I ran through the forest I called home. The further I got away from my father's estate, the calmer my head became. The pain didn't stop though, if anything it increased with every step I took. I realised far too late that I was leaving a bloody trail behind me, that could be tracked if I didn't stop the bleeding as soon as possible. They might already hunt me down. And the forest wasn't going to help me any more. My oldest friend was gone, or at least out of my reach. I could see him, but our connection was severed. All thanks to those stupid experiments.

  I tripped over a root sticking out of the ground. The memories that now came rushing in made me lose focus. All the pain I had been through. I wanted to give up. How could I even think I could escape him? Grand Duke Bishnarect is a predator, who relishes the fear in the eyes of his prey. He will not stop until I'm back at our estate. The king will want me back, I'm his favourite son's bride, after all.

  I couldn't even run there. Even if the king believed me, my father had destroyed everything that made me desirable as a crown princess, or as a future queen. My powers were gone and my beauty destroyed. Both taken from me by the only family I had left. Where do I go from here? Mother, please tell me what to do.

  The orders to the soldiers, echoing through the forest, ripped me out of my despair. Wherever I went, if I didn't make it out of the forest first, I wouldn't have to worry about that part of my escape. I couldn't outrun them. I was half their size and my stamina was at an all-time low. Even at full health they were trained soldiers, and I was just a little girl who might know how to fight and defend herself, but not against the most talented knights in this land. Why couldn't I have been the daughter of a merchant duke?

  Regardless, I had to hide. If I was lucky, they would guess that I had run out of the forest, instead of hiding in it. Father had always underestimated me.

  My tree house was my sanctuary. I didn't know if anyone but me knew about it. Father didn't though and neither did Sir Tarron. He may have been my teacher and for the last years — or how long it has been — my tormentor, but he didn't know anything about me, that ran deeper. Well, at least I tried to keep it that way. My father wasn't cruel. He is certainly ambitious, but not unnecessarily harmful towards anyone. Sir Tarron was different. He enjoyed the pain he caused. I never wanted to see either of them ever again.

  When I reached that tree, the sense of a familiar safety eased my pain and worries. Mother said the trees in our forest were as old as the continent itself. Between those ancient giants, my tree was unremarkable, quite young, with regular blossoms that hadn't started glowing so early in the night. As far as you could tell from the outside, he appeared as nothing but an ordinary tree, but when I entered the inside through a hidden tunnel in the root system, that changed. The tunnels that had been carved in the mighty trunk of the tree by my predecessor were illuminated by its glowing walls. I had spent hours exploring every tunnel there was and mapping out the rooms that were left behind.

  I had no idea who was responsible for this miracle, but I was glad for it. As it has served as a safe place to escape and hide. Although, I had never thought I would ever have to hide from death or torture. I made my way up to the high branches of the trees. The thick foliage of the older trees obscured the night sky. Only some of the giants were in full bloom, so the light was dim. I was sure that if I were to stay here for the night I wouldn't be found, but I could watch over the areas around me and see anyone coming. If it wasn't for the exhaustion catching up with me. I felt the sleep creeping over my body, and even the fear I felt wasn't enough to keep me on the lookout for any threats. For the time being, I just had to believe that I was safe for now.

  A great mistake. Did I underestimate my father and Sir Tarron, or was my secret simply not that much of a secret? It didn't matter when I woke up with a blade under my chin. Tears flooded my eyes and I couldn't make out who had caught me exactly. It didn't make a difference anyway, I failed and misjudged the situation. Now I would spend the rest of my unmarried years in the dungeon of our castle. If the prince would still want me as his bride after all this, that was. Would father kill me if the king rejected me? Mother, what should I do? How could I have ever believed I could run?

  The man lifted me in the air with a grip that could break my arm by sheer force. It couldn’t end here. I promised her, and I wouldn't falter now. I had been taught how to fight, not only to defend myself, but also to bring down my opponent if I wished to. Although weaker, smaller and less skilled, I had to try. I had hoped for a miracle long enough. It didn't come, and it wouldn't appear now. Maybe the element of surprise would be enough to allow my second escape.

  While I dangled in the air, I moved my legs at random, so he wouldn't suspect anything. When he started moving towards the entrance of the tree, I moved my lower limb back and hurled it with all my strength right between his legs. The sound of agony that escaped his lips was oddly satisfying to me. I never felt like this before. Still, I had no time to waste.

  My instincts and memories kicked in, the moment I fell. Despite me hitting the branch we were on pretty hard, I managed to get away without any injuries. The path towards the entrance was blocked by the man, who was still on the ground but wouldn't stay any longer. If I tried to slip past him, he would catch me. My only other option was to jump down from this branch and catch my fall before hitting the ground. If not, it had all been for nothing. I started running. I could be free. I'm not wasting my chance.

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  The nearby trees were either too high or too small for me to escape to one of their branches without risking slipping. But if I could compel some of the trees that were further away to grow a branch towards me, I could use it to escape. That way I would be out of their sight, hidden in the cover that the leaves provided.

  As I reached the end of the branch, I got ready to jump. He wasn't stable enough to support my running any longer, so I was rather limited anyway. I jumped, relying on my oldest friend to catch me.

  Only after jumping, I noticed my mistake. The forest wasn't going to help me. As of yesterday, he was gone. Or at least, he didn't listen to me any more. I heard the man on top of the tree yelling about me jumping. If I was lucky, someone was waiting for him down there. If they noticed me early enough, they might be able to catch my fall. I would survive and figure out how to escape later.

  But I kept on falling with nothing to safe me. I was going to die, wasn't I? The ground got closer, and I wasn't slowing down a bit. I closed my eyes. Maybe that was the only way I could ever truly escape. Dying. That was it for me.

  I hit the ground way earlier than I had expected. It was far softer than I thought. Upon opening my eyes, I found myself in the middle of a ceberales. By all means, not what I had been expecting, but the second I made sense of what happened, the giant petals started closing in. Whoever had grown this lovely flower was now forcing it to trap me. The lilac petals wrapped around my limbs before I even had the chance to get up. My struggles to break free were pointless, and I felt myself giving up again. Every situation I got in was more hopeless than the last. My luck had run out.

  My feet hadn't even touched the ground when the man waiting there grabbed my hair, ripping me away from the flower. Burning pain rushed through my scalp, followed by a sharp sensation ripping through my left side. Judging by the creeping dampness I felt in the mossy grass surrounding me, the toss on the ground hadn't just damaged my shoulder further but had also reopened the recovering wounds along my arm, back and waist. Thin but sturdy roots immediately started to capture me on the spot, while also forcing me in an upright position. They dug into my skin in a way that would open even more wounds.

  I looked in the man's eyes that had rendered my legs useless again. He was no stranger. For a short time he trained me until his ruthlessness made my father decide to switch him with Sir Tarron. Only the stories I heard had painted an entirely different picture of him. He was said to be a gentle, merciful young man that had adored and cherished the gifts given to our kind. The war hadn't just crippled his outward appearance, though. The man I met two years ago wasn't the same from those stories. From all the people I knew that had fought in the wars, he carried the most pain. Right now was the first time I had to feel this pain.

  He turned away. I wasn't worth the time. Then we waited. I could only assume it was for his companion up in the tree, after all there was no hurry to get me anywhere. I couldn't run, and father couldn't be eager to look at his only failure ever again. I would have loved to turn around and face the exit of the tree so I could see when my suffering might end, yet I could only stare the way I longed to escape towards.

  I tried forcing my mind to come up with a plan or idea or anything, but everything was a blur. My mind fog lifted, as the other guy came crawling out of the underground tunnel. Or more accurately, his cursing. He jumped from insulting me as an entitled brat and what not, to cursing the people creating my tree house and threatening violence towards me. I could only assume by the insolence and threats he threw at me how bad I had kicked him. Still, none of them were getting to me, as it would only be the beginning of my torment. Or rather continuation.

  My former teacher could not take his constant bickering as much as I did, though. His “Silence”, echoed from the trees. His slap wasn't much quieter. While they were arguing about the seemingly still new soldier's behaviour, my instincts kicked back in. I should use this moment of lost focus to get myself free. Getting the roots to get of me was impossible. I had to get out of their grip another way. I tested whether I could wiggle them loose. At first, they didn't back up a bit. The next thing I knew, one piece shot up to my neck and started choking me. “Don't try me, Lady Theirastra. I can achieve more than this.” I began seeing stars before he loosened the choke hold enough so I could breathe a little. The two men picked up their argument where they had left it. My efforts — again — had left me in a worse position than before. Father was rightfully disappointed in me. I wasn't anything remarkable before, and now I am nothing.

  I closed my teary eyes to stop me from crying. I can not be more pathetic. How will I be able to be enough? Who could love this, mother?

  The surrounding pressure, started to vanish. I looked down at my shackles. I had no idea why he would let me escape, but the roots that had encased me less than a second ago, were lying on the ground lifeless. Both men were standing with their backs towards me. I took the sprint. Maybe he still was the knight in shining armour from the stories I had heard about him.

  I heard the blood rushing through my ears. In fact, this together with my heavy breathing was the only thing I could hear. Some fire rushed through my veins, making me unable to stop or think.

  My body must be flooded with pain, from my shoulder and head to my scratched, bare feet. I felt none of it, my eyes fixed on a point in front of me. There the forest met with the fields. In the high grown crops, I had a better chance at hiding, without having to climb anything. The fields went on for hours, so now playing tricks with the plants either. Reaching that could put me out of a lot of my disadvantages.

  The path was still a fair distance, though. Why didn't I think of that yesterday? I could have avoided all this, if I had thought for a moment. And now I felt like I was even slower than before.

  The bush on front of me doubled in size in a blink of an eye. My efforts to stop only made me fall head first into it. The thorns cut my face. Blood now started to run into my eyes as well. I should give up now. Something forced me to go on. I crawled out, cut every part of my body, and lost all orientation. I kept on running forwards with no idea where I was actually heading now. My view was blurry at best. I thought I saw various plants reaching for me, but I felt nothing grabbing or halting me. Until I tripped. I may very well get caught up in some roots. It was nothing out of the ordinary, despite the fact I kept on falling. I must have lost it, my mind was playing tricks. I failed, like you said, I would.