Chapter Two: The Escape

Sofia’s desire for freedom finally reached a boiling point that she decided to take matters into her own hands. She had managed to sneak out in the dim of night being that some of the guards had fallen asleep while she dodged the rest narrowly. As she sneaked out she felt a mixture of emotions: excitement, fear and uncertainty.

With her cloak wrapped around her, she disappeared into the night taking nothing with her and leaving behind her luxurious but suffocating life as a princess. She wasn’t sure of what the future held for her but she was determined on forging her own path.

She had barely gone a long path in the woods when she started hearing weird squeaky sounds which startled her. She looked around in fear and trembled as she began rethinking if she had made the wrong decision.

She began running in fear immediately she had heard more of the sounds. She was shaking vigorously as she ran while looking around in fear. Suddenly her motion was stopped abruptly with a great force as she felt the great bang on her head making her collapse to the ground. Her world went dark as she crumpled to the ground shrieking in pain, the sound of her own shriek echoing in her ears. She felt a wave of dizziness wash over her, and her vision began to blur.

As she struggled to regain consciousness, Sofia became aware of some figures standing over her, their voices looming in the darkness. She tried to speak, but her voice was hoarse and barely audible.

A figure slowly came into focus, and she saw that it was a man with a rugged face and piercing eyes. He was dressed in dark clothing, and a scarf covered his mouth and nose.

She tried to speak again but this time she became more weaker and slowly she gave in to unconsciousness

Meanwhile in the grand throne room of the Werewolf Empire of Everwood, The Alpha and his Luna sat in their thrones surrounded by their courtiers and advisors. They were the king and queen of the entire clans of Ever wood and played a big role in uniting all the clans, cities and communities while preserving the kingdom’s historical heritage

“I’m telling you dear, the horses from the north are the finest we’ve ever had” King Edward said stroking his beards

Queen Camila nodded in agreement

“Yes and the hunting dogs are also of exceptional quality. I’ve heard a lot of good historical nature about them” She contributed as the king nodded in agreement

They were still talking when the Prince walked in. He strode in majestically wearing a crisp white shirt with billowy sleeves, above it was a dark gray vest with silver embroidery on a black leather pants and knee high boots with a silver buckle.

“You sent for me” Prince Stefan said to his parents, a delicate silver chain with crystal pendant lay around his neck exuding his love for silver ornaments. His dark brown hair was in a messy shoulder length with few loose strands framing his face

Prince Stefan was the only son of King Edward and Queen Camilla. Therefore he was the crown prince and heir to the werewolf throne. Though cold hearted and arrogant, Prince Stefan had proven resilience and courage in various aspects of the kingdom.

The Alpha cleared his throat to speak because after all he had called for his son and here he was.

“I trust you remember the discussion we had a month ago” he began. Stefan’s face remained neutral not wanting to jump to conclusions and remember things which he didn’t want to

“About you taking a wife as soon as possible” The King added confirming Stefan’s doubt; a topic which he wasn’t ready for

“So to that end, your mother and I have made a conclusion while keeping your feelings at mind” she announced

“Which is…” Stefan inquired dreading the suspense

“We’ve given you five days to find a wife or get married to the maiden we chose for you” The Alpha revealed

This sounded so absurd to Stefan as he looked at the both of them not knowing what to say. He knew that whatever decision his father made was final so he dared not argue about it. But an arranged marriage was simply not it. This was a conflict between his personal life and the historical preservation of a kingdom which he swore to protect.

He stared at his parents for long, bowed and walked out. He went straight to the stable as that was his most favorite place to be, to calm distress while feeding his favorite horse.

Sofia woke up with a very severe headache. She was about to hold her head in pain when she figured out that her hands were tied with chains. She looked around to figure out where she was. She laid on dry hay in a dirty looking room like a warehouse with unfamiliar faces which were tied like her. The old man beside her kept looking at her which made her flinch in fear. It was then it dawned on her that she had been captured by slave hunters and was about to be sold into slavery.

Just as the complexity of her situation dawned on her, a fierce and ugly looking man walked in. He was putting on all black. He walked up to her with a wide and mischievous grin on his face. She moved backwards as he lowered himself to her level bringing his face In close contact with hers. She flinched as she felt his hands hold her lower chin raising her face to meet his. She was met with his mischievous grin which highlighted his ugly facial features. His eyes were red and swollen and his face had tribal marks inscribed on them.

“You’ll fetch us a good market price princess” he said to with a smirk and walked away

The weight of her situation dawned on her as she began to think of the unreasonable decision she made to leave the palace. Her parents, she thought of her parents and how worried they might be seeing that their daughter had disappeared. Had she just gone from frying pan to fire all in her quest for freedom? She thought. If only she had not made the decision to run away she wouldn’t be in this mess and she would have probably been having her early morning hot bath by now.

“I wonder what these horrible people would do to me” She mumbled as she sobbed

Back in the Kismaros village, King Henry and Queen Maria had learnt about their daughter missing and they were devastated. They sent out soldiers to look for her

“She must have ran away” The queen said to the king amidst tears. The King was simply quiet in fury

“If only we had treated her better she wouldn’t have. She complained severally and we didn’t listen. We overwhelmed her now our daughter has ran away” The queen continued bursting into a louder cry

The King looked at her many thoughts running through his mind

“No matter the reason, She made the worst decision to run away. I’ve sent soldiers to look for her and once she’s found I’ll make sure she’s taught a big lesson”

He sounded to his crying wife and walked away

Stefan rubbed his chin in frustration as he paced back and forth in his room. All his attempts to find someone suitable to at least settle down and escape the arranged marriage proved futile. Even as the prince, he couldn’t use his power and influence to get the woman he wanted because he simply had not found her. It wasn’t his fault that he had always been the one to dismiss girls from his life due to his cold hearted nature.

His father had given him five days to find a wife and this was the fourth day so he knew he had to act fast.

But where are the girls who would normally flock to his side? Have they sensed his desperation, or are they simply tired of his games? As much as every lady would want to be his wife, he knew he simply had not found the one his heart yearned for yet. Stefan’s eyes scanned the room, searching for a glimpse of the one who might change his fate. But for now, she remained nowhere to be found. With that he took his cloak and sword and off he went for a horse ride.