Brenda's POV
"Oh no," I say. "She can't see you here."
"What do you want me to do?" Minho asks.
I grab his arm and drag him into my room. I open the closet door and shove him in it. I close the door. I put my hand on the door.
"Stay here," I tell him. "Don't come out."
I leave my room and shut my door. I go to the front door unlock it and open it.
"Back so soon mother," I ask.
"I heard that they were going to search for some thief in the woods. I wanted to make sure you were okay." She explains. "Maybe I should just cancel."
"No," I say. "I'll be fine on my own, besides who will go this far."
"Okay," She says. "I'll miss you."
"Bye mother," I hug her then I watch her leave and lock the door after she leaves. I lean against the door and put my hands behind my back. When I know she's gone I call out for Minho. "You can come out now."
"What was the point of that?" Minho asks setting his bag down and looks at me.
"She never lets anyone around here," I explain. "She leaves me in here and I don't get to leave ever. I've never seen the outside world."
"How old are you?" He asks.
"16," I tell him. "I'm almost 17."
"You never had seen the outside world?" He asks.
"Nope," I say. "I really want to but she won't let me."
"Ever think about running away," Minho says.
I hear a strange noise and Minho pulls out a weird device. I tilt my head.
"Newt," Minho says. "What do you need?"
I hear muffles coming through the device.
"What do you mean Jorge is coming back?"
I hear more muffles.
"It's because I took that crown," Minho says. "It's not like his precious niece is ever going to come back."
"Newt, I'm hanging up now again. Yes again!"
Minho puts the thing away.
"What was that?" I ask.
"A phone," Minho says. "You know where you call people. Don't you have one?"
"No," I say.
"You really need to get out more," He rolls his eyes.
"What crown did you take?" I ask.
He pulls a crown out of his bag. "This one," Minho explains. "It was in the house of a really rich guy. His family had this crown for generations. It was supposed to go to his daughter. She was kidnapped almost 17 years ago. He moved on and started a new family about 10 years ago."
"Oh," I say. "What if his daughter comes back?"
"She probably won't," Minho tells me. "She's probably dead."
I take the crown from him. I look in the mirror and try it on. "This is a beautiful crown." I turn to him. "Who is Jorge?"
"He's the uncle of the girl," Minho says. "He was her favorite. She was his favorite. When her father quit he stayed behind and searched. I don't think she's coming back thought. He left."
"They must be very sad," I say.
"Yeah," Minho says. He crosses his arms and looks down at me. "She probably would be a pretty girl now."
"Do you have a family?" I ask.
"Ran away when I was 10," Minho says. "I was in a foster home though, my family died when I was young. I sort of just crash at one of my friends' house."
"Oh," I say.
"I have to get going," Minho says. "Nice meeting you."
"Wait!" I grab his arm. I take the crown off and hand it to him. "You need this."
"Thanks," Minho says. "Nice meeting you maybe we will meet again someday."
"Or," I say. "You can take me with you!"
"Don't you have a mother to wait for?" Minho asks.
"Yes," I say. "But I don't want to stay here. I want to see the world. Will you take me with you?"
"I already stole a crown," Minho says. "Why would I kidnap a girl?"
"It wouldn't be kidnapping," I say. "I would go without force."
"No," Minho says. "I can risk getting in trouble for taking you. Plus you wouldn't survive out there."
"But you said I needed to get out more," I say. "Please."
"No," Minho says.
I grab my knife and point it at his neck. "Let me rephrase that. You're taking me with you."
"Fine," Minho says. "But I'm not saving you when you get in trouble."
"Let's go," I smile unlocking the door.
"Don't you have shoes to wear?" He asks.
"No," I say. "My mother only bought me dresses because she never let me out of the house."
"Great," Minho says. "When we get to my friends Sonya will let you borrow some clothes."
I follow him out the door and down the steps. I stay behind him at all times. I see the green grass and green trees. When we get to the last step I stop. Minho walks ahead until he realizes I'm not following.
"Do you not want to come?" Minho asks.
I look at the ground then step on the green grass. The first time I have ever touched the grass. I smile and then run after him. I continue to follow him. We balance on a log over a river. I almost fall but Minho, who was behind me, grabs my waist and pulls me back up. We walk and he tells me stories about him and his friends.
It starts to get dark and he stops and goes into a cave.
"What are you doing?" I ask.
"Do you want to travel at night?" He asks.
"No," I say.
"Didn't think so," He says. He pulls out a sleeping bag. "I'll keep watch."
I sit on the sleeping bag then lay down. I look up at Minho. I smile then I close my eyes.
Chapter 3. Two in one day. To get this one started probably one more chapter today. Then tomorrow is Newt's Cinderella with our lovely Newt and Sonya story.