"No!", she screamed into his ale-reddened face. "You'll never have me, papa!" With her declaration, she used one of the quick defensive moves Conway, the captain of the guards, had recently taught her. She brought her knee swiftly upwards and into her father's groin. She didn't hold back, just like she'd been taught, and when her father doubled over in agony she grabbed a handful of his oily mud-brown hair, twisting his head, and pulling his ear within reach of her ready teeth. She sunk all her hate and fear into that bite and didn't stop biting until she felt her teeth meet again. Her father threw her away from him, flinging his arms wildly around himself as he felt his blood pouring from where the top half of his ear had been. "You fucking bitch!", he screamed in a drunken madness. "You bit off my God-damn ear, you fucking bitch!" His fist came crashing down, but only met with her mattress and pillow. She'd used his moment of surprise and pain to leap from the bed and start running from the room. He whipped around in blind rage and came stumbling after her, but he tripped on a loose stone and fell - cracking his head against the hard, cold floor. She didn't look back as she ran. She didn't slow down as her breath began to burn her lungs. She didn't see her father's blood pooling around him as he lay unconscious. She didn't hear her sister scream for help upon finding him laying there. She just kept running. Her only thought upon safety. Unseen by everyone within and without the palace walls, a witch hovered by the kingdom's tree-line, watching the night's events unfold. She whispered words of an ancient language into the night's breeze, then slowly turned to disappear into the darkness of the forest with a small smile upon her lips. The day of fate, was fast approaching.