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ᴋᴇᴇᴘ ᴍʏ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ
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"You're letting me go—?"

I blinked through my lashes while gazing up at my kidnapper. Jimin slowly nodded, keeping his arms by his side.  A circuit of electricity flowed through my brain as I tried to collect my thoughts. I slowly stepped back, watching him carefully as I did so.

We were exactly ten feet away from one another, both stone-faced with unreadable expressions. It took me two seconds to turn on my feet and dart through the green forest. I refused to look over my shoulder, afraid it might've been a set up, but no sound of footsteps followed behind me.  The air I breathed in stung my throat as my heart pounded out of my rib cage. I was in close perimeters of the town, forcing my legs to travel further.

"Please help me—!" I cried out from my burning lungs. "please—!"

The villagers eyebrows lowered as they stared at me with disgust. To them, a young girl shouting like that in public, should be killed. Little did they know, I was the princess the king and queen have been so desperately looking for.

"Please." I whimpered, holding onto an older man's shoulders.

He shoved me away, and took off immediately. I began to panic, knowing that I could easily be captured again being out here in the wide open.

"Are you okay, darling—?"

A woman's voice spoke from behind me, turning my gaze immediately. I rushed into the strangers arms before exploding in tears. She rested her hand on my head, gently pushing me to lean on her shoulder.

"Come inside—!"

She laid me onto the torn couch and ran into the kitchen. A moment later, she was knelt beside me holding a bag of ice in her hands, along with a new bandage to replace the old one Jimin had wrapped around my hand.

"This is gonna hurt a tiny bit, okay—?"

I nodded, closing my eyes shut as tears dropped onto my cheek. The woman reached to her left, grabbing a cloth from the floor, before holding it out to me.

"Here, bite down on this."

I place the cloth between my teeth, and grabbed onto the woman's hand. She unwrapped the bandage, and began inspecting the open gash that has now grown to be infected. I let out a muffled scream as the first couple drops of rubbing alcohol splashed into the pool of blood. My hand began to vigorously shake as she tried to hold me still.

"It's okay darling."
She attempted to calm me down.

I quit resisting, and finally rested my hand in her palm, letting her pour the rubbing alcohol onto my stinging wound. For some reason, I felt worse than I did when he first stuck the knife through my hand.

She quickly wrapped a fresh bandage around my hand, and tightly secured it. She then grabbed the bag of ice, making me hiss in pain as it made direct contact with my bruised cheek.

"You've been through a
lot, haven't you Alana—?"

"h-how do you know my name—?"

The woman pursed her lips as she continued to press the ice against my cheek. She glanced down at the floor, giving a weak smile.

"A boy, around your age—" She sighed as she tried to collect her thoughts. "came running into the town a couple days back."

I narrowed my eyes, thinking of who it could be.

"He was badly injured." She tilted her head as she slid the icepack to the side of my eye. "I thought he was going to die in my living room to be frankly honest with you. He was running away from an older male, who I believe had ashy colored hair."

Ashy colored hair—? I though to myself.

"The younger boy told me
he found the princess—"

My hands clasped over my mouth as tears flooded at the corners of my eyes.

"I remember rushing him into the room in the back so that I could give him proper treatment without my three younger boys seeing all the blood." She wiped a falling tear drop with her sleeve. "The boy escaped but—"

I slowly shook my head as she began to sob in her hands, uncontrollably.

"He took my youngest son and—"

She cried out, and I immediately pulled her into a comforting hug. "I'm so sorry."

"My younger brother was kidnapped." I sniffled, trying to speak through my sore throat. "He went missing for a couple months, until we found him dead and thrown into a dumpster."

"Life is so messed up sometimes." I bit my bottom lip as she whimpered onto my shoulder.

She pulled away and quickly wiped the tears that stained her cheeks. "I need to get you back home darling, your parents must be looking all over for you—!"

"Thank you for helping me." I gave her a weak smile as I rested my hand along her back.

"Anything for a brave princess like you." She gave me one last hug, before we left the house.

I needed her to guide me to the castle, incase I'd get lost or even captured along the way. I could see it from where I stood but it wasn't clear from all the towering trees surrounding the clear sky. Clouds begin to form, as lightening strikes above us.

The woman grabbed my hand as she quickened her pace, wanting to get me home safe and sound. My clothes were drenched in dirt and blood, not that this rain made it any better. I soon recognized the path we walked along and the tall gates that stood before my eyes. I gave my rescuer a grateful smile before darting towards the front of the castle.

The guard stood in front noticed me before anyone else did. He narrowed his eyes, fixating them on the blurry figure he saw running towards him. 

"Hey." He nudged the men behind him, shifting their attention to the dark silhouette. "I think—

"It's the princess—!" A younger gentlemen shouted to the rest.

"Quickly, inform the King—!" The man commanded two other soldiers.

I limped towards the front gate, nervous to see all these panicked eyes surrounding me. Two sets of arms suddenly lifted me up, carefully bringing me inside the castle.  I closed my eyes and listened to the soothing sound of rain, enjoying it now that I knew I was safe in my home. I erased the sound of panic from the background, knowing I'm gonna be just fine in the morning. 

"Sir—!" The guard almost slid as he rushed into the room. "You're daughter, she's here—!"

My father jumped out of his chair, knocking over everything in his way. My mom and two brothers followed right after him. His eyes watered as he watched me lay on the hospital bed, hooked onto machines to help my heart beat. My mother took Taehyung into her arms, kissing his head as she whispered. "Everything's okay now."

Everything's okay now.

I heard my mothers voice ring through my brain.

Everything's okay now.

is everything really going to be okay now?

AUTHORS NOTE

The traumatizing journey isn't over just yet for princess Alana. She's just now developing major symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome, right after her kidnapper set her free. did he do it out of kindness
or was there another reason hiding behind the lies.