There was a pulsating beating behind her right eye. She tried to close it to help relieve the pain, but to no avail. She massaged the area lightly, putting pressure in small circles.
Sighing and giving up, Rose set down the novel she had been studying. It was long, boring, and super old. As far as Rose was concerned- the headache was a godsend: an excuse to stop reading. Not that she disliked books, per say, but it did get dull staring at the same page for an hour while her head pounded.
She uncrossed her legs and patted down her dress. The blonde princess was off in search of a darker room. The room she had previously occupied was well lit, with sunlight streaming in from the huge windows. She had been seated comfortably on one of the long sofas, filling her brain with pointless information on the history of her country. The state of Powell. Powell was a kingdom (or queendom, rather, as Rose's mother reigned). Queen Jacqueline Andrea Suzette Tyler was this country's queen, with Rose as next in line. She was the queen's only offspring.
Rose considered herself fortunate that her country was not biased towards female rulers, unlike the nations neighboring their own. However, Rose's mother was only in charge because of her father's death. He had passed away when Rose was a baby. Her mother refused to inform her of the cause, getting touchy and bothered whenever she would bring up the topic.
Brushing off thoughts of her father, the young princess found her way to her chambers in which she put down the curtains to provide a dark space for her and her headache. While laying on her bed in the darkness, Rose's mind began to spin. She could not help her thoughts, what else was she to do while doing nothing?
Her memory took charge and replayed a recent scene from her life. It was only a few weeks ago, maybe, that she had been sitting in the Great Hall, reading a story- for fun, not for learning- and had happened to hear two of the palace guards discussing something she supposed she was not allowed to hear.
"… second attack this week! And not to mention fourth this month. It's madness, I tell you. This 'rebellion' or whatever they call themselves now is becoming too much of a problem. If they keep ambushing our majesty's tax collectors, other subjects may join them and then we'd have no money." The other guard hummed in agreement.
"And without money… well… you know." She attempted. Although Rose had no clue as to what the 'you know' was, the other guard, a man she knew by face only, clearly understood, given away by his nod of affirmation and dark expression that she could make out peering around the corner. This could only mean something was worse than just not collecting taxes.
Deep in her thoughts at the time, Rose had not heard the tapping of hard-soled shoes heading in her direction. By the time she noticed someone was coming, it was too late. Rose looked up to see her mother- the queen herself. Jackie stared at her, then to where the voices of the guards were fading away. Then she clicked away. Rose had not seen those guards since.
Rose pondered in her bed over the importance of the conversation she had eavesdropped upon. It must have been fairly significant if her mother had fired two of her guards for talking about it openly. Rose couldn't help but feel a bit guilty for the loss of their posts- they would most likely not have been dismissed had she not been listening in. But what was it she was listening in on?
Rose didn't hear anything else of a rebellion or money troubles for the next three days. It was only when she was "listening" to her tutor ramble on about something or other when she spotted something out the window. A group of people was gathered outside of the palace gates. They seemed to be shouting. Protesting wasn't odd, but what was troubling was the fact that they were all wearing masks. Although she was too far away to tell what the masks looked like, she could tell they were highly detailed. They were painted in bright colors. Rose couldn't stop her staring. When her tutor's lecture faulted, she could tell he noticed her attention was elsewhere. He glanced out the window and, eyes widening in shock, hurried out of the room. Surprised, Rose tried to follow him, but she was stopped at the door by a guard sticking out an arm.
"Sorry, Rose. Queen's orders. You're not to go out." Her friend Mickey smiled apologetically at her. Annoyed by his faithfulness to her mother, Rose glared at her friend.
Mickey and Rose had known each other for as long as she could remember. His mother had been the head guard and his father held a good role too. But they were both gone now, and Mickey lived with his gran. While Mickey was not Rose's personal guard (a girl named Shareen had that place), he was always there with her. She considered him her best friend. So when he stood blocking her view, she got a bit angry.
"Out of the way, Mickey." He averted her eyes a bit guiltily.
"No can do, Rose." She tried to duck under his arm but, expecting it, he blocked her yet again. She sighed and tapped her foot while giving him an 'I'm warning you' look. But when he didn't cave under her glare, she decided to try another tactic.
She was just about to try flirting when another guard sprinted up to Mickey.
Looking at Rose, the albino woman said: "We need Rose, her mother- the queen, I mean, requested her in her bedchamber." Mickey looked to the woman, to Rose, and back again before he nodded and removed himself from the doorway. The woman ushered Rose and, hurriedly, they headed to the queen's chambers.
Once there, the guard stopped short at the door where two other guards were posted already.
"She wants to speak to you- alone, that is." She explained. Rose nodded her understanding and knocked on her mother's door.
"Come in." She heard her mother's voice say. Rose opened the door and stepped in, closing it behind her.
"Yes, mum?" Rose hesitantly stepped over to her mother's bed, where the queen herself was sitting with her back towards the door. When she reached her mother, she walked around to see her front.
"Why did you want me?" Rose asked. Her mother stood and drew herself up to her full height.
"From now on, you may not leave the castle without my expressed permission and at least two escorts. Additionally, everywhere you go there will be at least one guard with you. Is that understood?" Rose opened her mouth to pretest. "Do I make myself clear?" Rose looked down, fuming.
"Yes, mother." Jackie nodded.
"Good." Then she sent Rose out of her room, and Rose noted that a guard, not Mickey, was following her.
Dinner that night was awkward. The queen and the princess sat on opposite sides of the long table where they took their meals. When she finished, Rose stood up and strode out of the room, failing to excuse herself.
She headed straight for her room. When she entered, her guard tried to follow her inside.
"Oy! No men in my bedroom without my permission!" She told him.
"But- the queen- she-!" He sputtered. Rose waved her hand, shooing him outside. "Wait outside my door. The guard nodded, and Rose was left to her thoughts in her room.
This sort of treatment carried on for a couple days until Rose was fed up with staying inside the castle with nothing to do other than to listen to her tutor drone on about how Powell had become a country. With her mind set on leaving the castle, Rose made an escape plan.
For the next few days, she took her meals in her room under the pretense of studying. Of course, this was only to prepare food for her journey without it looking suspicious (as stealing food from the pantry would only lead to questions). Yes, Rose had decided to run away. After seeing the people in masks, she decided to find out more about them. A rebellion, and it could only really be against the queen. Rose needed facts, and she wasn't getting any where she was.
She knew it was stupid, and dangerous, and did she mention stupid, but she felt like it was her duty. If there was a rebellion, what was the cause? Would her mother be dethroned? Would it be her fault? Rose needed to know, filled with an itching, burning curiosity that drove her stupidity. So, coming to terms with this, she packed a bag.
She saved everything that could last from her meals- bread, cheese, the dried fruits she got for breakfast one morning. There were even some dried meats. It was odd- it seemed like someone wanted her to go. Once she had collected enough food to last her a bit, along with some spare clothes and other necessities, she was ready to go.
Late that night when everyone in the town had probably turned in, Rose made her way down her window. She was lucky there were no bars, and there were long vines of ivy that managed to hold her weight. Once she reached the ground, she glanced around for a sign of any guard. She pulled her hood over her head. The hood was sewn on to a cape Rose had played with when she was little. She had used to pretend to be an explorer, and Mickey would always be her travelling companion.
Clearing her mind of her childhood, Rose snuck around to the gate, avoiding guards. Luckily, no one knew the grounds better than her, and Rose managed a good time. Once at a part of the wall where there was no guard, the place entering into the forest, she threw her bag over it and then proceeded to climb it herself. She hadn't done it in a while, but she had climbed this wall countless times when playing with Mickey. He would know where she was exiting, but she hoped he wouldn't find out about her disappearance until later. Once over the tall wall, she turned around and lowered herself until her feet were halfway down it. Breathing in, she dropped down.
Pain shot up her leg and she toppled over, clutching her ankle. Mickey had always used to catch her. Plus, there had been vines growing and now there no longer were.
"You alright?" Rose jumped and whipped her head to see Mickey smiling sadly at her.
"You knew?" He nodded. She looked down. "I'm sorry. But I had to know! This 'rebellion,' I want to know what it's about."
"I could come with you. I don't know what this is about either, not really." Rose raised an eyebrow.
"'Not really?' What do you know, Mickey?" He pursed his lips.
"All that I know is that people aren't very happy with the taxes that the kingdom collects. There's obviously something more, but I don't know what that is. Sorry." She shook her head.
"It's more than I was told. Thanks. Do me a favor, would you?" He looked at her questioningly.
"Don't tell anyone that I left for this or where I got out, okay?" He nodded, looking glum. "Hey," she took his hand, "I'll be back. No worries." She smiled at him, and while he did not return the smile, she knew he trusted her to make her own decisions.
Without looking back, Rose strode into the forest, leaving behind everything she knew to try to find out something she didn't.
Another thing she didn't know was that someone had decided to follow her.
A/N: Wassup. Thanks for reading. I know that everything doesn't make sense yet- just hang on. Also, I get that some of the characters are a little OOC right now, but I'll [hopefully] get better at that. Anyway… bye!