The Crown's Obsession

She continued to run, holding the front of her dress tight in her hand and her feet carrying her away from the castle. She didn't think about the time except until the sky started to turn from blue to pink and orange in it. Occasionally, Madeline turned behind to see if someone had noticed her, but there was no one and it brought relief to her mind.

She could feel her freedom, so close that it brought absolute tranquillity to her mind. Madeline had been forced to stay here, without her consent, where all she wanted to do was go back to her home. Live a life which she belonged to as the people here made her feel out of place.

After running a certain distance, Madeline paused a few feet away from the guard to notice that two guards stood at the gates. She couldn't walk past it that easily as the guards would find a single lady walked out of these gates to be suspicious. Also, Madeline was worried that the King had announced her presence in the castle but did he? She wasn't sure about it.

She was wondering what to do when she heard the sound of the carriage that was coming from the castle, and she noticed the brown carriage coming in view that was heading towards the gates. Madeline didn't know whose carriage it was, but she decided to ask for help so that whoever was in there would be kind enough to drop her at the nearest town or village that would come first.

Madeline walked in the opposite direction, running as quick as she could and she then stepped away from the bushes and other plants, to come on the path so that the coachman would be able to see her. She waved her hand as it got closer. The coachman did stop, not because out of kindness but because Madeline was dressed in rich clothes and rare jewels around her neck. He was a man who was biased to the rich, and he pulled the reins of the horses so that the carriage would stop.

She bowed at him for his help when she heard the woman inside the carriage ask the coachman,

"What is wrong, Humphrey?"

"Madame, there's a lady out here," answered the coachman.

"Who is it?" asked the woman, and when the woman pushed the curtain over the window to lean forward, Madeline felt her hand let go of her dress. She didn't know if her luck was good or bad right now, as the woman was none other than King Calhoun's aunt, Lady Rosamund. She stared at Madeline, looking at her, "Haven't you come a little too far for a walk?" asked the woman.

Madeline had seen the carriage coming her way, and she had jumped to ask for help but who would have thought it would be the lady who had asked her to leave.

She didn't know how to reply to the question that was asked as she was too stunned to speak the first few seconds, "I was wondering if you could drop me on your way to the next possible village or town."

"And why would I do that?" asked the lady who was seated inside the carriage. Of course, why would she? When she had ordered Madeline to leave the dining room, Madeline had stood up to only sit back on Calhoun's word.

It wasn't like Madeline liked the woman, or the woman took a liking towards her. Not to forget, Lady Rosamund had belittled not only her but her family, talking about their status and how she was not fit to be here. She was poor, but she didn't have ugly hearts like the woman. Remembering it left a sour taste in her mouth but then she remembered a saying. When work had to be done, sometimes a person had to bow at a donkey.

Trying to be polite, she replied, "You are going on your way out from here. I will need to go back to the King to ask him for a carriage," Madeline's words were always polite, and she had never hurt anyone by her words, "I only need a ride."

Lady Rosamund looked down at the girl who was standing outside the carriage. The woman was surprised to find her here, wondering what the human was doing far away from the castle. With her red eyes, she continued to look down at the girl, in literal words. If it were some other time, she wouldn't have spared a look at the girl, but something was odd here. Was the girl perhaps trying to leave the castle without the King's knowledge? Questioned Lady Rosamund to herself.

Her daughter Sophie craned her neck to look at the girl, and she said, "Let's give her a drop if she wants one," and her mother couldn't agree more. The less time the girl would spend in the castle, the better it was.

"Let the girl in," ordered Lady Rosamund and the coachman jumped down on his feet and opened the door for Madeline to step inside the carriage.

Madeline noticed Sophie and Lady Rosamund's son, Mark, who was sitting in the carriage. She wasn't looking forward to riding with them, but she had no other choice. She wanted to leave as quick as she could. Maybe she could ask her father to hide her somewhere where the King would not be able to find her and would in time forget and find another girl to be caged in this castle.

"Thank you," Madeline bowed her head in appreciation for getting a ride, but Lady Rosamund and Sophie didn't respond to her thanks and instead looked outside the carriage. When her eyes met the man's, Mark, he offered her a smile, his eyes looking at her.

The carriage was pulled back when it reached the gates, Lady Rosamund waved the guards off before they bowed down to her, letting the carriage pass the main gates of the castle.