fine!” Vanessa turned her back on him as she didn’t wish to talk to him. Sir Ricardo followed her gaze to the point where she couldn’t avoid him anymore.

“ What seems to be the problem?” He was a few inches closer to her and the princess stepped back from him a little.

Staring into his imposing brown eyes, she then asked,” Why are you doing this to me?”

The question confused him and he asked, “ What have I done?”

“ Why are you treating me like everybody else does?” She shouted, upset.

“ I don’t understand what you’re trying to tell me, princess. Please be more specific!” He uttered innocently.

“ There!”

“ What?”

Looking slightly sad, she retorted,” Princess?” Why are you calling me princess every time you’re with me? Why can’t you treat me differently?

???

“ Is it because of our social status? Can’t you behave with me like a human being because I’m a princess?” Vanessa was sad to see that no one in the palace saw her for who she truly is, not even her childhood friend, Ricardo.

He looked at her affectionately and to ease the sadness in Vanessa’s eyes, he said,” No! You know that’s not the case at all. To me, you’re normal! You’re just like everyone else, Vanessa!”

“ Repeat it!” Vanessa was overwhelmed as she heard Ricardo pronounce her name lovingly.

“ What?”

“ My name! Say it one more time!”

“ Vanessa!”

“ Don’t call me princess when we’re alone!” She grinned at him and Ricardo grinned back as he promised her. Not being moody anymore, Vanessa was now ready to begin her horsemanship.

“ Yes, Vanessa! Are you ready to begin your riding lesson now?”

“ Yes, we can begin!”

Vanessa got on the horse carefully and slowly to not scare the horse. Ricardo watches as she follows his instructions. He was very much satisfied with her and had no complaints.

“ What do I do now, Ricardo?” Ricardo instructed her to pull lightly on the lasso to move the horse forward. Alas, she pulled too strongly and the horse started to feel agitated and started running randomly, making Vanessa fear for her life.

“ Ricardo, help me!” The horse went on a rampage and wouldn’t stop no matter how much Vanessa tried to stop it.

“ Try stopping the horse!” Ricardo got on a horse of his own to catch up with Vanessa.

“ I don’t know. Help me! The horse is getting wild!”

“ Relax, Vanessa! I’m here! I won’t let anything happen to you; trust me!” Ricardo got as close to Vanessa as possible with his horse, got on Vanessa's horse, and pulled lightly on the lasso, stopping the horse violently, and causing Ricardo and Vanessa to fall off the horse.

“ Are you okay, Ricardo?” Vanessa was on top of Ricardo.

“ I’m fi--------------- fine!”

“ Sorry, Ricardo! I know I’m dense.”

“ No, you’re not! You’re light as a feather! Are you okay, Vanessa? You’re not hurt, are you?” Vanessa and Ricardo got back up, realizing their positions.

“ No, I’m safe, thanks to you!”

The sun was starting to set just as Ricardo realized how late it was already.” It’s evening! The king and the queen must wait for you as we speak.”

“ I’ll be on my way, then.” Vanessa waved goodbye to her childhood friend as she set off to the Valencia Meeting Room.

Valencia Meeting Room

She knocked on the door upon arrival and the king granted her access to the room.

As she entered, she bowed gracefully to her parents.” Good evening, father and mother!”

“ Good evening!”

“ Good evening, dear! How were your lessons?”

“ It went wonderfully!”

(Those people are my parents, King Louis and Queen Elizabeth Williams).

“ What did you call me here for, father and mother?” It hadn’t even been five minutes since she was inside and she wanted to leave already.

“ Well,---------------” The Queen had a hard time articulating as what she was about to tell her daughter would most certainly not please her, that much she was certain of it.

“ Let me do the talking! It’s your coming-of-age ceremony soon.” The King spoke up.

“ I’m aware of that!” Vanessa uttered in response.

“ You’ll soon be turning 18! It’s time to think about marriage. For that occasion, I’ve organized a court for you. I’ve invited all the princes of the neighboring kingdoms to attend, and you’ve to choose your future husband among them.” Vanessa’s expression turned sour yet again.

“ Marriage? I don’t want to get married!” She shouted.

“ What do you intend to do with your life?” The King asked his daughter in front of her.

She said in response,” I intend to become a knight and protect the weak.”

He retorted,” What nonsense are you spouting? Knights are for boys and not for girls.”

The King kept talking and no matter what arguments Vanessa came up with to avoid getting married, it was all in vain. Her mother didn’t take her side either and she felt hurt by her parents’ indifference. She ran out of the room, sobbing bitterly.

Valencia Meeting Room Exit

“ Vanessa, why are you crying?” Vanessa was seated in a corner when Ricardo spotted her and ran to her.

“ You knew, didn’t you?” She asked, sobbing even more.

“ What?”

“ You knew what this meeting was about, didn’t you? Why didn’t you tell me?” She grabbed her collar as she asked for an explanation from him.

“ Vanessa, I---------------------”

“ I hate you, Ricardo!” Vanessa stood up and started running eventfully. Ricardo ran behind her as he tried to catch up with her.

“ Vanessa, wait!”

Valencia Kingdom Exit

“ Leave me alone!” Vanessa was running so fast that she didn’t notice the rock in front of her. He caught her just in time before she reached the floor and she irremediably landed in his arms.

“ Are you okay, Vanessa?”

“ Let go of me!” She tried to liberate herself from his grasp but he was just too strong. Also, he had no intention of letting go of her until she listens to him.

“ No, I won’t! I won’t let go until you listen to me. I was aware of your upcoming marriage, but I couldn’t do anything about it. The king forbids us from uttering anything to you.” Listening to him, she realized she judged him too quickly but she was just too hurt by the whole thing to say anything.

“ What will I do now? There’s no way to avoid this!”

“ There is one!” A sudden idea popped up in Ricardo’s mind.

“ What way?”

“ You have to leave the kingdom. Your father will change his mind once he realizes you’ve gone missing. You can come back afterward! What do you say?” Vanessa accepted right away as there were no other options left for her to take except to run away.

“ Good! Take these with you!” Ricardo gave her his arks and arrows as a means of protection but she hesitated to accept them as it wasn’t hers.

“ Don’t worry, Vanessa! I still have my sword. I don’t need these!”

“ Thank you!”

“ Take my horse with you too!” She remembered the recent incident with the horse she was riding earlier.

“ I can’t ride a horse. I’ll fall!”

“ Don’t worry! Vanessa is a good horse. She won’t let you fall!” Hearing the name, she flinched.

“ Vanessa? Did you call your horse after me?”

“ Yeah! I think Vanessa is a pleasant name. Now, go before the royal guards get here.”

“ What about you?”

“ Don’t worry about me! I’ll manage it. Now get going!”

“ Thank you for everything you’ve done for me!” Vanessa hugged Ricardo lightly as she rode off with Vanessa. Ricardo waved her goodbye.

(Goodbye, Vanessa!)

At the Valencia Meeting Room, the King and Queen were talking about their daughter, Vanessa when a knock on the door interrupted them. A maid entered the room and she looked quite worried.

“ What is it, Josephine?” The queen asked as the maid bowed down in front of the king and queen.

“ It’s regarding Princess Vanessa, your majesty!”

“ What about the princess?” The king asked as he was starting to have a bad feeling somehow.

“ She’s missing.” The king and queen looked at each other in disbelief.