Chapter two: Together again

When the next day came, it was simple for Sakura. She was just going to act like she never received the note, which mostly consisted of the following program: sleep, eat, get pissed at everything, try to kill half of those things, eat more and quietly return back upstairs. Her plan was simple, most of it came naturally due to her anger, but she still couldn't wait for the day to be over. She wanted the hours to go by quicker, but instead they seemed slower than ever. When she finally returned to her room after having dinner with her family, it was finally time to commence her plans. Not that long after the sun set and the night fell. Sakura was almost surprised by seeing the darkening of the sky, which she'd been waiting the whole day. Everything seemed to go slow the whole day but suddenly the moment she'd been waiting for was here. Had the day already gone by?

Sakura's green eyes shone in the beautiful moonlight as she examined herself in front of a large mirror. Her usual princess-y kind of dresses had been tossed aside and she changed into a simple and dark outfit. Her slender figure would just melt into the darkness the forest would provide and Sakura was thankful of it. What she was about to do could be ruined by her being seen and this was her only chance of freedom, of living on her own terms, and she wouldn't waste it.

The pinkette changed into a simple black long sleeved shirt with a high neckline to cover as much of her fair skin as possible. With it she wore a pair leather leggings that almost looked black in the dark. It was hard to find boots that suited traveling through the forest from her closet, so she sneaked out a pair of knee-high leather boots from the stables earlier that day. For warmth and added cover, she managed to also grab a black hooded cape that was a part of the riding uniform of a palace guard when all the workers were out and about doing their duties.

Sakura looked at her reflection in the mirror and almost didn't recognize herself. Her familiar features were hidden by the dark clothes and surprisingly she liked the look. It was a change from her normal attire that she was obligated to wear due to her status as a princess. But not only did she look different, she felt like a different person. Sakura had never worn such clothes, but on the other hand princesses rarely borrow clothes that riders and soldiers wear. She might've not looked like herself, but for once she felt powerful, which was a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time.

Sakura gently graced the back of her neck with the tips of her fingers, pulling the neckline of her shirt down a bit to expose the tattoo-like birthmark that decorated her pale skin. Emerald green eyes watched as she traced the obscure shape of with her index finger. It was an outline of a flower she didn't recognize, but for some reason she always felt connected with it even though she didn't know what it was or what it meant. Suddenly Sakura winced and drew her hand away from the birthmark, which then disappeared under the dark shirt. Before she saw the mark she wore on herself as something beautiful but now it had a different meaning.

All the royals in Quifilia are born with a birthmark. They are all different but they have a meaning. It is a mark of royalty and power which all royals, no matter the kingdom, possess and hold inside of them. It has always protected the royal families from being dethroned since only people with power have ever managed to rule. That said, if one possesses the royal mark, they are part of a royal bloodline and can rule. It was one of the few things Sakura actually liked about being a princess, the fact that she carried a mark that had a meaning for her. But now she couldn't look at herself anymore, at least not in the same way she used to.

'I can't live being angry at myself, being ashamed of my status and what it means,' Sakura reminded herself as she dug her nails into the side of her right thigh.

Sakura placed the large hood on, covering her most distinctive pink feature under it so that only her piercing emerald eyes shone from under it. She took one last look at herself, but then she knew she had to leave. There was no time to wait anymore if she wanted to make it in time to where she was headed. With her escape route already planned there was no hesitation in her mind. She was doing this.

With one swift move she pushed her large windows open and climbed onto the wooden windowpane that lined the outside of her window. She looked down at the 30-meter fall she was about to face, focusing on not falling down and trying to find somewhere to hold on to. She needed a way down, but she couldn't exactly just walk out of the front door, so the window was the next logical solution. She'd read dozens if not hundreds of books where people climbed out of their windows, it seemed like a popular yet unconventional and unexpected way to flee. But her escape was going to be different from all those that she'd read in books. Sakura placed her hands onto the weak vines the climbed up the side of the tall castle tower, trying to concentrate as best as she could not to loose her footing now that she had barely any support keeping her from falling.

The pink haired princess closed her eyes as she concentrated her mind and felt a small fire light inside of her. It was a flame she'd been afraid of awakening for a long time, but this was a start of a new era for her. It felt like something inside of her was waking up from a deep slumber, slowly building up energy to her center. Then she pushed all the power she'd collected inside of her core into her hands and commanded the plant, releasing her powers free.

"Grow!"

Immediately the plant started growing higher and stronger. It started to climb higher, grow thicker and kept going until Sakura felt it was ready. For a second Sakura thought she'd gone overboard since she hadn't used her powers in a long time, but the vines were growing exactly like she wanted them to. It didn't take long until the vines were strong and big enough that the princess could grab a hold and start climbing down the side of the castle unnoticed. Soon running away from the top floor of a castle tower was child's play.

Sakura was never afraid of heights which came in handy. She was a fast climber and managed to get down without making any sound at all. She dropped down the last few meters and proceeded to make a run for the cover of the forest, where no guards could see her even if they were looking. There she'd continue traveling until she reached her destination and the person she was meeting.

Traveling in the dark wasn't as easy as Sakura had thought. Not only did the princess not see anything in the dark, but the terrain was extremely difficult for someone who had never even been to the forest before. It seemed like a forever, but Sakura just kept pushing forwards. She knew she had to keep going on. Even though she was already exhausted, she continued with the strength of her willpower. If Sakura would be discovered and taken back to the castle, she could be perceived as a traitor to the crown and the consequences she would face would most likely be worse than what she was faced with already.

Sakura didn't exactly know how long she'd been traveling, but by looking at the position of the moon now and comparing it to what it was when she left, she estimated that it had been a few hours. Going through the forest was the quickest way to get to the border of the four kingdoms but even that way she had a lot more to go. The moon was almost at it's highest point and Sakura knew she had to hurry if she was going to make it in time.

But then Sakura heard voices among the rustling leaves under her feet. She quickly came to a stop and started to listen, but she didn't hear anything but the wind blowing in the forest. For a while she stood still trying to locate the whisper-like voices she'd heard, but after a while she gave up and continued on. It didn't take long till she heard the voices again. This time they were stronger and louder, but still silent to Sakura's ears.

This time she proceeded head on and started running towards the voices, trying to make sense of them. Even though she didn't know where it was she seemed to now where to go, as if the ground itself was telling her where to go, when to dodge a tree and watch out for roots on the ground. The moonlight provided her random glimpses of light when it shone through the tree branches, which the pink haired girl was very grateful of.

It seemed like the trees started to spread out and weren't so tightly concentrated in a small area. Sakura started to slow down when her eyes were met with an opening where there were no trees at all. The ground was covered with grass and flowers instead of moss and tree roots like in the forest. When stepping out into the open from the security the trees had provided her, she was met with the source of the voices. Well, more like sources.

"Sakura!"

"You made it!"

The princess felt a rush of happiness take over her body as she saw the three cloaked figures. Sakura felt like kicking herself for not recognizing the voices of the familiars figures. The momentum from Sakura crashing into the three girls almost knocked them all down onto the ground but some how they all managed to stay on their feet and were now hugging the life out of each other. Sakura almost felt like crying out of joy. She felt such relief. She actually made it, she actually succeeded in the first stage of taking her life in her own hands.

Oddly enough Ino, Tenten and Hinata were Sakura's dearest friends. The princess didn't have many friends since she wasn't really allowed to have any contact with people her age that weren't noble by blood. There were no people her age working in the castle either so the only people she'd ever connected with were the people who lived as far as in other kingdoms. Their friendship was probably odd, but the fact that they lived far apart was overcome by the royal blood they all had in common. The only people Sakura could ever relate to were the three princesses of the easter, northern and western kingdoms. They spent more time together when they were little, when the diplomatic relations between the four kingdoms were still fine. Now they didn't see each other much often. They wrote to each other and sent letters by carrier birds, but other than that they hadn't been in contact with each other for almost over a year now. Now Sakura saw that the time apart hadn't hurt their friendship at all.

Sakura had to take a few deep breaths to calm herself down from all the excitement and exhaustion that she was going through. "I'm so happy to see you guys."

"So, you got my message." The blonde princess smiled and Sakura couldn't help but feel her lips also curve into a smile. Wow, it had been a while when she'd felt this happy. It was like a weight was lifted off her chest.

"Your doves always were the best to find their way, Ino," Sakura giggled. "But Hinata and Tenten, you managed to get here as well!"

"Like I would comply to the crazy words of some whatnot oracle," the brown haired princess named Tenten snickered. She was always the most rebellious of the four, there was no way she wasn't upset about being forced into a marriage and her freedom being exchanged for shaky peace. The free fiery spirit probably jumped out of a window and ran the minute she heard of the whole thing.

Then Sakura turned to her friend Hinata. Her family was very protective and strict. Even Sakura was somewhat afraid of her father, so it probably took a miracle for Hinata to manage to leave. "I'm so glad you made it out okay."

But her friend responded with a sneaky smirk and a wink. "Oh Sakura, you'd be surprised by my talents of sneaking around."

The pink haired princess would've most likely continued the conversation with Hinata, but Tenten cut the chatter short. "We should leave. There's only a couple of hours before sun rises in the eastern kingdom, so if we want to get as far away as possible before our absences are noticed, we should leave now. We have a long journey ahead of us."

And so the girls left the rendezvous point together, feeling safer together. Sure, they had a lot of traveling to do, but them being together made it easier. What none of them knew was that they'd encounter some unexpected turns of events that would change their plans completely.

Hello again! So here was the second chapter to adventure of a lifetime and I hope you liked it! Probably didn't see the supernatural powers coming, huh? Well, surprise! Please leave reviews so I know how you feel about the story so far and stay tuned for the next chapter. I think it's gonna be up pretty soon, depending on when I get time to finish and post it.