Ch1: Escape

"... And further more if you want to carry on the proud tradition of the Homeland you would do well to do as you are told. Blah, blah, blah, blah..." Her mother's word began to melt in her head. She got this speech every year on her birthday and it was getting old. Kallel used to listen but had stopped when she was about five. With all this talk about responsibilities to the Throne you'd think that she was made of glass, sure she was the only Heir but come on.

There was a lot of things she could be doing instead of sitting here twiddling her thumbs listening to a speech she knew line and verse. But if she dared to tell her father or mother that she'd be locked in her room for a month before she could blink. The King and Queen were very protective of her and thought she was a child who couldn't take care of herself. It annoyed her no end to know she couldn't do anything about it.

Her older brother was the only one who ever understood her and he was gone. He had left when she was younger to live out in the real world and to learn how the kingdom worked. He would have made a kind and caring King if it hadn't been for one thing - he never came back. Now her parents had an abandonment complex and thought that she would do the same. They were mortally afraid that they would be left with no one else to take the Throne and the responsibilities that came with it when they died. That was why she wasn't even allowed out of the Palace let alone among her own people.

So all she could do at the moment to prevent the oppression of the people was to keep herself sane, which under the conditions was becoming more of a chore. She sat there in the most uncomfortable dress you could imagine, her hair done up in golden loops on either side of her head listening to her mother try and prove that she could give one of the most boring speeches in the Kingdom and still look enthusiastic.

Her green eyes shone in the darkness of the Great Hall where they were having her birthday celebration. Finally, when her mother thought she had got the point across that she could be really annoying if she chose, the Queen finished with a flourish and sat down. Kallel could have whooped with joy, but she didn't because she knew all that would get her would be another lecture on how "hollering is not very lady-like" and "you're 15 now Kallel, you should know better". So she held her peace. Then her father stood up and gave her a stern glance. He had always intimidated Kallel as far back as she could remember. This is because ever since she was little he had beaten her whenever things went wrong, even if she didn't do anything to cause them. Like if the economy wasn't going well or if a case of insubordination arose and he could not punish the person or persons involved.

But right now all he was going to do was give his usual speech, another half-hour listening to a very old tirade. She looked around the table, there were all familiar faces: her cousins her uncles and aunt and every relative that she knew. They all seemed just as bored as she was although no one would say anything for fear of angering the King.

The 'festivities' ranged long into the night and by the time they were over Kallel was ready to scream. When she got to her room she immediately preceded to change into something more comfortable like a pair of pants that were easy to move in and a T-shirt. Kallel ran down to the stables (making sure no one saw the Heir actually running) and slid into her horse, Juniper's, stall. Juniper was a strange horse. You see, she wouldn't listen to anyone or obey any order except when Kallel was giving the orders. The horse would listen to every word that left Kallel's lips with every evidence of intelligence and obey her every order, it was very strange to say the least and most of the servants thought she could talk to horses.

Juniper's brown eyes stared back at her with such depth that Kallel thought, not for the first time, that the mare was not what she seemed.

Kallel swung her leg over Juniper's rump without bothering with the saddle, it took too much time and she was looking for a quick get away. She urged Juniper into a walk, then a canter, and automatically the horse went into a full gallop, flying over a stone fence with a single flawless bound. When she landed gracefully she started to gallop across the fields, toward the edge of the palace's extensive pastures.

Kallel felt like she had just been set free, flying across the field with no restraints. Here she could say anything she liked or do anything she liked without being judged or chastised. Here she was just Kallel, the girl, not Kallel de Bayle, Heir to the throne of the Kingdom.

Out in the open Kallel was free to think about all the things that were troubling her. Like how to get her father to realize she needed to have more freedom then he was giving her. If she carried on her current course then when she gets to actually take the Throne she would know nothing of how her kingdom actually worked and what needed to be changed. What she needed to do was be among her people, like her brother had done. Know what life was like from their point of view.

How am I going to get my father to do that when he won't even let me learn how to do anything more taxing than knitting? Kallel thought, with more than a little disgust, remembering how her father had blown his top when he found out she was taking lessons in knife and sword fighting and tracking. How he had locked her in her room for playing with the servant's children. And how he had beaten her for learning to use a bow and arrow.

No, Kallel thought despairingly, it's not going to happen unless I get out of this place. Then without warning her train of thought stopped. What if she did get out of this place? Would she get far before she was caught? Or would she be caught at all? All of these questions flowed through her brain at a speed that she didn't even think possible. What if she did get away? Would she be able to learn more, and if she did would it be enough?

Her thought was interrupted as Kallel neared the edge of the palace and very startled guards greeted her and politely demanded that she come inside at once.

That night Kallel couldn't sleep; she just couldn't get that idea out of her head. She kept turning it over and over in her mind. Finally, she promised herself that she would try it, just to see how far she could get. This could change her life forever - for better or for worse.

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The very next day after Kallel got up and broke her fast she went down to the training grounds to talk to the Arms Master, Master Dewier, and after much arguing and complaining he finally consented to teach Kallel all she needed to know and not tell her parents. Score one for the runaway princess.

The way Kallel saw it; she would have to plan the actions out extensively before she could actually do anything. So for the next few months Kallel stayed either in her room or out in the pasture with Juniper and didn't talk to anyone. Eventually she had everything planned out from the biggest obstacle (the King) to the smallest ration. She never let herself think about her decision for fear of remembering that she was doing something very stupid.

Kallel had only to pick the perfect date and the opportunity came to her in a rather unpleasant package. Her father announced that soon they would be holding the Ball of Suitors where all the eligible bachelors in the whole entire kingdom come and dance with the Princess. She was supposed to get married soon to the person she - or more precisely her parents - liked best.

Kallel had planned it out so that all would be ready before the Ball. She had the provisions in her room along with her cloak and sword, and Juniper would have her tack nearby. To the Ball she would wear a white gown with a slit that went up her hip for a knife along her inner thigh, which she would probably need later. She would leave the Ball early, and plead she was too tired to continue. If she happened to get tired during the extent of the long Ball she had a back up plan: she could store excess energy in a crystal and access this energy to replenish herself whenever she felt like it.

Not many people could do this; in fact Kallel didn't know anyone beside herself that could. So for the last four months she had been saving energy and had quite a lot to spare. She would leave from her bedroom window, climb down the ivy poles that almost reached the ground (Kallel had been growing those or sometime now), and steal off to the stables. It was a foolproof plan.

A/n: will the plan work? Tune in next week for the exciting sequel to today's episode: 'Fool Proof?'

I love speaking like I'm fifty.. Ne-way hope you enjoyed it!

-Mahari