Escape: Part One

Once upon a time there was a very beautiful girl. She was always locked away in her room, reading, writing, and learning new things. Her parents had always encouraged her to do everything to gain all the knowledge she could, for that was the only thing that would give her any sort of life when she was older. The town she lived in was not a rich, fancy town like the ones by the capital. 

The girl never met anyone she particularly liked in any way. They were rude, angry people, people who could kill you by giving you a glare. They had ugly faces that were riddled with dirt and anger. Scowling everywhere they went, they made no friends and what family they had hated them. The girls parents had moved to this town after they lost their jobs in the big cities, not knowing who lived there when they purchased the house. 

They moved when the girl was six, her parents decided to keep her from the anger and the hate of the town. They home schooled her and brought only people from the capital for outside interaction. She grew up sheltered, confused about why she was never allowed outside. The only time she got to go off her family's property was when they visited other towns. 

Her parents, Simon and Lara, named their daughter Kathryn, in an attempt to help her through life. With a name like Kathryn, she was always expected to do her best, be proper, always be respectful; in other words, she had to be the perfect daughter. But with all this expectation on her shoulders, she was never a very happy girl. The only comfort she found was in her books. She loved to read the old stories, of a world that existed long ago, of simpler times, when the biggest worry was whether or not there was enough pie to go around. She'd never had the kind of life like she wanted, like the ones in her books, when everyone knew and loved everyone else. 

This was no way for a girl to grow up -- sheltered, naive, wondering what life was about, longing for adventure but never being allowed to go on one. Oh, how she longed for adventure, like her favorite story; if only she could be taken on a quest to fight a mighty dragon and retrieve stolen treasure like Bilbo Baggins.  Or maybe catch a killer with her best friend like Sherlock Holmes. Every time she expressed interest in leaving her parents would lock her away in the only room without windows, telling her that leaving was not an option and that she should giver up her childish dreams.

By her 19th birthday, she had read every book in her parents vast library -- multiple times. She had almost every great story memorized, every poem, every snippet of excellence was up in her mind, and all she had to do was be remembered of one word of phrase and she could quote it perfectly. When she turned 15 she began to run out of new books, so in an effort to keep the adventures coming, she began to write. Her stories often consisted of wild ideas, with heroic princes who saved the damsel in distress; usually that damsel was her, being trapped in her own home. She kept these stories hid inside of her favorite books, books her parents never read, so they would not be found. 

When she was 20, she decided enough was enough. She was old enough to make her own decisions, and she wasn't going to take it any longer. What she was going to do, she didn't know, but she was going to do something. For the next couple days she began hinting to her parents that she was getting restless inside the little home. She would gaze out the window, saying things about how beautiful it was. Her parents didn't get the hint, they would agree it was a nice day, but the conversation would never go anywhere else. 

One day her mother came to her and stated, "Your father and I are going on a business trip, we must leave you here with the butler and we are hiring a mercenary to protect you. We will be gone for a fortnight; however, we will make certain you have plenty of everything, the maids will make your meals. I trust you will behave while we're gone." upon hearing this news, Kathryn new this was the perfect chance for her to escape. The mercenary would complicate things, but she would manage. 

She began planning right away, slowly collecting foods from the kitchen, washing almost all of her dresses, and studying maps. The morning her parents left, she sneaked into her their room and stole the only suitcase they did not take with them. Taking it back to her room, she was very lucky that she did not get caught. All the secrecy was very exciting for Kathryn as she had never done anything like this. She packed all her clothes and food into her suitcase and hid it under her bed. She would escape during the night. 

As soon as the sun went down she told everyone she was going to bed, but she sat in her dark room until all the lights were out and all the talking stopped. Then she waited longer.After she was sure that everyone was asleep, she opened her window as quiet as she could, and dropped her suitcase out the window. She stuck her head out an looked both ways, then she quietly moved her desk chair to the window and used it as a stool to get out the window. Sticking her feet out first she pushed off and landed on her feet. She turned around and closed the window. With her heart racing and her mind screaming, she grabbed her suitcase and ran towards the road. 

Kathryn walked quickly and quietly along the dirt road that lead out of town. There was only the town behind her and the world staring her in the face. Her destination would take days to reach, maybe longer than she expected. Before she had left she grabbed her parents emergency money from their room, hoping it was enough to by lodging for the next couple nights. 

With the rest of the world living in civilization, she didn't know what to expect. Her town was one of only towns that used dirt roads, no cars, and had no electricity. The rest of the world was going to be so different than what she knew, and she could barely wait to explore it. She reached the paved road after an hour, and withing minutes she could see the bright lights of civilization. Cars began to fly by her, going faster than Kathryn had ever imagined they could. Looking around for a motel, she could tell that she looked out of place. People would stare at her as she walked by, some would ask if she was lost or if she needed help, but she would shrug them off saying that she was fine. 

She soon found a cheap place to stay the night. The man at the front desk looked like he was on drugs and the place smelled like cheap alcohol. As soon as she saw the inside she turned around and almost ran out the door. A man was walking by the same time she came out the door and she bumped into him. Before looking up she apologized profusely. The man laughed and said, "It's okay, I would run out of that place too," he looked her in the eye, "you're not from around here are you." 

"No," she answered in a quiet voice, "I'm from a little town about an hour down the road." 

"Have you ever been outside of it?" he asked.

"Not exactly. We moved there when I was little but I don't remember where I was born." 

He nodded, "Why don't you come with me, I'll help you find a place better than this dump to stay." 

Kathryn was skeptical, "Okay," but she hesitated to follow when the man started walking. 

He turned around, noticing she was not following, and assured, "It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you," he laughed a little. Her face turned a little red and she walked toward him. They traveled down the street. He asked, "What's your name?"

Pondering whether or not she should give him her real name or not, she took a second to answer him. Eventually she replied, "Kathryn, what's yours?" 

"Charles. You have a pretty name."

She blushed, "Thank you." She began to study this man. He was tall and handsome, his brown hair was cut short and his blue eyes shined, even in the dark of the night. He began asking her questions, making small talk, asking her where she was headed, why she was walking, and how old she is. She replied with, "I'm going anywhere, I don't have a car, and I'm 20 years old." 

"You're going all by yourself? That sounds risky."

"Well, I don't really have much of an option," then she told him a little lie, "My parents left and gave me everything, only the town I lived in was old and dirty, I needed something else, so I left." 

They were walking for what seamed like a while when they finally reached a motel that looked acceptable. Kathryn thanked him and Charles bid her goodbye as she walked in the door, then he walked back the way they came.