First, thank you for coming to this page! This is my very first fanfic, and I must admit, I'm quite nervous about it! Sorry for ány grammatical errors and mistakes. I'm dutch, so I'm not writing in my native language. Please, put any mistakes in a review so I can fix them up. Anyway, without further rambling, let's start with the story.
Sing me to sleep
Just close your eyes
Sink in the deep
Drown in your lies
The walls have faces
Everywhere you look
Try to run endless races
Remember what the king took
Slowy the raindrops slid down along the contours of the leaves of the bushes and trees, where they slowly dripped down to the ground and splashed against the ground. Satisfied as it was, the ground didn't even suck up the fluids as it would've done normally. This resulted in big pools of water on the marshy earth, where my reflection stared back at me almost mockingly. My golden eyes were the only things visible in this inky darkness. But, that might have been one of my greatest assets at the moment.
The mud greedily sucked at my paws with every step I took. It slid between my pawpads and made nasty noises when I pulled my paws loose for a new step. It was a disgusting feeling and I couldn't help but to frown deeply in disgust. But, I also left a trail of pawsteps behind. That fact wasn't just annoying; it was also quite dangerous for me. What could I do if they found out I was here? I shouldn't think of it. I mustn't think of it in fact. Everything would be alright, they wouldn't find me. Because, if they were to find me, my days of walking around on this earth would be numbered. In fact, it was highly possible my days would be over.
"In the kingdom, you have no choices," I murmured softly, almost like a chant, "In the kingdom, nobody can escape…" These words were told to every kit born here, they would be told over and over, until there was no other reality left. Nobody escaped from it, when one was born in the kingdom, one wouldn't be able to leave.
My paws screamed for a rest, as did my head. How long had I been walking? Certainly a day now. But I couldn't permit myself to rest or pause. It was dangerous business to allow myself a break. I should walk for another day, run even, to be safe. I would've crossed the northern border then and the meadows too. I would've been safe from the suffocating grasp of the kingdom. After that, I'd plan what I could do next. Did I ever want to return, when better times swept over the kingdom? Or should I keep traveling and find some happiness somewhere else?
I took a shivering breath while the rain streamed down my pelt, at one point the cold fluid even touched my skin. I was freezing and completely soaked. In the darkness, murky and ink-black, I wasn't even able to look at least a fox-length forward. I must trust my other senses. And even though I had been trained to use it, I had never been incredibly good at that skill. Of course, I had my basic instincts, but the rain kept pouring down endlessly from the sky. The wetness seemed to muffle the scents around me and mix them around in just one musky, damp scent. And the rhythmic sound of the falling raindrops also caused my hearing to be quite limited. It made me feel vulnerable and I didn't like to feel vulnerable at all.
With a loud, hooting sound and a furious flapping of its wings, an owl leapt up from the bushes next to me. Probably, I'd startled it. It's bright eyes, almost the same golden colour as mine, locked into my gaze for a moment. His blazing amber depths seemed to glow in the darkness. Hissing, I leapt back, ears flattened and my tail almost as bushy as a foxes'. "Stupid creature!" I spat, furious that the bird of prey had startled me this much. I already had been on my toes, but this sudden situation must have been bad for my mental health. I could feel my heart fluttering in my chest for a moment, as I tried to steady my breath. I had to keep my cool now. I had almost reached the most northern border of the Kingdom territory. If I had crossed that border, I would've been able to slow down to a slower traveling speed. The crossing, however, was one of the most dangerous moments of my journey. The most outer borders were most often guarded strictly. I swallowed nervously. Until this point, everything went alright without that much of a plan. But now, my nerves made my breath waver and my paws tremble. Not only that, weariness also made my eyes prick and my head slightly hazy. I shook my head, no more day dreaming, I had to keep my head clear. I had to admit, no matter how strong I'd acted, the night before my great escape, I had barely slept. I had been nervous for this moment, no matter how tough of an act I'd put up for everyone. But I couldn't stay in the Kingdom any longer.
It was now or never, the kingdom scent marks were getting stronger with each step I took. Now I had to be careful, keep positioning low to the ground and most of all, not even utter a sound. For a moment, I stopped walking, wearily scenting the air to see whether or not I could find any strange scents. Feverishly, I analysed everything my senses noticed. The heavy scent of the damp earth, the scent markings, but no fresh cat-scent, or at least, I thought so. Now, I was heavily at a disadvantage. It didn't matter how much I took pride in the fact I wouldn't have been that visible in this murky weather at night, I had to exchange this for a limited sense of smell and hearing due to the rain. And also, I was quite short sighted in this darkness myself. The dark clouds blocked out the light of the moon and stars successfully.
I gazed upwards for a couple of precious seconds. Would Starclan still watch over me and protect me now? Would they cover me for all the bad luck and misfortune that I would bring upon myself now? For a few spare moments, I kept very quiet. I waited for a few more heartbeats. It was a mad dash over an open meadow to the other side. If I were to reach the forests on the end of the meadow, I would've left the Kingdom safely.
I took a deep, shivering breath, my heart pounding in my throat. The rain, still pouring endlessly, kept up its rhythmic pace. But finally, I left my hiding place and started to run. My paws seemed to barely touch the grass at the speed I kept up. I kept my eyes wide open, fixed on my goal at the other side of the field. It came closer and closer but with every bound I took, my joy as well as my fear also expanded. Because, one thing for sure, I felt terribly vulnerable in this open meadow.
Only a few fox-lengths left, I had already cleared almost all of the meadow in a few heartbeats. I would've been able to make it! So quiet but as quick as I could, I made a mad dash for the other side of the clearing. But, it seemed like an stone-cold claw enclosed itself around my rapidly beating heart, as a shrill yowl filled the air behind me. The alarm call of the Kingdom. "Haredung…" I muttered breathlessly, as I forced myself in an even quicker pace. I was seen, they had seen me. I was in trouble, a terrible amount of trouble. The yowling of multiple cats multiplied and intensified behind me when more and more cats started to follow me. "There's no escape from the kingdom…" I breathed and I felt my throat tighten.
I crashed through the thick undergrowth. Branches whipped into my face and thorns of the bushes caught into my pelt. It hurt, but I ignored it for now. I had only one goal left, because if I were to falter… I didn't even want to think about it. Focus! My only goal was escaping now. If I could shake them off, just let them lose my trail, I would've been safe. My heart pounded so harshly, that it seemed like it would leap out of my throat and flee away like a sparrow from the claws of the hunter. In this attempt to flee, there were only two ways out. To be captured or to escape.
My paws burned while I tried to create to cover a larger distance in a shorter amount of time like crazy. Until I crashed against something what seemed like a wall of fur. Until I tumbled backwards into the disgusting mud and someone placed his cold claws upon my throat. As the claws applied pressure, I gazed upwards into a pair of narrowed green eyes. Hastily, my breath escaped from my mouth as I watched my attacker. This moment, lasted only a heartbeat, as I started my futile attempts to escape his grip. But his claws buried themselves into the sensitive skin of my throat and another cat wrestled me to the ground. Blood trickled down my new scratches and in the end, I fell to the ground again, as limp as a ragdoll. My eyes shot back and forth, watching my attackers like a deer in the headlights. The tom-cat with the green eyes, who had his claws still placed firmly on my throat, started to speak at an emotionless tone of voice. "Batfall of the Kindred of Wind," He spoke, almost seeming bored, "In the name of King Blizzardstar the great, I take you with us as a captive of the Kingdom." Defeated, I closed my eyes and dropped my head back in the mud, that cold, filthy mud.