AN: hello again! it's Thursday today!!! yay! update~! I was so happy this morning when I found out that it was Thursday! (We had a delay for school too!!) I honestly forgot about updating again until just like two seconds ago. I got a violin and was fiddling with it. ( i can play twinkle twinkle little star, jingle bells, old mcdonald had a farm, and ode to joy!!) Well, I remembered now that can update today, so here you go!
oh!! that's right! next week's chapter is going to be short, sooooo i'll update TWICE next week. Yeah, TWICE. TWO chapters in ONE week. I'll put up chapter five up monday and chapter six up friday. let me warn you, however, that these chapters are a bit short. (that's is why i'm updating twice.) one of the chapters is less than a 1,000 words and the other chapter is a little over 1,000 words. so, instead of making you wait all week for a shrimpy chapter. I'll just give you two shrimpy chapters in one week to make up for it!
okay, now enjoy chapter four! please review! i'd love to hear for you!
ONCE UPON A TIME
BY SAPPHIRE ROSE E.
"However," her father begun, "you are prohibited to leave the castle from now on."
She looked at him shocked. "What?" She gasped.
"You can't go outside for a month."
She looked at her mother. She shook her head and whispered, "no."
"I'm even going to have my guards watch over you, Miyu. Understand?" Her father asked.
If she can't leave the castle, she can't go into the forest to escape. She can't see Kanata. She lowered her head in defeat. "Yes, I understand."
CHAPTER FOUR: THE ESCAPE
Miyu lay on her large bed. She sniffled as the tears fell down her cheeks. "Why?!" She cried. "Why do I have to stay here?" She looked down at her left hand and at the cloth wrapped around it. "Kanata…"
She looked up and saw the night sky as the stars and crescent moon shone down upon the land. She climbed off her bed and opened the glass door to her balcony. She looked up at the stars; then at the forest surround the palace. "It just isn't fair."
"I'm sorry, honey," a voice, said behind her. She spun around to see her mother.
"Mama, why can't I go out? It's not like I'm hurt or anything."
The Queen sighed and walked over to her. She hugged her. "Miyu, sweetie, it's not that we want to keep you locked up here forever, but it's for your own safety." She pulled back and kissed her daughter's forehead. "Miyu, there has been many more thieves and enemies headed down toward our capital. The forest and the outdoors are just not safe. I cannot let my only daughter be captured and killed by vile men."
Miyu saw the concern in her mother's eyes and her reasoning. She hugged her mother back. "I understand, Mama."
Her mother looked down at her hand. "What's this about not being hurt?"
Miyu let out a nervous laugh, "It was an accident. An accident."
Kanata walked through the forest. He held onto the strap of his case for his arrows over his one shoulder along with his bow. He whistled as he walked. The noon sun streamed down through the branches and leaves, gulfing him as he walked. He was nearing their spot. A smile appeared on his face as he hoped to see her there.
But when he reached the spring and the rocks, she was not there. "That's odd. Maybe she's late," he mumbled as he sat down. He sighed and put his bow and his arrows down by his feet.
There he waited. He waited all afternoon and all evening. Finally, the sun was beginning to set. He reached into his pocket of his pants and pulled out a small drawstring bag. He opened it and pulled out what was inside. It was a necklace. Its chain was made of gold and it had a ruby as its charm like the ruby on his sword. He looked at it in his hand. The random strands of sunlight fell down upon the gem and made it sparkle. He put the necklace back into the bag and the bag back into his pocket. He picked up his bow and arrows, and he left.
That was how Kanata would spend each day. He would hunt in the morning; then head over to the spring. He would wait there until sunset each day. The days slowly rolled by, but Kanata would never be late to arrive or late to leave. He would wait for her from noon to sunset.
Miyu sighed as she leaned on the railing of her balcony one day, looking over the land. Summer was coming to an end. The whole castle was talking about the up coming harvest. Miyu didn't care about the harvest at all. She only worried about Kanata. Was he looking for her? Was he taking good care of himself? Was he safe from the thieves?
She sighed again. She looked down at her hand. The cut had healed nicely without any scaring, but she would still keep the piece of his shirt wrapped around it. Her maids and mother would scold her about it: how it wasn't healthy or how it looked bad in front of public. But Miyu didn't care. It belonged to her friend and she would keep it.
"Your Highness," a voice came from behind her. She slowly turned around to see Aya there. "It's time fore your riding lessons."
She smiled for once. She was aloud outside, somewhat. She wasn't allowed outside the castle walls, but still it was outside.
That night, Miyu lay awake in bed. She looked at her hand with the cloth still wrapped around it. She brought it up to her nose. It still smelled faintly of him: a smoky cinnamon smell.
"Kanata…" she mumbled. She turned on her side. She wanted to see him so badly. Even though he had his rude, jerky side, he was still her friend; and he did have his nice side at times. She pulled the cover off herself. Thieves or no thieves, she had to see him.
Quickly, she threw on her grey peasant dress, silently thanking Aya for not throwing it out. She grabbed a black cloak and threw it over her back and buttoned the strings so it loosely hung around her neck. She pulled over her hood and walked over to her door. She opened the door and peered out. No one was there. She slipped into the hallway and slowly, and quietly, shut the door. Then she slipped into the darkness of the hallway.
When she made it outside, she noticed that there were several guards about. Two marched passed her and she hid in the shadows next to the palace. Escaping the castle with all these guards would be quite difficult.
Miyu darted over to the tall bushes of the garden. She hid behind them as more guards marched by. When they had passed her, she darted over to the wall were vines grew. She looked around for anyone, but no one seemed to notice her. She snickered and pulled back the vines, only to see that they were boarded up. "Damn!" She hissed quietly.
She hid back into the garden. Luckily for her, there was one more passage way out of there. She smirked as she remembered it. She lurked in the shadows of the bushes until she reached the other side of the garden. She hid in the shadows as some more guards marched by. Once they had passed, she sprinted over to a fountain that was turned off for the night. She looked at the square stones on the ground. She wiggled one with the bottom of her foot; it was loose.
She smirked and removed the stone. Underneath the stone was a hole. Quickly she jumped inside and covered the hole with the stone. She looked into the darkness. She was scared now. Who knew what kinds of things were living down there? Rats; spiders; snakes; bugs. She took a deep breath. All she had to do was run straight until the end.
She ran with all her might. She did not want to see any spider nor rats, let alone snakes and bugs. She each the end quicker than she thought she would. She saw the faint light of the moon glowing down. She saw the rope latter and climbed up it. She was now inside a hollow tree. She saw the handle for the doorway out of the tree and pushed it open. She walked outside into the forest.
She smiled as she looked at the trees and the moonlight as it bathed nature in a white light. She pushed the door closed. She knew were she was. She was only ten meters away from the spring. She was free again! She ran there quickly, but carefully. She reached the little clearing. She saw the spring and the rocks where she and Kanata used to sit.
She sat down and smiled. "I'm back." She mumbled. But then it hit her. She had no idea where Kanata lived or if he was even going to come there at all. She sighed. "I'm such an idiot!"
She was out in the dark alone with wild animals and thieves. She suddenly got very cold and very scared. She pulled her cloak tighter to herself. "I really wish Kanata was with me at this moment." She thought as she shut her eyes closed.
A twig snapped and Miyu snapped her head up. She looked around as she heard someone coming. Someone appeared from behind a tree, but it wasn't Kanata.
It was a middle-aged man. He was dress poorly and his hair and beard were unkempt. "Well, well, look who we have here." He said, tapping the sword in his hand onto his palm.
Miyu looked next to her. There was a man there as well. He was scrawny and had long black hair; his clothes were made from black bear fur. "A woman," he breathed. She squeaked and stood up.
Another man appeared from the darkness, he was hefty and poorly dressed as well. "Let's take away everything that is precious from her."
"Even her virginity?" The black haired man asked.
The hefty one nodded with a lustful smile.
Miyu backed up. She shook her head. These men were thieves! She backed up into the other rock. She screamed, "No!! Kanata! Kanata!" She clutched the cloth around her hand.
When they heard her scream, birds flew up into the air and cawed as they flew away.
NEXT TIME ON ONCE UPON A TIME: CHAPTER FIVE: THE RESCUE
