Losing her Innocence
Knowing when to stand down and when to fight is invaluable to someone such as Nadia.It's a lesson she learned harder than most and younger than most.
She remembers it like it happened yesterday, though it's been a few years now. She had just figured out that she could leave the castle at night. The ledge near her window had long been overtaken by vines, thick and sturdy. She quickly learned that she could use them to climb down in between the guard patrols and then make her escape from there. It took a few nights to get the lay of the grounds and finding the best way to avoid guards and get into town without being seen. While most would have given up after the first few tries, Nadia persisted. She wanted out of the confines of the castle and away from the life and security she had always had. It was something she always craved, to see the outside world, not as an outsider as she was now, but as one in the know and she would do just about anything for her craving to be satisfied.
This was it. The moment of truth, as Nadia pulled her hood over her head and face, the shadows masking her. There's no turning back now, she thought as she looked back at the glowing castle behind her from the ledge of the outer wall. It almost seemed peaceful, but as she looked back towards the town, a smile grew on her face as she hopped down from the wall and landed with a soft thud before beginning her trek into the night towards a new sense of freedom for the wanderlust princess.
The town, as dark as it was out with only the moon shining, was almost like a dream to Nadia. There weren't any guards following her, or handmaidens asking to help her out or if she needed something, just quiet. Well except for the soft murmurings of the townsfolk getting ready to sleep and the rumble of noise from what she assumed to be the local tavern. It was just like she thought before she was jolted out of her dream into reality by a scream, followed by laughter. Her eyes widening under her hood she silently but quickly made her way towards the commotion. She was slightly disturbed by the lack of guards in that moment as she hurried to see what had happened.
She stopped suddenly as she came upon the scene and her heart stopped when she realized that it wasn't just any woman being attacked. It was one of her handmaidens! One who had cared for her when she was a baby! She didn't even think when she started towards the assailant, grabbing whatever she could to defend her, later it would turnout to be a brick but it wasn't something she registered at the time. She screamed at the man to leave her alone and smashed the brick into the man's head, sending him crasing into the ground with a thud. Gasping in what must have been an adrenaline rush, she dropped the brick before turning to Grace, her mind supplied for her and instantly dropped to the ground, shoving her hood off and silently assessing the woman before her. She was hurt, badly, if the blood on the ground and the blood soaking her dress was anything to go on. She blindly started tearing at her cloak, trying to rip a peice off to help stop the bleeding. Nadia would later realize that she had been sobbing and incoherent while trying to help but all that was on her mind at the time was to stop the bleeding. It wasn't until a small wrinkled hand grabbed her wrists that she gasped and looked up at Grace, who had a faint smile and wince on her face.
'You need to go back to the castle, princess. Please, there's nothing left that you can do for me." Grace whispered with pain laced in her voice. "You need to leave before someone finds you and takes you, it's not safe out here. please for me?"
Nadia refused to believe it, trembling as she reached for Grace's face with her bloodied hands to cup it. Blinking to clear the tears from her eyes, she realized as she peered into the older woman's eyes that she was right, she couldn't be found here, she needed to leave. But it didn't seem right to leave her out here alone to die, but Nadia knew the price she would pay should someone other than the guards found here alone and unarmed. She shakily nodded at the woman that was more of a mother than her own flesh and blood was, and stood but not before giving the dying woman a kiss on her head and thanking her for everything. She doned her hood once more and turned to walk away but not before looking back once at the woman who had been her rock and her everything as a child. As she looked back, Grace was still, and Nadia knew that she was gone and she knew she needed to be too. So with a heavy heart she swiftly left the scene before anyone could realize her involvement in it.
As she started her trek back to the castle, she realized that the world outside her small castle was not as good as she thought it to be, and that it was dangerous and she knew almost nothing of it, and because of that she lost her handmaiden, and more importantly her friends because of it's cruelty. And she knew as she started climbing back over the outer wall that she would do everything in her power to change it even if no one knew it was her doing it.
She remembers it like it happened yesterday, though it's been a few years now. She had just figured out that she could leave the castle at night. The ledge near her window had long been overtaken by vines, thick and sturdy. She quickly learned that she could use them to climb down in between the guard patrols and then make her escape from there. It took a few nights to get the lay of the grounds and finding the best way to avoid guards and get into town without being seen. While most would have given up after the first few tries, Nadia persisted. She wanted out of the confines of the castle and away from the life and security she had always had. It was something she always craved, to see the outside world, not as an outsider as she was now, but as one in the know and she would do just about anything for her craving to be satisfied.
This was it. The moment of truth, as Nadia pulled her hood over her head and face, the shadows masking her. There's no turning back now, she thought as she looked back at the glowing castle behind her from the ledge of the outer wall. It almost seemed peaceful, but as she looked back towards the town, a smile grew on her face as she hopped down from the wall and landed with a soft thud before beginning her trek into the night towards a new sense of freedom for the wanderlust princess.
The town, as dark as it was out with only the moon shining, was almost like a dream to Nadia. There weren't any guards following her, or handmaidens asking to help her out or if she needed something, just quiet. Well except for the soft murmurings of the townsfolk getting ready to sleep and the rumble of noise from what she assumed to be the local tavern. It was just like she thought before she was jolted out of her dream into reality by a scream, followed by laughter. Her eyes widening under her hood she silently but quickly made her way towards the commotion. She was slightly disturbed by the lack of guards in that moment as she hurried to see what had happened.
She stopped suddenly as she came upon the scene and her heart stopped when she realized that it wasn't just any woman being attacked. It was one of her handmaidens! One who had cared for her when she was a baby! She didn't even think when she started towards the assailant, grabbing whatever she could to defend her, later it would turnout to be a brick but it wasn't something she registered at the time. She screamed at the man to leave her alone and smashed the brick into the man's head, sending him crasing into the ground with a thud. Gasping in what must have been an adrenaline rush, she dropped the brick before turning to Grace, her mind supplied for her and instantly dropped to the ground, shoving her hood off and silently assessing the woman before her. She was hurt, badly, if the blood on the ground and the blood soaking her dress was anything to go on. She blindly started tearing at her cloak, trying to rip a peice off to help stop the bleeding. Nadia would later realize that she had been sobbing and incoherent while trying to help but all that was on her mind at the time was to stop the bleeding. It wasn't until a small wrinkled hand grabbed her wrists that she gasped and looked up at Grace, who had a faint smile and wince on her face.
'You need to go back to the castle, princess. Please, there's nothing left that you can do for me." Grace whispered with pain laced in her voice. "You need to leave before someone finds you and takes you, it's not safe out here. please for me?"
Nadia refused to believe it, trembling as she reached for Grace's face with her bloodied hands to cup it. Blinking to clear the tears from her eyes, she realized as she peered into the older woman's eyes that she was right, she couldn't be found here, she needed to leave. But it didn't seem right to leave her out here alone to die, but Nadia knew the price she would pay should someone other than the guards found here alone and unarmed. She shakily nodded at the woman that was more of a mother than her own flesh and blood was, and stood but not before giving the dying woman a kiss on her head and thanking her for everything. She doned her hood once more and turned to walk away but not before looking back once at the woman who had been her rock and her everything as a child. As she looked back, Grace was still, and Nadia knew that she was gone and she knew she needed to be too. So with a heavy heart she swiftly left the scene before anyone could realize her involvement in it.
As she started her trek back to the castle, she realized that the world outside her small castle was not as good as she thought it to be, and that it was dangerous and she knew almost nothing of it, and because of that she lost her handmaiden, and more importantly her friends because of it's cruelty. And she knew as she started climbing back over the outer wall that she would do everything in her power to change it even if no one knew it was her doing it.