She raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Well your sentiment is appreciated. I had no idea you liked helping damsels in distress." She replied sarcastically.

He rolled his eyes, "Well for your information, I'm not here for your sole purpose. I'm here because I know that if you give even one piece of information that should not have been given, all our secrets could be on the line."

"You're quite the dramatic fellow, you know,"

"I've been told that before. Now, onto the story. Have you told them anything yet?" He steered straight to the point.

She shook her head, then shrugged, "I only told my father that I was tired and when he asked about the bruise, I just said that being kidnapped was a dangerous business."

Roric nodded, "Alright, that's not too shabby. What were you intending to tell them?"

Miryanna shrugged, "I was thinking about telling them that I had been unconscious for the whole time and didn't remember anything, but I also don't want to lie,"

Roric's brows raised, "You'd put the Ergli's secrets on the line because you don't want to lie?" He asked incredulously.

She peered at him, "Lying is wrong. Weren't you ever taught that as a boy?"

He grinned roguishly, "Well actually, no. I didn't have what most people would consider an 'above board' childhood, per se,"

yiss tragic backstory time

She cocked her head, a little confused, "What, did you grow up with bandits or something?" She asked, not at all expecting him to answer yes, but that's exactly what he did.

that was oddly specific miryanna

Her eyes widened in surprise, "Really?"

He grinned again, "Yes, but that's another story for another time. If you tell them that you were unconscious, that would still be suspicious."

"Why?"

"Well of one thing, it's highly unlikely that you could have been unconscious the whole time. You were gone for the equivalent of a whole day."

People can be unconscious for a day

"Um, I could say that... a dark figure was in my room and grabbed me, tied me up and dragged me to the window and knocked me unconscious. That's not so far from the truth."

Roric nodded, "Alright, how did you get home?"

She paused in thought, "I woke up on the side of the road in the middle of the night, and started walking back. I reached one of the villages where I met Andarin and he brought me back to the castle from there." She finished, "How's that?"

"It sounds fine, but maybe Andarin didn't venture to one of the villages. You'd have to ask him before you gave in that story, and I don't see that happening anytime soon."

literally roric just jump right out the window and go to andarin's house tell him he was in that certain town at that certain time and he'll roll with it it's not that hard

"Oh, true,"

They were both silent for a while, before Roric broke the silence, "We might not have much time. A servant was supposed to tell your father that you were awake as soon as you were awake, but I intercepted the servant, so your father never got the news."

Miryanna brows raised, "What did you do?"

He smirked, "Just little bit of sleep for him,"

"You didn't knock him out did you?"

no he killed him

"Oh, nothing so drastic as that, just a little cloth over the nose," He said it as if it was nothing. "He'll wake up with headache, but at least the Erglis will be safe."

She huffed, "You are quite the person, Roric." She'd heard of potions that could knock out by the mere scent of them and apparently Roric had employed one of these.

chloroform really does do it

"Why thank you. As I said, we may have limited time. The servant didn't get to him, but he might wake up and decide to check on you anyways."

She nodded, resuming her business-like manner, "Alright, how about I could say that I walked all the way until Andarin found me on the road. I was unconscious so I don't know how far I went, so me finding Andarin is plausible."

Roric nodded, it'll have to do. If they don't believe you, we can just evacuate you so you'll never have to answer their questions." He said.

Surprise was clear on her face at those words, "Evacuate me? Why would that have to happen?"

"Drastic though it sounds, it has worked before. You just make it seem like you run away and we'll take you to a place where no one will ever find you and you become a full time member of the Erglis. You did say that you wanted to do more, maybe this is your route to that."

That's... That's still pretty questionable

Wait, worked before? This kind of situation has transpired prior? Getting into trouble due to ergli business and having no way to explain it to your friends and family so you just up and run away? Y'know the fact that I jumped immediately to that as the best solution to this kind of problem says a ton about me. I literally fantasise about disapearing one day and living my best life with none the wiser. goals.

Miryanna was thoughtful. Yes, she did want to be a bigger part of the erglis, but leaving home? She thought hard. "I'd... I'd have to think about it..."

Roric nodded, "Of course," He stood up, "I'd best be off before someone comes." He went to the window and was about to climb out, but looked back to her, "Miryanna, I know that leaving home sounds hard, but I've done it and sometimes it's way to free yourself." Then disappeared into the night.

Miryanna sat at the table and did nothing for a while, just thought. Running away from home did sound quite drastic, but was Roric right? Was she being tied down in a way that she'd never thought of before? She sighed and finished her meal. She left the ray on the table and climbed back into bed. She just lay there for a while, enjoying the feel of the soft covers and mattress, thoughts of home and thoughts of running away plaguing her mind. She finally snuffed out the candle and turned over and went to sleep.

The morning sun woke her, as did a soft knock on the door. She opened her eyes groggily, "Yes?" She called out.

"Miry, are you alright?" Her father's voice came.

She stretched a bit and called back, "Yes, I'll be right there," She climbed out of her bed and went to the door and opened it to see her father.

She smiled, "Morning, father,"

He smiled also, "Morning, Miry," He said and hugged her.

She hugged him back, wondering what it would do to him if she ran away.

"Breakfast is almost ready, so I'll let you get ready for the day." He said.

"Alright, thanks," She started to close the door, but Dominic stopped her.

"Miry," He said seriously, "Are you sure that you're alright?"

She smiled and nodded, "Yes, I'm sure I'm alright. See you at breakfast,"

Dominic also nodded, "Alright,"

She closed the door and stood there, looking at the wood. Run away, or not run away? The choice was simple, yet difficult. She sat down at her vanity and brushed her hair, doing it in a rope braid that hung over her shoulder. She went to her closet and chose a pale green one with silver accents. She put it on and grabbed a long silver pendant and a few bangles for some shine. She looked and herself in the full length mirror and saw the bruise. She frowned, and going back to her vanity, got some skin toned cream to cover it up. Looking in the mirror again, it wasn't perfect, but it would do. Something was still missing, and she put on a headband that matched the dress. Satisfied with her appearance, she slipped on her shoes and headed out the door.

She went straight to the dining hall and there encountered what was left of her family. Before she could reach for a plate, Nynesi collided with her, hugging her tightly.

what was left of her family hahahah gosh 2016 was a good year

"Miryanna, Miryanna, why did you leave so suddenly?" Nynesi chanted.

Miryanna laughed at her cousin's exuberance, the her laughter was stilled, thinking of how Nynesi's mother had been robbed of her, what would happen if her cousin left too? She was starting to think that running away wasn't such a good idea. There was still a part of her that wanted to do it, though.

Nynesi finally stopped hugging her but still held onto her arm.

Miryanna got some food and sat down at the table, wondering where the king was, for she didn't see him. "Where's your father?" She asked Nynesi.

Nynesi looked down at her plate, "He isn't feeling well. He's still weak from the attack a few weeks ago, and your disappearance took a toll on him,"

Now Miryanna was seriously re-thinking running away. But there was a part of her that kept on telling her that it was the right thing to do. She couldn't ignore that part of her forever.

She ate her breakfast and delivered her story of being unconscious and walking till she found Andarin to her father, and though it didn't seem to completely satisfy him, he asked no more questions. For now.

After breakfast, Andarin came charging through the doors. "Miryanna?" He called, as soon as he saw her, "Oh, good, you're still here," He embraced her.

She wondered what he meant by 'you're still here', then realized that Roric must have talked to him too.

"Roric talked to me and I'm thinking about running away," She whispered in his ear while they were still in an embrace.

"I know, he talked to me too," He whispered back.

"Do you think I should?" She asked him.

He paused before answering, "I think you should consider what it would do to your family members, and if your resolve is still strong, then do it." He replied.

They broke their embrace and held each other at arm's length.

"I was so worried about you all the time you were gone," He said to her.

She smiled, "Well, thanks, Maybe I'll try to stay home for a while now,"

He got the message, and his face became grave, "Yes, yes I suppose that would be the best course of action,"

This puzzled her. She was sure he got the message, but his response? Did he think that she should run away? Maybe, just maybe, she should. Maybe that was the best course of action to take. Yes. Her resolve strengthened and she determined that she was going to run away.

when you accidentally write a self insert

Now that her mind was made up, she'd never felt so lost in her life. But her mind was made up, so she was going to run away.

and just like that