Chapter One

Diverge

Virginia tripped, but quickly stood up again. She wiped her freckled face, her blue eyes shining through the mud. She ran, her blue dress striking against her ankles, her braids streaming in the air, and her white shoes being tainted with green stains from the high grass of the pasture. Her mother screamed at her from behind, but the pale girl only ran faster in the setting sun.

I have to get to the forest! I have to get to the forest! I have to… This thought repeated in her head multiple times as she sprinted. If she got to the forest, she could escape her controlling mother, her uncaring father, and the engagement to him.

Once again, her mother screamed for her to come back; Virginia screamed back in rebuttal. Why did she have to marry this boy? Charles the Eighth, ha! His name alone told Virginia that he was boring. Virginia wanted to be free; didn't want to be stuck in a big, empty house with strict rules and few liberties. She wanted to swim in the creeks, and jump in autumn leaves like other kids!

Virginia reached the forest and wove through the trees as the sun fell lower. She felt her heart flutter, and her breath became scarce. She had never run like she was running now; back home she was commonly kept inside her room, given everything of value from her busy parents. But the isolation kept her malnourished and in poor shape, not to mention lonely. This engagement was the last straw; a ten year old could only take so much.

As she finally came out of her thoughts, Virginia looked back to see if her mother was behind. She was nowhere in sight, but Virginia now heard barking, and men yelling. She started running again, swerving left and right while tearing out the white ribbons in her hair to leave her scent in different directions.

Virginia stopped as she came upon a wide river. The dogs' barking was getting louder; she knew it was either to jump or to go back. Without another thought, Virginia kicked her shoes off into the river, and watched them float along like a conformed worker in the factory.

And then she jumped over the river. Oh! It was only a second, but in that second, Virginia flew. Yes, her arms spread like an eagle's wings, and her legs spread towards the finishing line, her hair waving in the air. Never had she felt so exhilarated and alive!

She landed as soon as she had jumped, huffing and, for a moment, numb. The lights from the search group became visible; Virginia dove behind the closest tree and became stiff. The dogs lost her scent as they neared the river, and the men apologized to Virginia's mother, who approached them.

Her face was stiff, and her hands tightly knitted together below her waist. Her dark brown eyes elated to coal as she looked at the river, and the trees around it.

"We couldn't catch her in time, miss." One of the men said, taking his hat off politely. Another man ran up from the lower banks.

"We found these in the river!" All of them were startled as he held up Virginia's shoes. The men quickly jumbled around, each fondling the shoes, as if needing proof that they belonged to the ten year old girl. Virginia's mother screamed at them to find her daughter, and they quickly dispersed, the dogs once again lively with barking.

Virginia peaked as she watched her mother standing quietly in the dark. The older woman fell to her knees as she covered her face. "What shall we do? Oh…what shall we do about Sir Charles?"

Virginia clenched her jaw as she watched her mother weep, and slowly she turned away. Looking once more, she finally disconnected herself, and walked away, deeper into the forest.