A Long Journey

Since the way to the secret tunnel had been blocked, she decided the best way to go would be straight out the front door. The princess was such a quiet baby, she decided to take a chance in hiding her under her baggy attendant dress. She knew that if she made a sound as she attempted to leave the castle grounds, they would both suffer the consequences...with their lives.

After hiding in a broom closet to strap the young princess to her person, she made her way to the front of the castle. Surprisingly she passed very few guards, which made her feel slightly uneasy. It seemed too simple to just walk out, but it was too late to change her plans. As she neared the front door she saw blood trails. Clearly showing where bodies had been drug across the floor recently. Stopping herself from looking around, as she was afraid she would bring attention to herself she walked straight up to the door and started to push it open.

"Halt!"

That one word made her stomach drop. She was so close to being out of the castle. She debated on running but knew they would catch her, so she turned around and plastered the biggest smile she could on her face. "What can I do for you, Sir?" she asked as she tried her best to look innocently at the guard. He was a big man, with a scar running the length of the left side of his face. She had heard of him, everyone called him Captain Scar, but his real name was Abigor.  Either name struck fear into the heart of their enemies as there were few who had not heard of him and those that had wished they hadn't.

She knew that this man would not hesitate to kill, as there were already countless deaths caused by his hands. He would not even need to draw his weapon to kill her. Thinking quickly she said, "King Damien asked me to fetch him some better wine. He wishes to celebrate."

Abigor did not believe this tale that the young girl in front of him was spewing from her mouth. How dare she try to lie to him! Just as he was about to raise his hand to strike her another guard came running towards them, "King Damien has issued the Coup was a success Captain, all of the opposing guards have been dealt with. He requests your attendance immediately in the throne room."

In the minute his attention was divided Polaris made her escape, she knew he did not buy her lie and only hoped that by the time he noticed her missing she would have a decent head start. She thanks the gods above that the messenger had arrived when he did, for in Abigor's eyes she saw her death.

Abigor turning back to where the girl stood just seconds before was furious that she would have the gall to run away. Looking to the guard that stood beside him he issued swift commands that the girl was to be caught and brought to him for punishment for her impudent behavior, before quickly striding towards the throne room.

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Polaris walked quickly across the grounds of the castle but did not dare run yet as she was still not in the clear. She needs to find the quickest and safest route to get to the north mountain, luckily for her she grew up on the streets and knew routes that the soldiers would not even dare follow.

Finally making her way off the castle grounds,  she stood looking at the road in front of her. It would take her less time to make it to the town if she stayed on the road, but she knew it would be safer for her to walk parallel to it while staying in the woods. She did not want to take any chances of getting caught before she could disappear into the town.

She had only been walking for 10 minutes when she heard horses in the distance coming down the road. At the rate she was going it would still take her 30 minutes to get to town. Cursing her luck she ducked behind a called tree, she was not prepared to have been followed so soon. She barely made it behind the tree just as the light from the torches touched the area she had just been standing. The men quickly passed and continued their journey into town. Polaris released a breath she did not realize she had been holding.

Just as her heart rate almost returned to normal a hand snaked around her face and held her mouth. The fear only lasted a moment as she heard a voice that she was sure she would never hear again.

"Polaris, please do not scream and draw attention to us, we must hurry and get the princess to safety." Gabriel spoke softly but she heard the strain in his voice. Nodding her head yes, he removed his hand from her mouth and allowed her to turn and face him. He was covered in blood, and one of his eyes were swelled shut. His once blonde hair was matted and dark with how much blood had saturated it, She was surprised he was even up and walking around.

"I was not sure where to take the little miss so I was going to take her up on the mountain.." She trailed off afraid that he would find her suggestion stupid.

Gabriel seemed to be in deep thought but then his whole face lit up with realization. "Of course! The dragon!" He quickly lowered his voice and continued, "We would need something as an offering, as dragons love treasures, anything shiny will do." He was getting excited just thinking about it, and his excitement was contagious.

"I may have already taken care of the treasure part." Polaris mumbled. She knew that the Queen would want them to do whatever was needed to keep her daughter safe, but she still felt bad for taking something without permission. She may have been a street rat at one time, but she had morals and never stole without her reasons, and never from those who were good people.

Taking the sack from her back she opened it to reveal the box she had to take from behind the painting, as well as the supplies she had gathered for the young miss. Gabriel was surprised and delighted that she had thought so far ahead. Maybe with a bit of luck he would live until he knew they were safe.

He knew he did not have much time, as the wounds he suffered were enough for the rebels to believe him dead and drag him outside where they were burning the bodies of the fallen. He had waited until all of their backs were turned and with much effort rolled to the side until he could stand up without being noticed.

It was with luck that he had seen Polaris walking through the gate when he made his way back to the front of the castle. He could not believe how brave she was at such a young age, she must have suffered a lot to have matured so quickly.

"Well shall we continue on our journey?" He knew she was tired and scared but he could not let her stop just yet. They had a long way to go, and he did not have the time to waste.