What if I could be free? Technically I am free, since no one is locking me up in a cage or tying me against a wooden pole. In my case, I mean if I could be free from my obligations, free to do anything I desire to do. No more fancy dinner parties where I have to deal with foreign royalty or upper-class families. No more lessons. No more speeches to practice and documents piling up, ready for me to sign. I have been trying to find the perfect chance to escape this place that I call home, I just need to find the right time. Right now though, I would have to put these thoughts into the back of my head, because in 2 minutes, I would have to leave for the neighboring country Petunia to meet a prince. Apparently, he’s the Prince of Petunia, though mother didn’t specify whether or not it was the eldest prince or the youngest prince. If I become engaged with him, our kingdom will be able to build an indestructible alliance with his kingdom, which will definitely help our trades and the lives of our citizens prosper.
“Princess Snowlietta, we must hurry or else the Prince may call off the date and the hopes of our kingdom will vanish into thin air”, my close assistant, Drew announced. Drew is actually my best friend. I’ve already known him for 9 years, and he’s my best friend, but also my...
I gracefully sit down on my purple velvet couch as my maid, Cecilia, helps me put on my cream colored heels.
“Thank you Cece, don’t forget to tell father that he needs to take his daily vitamins, you know how he’s so forgetful”, I sighed.
“Of course, my lady. Please come back safely with splendid news.”, Cecelia replied.
I turn my head to show her a slight smile and hurriedly scampered out of the castle with Drew.
Drew opened the door to our limousine, and I stepped in and sat down. The car started and the scenes of our kingdom became a big blur in front of me, due to the swift speed of the car. In 50 minutes, our car reached the royal family’s private airport. I went through all the procedures, and boarded the plane, a small one that could only fit around 20 people, but it was plenty of space for me. Drew sat right next to me, taking care of each and every one of my needs. We entered the Petunia territory in about 3 hours. The royal chauffeur of the King of Petunia came to greet Drew, Ben (who’s there to keep a close eye on me, appointed by my mother of course), and I.  The three of us got into the car, me and Drew in the back, while Ben sat right next to the driver. A moment later, I caught Drew resting against the window of the car, so I decided to also do so. Before I fully closed my eyes though, I saw a glimpse of Ben’s reflection looking straight into the interior mirror and right at me. He must have thought I had completely fell asleep, because I managed to make out snippets of the quiet conversation he had with the driver, and oh was it not pleasant.
“...still remember the deal right, Chauffeur Brown?”
“Of course, the deal was that you would bring the princess to our kingdom, and she would marry in. I bet she never would’ve even predicted that she was going to marry the eldest prince, who has disabilities in both his arms and legs. To be honest, I feel quite bad for her. At only 21, she has to marry a 56 year old man who has physical disabilities.”
“ Your king has promised that your kingdom will share 30% of it’s riches with our kingdom, the great kingdom of Cloudinia. Plus we’ll get every possible benefit you can provide us, right?”
“Yes, a deal is a deal. Now now, you shall talk to the king himself about this, I don’t want to startle the Princess. If we wake her up, our jobs will definitely be taken away from us. So shush now.”
At that moment, I felt terrified. My heartbeat raced faster and faster, so fast I felt like my heart was going to explode. My stomach started to feel gurgly, and I decided to use that as an excuse, an excuse that could possibly lead to a successful escape.
“Ben, my stomach doesn’t feel too well, I was wondering if we could stop at a resting station so that I could use the restroom.”, I say with a shaky voice.
“Then please do use the restroom, because it will still take 40 minutes till we reach the Palace of Petunia. Drew, if the Princess starts to feel very ill, you shall report it to me the second you know about it, ok?”
“Got it, Chauffeur Brown”, Drew replied.
We got to a rest stop and the driver parked the car at a place far from the restroom, thankfully. I dragged Drew out of the car and rapidly ran as I started explaining to him what I heard in the car.
“Drew, did you hear the conversation in the car awhile ago?”, I questioned.
“Unfortunately yes, Snowlietta, this is a serious issue.”, Drew frowned.
“Ok you now what, I’ve always wanted to escape, so let’s do it now. Here’s the plan. While I do my business in the restroom you go to the pharmacy/convenience store right and use all the money you have on you to buy some clothes, food and water, a backpack, first aid kit, makeup brushes, c-”
“Snow, this is a life and death risk we’re taking. Things like makeup brushes are not important. I’ll get all the essentials, luxury items are a no-no. Plus I have about 600 pols( which is the same as 100 dollars) right now, so I can’t buy too much stuff. Do remember that we both need to carry these things. I’ll go buy the things now, you go and do whatever you need. Be careful and don’t let the Chauffeur and Ben catch you.”, Drew warned.
“Fine, I won’t request any luxury items. Make sure you do get comfortable shoes and warm clothes because who knows what will happen tonight. Let’s go!”, I exclaimed.
I set off to the restroom while Drew rushed off to the pharmacy/convenience store. I quickly finished and decided to take a peek at what the Chauffeur and Ben were doing.

“Hey, don’t you think they’re taking way too long? I mean even if she had a bad stomach, 15 minutes is a bit long.”, the Chauffeur said.
“Look, if you really had a bad stomach, no one would be able to finish in 15 minutes. Let’s wait for another 10 minutes, since Drew hasn’t paged me yet.”, Ben suggested.
“Ok then.”
I started to chew on my thumb, out of frustration. If we can’t escape in time, I’ll have to marry a senior with disabilities. My entire life would be completely ruined!

I spotted Drew in 10 minutes, rushing out with two backpacks. He quickly found me, and showed me all the stuff he got. 3 sandwiches, water, first aid kit, 2 pairs of running shoes, 2 jackets, a small teddy bear to comfort me, and a charger to charge his phone so that if he needed to call someone, he would have enough battery to do so. I signaled that we should leave and we put on our backpacks and set off to leave. We started running for about 5 minutes, when I suddenly turned my head, and to my discontent, caught Ben’s eyes in my direction.
“Hey Brown, I see the Princess and Drew!They’re over there, trying to run away from us! Hurry, we have to catch up and get them back here!”, Ben exclaimed.

I quickly turned my head and shouted to Drew that we had to pick up the pace. But suddenly, he tripped on a pebble and fell over. I ran over to her to check on him. As I checked his ankle, I spotted a huge bruise.
“Snowlietta, I can’t run anymore. I feel like I sprained my ankle. I’m so sorry, I can’t continue on with you. I never got to tell you how much I loved you, and time doesn’t allow me to either. Just know that I love you Snow. You don’t know how badly I want to go with you. Don’t cry, my love. Run before they catch up with you, Snowlietta! Don’t worry about me! Now go!I love you,I- ”
Ben caught up to him, shut his mouth,  and started slapping him and swearing about how he betrayed the kingdom. I became so scared, I turned and sprinted for my life.

My tears uncontrollably rolled down my cheeks, one after another. I was so heartbroken that I decided to just run. I ran and ran, I ran so hard that I couldn’t even breathe anymore. I ran so hard that I felt like my legs were going to give out. But I had to keep running. For Drew’s sake. For the sacrifice he made for me, he sacrificed his life and future. In Cloudinia, not obeying the crucial orders of the queen, my mother, is death punishment, no trials, and only immediate punishment. I should’ve cherished the time I spent with Drew. I wish I had given him more of the cookies I had baked, because I knew he loved them. I should’ve tried to avoid any small arguments with him. I should’ve made him feel unconditionally happy. I had countless regrets, but it was too late. If only I could turn the clock and go back in time. If only...I had told him that I loved him and confess the feelings I had for him. I shut my eyes closed, and ran even harder, not knowing where my future would lie and what would happen to me.