Chapter 2
Iwelcome the cool early morning breeze against my skin. It’s been a hot summer and I know that the day holds more heat than I’m eager to endure.
It’s been six days of traveling through the forest on foot. I’ve nearly been caught three times and had to hide from Jareth for over an hour the last time. He and his men are persistent, but it’s not because they miss me.
It’s because they know the duke will punish them if I don’t return.
But I’ve seen no sign of them in the last five hours, so I give myself a moment and close my eyes, tilting my head back
In my mind, I’m not on the run, dirty and hungry. I’m in a meadow beside a cottage covered in flowers. And inside is someone waiting for me. Someone who loves me.
It’s the last time I remember being happy, and I hold onto it like air. I can survive weeks without a breath of it, conditioned to live with only memories of such feelings. But every now and again, I need a gulp.
I hike my bag higher on my shoulder, checking the knife at my hip, the quill stuffed safely in my boot. I have to be near a village by now, but I can’t risk going into town. It would be too easy for Jareth to find me in a crowd of people he could question. Thankfully, my servitude to the duke requires stealth and anonymity. So I can safely rule out any wanted posters with my face on them.
But I know the guard captain is still back there on my tail. I need to keep moving.
Crack. I spin around, squinting at the trees. It’s early, too early even for the sun to begin rising yet. The world is dim and grey around me, but I spot a shadow moving in the forest. When it comes closer, I realize that it’s a man.
A thick head of light brown hair falls past his chin, tousled back from his face in smooth layers. My fingers itch to touch it and see if it’s as soft as it looks. But I know I’d be safer petting a bear.
Men like this are dangerous. A nightmare dressed like a daydream.
He’s handsome, with dimples and green eyes, a strong nose and jaw, the latter of which is covered in stubble. But there’s a look in his eye, like I’m a nuisance for existing. His arrogance is palpable, and I want to smack him.
Instead, I run.
The trees speed by as I give my legs everything I’ve got. I haven’t slept more than eight hours in the last week, but I’ve lived on adrenaline before. My body knows the drill.
We’re tired. We’re hungry. We’re scared. But we can sleep when we’ve survived.
“I wouldn’t go that way if I were you,” the man shouts behind me. I curse him for being so loud. I haven’t seen Jareth or his men in two days, but if they’re close, they’ll certainly hear us.
The man’s heavy footfalls thunder behind me, though if he’s hoping to stop me, he’s not going nearly fast enough.
“You’re going to get trapped!” he yells, but I ignore him, swerving when I see a stone building through the trees to my left. As the trees thin, I see that it’s a large manor with arched windows and a pair of turrets, and there’s a gate set into a ten-foot wall.
It’s open.
It occurs to me as I run for the open gate that I may be running right into this man’s home. But I set the worry aside as soon as it enters my mind.
I’ve gotten out of worse places. All I need is time to get away, and once I’m in, I can hide until the right moment to escape.
The man is still shouting at me as I reach the gate, and it takes all my strength to shut it behind me. The metal bars have just latched when he runs up, grabbing them between his fists. I expect him to try and yank them open or pull out a key to unlock them.
But instead, he sighs, loud and heavy, setting his forehead against the bars. “You’re an idiot,” he says defeatedly.
“Says the man who’s locked out,” I retort, backing up along the wide pebbled path.
“Says the woman who’s locked in.”
“Temporarily.”
He laughs bitterly and lets go of the bars, taking a step back. “Go ahead then, try to run. I’d love to see how far you get.”
His words aren’t encouraging, but I pay them little heed, already running the other way. I sprint over the lawn to a line of trees and shrubs, ducking behind them to get out of sight from anyone inside the manor. Once I’m hidden in the shadows, I turn back, but I don’t see the man.
I consider the idea that perhaps he’s circling the property to enter at another gate, or waiting outside so he can catch me when I escape.
But something tells me that this man wouldn’t go through so much trouble just to catch me. So, I slip further into the trees and search the stone wall for an exit, hoping that the man’s doubts about me finding one are wrong…