The Escapee Escapade ~ a bit of flash fiction

Hello Lionhearts!!

It’s been a minute since I’ve shared a story on my blog. (…Okay, I actually just went back and looked, and it’s literally been years… Guys, my life is flashing before my eyes.)

Anyway, I’d like to get more comfortable sharing my writing, and I thought it would be fun to share a bit of fiction I wrote for some friends of mine. I had SO MUCH FUN writing this as a last minute spree in the wee hours of the night. And I’m pretty sure I broke all the grammar/writing rules, but it’s still one of my favorite bits of flash fiction.

Here is the prompt that inspired the story:

And without further ado, the story itself…

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This has got to be the most childish thing I’ve ever done since I was… well, a child. The thing is, I ain’t a child no more. I’m making my own choices like a real adult. Even if those choices include tying bed sheets together in a childish attempt to escape. (Have I established the fact that this is childish?)

It’s the night before my wedding and I’m running away.

I poke my head through the bedroom window and try to estimate how far down the drop to the ground is. I can’t tell through the darkness if my makeshift rope reaches all the way down.

Oh, dear. This is a terrible idea. Cowardly even.

I pull my head back in to reconsider my options.

Option 1. Remain here at the castle and marry a gal I never met. …Staying on good terms with Pops would be in there somewhere.

Option 2. Climb out of the window like an absolute adolescent in pursuit of the greater good that is True Love. Granted, I may not have found this True Love yet, but I’m pretty sure it ain’t the Princess that Pops set me up with. Princess Adora, her name is. Not that I care.

Yep, I’m going with my inner child.

I turn back to my room and light a candle. If I’m going to leave, I gotta do it right. I bend over my desk to scrawl a quick Goodbye note.

Dear Mother and Father,

I know you will be disappointed that I left. The simple fact is, I’ve followed the rules my whole life. I’ve been a good prince, you cannot deny. Or maybe you can, but the fact remains, I’m going on an adventure. I’m breaking the rules for once. You can comfort yourselves in the fact that I’m leaving in pursuit of True Love. You can also comfort yourself in the fact that I’ll probably be back tomorrow morning when I realize what an idiotic idea this is.

But just in case that moment of realization never comes, this is Goodbye.

Tell Cyrus I think he’ll make a great king someday.

Tell Erren to please take care of my unicorn.

Tell Ivy I forgive her for stealing my stash of dark chocolate last week.

Oh, and tell the Princess it’s nothing against her. I just don’t feel like marrying someone I’ve never met. No hard feelings or anything.

Sincerely,

Prince Torryn IV, of Istocia

I leave the note on my desk and lunge for the window before I can talk myself out of it. I would have given a swashbuckling victory cry at this point if I hadn’t been concerned about waking anyone up.

Climbing out the window is a bit harder than I had imagined, but I manage to do it without pulling any muscles. My heartbeat accelerates as I begin to lower myself down. Wow, I’m really doing this. I’m actually being rebellious. 

Not sure if that’s a good thing, heh heh.

No, Torryn. Keep your resolve. The greater good. True Love, remember?

I think I’m about half-way down now. I don’t want to look, I might lose my cool. I look anyway. I am half-way down. I’m also out of sheets. For half a second I consider jumping, but I’m not that idiotic. There’s no way I would make it down alive.

And then I hear laughter.

Oh, snap. One of my siblings probably heard me. I’m never going to live this one down.

I look around, but instead of finding a sibling or two with their heads out the window, I spot a dark figure, several yards away, hanging from a line of knotted sheets, feet planted against the wall. Also at the end of their rope. And they’re laughing their head off.

Then I hear the sassiest, warmest voice call, “Is that who I think it is?”

Oh, no. This is worse than a sibling.

“Maybe.” I shout back, indignant. “Who are you?” But I have a dreadful feeling I already know.

“It’s Adora.” She practically sings.

Oh, ginger snaps. I knew it.

“What are you doing?” I ask, as if she’s the only crazy person on earth who would try such a kiddish escape method.

“I could ask you the same question.” She laughs again.

“Maybe we didn’t quite think this one through.”

“Maybe not.” She replies. “Oh, well.” She’s still snickering as she begins climbing back up. “See you at the wedding then, I guess.”

“Hold on a minute.” I’m still gripping the end of my sheet rope. The dark figure pauses. “I bet if we tied our sheets together, we could reach the bottom. Then we could run away…. uh, together.”

Even in the darkness, from several feet away, I think I can see her smile.

“I like your thinking,” she says, then after a pause, “Meet me at this time tomorrow night.”

I climb after her until I’m back at my window, and she’s back at hers. She gives a little wave and then slips back into her room. I clamber clumsily back through my window, and pull my sheets back in after me. Well, that was an adventure. Or I guess I should say the beginning of one.

I walk over to my desk and pick up my Goodbye note, rethinking my two options. Now that I think about it, maybe I don’t have to choose one or the other. Perhaps I can do both.

I smile to myself and rip the note in half.

Then I get to work wrenching the knots out of my sheets.

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Well, I hope you enjoyed reading this rather silly story. I really need to write more short stories… maybe continue this story… I guess I should just write more in general. (I’m supposed to be redrafting my novel this year. So please give me a swift kick in the pants about that.)

Anyhooziers, that’s all for now. I’ll be back next week, hopefully, with a long overdue art dump. Until then…

Stay Lionhearted!
~Chalice