Page 19 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
“Yes, sir.”
He hurried after him.
Chapter 3
She had to leave.
As quickly as possible, and as far away as possible.
Alezya still had no idea where she could possibly escape to, but she was certain of one thing: she couldn’t stay here, or Lumie would be killed by those madmen. She was willing to endure any hardship but that.
She tried to think fast and hard. Her father and his men were still standing there, but her cousin’s husband had already left to spread the word. Soon, her entire clan would be hunting her and her daughter down. Alezya knew all too well that no one would be slowed down by the idea of harming a defenseless child. Those greedy bastards would be too enticed by whatever her father, the richest man of their clan, had promised. Even without that, no one would be on her side. If she wasn’t useful anymore, she had to disappear. She was already a hindrance anyway, an embarrassment that had brought shame to the clan with her failed wedding and her “evil” spawn. There didn’t even need to be a reward, they would all be too willing to help her father. Nobody would miss her, except perhaps those who found her herb-picking skill useful.
That was it. Her father had just officially decided she was of no use to the clan anymore, and therefore decided to kill her.
Alezya didn’t even consider handing them Lumie for a single second, but she did know they would think she could possibly be willing to. Those people took so much pride in their clan andthought so little of her that they might believe she was willing to do such a horrible thing for her own survival. She could use that.
“I-I’ll get her,” she cried.
She didn’t even need to fake the tears; the whole situation was more than enough for her to cry about, although they had mistaken her tears for sadness when they were actually fueled by sheer anger.
Even worse, her father suddenly smiled, a smug, irritating smile that made her hate him even more if possible.
“Good, Alezya. You’re finally an obedient child.”
She didn’t respond to that. She just acted like she was defeated and broken-hearted. She was, but she still held onto the hope that she could save Lumie, one way or another. Every single one of her thoughts was hell-bent on pulling together a plan, anything that could work to save them both. Even if the chances were slim.
She turned around, and walked away, biting her tears back, aware of their stares and steps following her.
Thankfully, they couldn’t follow her as she slowly crawled inside her hole. As soon as she entered, Lumie’s happy coo greeted her, breaking Alezya’s heart a bit more, but she didn’t have time for that. She had to act quickly.
First, she pushed a huge rock that she had been saving for such a case in front of the opening. She couldn’t remember when she’d had that thought, but the idea of needing to block their cave opening someday crossed her mind, and thus, she had begun digging a rock from the wall of their cave, a rock big enough to block the entrance. That thing was big and heavy, and she had to make it roll all the way to the passage with a lot of effort.
This would block anyone from entering after her, but it was also preventing her from going out this way. It didn’t matter; she could only leave this place with Lumie, and she wouldn’t handher over to her father. They had to leave the only other way: their window.
Next, Alezya quickly grabbed everything she could, once again feeling thankful she had already anticipated such events. She had hoped many times it wouldn’t come to this, but there she was. She had to act fast and think even faster.
That opening was terribly dangerous, but it was way too late to worry about that now; they had no choice. She had to tell herself they’d make it, and think about the next step. Once they climbed down, where could they run to? Her entire clan would be after her once they realized she was fleeing. Not only that, but she would have barely more than a handful of minutes before one of the watchers caught sight of her and snitched to her father. Thinking she would be able to flee unnoticed was just madness, so she had to consider she’d definitely be spotted sooner or later. Alezya had to decide what direction they would take that would increase their chances of survival.
She had already thought about that before too. She knew no clan would accept a pariah like her, but she had to believe some of them would have mercy on a woman and her baby. All the clans knew the mountain was cruel and merciless to its inhabitants. Could she find refuge with a clan that wouldn’t sell her out, even temporarily?
She knew there were more clans up north, clans that didn’t like her father, and would be happy to find a reason to piss him off. Would sheltering his daughter and her baby be a good enough reason for them to help her?
She didn’t have time to think about the scenario any longer. The priority was fleeing this clan, disappearing into the mountain, and getting herself close enough to another clan. She knew her plan was sheer madness, but it was the only one she had. If she handed Lumie over to her father, even for a second, she’d never see her baby again.
“Ma...”
“It’s alright, my snowflake,” she whispered, putting a kiss on Lumie’s head.
Her baby was still sleepy, as she often was in the middle of the day. Alezya silently hoped it would prompt her to stay still during their escape... It was going to be a long and difficult run. She took Lumie and quickly wrapped her in some thick fur and a leather blanket.
Then, she put on the bag she had. Just a few useful things, but Alezya was confident she could find more supplies wherever they went, and her priority was to be fast. Her only valuable item was her mother’s medallion, the only memento she had of her. She had never dared to wear it in front of her father, but this time, she tied it on a leather string around her neck.
Last, she wrapped Lumie against her chest, making sure to secure her and have her head protected too. If she was going to climb with her baby in front, she had to be sure Lumie wouldn’t be scratched. It wasn’t the safest way, but her father’s men had bows... Lumie being scraped by the mountain would be better than risking her being killed by an arrow.
Alezya paid particular attention to the way she tied her daughter to her chest. There was a reason she had strapped Lumie on last, another part of her plan that she really hoped she wouldn’t have to use... one that made her throat tighten. She had to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
“Alezya!”
