o n e

"Why do you treat Nyru this way?" I hear my mother scream at my father from down the hallway. This is basically a daily thing now, ever since that recent argument I had with my father.

I look around my bedroom. My door is locked up tight, shielding me from the chaos going on right outside of it. My window is like a looking glass to the kingdom down below. My bedroom is at the top of the thinnest tower within the Ice Kingdom's Castle walls. It is currently snowing outside. Well, it always snows here. I am laying on my bed with my kitty, Jiji, who has curled up next to me, purring.

"I am sick of you acting this way!" My mother's voice continues.

"Don't blame me! Don't you see that Nyru is only trying to get her way through you! If I see it my way, she will receive no free will!" My father yells back. I can just feel my mother's sharp glare piercing through my father now.

Ever since that argument, my father has been arguing with the neighboring King as well, the Fire King. Now the Fire King and my father hate each other with flaring passions. All of this continuous arguing is beginning to drive me insane. We used to have good ties with the Fire Kingdom.

My best friend lives there... I will see him and my father will not stop me.

I slowly get up out of bed, being sure not to disturb my kitty, and rush over to my bedroom window. The argument between my parents is heating up.

I better hurry before my father pounds down my door again.

I reach down to unlock my window, pull it open just enough to get through, and slip out onto the rooftop. I pull back my long light blue hair and tie it into a high ponytail. It flops along my back as I hurry to climb down the side of the Castle and hop down onto the snow below my window. The night is dark and cool, with constant snow flurries within the Ice Kingdom borders. My skirt is gently flowing from the soft breeze. The Castle is surrounded by several silver weeping willows on its south side and high peek ice cap mountains behind it to the north. Past these trees connect to the needle-leaf forest, which connects the Ice Kingdom to the Fire Kingdom.

I find that strange, since a forest would get burned if it was that close to fire?

I begin to dart south of the Castle, towards the Fire Kingdom. In the distance, through the forest, the volcano is visible. The night highlights the Fire kingdom, as the lava at the tip top of the volcano is always glowing bright reds and oranges. The Fire Castle is located at the base of that volcano.

That is where I am going.

Once the Castle leaves my view, I slow down to a quick trot. I need to get away. It is almost too much for me now. If my father finds me, I know he will drag me back.

I slow even further, walking casually through the forest. I take a deep breath and listen to the soft falling snow and the wind blowing through the needle-leaf trees. I hope I find Yami soon.

Suddenly, I hear footsteps behind me in the snow. I gasp, cover my mouth and leap into a nearby bush to hide.

It's my father! He already knows I am gone! He's going to treat me like nothing when he finds me... He always does what he pleases... I am powerless...

I hear the footsteps approach at a quickened pace.

Crunch. Crunch.

The sounds get louder, and the next thing I know, I see feet approach the bush where I am hiding and I feel a sharp strong hand grab me by my arm. I am yanked out of my hiding place and my father's angry face is glaring down at me. Before I can do anything, he tightens his grip and pulls me off of my feet and slams me against a nearby tree. A grunt escapes my lips and I wince as I feel pain surge through my back. My vision begins to blur as it fades in and out. My chest tightens up and breathing becomes harder and harder every second. My body begins to numb as I feel my father lift me from the tree and drag me across the snow covered ground behind him.

"Fa-Father, please!" I force out and my voice almost cracked.

As I feel myself being dragged behind, the ground beneath the snow feels like piercing daggers on my sensitive skin. Constant stinging pain floods throughout my body as I feel myself go limp. I have no energy to fight back, I am helpless.

Help me... Yami...

My father drags me all the way back to the Castle. I feel the ground change underneath me as we enter the Castle walls. I try to push myself up onto my feet and stumble to keep up with my fast moving father, furiously pulling me up the stairs and towards my room. Once we reach my room, he unlocks it, opens it and throws me inside so hard I tumble to the floor.

"You will stay in there, Nyru! If I catch you again, your punishment will be worse than what you just received!"

I am still numb, so my body flops onto the carpet. My head begins to pound and I feel disoriented as my father slams my door shut behind me causing the room to shudder. I hear the lock click before his footsteps grow softer, back down the stairs.

I cannot stop the tears from falling down my face. I begin to hiccup uncontrollably as I try to slow the tears, but I fail.

"Nyru!"

I jerk my head up. I hear my name, but it was muffled. I struggle to stand and slowly stagger towards my window and peer outside. My eyes widen as I slowly focus on the figure standing below my window. He has deep dark red shaggy hair and deep bluish purple eyes. He was shivering. I feel a smile etch itself onto my face as I realize who it is.

"Yami!"

The next thing I hear are my father's loud thumping footsteps grow louder and angrier as they leave the Castle, in search of Yami. My stomach drops to the floor. More tears begin to stream down my face, faster than before.

"No, Yami! Hide!"

I watch as he leaps into a bush behind him, shivering aggressively. Seconds after Yami becomes hidden, my father enters the yard, looking around with his narrowed eyes. My heart thumps faster as he approaches where Yami is hiding, but luckily he does not find him. As my father turns around, I cover my lips with my hands and duck down below my window so he cannot see me.

Once I wait until I hear my father's angry footsteps back inside, I stand back up to look down to Yami once again. He motions his hands for me to come down. I nod my head quickly and slip through my window once again, landing back onto the rooftop below my windowsill. I swiftly climb back down, Yami waiting below me with open arms. He helps me step down onto the snow covered ground and I slip my hand into his. He studies my face, probably noticing how red and wet it is from me crying. I cannot hide more tears swelling up in my eyes as I gaze back at him. He turns and tugs me to follow him as we rush back into the forest together.

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Tell me what you think of the rewrite!

I am adding more detail and improving the work as I go.

Feel free to leave a vote and comment!

See you in the next part!

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