I held on to the reins for dear life. The horse was running at an uncontrollably fast pace. It galloped at every clap of thunder it heard. The darkness of the night kept me hidden from the men chasing me, yet it also made me unable to see where I was heading. I just made the horse go straight through the path, then eastward so that the men would be off my trail.

But it seemed like fate - or my poor sense of direction - was leading me to my death. At one point, I arrived at the same spot Henry and I had parted ways. The men were still there - so close to where I was.

As I stared at them for a moment, the horse jumped and sent me soaring about ten feet off the ground. I could feel my self flying; nausea and fear overtook my senses.  I wanted to shout, yet no sound came. (Which was good, since my voice would have given away my location.) I flailed my arms aimlessly in the air.

I felt like I was about to die. The impact with which I'd hit the ground would be so great, it would be fatal. I thought about Henry and how he was there, fighting for me, and how I had put it all to waste because of my carelessness. I thought about what bitter circumstances the peasants and commoners would be living under if I died right here and failed to overthrow my stepmother from the throne. I could see my life flashing right before my eyes.

This must be the end.

Just then, my fingertips brushed against a tree branch. Adrenaline rushed through my veins, and I immediately grabbed it in order to break my fall. I hung on the branch  by my left hand. I paused for a moment to catch a breath and get out of the shock. I slowly let myself down to the ground - and sent my shoes flying in the process.  I unfortunately landed on a thorn bush.

"Mph!" I tried to muffle my cries of pain.

The thorns punctured small yet deep wound into the soles of my feet. Tears uncontrollably streamed down my eyes, especially after I heard Henry's screams of agony. I wanted to run back and help him. Yet I knew that I would be of no use. I would just be a burden for I knew not a single strategy nor possess any skill in battle. I needed to continue running away. Getting caught by those men was not an option; that would put Henry's sacrifices to waste.

As I started to run again, I whispered the words, "I love you," to the wind and hoped that they would reach Henry's ears.

The sky became darker, and the rain even harder. The raindrops, together with my tears, made my vision blurry. I was drenched from head to toe and shivering because of the cold. A thick layer of mud had coated my wounded feet, making it more difficult to run faster.

Tug-a-tug tug-a-tug tug-a-tug. I could hear the sound of horses' hooves stomping on the mud.

"They must be close," I thought.

I ran with all the remaining strength I had. I accidentally gashed my forearm as I sped past a low hanging branch. Yet I did not stop.
I continued to dash forward, dodging vines and jumping over thick roots, without knowing where I was heading to.

The sound of hooves suddenly became louder, much more audible.

"There she is!  You there, stop running"

I slowly turned around to face my death. I collapsed, and everything just went black. 

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A/N: Sorry if this update's too short. I promise I'll update as soon as I can (maybe on Friday). My Physics teacher has decided to drown me in quizzes and homeworks, so I'm really busy right now.

And I feel like dying. Jungmo and Jay (of TRAX - my favorite band in the whole wide world) are enlisting in the army next year. T_T 

I'm going to miss them like crazy.

But anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Look forward to the next one! Thanks for all the comments and support :)

P.S. I corrected the typos in Chapter 1 ^^