I waited my father's slap but it never came. I looked up meekly and saw that he was just in front of me, his hand was still raised in the air but he wasn't glaring anymore. In fact he looked... sad and disappointed.
"Cora" he sighed deeply. I refused to let my innocent expression fall from my face.
"Yes daddy?" I said in my best 'little girl voice'.
"Why were you trying to escape?" he asked me, less harsh now.
"I-I wanted some freedom. Y-You know" I stammered sheepishly. My father's hard gaze returned and his yellow eyes glowed.
"Freedom? YOU WANT FREEDOM?!" He shouted once again, his voice echoing in the tiny room.
"I just wanted to make some friends. There's no one here that's actually my age" I said softly.
"FRIENDS?!" my father snapped, his anger cause black sand to start flowing from his fingers.
"You know, I'm never gonna meet my new friends because you keep me locked up here in this stupid, old castle!" I finally snapped.
My father's face darkened. I felt fear bubbling up inside of me; I knew I shouldn't have gone that far.
"Cora! I kept you in here to protect you!" He said angrily. The black sand on the floor rose into the air and started to form into different shapes.
I couldn't really recognize any of the shapes but they seemed to be people. I saw 5 people being modeled out of my father's 'nightmare' sand and wondered who they were.
"I kept you in here, to protect you from them" he continued and spat angrily on the word "them".
I still didn't get it, why would he want to protect me from those people, they didn't seem harmful I mean one of the sand models was in the shape of a giant bunny. A giant bunny isn't harmful I thought.
"Who are they?" I asked my father.
"The guardians" he snarled and closed his fist, making the sand figures break and fall to the floor again.
"I don't want you mixing with them. Especially that pest, Jack Frost." He sneered darkly.
"What if he's not that bad? What happens if I made friends with him dad?" I pushed my luck.
"I won't let that happen. You'll stay right here in the castle. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME YOUNG LADY?" He came right up to me and shouted in my face.
"Is this why mum left? She couldn't handle that you kept her locked up here in this castle so she committed suicide?" I shouted back at him.
This time, I didn't see his hand raising; I only felt the sharp pain of his slap.
I cried out in pain and held my cheek as my eyes began to water.
I overheard my father in the background telling a servant to escort me back into my room and lock my door so that I couldn't escape.
I felt someone take my elbow and lead me out of my father's room. I was soon pushed back in my own bedroom and I heard the door being locked from the outside.
"I'm sorry princess, but it was the king's orders." I heard the servant say before his footsteps went down the hallway.
I needed to get out of here desperately. I glanced around the room in a hurry, thinking of another escape plan. Then I saw my window, sure it was tiny but it would work.
I went through my wardrobe and found some linen sheets. Working as fast as I could, I began to form the rope that I would slide down on for my escape.
When I had run out of sheets, I prayed that it would be long enough. I tied a tight knot with my rope at the top of the window and slowly edged my way through the tiny opening. As soon as I felt the night breeze on my back, I knew that I was free.
Free.