Nathaniel had already found one way out of the room.
One of the boards on the wall behind the beds head board was really loose, and he knew his way around the inside of The Castle's walls.
From there he knew a way to a tunnel that led to the forest. It was a long tunnel, I'll admit, but it was there nontheless.

Nathaniel got off the bed and went to the corner where he slept.

Winter was surprized. "Your not sleeping on the bed?"

"Why would I?"

"Umm, I don't know? Maybe normally people sleep on beds?"

"You'll find I'm anything but normal. Plus, I find even this carpet too soft for my liking." he said, his eyes closed.

"What's it like to be a prince?" As she said it, she realized she really did want to know.

"Stressful."

"Really? I'm sure lots of other men would love to be a prince."

"It's sold as something glorified and wonderful. But you try being one, all it is: is rules and more rules, a big cage."

"Well, I guess you would know."

"Hmm, the worst part is not being able to do anything for yourself.
You can't dress yourself, "it's just not befitting of your rank to spend time on such trivial matters." all you do is sit and give out orders, I would much rather be a servant than a prince. The servant still has rules, true, but at least they get to do things. Being a prince just isn't the life for me."

"I never thought about it that way. Very insightful"

They were pretty much bored all that day. Though, they did have some fun when the old lady servant came with a meal.
She had started telling them how awful it was to slip on water in a hallway.
"Ungrateful creatures!" she said as she left.

Then Winter and Nathaniel couldn't help themselfs, and both started laughing histarically.

"Okay, that really wasn't that funny." said Winter, trying to hold her laughter in a little.

"Oh yes it was."

"fine."
And they laughed some more.
Winter hadn't known how funny Nathaniel could be. He was mostly serious and concerned for every one at camp.
But I guess he's more of a naughty school boy here, trying to get out of his lessons.
And oddly, that was kind of true. At the palace Nathaniel had always been treated as a little child, so that's the part he acted there.

The next day, as Nathaniel had expected, King Allarick decided to grace them with his presence.

"Ahh, your majesty. Welcome to our lowley prison cell." said Nathiel sarcastically. He had decided to annoy his father as much as possible, just for the fun of it.

"Our?" asked The King, ignoring Nathaniels taunts. He really didn't care how his son tried to annoy him, he wouldn't give in to becoming angry and flustered.

"Why yes, for some reason my dear friend Winter was thrown in the dungeon." Nathaniel said with an evil grin.
So he doesn't know she was thrown in here, wonderful.

"She was Neric, I ordered her thrown in the dungeon. What was that blasted gaurd thinking?"

"Tsk. Tsk." said Nathaniel shaking his head "You shouldn't use such language, its unbecoming of your exalted station."

"I'll use what words I want boy!" the King really wasn't in the mood for this.

"Boy? Now father, I'm eighteen. I'd hardly call that a boy." said Nathaniel acting hurt. His plan to annoy his father had started to work.

"Ahh yes, hardly a boy. More of a man in need of a wife. Shall I send for Princess Etheena?" said The King, knowing Nathaniels distaste for the girl.

"As tempting as that is, I'm sure she could procure a much better husband than me. With her dashing good looks, and undying sense of humor."
The complements he payed her were anything but true. Her face was terribly ugly, so she painted it to try and look somewhat pretty. But it only made her look more ugly. Though, beauty isn't everything, but her sense of humor was, less than pleasant. The only thing she found funny was the different methods of killing people. Such a lovley princess, wouldn't you say?
Oh, and I forgot to tell, she was almost twice Nathaniels age and still couldn't get married, dispite being a princess. Isn't her story the saddest ever heard?

"Oh, don't put yourself down. I'm sure she would be glad to marry you." The King encouraged Nathaniel. He had changed the subject very gracefully, and now Nathaniel was the one being peskered.

"Ahh, but she wouldn't succeed." countered Nathaniel.

"Whatever do you mean by that? Your trapped in here, you can't necissarily leave."

"Wheather I escape or kill myself, she won't have the pleasure of marrying me."

"Your such a stubborn boy. A foolish, stubborn, boy."

"Now father, I thought we already discussed this. I'm hardly a boy."

"Very well. But I have decided you are to marry."

"Is that all you came to tell me? That I need a wife?"

"Ohh what does it matter? Your mind is already set against me."

"True."

With that The King left and Nathaniel heard the muffled sound of his voice. Probably doubling the gaurds. Nathaniel was known for being able to escape easily.

Winter had woken up and listened to their conversation. The King had ignored her, so she didn't join it.
What was the point?

"Well that could have been worse." said Nathaniel cheerily, he had rather enjoyed it.

"You mean being forced to marry isn't bad?"

"Who said anything about getting married?" asked Nathaniel innocently. It really hadn't accured in his mind his father would force him to marry.

"Your father?" is he really this doltish?

"Ohh yes, that. I don't plan to stay much longer."

"How?" she was surprized at his calm countenance. And had been a little mad at the prospect of him marrying someone for some reason.

"Escape of course." His brain was moving way faster than hers.

"How?" he never ceased to amaze her.

"Not by sitting around, I can tell you That."

Right after the servants brought the food for breakfast, Nathaniel knew it would be a while before enyone came to check on them.
So he moved the bed and pryed the loose board away from the wall, and motioned for Winter to enter the small opening.
When she was inside the wall, Nathaniel did his best to put the bed back in its original place. Not exactly as it was before, but pretty good considering he was in the wall.
Then Nathaniel led Winter through lots of twists and turns.

How does he know where he's going? And for that matter, how did he know a board was loose behind the bed? Because that's just what you do when you enter a room, look behind the bed to see if it has a loose board behind it, right? That's just weird.
I hope he does know where he's going. All I need is to be lost in the walls of Dirland Castle with Nathaniel.
Okay, maybe not the "with Nathaniel" part, being lost with him might actually be fun. Did I just think that? Bad Winter! Remember your kind of mad at him.
Why exactly am I mad at him?
Umm, well, lets see.
First, if it wasn't for him you wouldn't need to escape, because you wouldn't be here without him! And he didn't tell you he was the Crown Prince! Must I go on?

Winter continued to have a conversation in her mind, about why she was mad at Nathaniel.

They came to some stairs and Winter followed Nathaniel down them. At the bottom the walls of the hallway turned to rough, unrefined, stone. As if the tunnel had been hastily carved.

"Where are we?" her voice sounded eerily strange bouncing against the stone.

"A tunnel."

"Obviously." said Winter quietly, annoyed by Nathaniel's stupid answer.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Nathaniel shrugged, he was kind if enjoying Winter's company in the tunnel that lead to Dirland forest.

"Where does this hallway lead?" wondered Winter out loud.

"Tunnel." corrected Nathaniel.

"What?" what was he talking about?

"It's a tunnel, not a hallway." furthur explained Nathaniel. For some reason he had the need to correct her.

"Oh, okay. So where does it lead?"

"It's a tunnel, not an "it"" for some reason he wasn't going to answer her untill the said "tunnel". Maybe because he really cared about the way people said things, yeah , that was it.

She sighed, frustrated "Where does the tunnel lead? Emphasising "tunnel".

Nathaniel smiled victoriously "Dirland forest." it wasn't every day he won the silent stubborn wars with Winter.

"Okay, I'm not a genius, but isn't it a long way to Dirland forest?"

"Yep."

Winter decided it was useless trying fo get information out of Nathaniel. So she just followed him through the tunnel.

After seemingly endless hours of following the tunnel, it opened up so it was a little wider. And to the side was, what looked like the remains of a little campfire.
Here Nathaniel stopped. He then picked up some dry fire wood that seemed to magically appear.

"So we're staying here tonight?" asked Winter, Nathaniel hadn't yet given her an explanaition for, anything actually.

"Well, it might be night. No way to know for sure, but, yes we're resting here."

"Okay." she was pretty tired, and didn't have the energy to have an argument with him. Though, she found it funny Nathaniel felt the need to point out it might not be night time.

This boy was exasperating! The King knew that was what he was aiming for: angering him. But, ugg! I'll leave him in the dungeon for a few days, see if that softens him up. So Princess Etheena, I think I've found your husband.
That's what he'd do, he'd marry Nathaniel to that thing trying to pass herself off as a princess.

He wrote a letter to her father, King Harold, of Nathaniels sudden need of a wife.
There! That should do it.

That evening when a servant went to fetch Nathaniel for dinner, he was surprized to find the room empty. He then quickly reported it to the Lord High Chamberlain, Knolls.

"The room is deserted, Nathaniel is now where to be found." reported Knolls, rather amussed that Nathaniel had already made his escape.