Chapter 2

When I woke up I suddenly had a plan. Not a completely sound plan, but a plan nonetheless. I known for only escaping once a day, giving up after finally being caught, and I wasn't known for nighttime escapades either. Therefore, I had decided to escape when it was least expected: my second escape of the day at night.

Of course this was only the beginning of the plan. There was still the problem of supplies and guards. There were guards out all night and I had no doubt there were some patrolling my room at all times from their posts. I would have to be very careful and possibly keep an eye on their shifts for the next couple of days. Easily done by watching Rivendell out my window. I couldn't believe that I hadn't thought of these things before. I had been planning for years but had never gotten this far in my planning. I usually lost interest after a while.

I got up out of my bed and walked over to my window. Today I was going to make my first attempt at gathering supplies. I was going to remain at one escape a day until the night of my final escape so nobody would be on their guard all day, meaning I would have to plan very carefully to make this work.

As I was in the midst of planning, Arwen entered my room. I looked over at her and gave her a slight smile, though I was wondering what she was doing in my room at such an early hour. She usually only came in at night.

"Hello," I said as I moved away from the window, "You are here early."

She nodded, "I wanted to talk about what you said last night." My slight smile fell as I sighed. "Kalya, you seem so serious this time."

"Because I am," I said, "I started planning as soon as you left and only stopped to sleep."

Arwen stepped further into my room, "Do you realize how dangerous it is to leave here?"

"Yes!" I cried, "But it is what I want. I would give anything to leave Rivendell."

"You would even give your own life?"

"If that is what it takes then yes!"

As soon as I said it I regretted it. Arwen looked completely surprised at my words, maybe even scared.

"Oh, Arwen, I'm so sorry," I said as I noticed how terrified she was.

I opened my mouth to say more but she shook her head at me.

"No," she said, "I understand."

I wondered how she could possibly understand as she had never been a prisoner in her own room, but I brushed it off and nodded.

"Good," I said, "Because I am going to need you."

"What do you mean?" she asked with a confused look.

"I need help escaping," I elaborated, "As you probably know, escaping Rivendell is no easy feat."

She nodded, "Of course. I will help you."

I was so glad I had thought of asking her to help me. She would make my job so much easier. It was amazing how the ideas cam quick when you were serious.

I smiled widely at my sister, "Thank you," I said, "Thank you so much. I promise I will repay you. I'll find a way."

She smiled slightly at me, "No need. You are my sister."

I ran up to her and hugged her tightly, saying in Elvish, "Thank you, sister."

She was slightly taken by surprise from my sudden gesture, but relaxed and lightly hugged me back after a moment. After our embrace my sister placed her hands on my shoulders and held me out at arm's length.

"Just tell me what to do," she said.

"I'm not quite sure yet," I said honestly, "But keep up a typical visiting schedule. We don't want anyone to know what we're doing."

"I understand," Arwen said as she took her hands off my shoulders, "I will come and visit you tomorrow evening."

I smiled, "That sounds good."

Arwen smiled back as she started to walk out of my room, "I will see you tomorrow then."

I nodded once, "Tomorrow."

And with that she left me alone with my thoughts. I was still going to escape my room today. I thought it may give me a good way to look around and figure things out. Of course, I would probably be seen, so I would have to be fast. Very fast.

I paced around my room for a while, thinking of when and how I would do this. I finally settled on escaping out of one of the windows farthest from my room's exit. Hopefully this would go unnoticed, but I doubted it would. I walked up to one of my further back windows and gracefully swung my legs over and out of it. As I pulled myself through I suddenly felt a tug at my waist. I kept trying to pull and pull, but I ended up giving up and turning around to see what was the matter.

Upon inspecting the space behind me I noticed that my dress had gotten stuck on some of the windowsill. I pulled it off quickly then pushed myself fully out the window into gorgeous Rivendell. If I hadn't been locked up in my own room for a good chunk of my life I never would've wanted to leave this place. It was gorgeous. My favorite part had always been the plethora of waterfalls and streams weaving through the place. I always made sure to pass by some form of water when I escaped.

I looked around to make sure no one had seen me. I saw no sign of pointing or hastiness around the grounds. It seemed I was in the clear for now. Carefully I sneaked around to another side of my room and swiftly set off into the Rivendell beyond my room. I was more than scared of being caught. Elves were very perceptive so being seen or heard, even while being careful, were definite possibilities.

Being swift as I could, I snuck around corners and hid behind walls trying to figure out where I was going to go when I got my supplies and when I decided to escape. I made mental notes of where weapons were kept, where extra clothes were kept, and where food was kept. It had been so long since I had the semi-freedom of sneaking around the whole of Rivendell, so I had forgotten many things about the layout.

It wasn't until I tripped over a box near the dining table that I was noticed, making a loud ruckus in the process. It happened that Lady Aellyana was eating along with my father when I fell, and when I looked up she was furious.

Slowly, without taking her eyes off me, she stood up from her seat. I was practically paralyzed with fear and shock, but was able to convince my limbs to push me back up to my feet. I stood firm with shaking hands as Lady Aellyana walked closer to me. She stopped only a foot in front of me and swallowed before opening her mouth.

"What are you doing here, Kalya?" she asked with a cold, even voice.

"N-nothing," I said, staring her straight in the eye to try and cover up my stammering.

She looked up at the guards closest to us, "Take her back to her room. Lock her in."

My eyes widened, "No, no, no! Please don't lock me in! I won't leave my room again!"

But Lady Aellyana turned her back on me and two guards grabbed my shoulders and pushed me roughly away from the table and towards my room. My own personal prison.