At the Edge of the Freedom

It would’ve been a lie to say that Melissa’s presence was the light of Renielle’s life.

She was not. If you ask Renielle, her older sister was more like a ticking time-bomb, a persistent joker in the king’s court, or a wisecracker always hovering over Renielle’s shoulder twenty-four hours a day.

It was only when Renielle started to freely roam about the castle, avoid her tutors, and eat scrumptious desserts every minute of the day (so much so that her teeth became susceptible to aching) that she truly felt alone. With the king busy in internal and external affairs, Renielle had little to no one to scold and reprimand her for avoiding her duties... She also had no one to annoy as well.

The only person who actually felt human --in the sense that Renielle could let her guard down around them-- was her personal handmaid, Claire. The other staff around the castle were there for her too, but they knowingly gave her the space she needed... maybe a bit too much space, to the point of not allowing her to help them out in the kitchen or the barracks like she used to. They thought she was grieving.

She was not. If you ask Claire, the princess was determined to find a way out of the castle she referred to as a “hell-hole” or-- more accurately-- to look for her sister. That’s right; to Renielle-- Princess Melissa wasn’t dead. She was “missing”. Most would find it unbelievable, but Claire knew at once when Renielle didn’t remove the old journal her sister had forgotten on Renielle’s bedside the last time she was there.

...

As Claire neatly lined the books back on Renielle’s shelves, her eyes stayed fixated on the journal now gathering dust from being there for so long. Claire wasn’t even sure if the princess actually used the table, as there was no trace of the dust specks being disturbed.

Claire remembered the quiet giggles, and the absurd tone Melissa had donned when impersonating her younger self, reading out her journal to Renielle and Claire. That was the last time the three had been together like that, and the last time Renielle eyes were full of mirth and fondness for the older woman.

...And so, again-- if you ask Renielle, Melissa wasn’t the light of her life. But Claire knew that she was much more than that.

She was Renielle’s entire world.

***

The palace courtyard was the last obstacle between Renielle and the outside world. A huge marble sculpture of a scholarly woman stood at the dead center on a fountain. The paths converged and curved around the fountain, weaving within the decorative bushes and flowery greenery.

The main path ahead lead to the iron-wrought gates opening to the town-- her destination. Renielle took out her umbrella as she skillfully navigated the path. The drizzling rain was pleasant, and the autumn fog did well to mask her figure traversing across the paved path. So far, she had bumped into no one, including Duke Elijah-- a feat that she was incredibly proud of.

See, Duke Elijah was many things; but considerate of other people’s time-- he was not. In Renielle's life, she had never met a man so annoying and talkative get along with the king. His sense of time was as good as dead; so much that if you wished to attend a tea party with your friends, and you accidentally ran into the man, then it would be better for you to send a message via the butler declining the invitation --as you clearly had your hands full.

The man’s impeccable way of charming people with his words had managed to convince the king to such an extent that Renielle’s whole future became malleable like clay in the duke’s hands. That’s not to say he was a sly man eyeing the position of a king; Renielle thought he was just simply stupid.

But now his stupidity was beginning to threaten Renielle’s very existence, which was why she had to do something about it before getting married off to that vicious buffoon of a prince.

The gates gave a gentle creak as they opened just enough to let Renielle slip past. It was still around lunchtime, and the guards took about a couple minutes to take over their shifts-- which meant Renielle could get into town unnoticed. But she still chose to stick to the shadows and narrow alleyways as soon as she neared the town center lest she encounters patrol guards.

Countless noises of laughter, shouts, and chatter became louder. The light rain hadn’t manage to deter the town’s merry spirit, and peaking out from behind a wall, she could see people huddled underneath stalls, some making their way to the pub across the street, all equally enjoying themselves. Her eyes wavered over to the barbecue stall where a man was serving sheesh-kebabs and various savory treats to the kids crowded at the front. The scent of tasty delights wafted through the whole place, mingling with the ever-present scent of rain.

"--you hear about her?"

"Ah yeah, the king--"

Renielle stifled a gasp and swiftly turned her back to the wall. She only hoped the color of her cloak helped blending in with the shadows, as--just in time too-- the shadows of two men walked past right where she was peeking out just moments ago. Sighing, her eyes narrowed to observe them better, clearly knowing that she was the subject of their talk.

The rain glistened on their bracers and breastplates, and made the country's emblem stamped on them stand out even more. A brazen sword crossed with the signature prairie rose. It did nothing but elevate her frustration. She heaved a deep breathe and relaxed her shoulders. It was okay, they hadn’t seen her yet. She quietly listened to the two patrol guards, who were now eating under the shade of the shop entrance right next door.

"You know, I don't really pity her," the man with the brown-hair said. His words apparently seemed to surprise both Renielle and the other man, who was busy in unwrapping his lunch. Said man stopped midway through, and hit the brown-hair on the shoulder.

"Hey- you always spout nonsense," his friend said in an almost-brooding manner. "she’s our princess, we should be the last people to say that sort of stuff.”

"I know," brown-hair interrupted, rubbing his shoulder. "It's just, something seems off." To his reply, his friend only looked at him inquisitively. Renielle belatedly realized he was just busy chewing.

“Offh? Howsho?" The guy-- still half-chewing-- managed to churn out, making the brown-hair sigh exasperatedly.

"The king changed his mind about the prince way too quickly. Remember-- just last year? How he was so intent on taking revenge that people feared he would declare war on Nollemna?"

"Wh- urk--!" the guy with the lunch seemed to cough in an effort to quickly swallow his bite, and then- "shut up, man! What if someone hears you?"

But the brown-haired fellow was adamant, "I'm not scared, it's only the truth,” he shrugged.

"Still. I don't wanna get lectured by the commander, he's been too uptight these days..." At that, Renielle broke away from the conversation. She was already wasting her time, as it was. Spinning on her heels, she walked back further into the alleyway, away from the men. There wasn't anything new in their gossip; most likely everyone felt unsure about the king's decision.

She kept walking, her raging thoughts already drowning out the pitter-patter of the rain.

***

She found the area once the city wall came into view. A stone-bricked border-- about 20 ft. high-- stretching around the entire city. The fields near the wall were of lush grasslands, housing many ancient trees and shrubs. The place, putting it politely, was a forbidden picnic-ground. Unlike other pivotal points of the wall scattered throughout the city, this particular point was the closest to the Nollemnian border, so it didn't take long to figure out why the place was restricted.

But unbeknownst to many, Renielle had a reliable source inform her of a specific portion in the wall, which-- displacing a particular loose brick-- actually descended into a series of underground tunnels. And, unbeknownst to many, she was going to confirm its existence now. It was only a matter of time before she--

CHING-!

"Halt!” the cold voice rang out from behind her-- within a split second-- and a shiny sword was suddenly lingering dangerously near her throat, its wielder unknown.

“Raise your hands where I can see them. Do not take a step further."

All the blood in her veins froze and Claire's voice rung out in her mind: ‘But, princess! What about assassins, or, what if you get in trouble with the royal guard?’

And trouble it was. She already knew there would be no guard stationed here at this time, so... that only meant someone had followed her here.

An admirable skill, too; because not once did she hear a footstep other than her own.

"Take off your hood and turn around slowly," the man commanded, his voice distantly familiar but devoid of emotion, “if you value your head still intact, that is.”