"So are you going to tell me your name, sir?" Brittany asked as they twirled around the dance floor. He grinned.
"Sam Evans, at your service, Your Highness." He said.
"Lovely name. So, what are you? A prince? Soldier?" She asked, wanting to get to know the young man.
"I'm a soldier from the next kingdom over. I heard about the gala being thrown for you and I wanted to meet you. So here I am." He chuckled. Suddenly, a loud scream echoed through the room and every one stopped, frozen on the spot.
"The resistance are coming!" The head guard called out from the entry and that was all it took for people to start panicking. The orchestra stopped playing, wine glasses shattered onto the floor. Women cowered into their partner's sides. Men grouped together to shield the women.
"Brittany!" She heard her father calling out for her and looked around, trying to find him.
"Father! Where are you?" She cried, struggling to get out of Sam's protective grip.
"Your Highness, I must insist that you come with me." Sam tugged on her arm but she shrugged him off.
"No! I must find my father!" She cried, finally becoming free and disappearing into the crowd, desperately searching for her parents.
"Brittany! You must get away from here. Go with Sam. Only come back when it is safe, promise me you will stay safe." Her father said when she found him and threw herself at him.
"No, father! I won't leave you." She said, tears running down her face.
"You must, darling. They are here for you. Get away while you can." Her mother pressed, pushing her towards Sam.
"Your highness, come with me. I found a way out." Sam urged, dragging her away.
"I love you! I promise, I'll be safe!" Brittany called out, reaching her hand towards her father before he was cut from her view and she was lost in the crowd, her only tether was Sam's hand in her own, dragging her towards an escape. As they ran, the big glass windows above the orchestra shattered, glass shards raining down on the crowd. Flaming arrows were shot through the open windows, the huge curtains catching on fire. Brittany gasped as the dancing flames engulfed the large curtains. Brittany screamed and felt a hard tug on her arm. She managed to finally break through the crowd and followed Sam down a deserted hallway.
"In here." Sam said, pointing to a small trapdoor in the floor. Brittany quickly scurried down, waiting for Sam at the bottom while he shut the door and came to stand beside her.
"I'm scared, Sam." She whispered, clinging to him as he tried to light a torch.
"I know. But I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." He got the torch working and they made their way down the tunnel for what felt like hours, the tunnel twisting and turning, branching off in various places. Brittany wondered how Sam knew which way to go. Finally, they saw light at the end of the tunnel and hurried towards it. They emerged into a small clearing in the woods behind the castle. Piercing screams rang through the night and flashes of flaming arrows could be seen through the trees as th moonlight filtered down to the pair.
"Sam…" Brittany said but he covered her mouth with his rough hand.
"Shhh. Don't talk until I say it's safe." He instructed, his voice barley able to be heard above the noise. She nodded and followed him as he led the way through the bushes. They didn't get far before Brittany stopped and began to fiddle with her skirts.
"What are you doing?" Sam hissed, going back to her.
"The cage under my skirt is getting in the way. I have to take it off." She whispered back, handing him the bottom of her dress. She bent down and slowly unclipped the cage, stepping out of it as soon as she could. Then she pulled off the five petticoats and ripped away the bottom of her dress so that she could move easier. She was about to just throw it all to the side but Sam stopped her.
"Wait. I know how to throw anyone off our trail." He said, going off the path a little and following a new trail. They followed that for a short distance until they came to a large lake. Sam haphazardly dumped the cage on the shore and then threw the material into the water where it floated for a while and began to sink a little. Then they made their way back to the main path and continued their journey. Brittany held onto Sam's hand as they cautiously made their way through the woods, cutting off from their trail every now and then to confuse anyone following them.
Eventually, they made it to a small cabin on what seemed to be the other side of the woods around dawn. Sam unlocked the door and gestured for her to go in before him. She smiled and slipped past, glad to have found somewhere to rest. Her shoes had been taken off hours earlier and were hanging on her fingers.
"I guess we'll rest here and keep going in the morning, yes?" she asked, sitting down on a stool to rub her sore feet. Sam shook his head.
"No. We're in my home kingdom now. They wouldn't think of looking for you in another kingdom." He said, sitting down on a stool nearby.
"How did you know this place was here?" she asked, putting one foot down and picking up the other.
"It's my house. I told you, I'm a soldier. Not directly in the king's army but I help to protect the borders of the kingdom." he explained and she nodded, yawning.
"Oh. I, er, don't suppose you have anything to eat? I didn't really eat much at the gala and we've been walking all night." she asked and he jumped up, smacking his head.
"Sorry. I wasn't thinking. I'm used to going for hours without eating. I don't really have a lot of food but I can get some bread and jam." he offered and she smiled.
"That's fine. I know it's not going to be palace food." she said, laughing. Sam scurried about the kitchen for a minute or two before returning with a plate of bread and a small pot of jam. Brittany hungrily snatched up a slice of the bread and spread some jam on it, almost shoving it whole into her mouth. Sam let her eat, knowing she was hungry and just sat silently, watching her.
"I guess you're tired. You can get some sleep on the bed in there if you want. I've got a few things I have to do." he told her, gesturing to a door behind her.
"Thank-you Sam. I really appreciate you doing this." she said, getting up. She kissed his cheek and disappeared through the door. The bed wasn't very big but it would do for some well needed sleep so she lay down an was asleep almost instantly.
