I excuse myself from the party and head to my room where Marin undresses me and redresses me for bed. She gets me settled in and then I dismiss her for the night. I listen to make sure her footsteps are gone and then quietly tiptoe across the room and lock the door. I make my way back to my bed and feel around under it for my traveling pack. I pull out my traveling clothes and slip them on, and then I braid my long hair down my back. I make sure I have all the essentials I need in my pack; my bedroll, food, water, a compass, some flint to start a fire, and finally strap my bow and arrows to my back. I leave a note on my bed and then remember one more thing I need. I move to my vanity and open my jewelry box, my fingers automatically finding the small, silver band. My mother's wedding ring. I unclasp my necklace and slip the ring onto the chain next to the heart and finally make my way to my bedroom door and unlock it. I turn around and take one last look at my room. The room I have slept in for nineteen years. The room that holds so many memories. Memories of my childhood. Of my mother. I shut my eyes and walk out the door, shutting it soundlessly behind me.

I quietly make my way through the halls to the door. Luckily, my party is still going strong, so there is not a soul to stop me as I slip out on to the castle grounds.

I pull my hood tighter over my face, looking around to make sure I wasn't followed and I duck into the stables, feeling my way to Scarlet's stall in the dark. The bolt makes a loud clunk as I slide it open and Scarlet whinnies in alarm.

"Shhh, girl. It's just me," I whisper, trying to calm her down. I hold my hand out for her to sniff and she nickers at me, recognizing my scent. I slide her halter over her head. "I know it's early, girl, but we have to get out of here." I adjust her saddle blanket and swing the saddle over her back, belting it in place. I strap my traveling pack securely to the saddle and quietly lead her out of the stables. I have one foot in the stirrup and I'm about to mount Scarlet when someone grabs my arm. I whip my head around to see Tryan, his eyebrows furrowed in anger and confusion.

"Let go of me, Tryan," I growl.

"No. I'm not letting you leave here by yourself."

"It's not your decision. Now let go!" I jerk my arm away and swing my leg over the saddle.

"You can't go unprotected! You're going to get hurt."

"Watch me," I say, and I kick Scarlet into a gallop. Her hindquarters swing around and hit Tryan, knocking him to the ground. Good. The last thing I need is for him to follow me.

I take to the road going a round-about way, making it harder for anyone to follow me. Then I realize I have no idea how to get to Lycera. The one thing I forgot to pack was a map, but it's too late to go back now. I know Lycera is to the east so I just follow the road in that direction, moving as fast as I can before dawn.

I can just see the sun beginning to rise in front of me when I reach the capitol boundary and breathe a sigh of relief. I've made it this far with no trouble, so I decide to stop for a quick rest. I find a small spring just off the road and stop there. I'm still full from last night's dinner so I only eat half of my apple and toss the other half to Scarlet. I decide not to waste my supply of water and just drink from the spring instead. Then I get a good look at my reflection in the water. I look way too much like myself. Too clean and pampered. Too much like a princess. I take some of the mud on the bank of the spring and rub it on my face and arms. Not so much that I look like a mud monster, but enough to look like I've been traveling for a while. Much better. I barely recognize myself.

I might not know a lot about traveling, but I know enough to not stay in the same place for very long, so I round up Scarlet and we head back on our way. It's about mid-morning when I come across a group of men blocking the road.

"Where you off to, girly?" one of them asks in a gruff voice. A shiver goes up my spine, remembering the last time I heard a voice like that.

"Off to visit some friends in the east," I say in my best attempt to disguise my voice. "Now if you'll please excuse me, I have a schedule to keep." I urge Scarlet forward, but another man steps in front of us.

"It's not very wise for a pretty young girl like yourself to be out here unprotected."

"Oh, I assure you, I can protect myself. My father is a knight and I've had plenty of training. Now, I really must be going," I try to push past him, but he grabs Scarlet's halter, causing her to rear. I fall to the ground and look up just in time to see the man shoo Scarlet away. Great. Now I have no means of escape.

"A knight, you say?" the first man says. "I always thought the father of a princess was called a king, is it not, Brutus?"

"It is, Markus," says the man who apparently was Brutus. So they know who I am. How did they find out? And how did they know I was here?

"How did you know?" I ask the first man, Markus, trying to stay calm. I scan their faces. Five of them. They shouldn't be too hard to take down.

"We've been keeping an eye on you for weeks, Princess. My brother almost had you, too, if it wasn't for that stupid squire."

"What do you want me for? Money? I can give you money if that's all you want." I slowly and discreetly pull my dagger out of my belt.

"Oh, I don't want you, your Highness. King Arden wants you. Something about your engagement to him causing your father to surrender."

"Oh, how nice," I say. "Well, tell him thank you but I must politely decline." I throw the dagger at Markus, who falls to the ground with a yelp when it hits him in the thigh. The men are quick but I'm quicker. I take out two of the men with my arrows and I am just releasing a third when an arrow grazes my left arm. The pain almost blinds me but I manage to send another arrow through Brutus. I turn to Markus, who is still on the ground, and he grins wickedly at me. For some reason, my vision starts getting hazy.

"So you really can defend yourself. I'm impressed."

"I wasn't lying about having plenty of training," I say, aiming an arrow at him.

"Go ahead, Princess. Shoot me. At least I will die having the satisfaction of knowing I killed you."

I lower my bow slightly. What did he mean kill me? I am about to kill him! Surely, he's insane.

"What are you talking about?"

He nods to indicate my arm, now dripping and sticky with blood. "That arrow I shot you with? It's tipped with poison from the owsiany berry. The only antidote lies in my master's castle in Berirind. The arrow only barely grazed your arm, but it was enough to get the poison in your body. So go ahead and kill me quickly, Princess. You're going to die a slow, painful death." Markus laughs maniacally and I send my arrow through his heart.

Poison? I stagger backward. Owsiany berries? I've never heard of such a thing. I thought King Arden wanted to marry me, not kill me. None of it makes sense. I sink to the ground against a tree, trying to keep my head straight. My thoughts are all jumbled up and I can't make sense of anything. Did I really just kill all those men? 

"The arrow only grazed your arm, but it was enough to get the poison in your body."

So, it must be the poison making me feel this way.

"You're going to die a slow, painful death."

So was this it? I came this far just to die?

"I'm sorry," I whisper. I don't know to whom. Brycen. Papa maybe. But Tryan's face is the only one that comes to mind as I black out.