Princess of the Underworld

Chapter 13 - Running Away

When Livana returned to her room, she started packing a bag with essential items she needed for survival. Livana also made sure to have enough money with her in case she ever needed to stay in one place for a while and lay low. Livana changed out of her dress and into a long-sleeved blue denim top, leggings, and black closed-in shoes. After that, she removed her crown and placed it in the middle of her bed. Then, she grabbed her black hooded jacket, putting it over her blue denim long-sleeved top, and pulled the hood over her head to avoid being recognised.

Livana then went to her nook and opened up one of the windows. Looking down, thinking to herself, "s**t, that is a long way down." Livana felt the wind blowing through her hair underneath the hood of her jacket. "Oh well, no turning back now," she said to herself as she swung her bag over her shoulder. Livana took a deep breath before leaping out of the window with her eyes tightly shut. Before she knew it, she felt the ground underneath her. Livana opened her eyes to see that she had made it safely down. Livana looked up from where she jumped before turning and sprinting away into the night, not looking back.

After what felt like hours of running away from home, Livana stopped slightly at a dark, eerie opening surrounded by a sea of burning trees. "This must be the ancient magic burning Forest where the trees forever burn for eternity but never perish," Livana thought to herself. I found a nice hidden spot, sat down, and pulled out one of the cool blood bags that she made sure she packed, then began snacking on it.

Livana looked around at her surroundings, wondering what the rest of the underworld looked like. Livana had never explored it in person before; she only knew about the underworld through the stories she had read back at home in the library about what and who to avoid if she ever came into contact.

When Livana finished the blood bag, she then let it disintegrate into thin air while watching with a small smile form upon her face along with a small laugh. Livana was then interrupted by a calm yet unsettling voice that sounded so close " wow, that was sooo cool!" Livana turned to see who the voice belonged to but had no luck. She sat up straight and demanded who it was to show themselves immediately or else " who is there? Show yourself at once..or else."

Suddenly, a small figure appeared in front of her. "OK, OK, chill, I'm sorry," the figure said. It turned out to be a small demon girl with mid-short strawberry pink hair styled in two little ponytails. She was wearing a black dress with a white collar that had bats on it, a black choker around her neck, black leggings, and black platform shoes. Additionally, she had black mesh gloves on her hands and devil horns on top of her head. The devil horns were a deep red colour with some red and black roses around them. She even had a medium-long devil tail.

The petite girl appeared to be very young. "I understand what you're probably thinking, but believe me, I'm not a child. I am twenty-three years old, but because of my height, I may look like a kid," she explained. "Oh, so it was obvious what I was thinking, huh?" Livana responded to her, to which she simply smiled and chuckled. "No worries, I'm Ràinà, by the way," she said, extending her hand to greet me.

Livana quickly glanced at her before smiling and reaching out to shake her hand. "I'm Livana," she replied. The demon girl's eyes widened. "OMG, you have the same name as the princess!" Livana chuckled and said, "Well..." Before Livana could continue, Ràinà gasped and bowed her head. "Gah, I'm so sorry! How rude of me. It is an honour to meet you, Your Highness."

Livana stopped her from bowing any longer. 'Oh, please, no need to bow,' Ràinà then looked up with a confused look on her face. 'But we are all taught, every demon that lives in the underworld, to bow in respect if we are ever in the presence of royalty,' she explained. 'Really?' Livana began to say, looking a bit confused as she nodded her head. 'Yes, if we don't, there are consequences we face,' she said while looking away, gazing at the horizon.

"Well, I'm here to explore. I ran away from my home because they are forcing me to marry someone I do not like. Besides, I am not ready for marriage. I want to keep exploring what lies beyond the palace walls, as everything outside has so much to offer," Ràinà turned back to look at Livana. After hearing what she had said, Ràinà had a small, shocked but sad expression on her face.

"I can be your guide to show you around these parts of the underworld," Ràinà said. "But you should know that most people here are not very friendly, and they punish anyone who interferes in their business. However, if they knew who you were, they would beg for forgiveness." Livana looked at Ràinà's face as she spoke, then smiled slightly, stood up, and swung her bag over her shoulder.

"OK, lead the way," Livana said. Ràinà smiled, holding up her hands in the form of fists close to her body. "OK! Let's go, but make sure you stay close and don't wander off," she said. Livana smiled while following her. "Ok, I'll try, but I can't promise that I won't wander off if something amazing catches my eye," Livana replied. They then headed towards the city, ready to start exploring the underworld.

"I can't wait to see what the rest of the underworld looks like and how the people live. I know some of them truly have it hard and try their best, while others, including me,have it really easy." Livana sighed softly as she thought about the people from the underworld. However, she is still hopeful that she can someday help turn their lives around. "They have been cast aside and forgottenalmost, but when I am queen, I will make sure they have it much easier.Hopefully, we can all, in some way, be equal one day", she had thought to herself.