Chances of Fate

V- The Great Escape

"Lady Amirah! Where have you been? Mr. Jacob returned without you."

Amirah sighed, sick of being called again even though she just arrived home. Laura wasn't waiting for her outside the house for a greeting. She was accompanying Everleigh back at school because that was her master's order.

"At school. I read a few chapters under a tree before deciding to go home." She answered in an uninterested manner. It wasn't like the maids care about her hobbies or activities.

"We were starting to worry, my lady."

Amirah frowned. "I come home a little late everyday and sometimes I order Jacob to return home without me, why is that so surprising?"

"But your parents expected you to come home early today."

She didn't listen to the worried maid and just straight up went to her room and rested on the bed. Her assistant would be here in a few minutes after a talk with her best friend.

As her eyes were glued on the ceiling, she had no clue that the same housemaid from the entrance followed her to tell a warning.

"Lady Amirah, please listen, your mother's maids will be—"

Immediately, she jolted from her position and eyed the maid seriously. "My mother's what?"

"They'll be here so—" once again, the poor maid got cut off when a group of women dressed in black and white clothing barged in Amirah's room.

In complete displeasure, Amirah stood up with a stern look on her face and placed both of her hands on her back. "Please knock before you come in." She said to her new company and took a glance at the other maid. "That goes for you too, Miss Jessica."

"I—I apologize for that."

"Miss Deane, I don't think my mother sent you here." She continued, facing her back from the visitors.

Amirah could feel Deane's confidence building up on her back. When her mother's personal assistant is here, she knows bad things will happen. Deane even brought some of the housemaids.

"Your father sent me, my lady."

Even though she already expected it, she still got goosebumps all over her body. It was about her father again. She hoped it wasn't some kind of business matter because that topic would drain her from hanging out with Everleigh later.

At the thought of Everleigh, she suddenly remembered that she needed to get ready for the mall trip.

After taking a long sigh, she came back to her senses and finally faced Deane who was impatiently waiting for the girl to speak up. "Let's hear it." She absolutely want this conversation to end quickly.

"I've heard from the maids that you've been misbehaving these past few days and I, being the good maid, of course, couldn't just let you off the hook after all the trouble you've caused."

"And what exactly is your point, Deane?" Amirah's eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. It was always Deane who never goes straight to the point and it completely aggravates her every single time.

"You're not going anywhere but in this house."

"Excuse me?!"

"Please don't use that tone. It's very unattractive and disrespectful."

"P-please excuse me, my lady, Miss Deane." Jessica commented, a little shaken by the sudden change of flow in their conversation.

She didn't even wait for an answer and just exited the young mistress's room. Jessica bumped to another person on her way out and hurriedly apologized without completely looking at the person.

"Miss Deane, you're the one being disrespectful here." The newcomer's butterscotch orbs pierced through Deane's. "And I also believe that you aren't appropriately addressing our lady."

Amirah could feel the relief wash over her as soon as she saw her personal maid. She stayed silent and just sat on her bed to listen to their argument.

"Oh, Laura, you're home." Deane forced a smile. "I suppose you don't know the whole detail here so it's very much appreciated if you just hold your tongue."

"No, you shut up, you gold thirsty hag." Laura glared, earning a surprised look from Deane and the other maids who were in the room. Amirah turned her head to the balcony to hide her smirk.

"Miss Linden, that's very rude of you! Mrs. Hearst will hear about this!"

"Is that all you have to say? Surely our lady would want an apology for your lack of respect."

As the two were arguing, Amirah wandered on her closet to choose some clothes for the trip at the mall. She also started looking for long and thick fabrics that's needed later.

"There will be guards stationed outside this room and below the balcony because we all know how sneaky our lady can be. A few housemaids will also keep our lady comfortable here in her chamber."

"You're making me a prisoner?" Amirah turned to Deane with her widened eyes.

She underestimated her parents this time. Usually, it was just Deane who was ordered to guard the door to keep Amirah from escaping.

"That's too harsh, my lady. Let's just say you're a precious princess that needs to be protected from the cruel world."

"That's the same concept!"

Deane, completely ignoring her lady's statement, bowed down a little and excused herself.

When they heard the door closing, Amirah gave the maids a glare so rare that it scared all of them. "You guys wouldn't want to waste your remaining lives as scullery maids, now would you?"

Laura was the one to calm down now and entered the balcony while her master dealt with the maids.

Amirah received hesistant answers that she wanted and continued, "Now be good maids and follow your young mistress." She then gave a reassuring smile. "Just don't tell old Deane everything what you're about to witness today."

"But, my lady!" One of them protested.

"It'll be alright." Amirah assured and mimicked one of Everleigh's smile. "Just don't screw up." She then turned her attention to Laura. "There's still some spare sheets in the cabinet's secret compartment."

If all the maids weren't shaking and sweating right now, one of them would ask "Why are there sheets in a secret compartment?" Well, if it weren't for Deane and her overprotective parents, Amirah and Maddison wouldn't have used those sheets to secretly escape from their balconies. You know, the typical clichés.

"I can't believe one of Everleigh's smiles work." Amirah whispered to herself.

"Are you guys just gonna stand there and watch?" Laura nonchalantly stated, snapping all the maids back to their senses.

Amirah went to her dressing room while the maids hastily helped their young mistress's assistant interlace the sheets that is about to be Amirah's escape device and it didn't take long for it to be finished.

"Good job, everyone! Now, Laura, I'll be leaving them to you." Amirah, now wearing her casual clothes which was a high waist plaid jumper skirt, bursted out from her spot as soon as she heard the news.

"As you wish, lady Amirah." Laura walked past her and fished out something from the wardrobe. "But before you leave, you should wear this, my lady." She then showed her a large track jacket.

"Wha—but that will just ruin my whole outfit!" Amirah pouted.

"You'll get cold out there and regret it if you don't wear it, my lady."

"Fine." She sighed in defeat and snatched the clothes from her assistant's hands. "See you in three hours."

The maids handed her the bag full of blankets and headed out to the balcony. She climbed up the roof with the help of Laura and the others because let's face it, she would've never done all of this and would most definitely fall from the balcony without any assistance.

Even though it almost scarred her entire life just by secretly climbing the roof, she still continued and carefully got down to her parents' balcony. There, she pulled out the sheets, tied them to the sturdy railings and carefully escaped from the balcony.

She had to lie down for a bit because of how abnormal her heart beated at the moment. Her palms were so sweaty that she almost slipped earlier.

When she calmed down, she realized that she had no clue where to go at this point. Amirah mentally cursed at how her decisions were so spontaneous that she didn't even think all of it through.

She ran to the very end of their residence and stared at the big wall that was restraining her from getting out. "Come on, Amirah, think!" She whispered to herself.

And after kicking the wall several times, she finally had an idea.

She needed a ladder.

Amirah snapped her fingers as she looked around and surprisingly, the universe was on her side because she quickly spotted a ladder. Thankfully, the length of the ladder was enough for a 17 foot wall.

"Oh, how convenient." She mumbled, filled with doubt.

When she finished climbing the wall, she realized that she didn't have another plan yet again but she was still surprised with herself.

"No, don't look down, you i***t!" Amirah covered her eyes and sat down for a break. It was her first time escaping by herself—without her sister. She wasn't used to it.

Usually, they would bring the ladder with them and place it down on the other side of the wall but Amirah was alone and she doesn't have that much strength left.

Going back would be a waste of effort so she did what she had to but before all that, Amirah threw the big bag that was full of sheets earlier to a nearby bush on the side of their residence.

She pulled out her eye wear case from her other bag to store her glasses in it and as she was about to jump, she saw a figure run towards her.

"Don't jump!" The man yelled.

"Get out of the way!" Amirah yelled back, squinting her eyes to get a better look on the ground.

"No!"

Her heart started to beat rapidly again. If they continue to shout at each other, the house staff might hear her and her escape would fail.

"Fine! Stay where you are!"

"What? Wh—" He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence when his eyes widened at the realization that Amirah had accepted her fate and jumped onto him.

Of course, this wasn't some sort of fairy tale so the two crashed on the ground with Amirah in the guy's arms. She groaned in pain and weakly thanked the guy who so-called caught her.

"Are you okay? What were you doing up there?" The man asked as he helped her get back on her feet.

"Escaping from prison, obviously—" Amirah paused, noticing the guy's nice polo that was now ruined because of the dirt. "Oh no! Your outift!"

"It's fine. What's important was what you were thinking!" He stared at her with his eyebrows furrowed, completely taking a good look at the person infront of him.

Amirah's posture stiffined as she let out a small gasp. She had to rub her eyes a couple of times before actually believing herself. Her mind then went into a series of horrible flashbacks that had to do with this guy infront of her. "It's you!"

"Amirah?" He braced himself for a good punch or maybe a slap on the face but what he expected wasn't in his mind.

Amirah's eyes welled up a little as she tackled him for a hug. "Zodel!"

He stared at her back without blinking.

"I thought I wasn't gonna see you again."

Zodel held her wrists to stop her from further suffocating him. "What happened to you?" He raised a brow.

Amirah gently freed herself from his grasp and without any warning, she slapped him on his cheek so hard that a sound like someone clapped was heard. "That's for embarrassing me back at the ball."

"Ow! That hurt!" Zodel pouted as he held back the stinging pain from his left cheek. "First of all, you were the one who slapped me in front of the crowd."

"And you were the reason behind all of it!" Amirah crossed her arms, recalling the time where her father scolded her from causing the scandal. "If you just didn't open your substantially doltish piehole, then everything would've turned out fine!"

"My what?"

"Your mouth!" She exasperatedly sighed. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I was just walking down the street and I saw you."

"Oh, wow, this must be fate." Amirah rolled her eyes. "Thanks again anyway." She started to walk away but stopped when Zodel called her.

"Where are you going?"

"Away from you."

"But I thought you missed me?"

"I d—" Amirah paused and gave out a sigh. "I'll see you again somehow."

With that situation behind her, she called Laura from her phone and told her that everything went well—because if it didn't, she wouldn't be even calling her right now.

"Amirah! You look like a prisoner who just broke out of jail!" Everleigh gasped as soon as she saw her friend at the entrance of the little mall.

Amirah, who's braids were falling apart, gave her a faint smile. "You have no idea."

"Where are your glasses?"

Amirah let out a small gasp and searched her bag for the case in where she placed it earlier. "It's in here somewhere." She replied, finally fishing out the item and putting it on her face.

"I can tell that you have a lot to say."

"Let's just get in the building first."

For the past week, everything seemed to be normal—except for the part that Amirah's assistant scolded her about the escape plan not having a return plan and the fact that she almost got caught—but overall, it turned out alright and she was starting to get nervous.

She knew that this was the calm before the storm.

Amirah entered the school gates alone at the c***k of dawn and while she walked in the silent hallway, she heard a faint creak near the stairwell.

Entering school at an early time isn't really a bother for her—except that she has to wake up at three in the morning and face the eerie atmosphere that lurks inside the school campus.

She silently prayed that there was nothing on the stairs and that it was just her imagination playing tricks on her.

In the end, she lost the battle and lets out a scream when she saw the person who she least expected.

"Why in glory's name are you screaming like that?!" The blonde haired girl was as startled as her. She was now hugging her figure, a little shaken up thanks to Amirah.

Connie was wearing that same white dress again, making Amirah even more nervous.

"Oh! C-Connie! I thought you were a—"

"A ghost?" She scoffed. "Ghosts aren't real. And if they were, I'd be dead and probably haunting these stairs."

Amirah looked confused. "But aren't ghosts real?" She differed.

"I'll believe it when I see it." Connie turns her head in the other way. "So, what are you doing here so early?" She raised a brow.

"Uh, I'm always early..."

"Well, that's a shock since we haven't crossed our paths here before."

"I was actually taking a detour here."

Connie released a little "Hm," and crossed her arms. "That explains it. Anyway, what class are you in? I'm in class 1-1."

"You're a first year? So, that means you're my junior! I'm in class 2-1!"

"And why are you so surprised about that? I thought I was cute enough to make people think that I'm still in junior high!" She pouted and dramatically stomped her foot on the floor like she was about to throw a tantrum. "Seriously, Amirah."

Amirah paused for a while, trying to contemplate what she just said. "Wait... you still remember my name?"

"Of course, it's like what I told you before, you and your pretty girl friend are interesting."

"The last time we bumped into each other, you called me Tequila!"

"Did I?" She lets out a little laugh. "Well, past is past. Anyway, do you want to walk around for a bit?"

Amirah undoubtedly agreed, clinging her arms around hers and a short adventure began.

The two had a good talk, mainly because Amirah was so flattered at talking to someone who's as almost cute as Everleigh but Connie thought of Amirah differently.

It felt like a long time when the school bell finally rang and that's when Amirah realized that Connie had hogged all of her spare time to mentally prepare herself for this day.

In the end, she shrugged it off because it wasn't everyday that she gets to make a new friend at school. Her thoughts fogged up her main goal as she dashed through the hallway, passing by two more rooms after noticing what she had done.

She mentally cursed when she saw a shadow of a tall person inside the classroom. She knew there was a teacher although she still had thirty seconds to be early.

Amirah had two choices and they're both terrifying for her.

One way was to enter the room, greet everyone a good morning and go take a seat while everyone watches her to do so—which is very embarrassing and a trigger for her anxiety.

Or—

Wait until the teacher leaves the room which will take an hour or so, making her tardy and improper and it will doubtlessly scar her grading card, resulting in a not so nice conversation with her parents.

She slightly opened the door and peeked, immediately noticing Laura who was coincidentally staring at the doorway with an uneasy look on her face. Amirah could tell that Laura was starting to worry about her.

Laura, with her brows furrowed, instantly caught her eye and motioned her to come in. The teacher was talking about something so Laura wasn't aloud to speak.

She got caught straight away and if she just kept standing there, she would attract more attention from her classmates which isn't a good thing for someone who easily gets queasy.

Amirah took a deep breath as she adjusted the sling on her bag and fully opened the door. Thankfully, it didn't make a creaking sound so she got to take the first step in her classroom silently.

Even though she hasn't taken her seat yet, she still had the guts to look at the front where her teacher was standing and she could not accept her reality when their homeroom teacher was standing with someone else.

"You?!" Was the first thing that ever came out of her mouth, alarming everyone in the room with her shrilling tone.

"Miss Hearst, please take a seat first." Their teacher gave Amirah a quick glance before continuing, "Everyone, I'd like you to meet your new classmate, Owen Thorne."

"Owen Thorne?!"