Chapter Five: Her Escape...

Glovia ran straight for the training ground. When she arrived, Prince Stev wasn't there, so she waited for him in the garden. She couldn't concentrate. She was pacing around, worry etched on her tear-streaked face. She quickly wiped the tears that had managed to escape again and placed her hands on her waist. What would she tell Stev? She couldn't even face herself.

Just as fear started to creep in on her, she heard footsteps. Hurriedly, she rushed out of the garden, suddenly bumping into Princ Stev, who apparently came her way.

"Hey," he greeted, a shy smile on his face. "I thought I heard someone." Slowly, his smile vanished when he saw Glovia's face.

"What happened?" he asked, gently taking her face in his hands. Glovia thought she could deal with it. She thought she could be strong. But the worried and angry look Stev had on his face caused her to break down, and she found herself leaning on him, crying out her heart.

Prince Stev slowly embraced her and gently began to caress her. His heart ached; he didn't like seeing her that way. Gently, he nudged her into the garden, and they both walked into it. They found a comfortable and hidden spot and sat down. After she had finally calmed herself down, Glovia slowly dragged herself out of his embrace.

"I apologize, my lord." She said, bowing down. Prince Stev gently held her face and raised it, wiping her leftover tears with his thumb.

"Its alright." He said softly, smiling at her encouragingly. They both remained silent, Glovia thinking of how to ask for his help and the prince simply giving her enough time to gain herself.

"My lord," she started. "I need to ask a favor from you." He frowned, curious.

"You know you can ask me anything, Glovia."

She sniffed, nodding her head. "I need to leave the castle, immediately."

His gaze softened. "I would try and work faster…."

"No my lord. Immediately, as in now." She deadpanned.

Prince Stev's frown deepened. "What did Luther do to you?" he asked, removing his hands from her face. Glovia's chest began thumping hard.

"My lord, it's for your best if you don't know…."

"Tell me." He declared, his face suddenly impassive. "If you truly need my help, you would tell me what he did to you."

"My lord," she said, her lips quivering. "I feel ashamed." She stated, hiding her face between her folded arms. Prince Stev felt rage as never before at the thought that his brother had hurt her. Slowly, he began to rise, but Glovia quickly held onto his arm.

"My lord, please…" she begged, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. Prince Stev looked down at her, then his gaze became soft. Sighing, he listened to her urge and sat back down, waiting for her to speak.

"I had finished tending to the garden in his pavilion." she started. "When I was done, I turned around and saw him staring at me. He came towards me, then said that something about me was making him uncomfortable."

Prince Stev frowned. "Uncomfortable?"

She nodded. "He asked if I was seeing any one. I was surprised at the question, but I replied him truthfully, telling him that I had no partner. He commanded me to keep it that way, telling me that since I was under him, I had no right to be with any man. I was shocked at his declaration, and scared out of my mind. I have no plan of working in the castle forever, and the use of slaves had been banned long before the current reign of our supreme lord. Prince Luther is mighty, but by the law, he has no right to tell me who I should be with."

She let out a shaky breath, removing the tendril of her hair that the wind had blown against her face.

"I confronted him. Though scared out of my mind, I told him that it would be a taboo for me to have any other kind of relationship with him apart from the master servant relationship. He told me that I shouldn't worry about stuff like that. It was something he could easily take care of. I was scared. I didn't want things to end up in his term without a fight. As he walked out of the garden, I blurted out that I was betrothed. That was a lie, but I thought that perhaps he could let me go for the honor of my parents." She sniffed, remembering the horrid ordeal she had to go through. "Immediately, he flew towards me and forcefully kissed me. I was shocked, could barely do anything but stand still. That was when I felt it; the gathering of magic around us. He was trying to force a bond between us, one that would permanently link me with him forever. At that moment, I had chosen to die. I was ready to kill myself. I'd rather be dead than to be eternally tied to him. Fortunately, he stopped and left, not before leaving a final warning that I should let go of my family, if I didn't want them to end up dead. That's all that happened, my lord."

Prince Stev felt burning anger like he had never felt before, slowly unfurl in the deepest pit of his stomach. This woman, this poor woman, had gone through so much at the hands of his brother. She had her innocence forcefully taken away from her, something which every lady in the Enu realm held to their highest honor. He then ordered her to stay away from her family, the only family she had ever known. What was his brother thinking? Was Luther really interested in Glovia, his servant? At this point, Prince Stev stopped wondering. Whether it was true or not, he would do everything to help her out. No way would he let Luther hurt her again. He would see to that, even if it meant physically contesting with him.

"I would help you get out. I swear on my honor Glovia, I would get you out of this place quickly." He promised. He wished he could fight his brother for her. But he knew that Glovia was right; fighting would only cause unnecessary attention on all of them.

Why was his brother interested in Glovia? Had he always felt that way about her? There has been no news of Luther ever being involved with a woman, right from the beginning of his adolescent age. So his obsession with Glovia was very strange. Prince Stev secretly scrutinized her. He had to admit, she was beautiful. He was sure that should his other brothers see her, they would be very interested in her. Had he made this discovery in the past when he and Glovia weren't friends, he would have used it against his seemingly perfect brother. But after getting to know her, Prince Stev couldn't bring himself to do it. Glovia occupied a special place in his heart, and he wished it would remain that way. Suddenly, he thought of something.

"Stay here for a while," he told her gently. "I am not comfortable with you returning back to him, but you would have to at some point. I am going to map out away for you to escape sooner. Meet me here when the moon is high up in the sky, and the night is still. Then I would share my plan with you."

"My lord," Glovia called out, surprise and hope etched on her face. Prince Stev smiled, removing a tendril of hair from her face. "Don't worry about me. I will fulfill my bargain and let you out of this place." Without thinking, he bent and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"I'll be back." He said. Slowly, he stood up, and Glovia's gaze followed him as he left the garden.

Her heart pounded heavily. The single kiss on her head made her temporarily forget all her problems, and all the feelings she was trying to hide escaped in abundance. She blushed profusely and found herself grinning. Hope that Prince Stev liked her bloomed in full, and she immediately began to daydream of what could happen should they end up together. She knew it was futile, considering their levels, but that still didn't stop her from imagining what could become of them.

Sadly, thoughts of Prince Luther suddenly poured over her like water. Even if there was a slight chance for her to be with Prince Stev, Prince Luther would go to the far end to make sure it won't happen. She also wouldn't cross out the fact that the evil prince may plan something bad for his brother, knowing what kind of person he was. She had to protect her prince at all cost, she resolved. After all he had done for her, it was the least she could do.

She looked at the sky and noticed the sun had reached its peak. By this time, Prince Luther usually asked her to prepare his food. Hurriedly, she stood up and rushed back to his pavilion. She did not want to return, but she would rather go there than allow him to find her and Prince Stev's secret place. So many bad things were bound to happen should that incident take place. She rushed back quickly, increasing her footsteps. She held up her gown with both her hands to enable her to walk faster and finally, after a few minutes, she arrived at the pavilion. She paused just outside it, fear rocking through her as she remembered what had earlier occurred in that place. Slowly, she took in a deep breath and began to match forward. She couldn't even face the garden before the entrance of his room, lest she be hounded with the images she was trying so hard to forget. Every step that brought her closer to his door reminded her of the doom she may face. She reached the door and slowly opened it, then walked inside.

One look at the place told her that the prince was not around. Immediately, her heart calmed, and she released a sigh of relief. She walked to the small chair the prince had allotted to her and sat quietly, trying to calm her nerves down. There she remained, her body immediately turning alert at any sound for fear that the prince may be back. She gently rocked herself back and forth, unable to fall asleep. To stop herself from thinking of the evil prince, she filled her mind with thoughts of Prince Stev and the kiss he placed on her head. That was enough to evoke a small smile from her. She began to imagine her life once she left the castle. The first thing she would do would be to go after her parents. Perhaps they might escape to the lowest level of the realm. Someone as mighty as Prince Luther wouldn't bother looking for her there. With the amount of money they had saved up, they could even become the elites in that place. Life wouldn't be as good as it had been for them, but at least they would be free.

Tired of sitting, Glovia stood and began to occupy her time by doing minor jobs. She cleaned the floor and the chairs, washed his bathroom, and dusted his library. At some point, she had slept off on the ground. She woke up when it became too cold for her.

The room was dark, and no fire had been lit. She took that to mean Prince Luther hadn't returned since she came back. Slowly, she stood up from the ground and went to the window. The moon was already high in the sky. Her heart beat rapidly, and immediately she began to prepare for her second meeting with Prince Stev. She lit the candles in the room and the fireplace should Prince Luther return. She didn't want him to think she hadn't returned since she ran. That would cause her some problems she wasn't ready to face.

She walked to the door and slowly opened it, quickly scanning the halls. After making sure that she was alone, she closed the huge doors silently and ran to the garden close to the training ground. She arrived just in time to see prince Stev waiting for her.

"My lord," she greeted, her breath coming out in silent pants. "I apologize for being late. I had overslept."

"It's no problem," he said, smiling at her gently. "It hadn't been long since I arrived either. Let's go find a place to sit." Together, they walked into the garden and sat in their earlier spot.

"I have found a way for you to escape." The prince started. Glovia's eyes widened in hope.

"Really? Thank you so much my lord, thank you!" she said, beaming widely.

"But there is a catch." He said before she could go any further.

"A… Catch?" she asked, confused.

"Hmm." The prince nodded. "I'll be leaving with you."