It had to have been at least a half an hour that they were traveling. Ms. Ryder was looking out of the window staring off into space. Abby had broken the rope on her wrists not long after they had started on the road. She was now biding her time until she could try to get away. While Ms. Ryder was staring out the window towards the ocean Abby reached carefully for the door handle towards the forest. The trail they had followed seem to follow along the coast as it climbed up the slope of one of the mountains.
When Ms. Ryder didn't notice her movement Abby gained more confidence in her plan and with a deep breath pulled the handle and jumped out of the carriage. The angry voice of Ms. Ryder called behind her as she bolted for the treeline. Sticks and stones battered her already sore bare feet as she ran through the woods descending back toward the castle. As she ran trees blurred in her peripheral and all she could hear was the sound of her blood pounding in her ears and the sound of her breathing. She looked behind herself to see if anyone had followed her when she suddenly found herself face first in the dirt. She blinked a few times trying to orient herself and realized that she had fallen several feet down a small hill that she had not seen before. Slowly moving her body she found that she surprisingly had not damaged anything, the large dress protecting the majority of her body from harm. Getting up on her hands and knees She jumped back onto her feet and started running again. The castle stood out behind the leaves of the trees as Abby ran down the steep slope of the forest.
Her breath was coming out in quick pants as she ran through the woods attempting to run away from her kidnappers. Over the sound of her breathing she could hear the sound of feet pounding the ground. At first she thought it was her own feet as she ran quickly not even attempting to hid where she ran. Twigs were snapping as she stepped on them and animals were calling in surprise and taking off left and right as her presence surprised them.
"Be careful where you step little mouse," a deep voice called from not far behind her. Abby's heart started to beat unbelievably faster, faster than she thought possible at the deep voice so close to her. It sounded like he wasn't even out of breath yet as the two of them streaked through the woods. The large dress around her was making it harder and harder to move the deeper she got into the woods. The branches became thicker as she pushed her way through the underbrush and bramble that covered her path.
Finally she heard a sound that almost made her heart stop until she realized how freeing it was. The large skirt of the dress had ripped off. It had caught on a piece of a tree and was now laying across several small plants that she had jumped over just seconds earlier. The weight of the long train causing the plants to sag. Without the added weight of the large dress Abby felt as if she could run faster. The long gown no longer caught on the brush. Now the thigh length skirt flited around her as if it was the wind itself. Though it still caught on the trees every now and then it would quickly either rip off a small piece or loosen itself.
Of course the downside to this was that her legs were now bare. Though she had momentarily started to run faster it only lasted a few seconds before she ran by a thorn bush that snagged at her legs. Deep cuts quickly marked her already sore legs. These cuts slowed her down. Her feet were also being abused as the dress had for the most part kept the top of her bare feet from getting hurt. Having been in the castle and off of her feet for the most part for the past few weeks her feet had gone soft and she could feel every branch as she stepped on it.
"I'm getting closer," the man taunted now much closer to her. Risking a peak behind her Abby saw the man who had been driving just 10 feet away and gaining on her fast. Making a last minute decision Abby darted to the left and jumped across a small valley that she thankfully saw before dashing across a small clearing.
The sun was starting to set now causing the forest she was lost in to slowly darken making objects more difficult to see. Looking behind her again Abby looked for the man that had been following her. He had not spoken for quite a while now. When she didn't see him directly behind her she slowed down to get a better look. Through the darkening woods Abby stared hoping to find a sign to tell her that the man had given up and left her. She stood quietly listening to the sounds around her hoping to hear something that would let her know what happened to her pursuer.
After a few seconds of only hearing her heavy breathing and the sounds of the animals around her getting ready for the night time she sighed and relaxed realizing that the man was no longer there.
Once the shock of being chased had worn off Abby looked around at the area that she was standing in. Using the fading light of the sun she was able to see another valley like the one she had jumped over earlier. She could hear the sound of water running in that direction. She suddenly realized that her mouth felt sticky and her throat sore from breathing hard through her mouth all day. She decided her best option would be to see if she could find something to drink before she looked for somewhere to sleep.
Carefully she made her way over to the valley and indeed at the bottom of the small valley was an even smaller stream. Carefully she made her way down to the edge of the water and bent down. Cupping her hands she scooped some water and brought it to her mouth. There was almost instant relief when the water touched her parched lips. The cold liquid flowed down her burning throat in a way that made her feel revitalized. After a few more scoops of water Abby sat back in the damp sand and put her throbbing feet in the water. She had been running without shoes all day and the thorns in the bushes hadn't just attacked her legs they had also scratched up her feet. The only thing that had kept her moving was realizing that she was running for her life. If the man or Ms. Ryder were to catch her she would probably be killed and presented to the king as a gift for all of the misfortune that her family had apparently caused.
The water that flowed in the stream flowed red after passing her injured feet. Abby watched in mild fascination as the once clear water turned deep red around her feet and slowly became a brighter shade of red as her blood was absorbed by the water down stream.
With a sigh Abby hugged her knees with her feet still sitting in the water and just listened to the sounds if the forest around her. Maybe it would be better to just give up. To lay here at the water's edge and wait for some night creature to come down for a drink and decide that she would be an amazing feast for the night.
After the thought crossed her mind Abby shook her head. No, she couldn't give up yet. If what Ms. Ryder told her was true she was needed back at the castle. She could help everyone and possibly save the lives of many people. She couldn't just give up. Besides it wasn't in her nature to stop when something got too hard. With a sigh Abby moved her tired and stinging feet out of the cool water and stood up. Pain shot through her entire lower body as she put all of her weight on her feet.
Ignoring the pain Abby looked around her. Now the sun had set and the only light was from the moon and the stars as it filtered through the trees far above her head. With that light Abby looked around at the small valley she was in. Now that she looked at the sides of the valley she realized that she had had to slide down the side in order to get to the water. The walls were too steep for her to attempt to get back up without injuring herself further. Instead looking to her left and right Abby saw that the stream continued for some time and that it ran down hill. If she followed the steam it was likely that she would be able to find herway at least back to the town and hopefully to the castle where she would be able to explain what happened.
…
"What do you mean you lost her," Ms. Ryder screeched when the man returned to the carriage several hours after he had given chase. As soon as the girl had been out of the carriage Tyki had stopped the carriage and had gone after the girl and Ms. Ryder had waited patiently for him to return with their prisoner.
"I almost had her but she suddenly disappeared. I saw her turn and then I came face to face with a giant wall of thorns. I found this at the bottom of them," Tyki explained lifting the large skirt of the dress Abby had been wearing. The same piece that had torn off of her dress earlier as she was running.
Ms. Ryder's eyes brightened at the sight of the torn and bloodied fabric. "That will due," she said with and evil smile.
…..
Abby had changed to walking in the stream instead of on the rocky and sandy beach when the pain from the sand scratching at the gashes on the bottom of her feet got to be too much. Though there were was still rocks and sand on the bottom of the stream the cool water still soothed her feet when they started to get too painful. She had been following the stream in the dark for what felt like several hours now. Though the night was cold sweat still covered her skin as she tried to overcome the pain of walking on her feet. Her legs were starting to hurt as well but the gashes on them had stopped bleeding. She was starting to stumble now from the amount of blood loss but she kept going. The thought of the people that she would be letting down if she didn't keep going was all that she had on her mind. The smiling faces of Lavi and Lenalee as well as the not so smiley face of Kanda. She couldn't really picture him smiling.
At some point a small light appeared in her path and far away voices slowly crossed her ears. At first she thought she was hallucinating but when the voices got louder and the light started to take the shape of a lamp Abby decided to try calling back.
"Please help," Abby called. What ever had been holding the lamp seemed to hear her weak whisper and the lamp started to move toward her at a more rapid rate. It wasn't long before the face of a man appeared in the darkness above the lamp. His face was cautious as he stared down at her. Blankly she stared back at him waiting for him to grab her.
"It's her," the man suddenly called over his shoulder before bending down and carefully picking up her leg to examine the injuries. "Get the medic" he called again. That's when Abby realized that there were other people around them. A search party had been sent out to find her.
At the realization that these people were safe and we're going to take care of her Abby felt her body relax. She had thought that Ms. Ryder had sent the man to capture her and take her back to the hideout.
A small comotion behind the soldier in front of her grabbed her attention. She looked over his shoulder as he examined the cuts on her legs and feet to see a figure with crazy red hair bolting toward her. Her face instantly brightened when she realized Lavi was here.
"Oh God Abby, what the hell happened to you?" He said when he saw her injuries. Before she could speak sobs shook her body. Through the tears in her eyes she saw Lavi's expression soften. He opened his mouth about to say something when a much deeper and more irritated voice interrupted him.
"Idiot," the irritated voice of Kanda said as his figure stalked towards them. Despite the annoyed voice as soon as he was within reach of Abby he hugged her to his chest. The soldier moved out of the way mumbling something about finding the medic when Kanda didn't release her right away. The hug surprised Abby at first but when the initial shock wore off she hugged him back crying into his jacket. His arms were warm in the cold night air.
Hello Everyone,
So there isn't much more to this story probably only 1 or 2 more chapters. After that I plan to do a sequel to Heaven Sent. A lot of people have been asking for it. Anyway. I know this story isn't the best but I hope anyone who is reading this enjoys it!
Thanks for reading!