Evolution of a Queen

The Escape

Chapter Seven

Unloading the food truck took most of the morning. I never knew how much food came into the palace. There was everything from 20 dozen eggs to 15 loaves of bread. There were other necessities as well, like cleaning supplies and fabric. I almost cried when I saw the blue shimmer fabric meant for one of my dresses. Finally, around mid-morning, the truck was emptied 

“Take the fabric to the sewing room and the cleaning supplies to the cleaning room,” Sam handed the fabric to a maid that came to collect it, and the cleaning supplies went to one of the cleaners I often see around the palace.

 “Sam,” Noah called out, “We will be taking our leave now. Kyle and Owen will be here next week.”

Sam shook hand with Noah and then engulfed me in a hug, “Take care, kid, don’t get sick out there.”

I hugged him back tightly, “I won’t, Sam. Stay safe here. I will pray for you to stay safe from my father.”

I let go of him and hurry to the front of the truck where Patricia and Noah were waiting for me. They had worried looks on their faces but didn’t say anything to me. We all hopped into the truck, with Noah driving, Patricia in the middle, and me in the passenger’s seat. 

“What will you do when you get out into the world, Princess Lilly,” Patricia finally broke the silence.

“Run. I will get as far away from the palace as possible and make myself into a new person. As soon as those gates closed behind the truck, I was no longer Princess Lilly, I am now just Lilly,” I looked out the window in excitement, “Isn’t that exciting? I’m finally getting a new life.”

Patricia pulled me into a tight hug, “My poor child, how I wish I could help you. The world is just as dangerous as the palace is. You must ask if you need help.”

“I will be fine. I’m meeting up with someone who is going to send me to a village at the edge of the kingdom, and then I’ll be far enough away never to be found again.”

“Where in the city are we going, Lilly?” Noah interrupted us.

“I don’t know,” I stopped and thought for a few seconds, “Drop me off as deep into the city as possible. I heard the city is like a maze, so the deeper in I go, the less likely it is I’ll be found.”

“That is dangerous, Lilly. The city is not as safe as you think. There is a gang going around and robbing people. They may also kill you if they found you wandering by yourself. We will drop you off where you are meeting this person.”

I immediately shake my head no, “No, drop me off as deep into the city as is safe. I will be responsible for myself from there. If my father traces me to you, then you won’t be able to tell him who I met and where I went. This is as much for your safety as it is mine. Please do as I say.”

“Look around you, Lilly, does this look like a safe place to be wandering around by yourself?” I look back out the window and see we had reached the city. Everything looked pleasant and bright. It didn’t look like a bad place.

“Honestly yes. Everything seems so bright and cheerful. Look at all the people smiling and enjoying themselves.”

“Patricia let it go,” Noah pulled her away from me, “If she wants to live her own life, we have to let her learn the dangers of the world.”

“Fine,” Patricia huffed.

Everything seemed fine for a few minutes as we drove on. The only thing I noticed was that the farther we went, the fewer people there were. I didn’t say anything, however, because I didn’t know if that was normal or not. Suddenly Noah slammed on the breaks, and the truck came to a screeching halt. Three people were blocking the road, two guys and one female.

“Lilly,” Noah said quietly, “When we get out, run as far away as possible. These people are a part of the gang.”

“Then why are we getting out? Shouldn’t we keep on driving?” I whisper back without taking my eyes off of them.

“They have concealed weapons,” Patricia looked panicked, “We wouldn’t get far before they blew out our tires and got what they wanted.”

“Step out of the vehicle, now!” The guy in the middle stepped forward and held up a gun, “Or stay in there and die!”

Slowly Noah started reaching for the door and nodded at me to do the same. Remembering what he wanted me to do, I slowly climbed out of the car. With the gun being pointed at us, I wasn’t willing to run away, so I stepped behind Noah and Patricia, ready to run away when I got the chance.

“Well, well, well, look what we have here,” The guy with the gun laughed, “What’s in that big truck of yours?”

“Nothing. It was emptied this morning at the palace.” Patricia glared at the three people in front of us.

“Well, that’s too bad, now isn’t it, Lilly?” I jumped when he said my name, but the female behind them laughed and nodded.

“It sure is Lucas, just look at how pretty that girl is cowering behind those two.”

“Lilly run now,” Patricia quietly said to me and pulled out a gun of her own. After seeing that, I immediately turned and ran away.

Four gunshots rang from behind me, but I didn’t look back. I ran as fast as my legs would take me, but I could feel my strength leaving me. Years of not eating properly were catching up to me, and I fell to the ground.

“Where do you think you’re going,” A laughing voice reached my ears. A hand grabbed my arm and forced me to flip onto my back. The guy, Lucas, pulled out a knife and held it to my throat, “I never said you could run away. I had to kill your friends because of you.”

I spat in his face and glared at him, “You don’t scare me, I’ve lived through much worse than this.”

“How dare you, b***h!” He slapped me across the face, but I didn’t react, “You will pay for that.”

I laugh at him, “My father tried killing me, so your threats don’t work on me. You’re also not as scary without that gun of yours.”

With a deadly glare in his eyes, he took the knife and sliced it across my stomach and was about to cut my chest as well when he was suddenly pulled off of me. A man with blond hair held him up by his neck and looked at him as if he was just a piece of dirt he was picking off of me.

“Men like you don’t deserve to live. You wounded the already injured girl.” The boy turned Lucas around and broke his neck and let him fall lifeless to the ground. He then walked over to me and helped me sit up, “I heard what you said. Let me reward you for your bravery. I’m taking you with me, and you will join me. I will teach you to be braver. Just close your eyes and sleep. When you wake up, I will explain everything.”

Relieved, I closed my eyes and let the darkness consume me.

Author’s Note:

I am sorry for not updating for a couple of weeks. School had just started again, and I wanted to focus on my studies. This year is crucial for me because I will be graduating in May, so I needed to start the school year off strong. I will start posting regularly again, and there won’t be weeks in between updates.