The adrenaline hit the traveler like a brick, his feet slowly giving out. Trying his hardest, he kept running. He had to, or else she would die. Finally, his legs gave out and he crashed onto the sandy floor. The shadow crept closer towards him. "No.." he helplessly begged. "Please no..."

The knocking on her chamber door interrupted Adeline from her reading. Annoyed, she reluctantly took off her reading glasses and allowed her maid to open to open the door. She turned her head to be met with her father. Still being upset about what happened in the council room, she glared at him. "Can I help you father?" She asked nonchalantly.

The king sighed. "Adeline, I understand you're upset but you need to understand that we can't take the risk." She shook her head. "I honestly can't believe you're letting this pass. You swore to be a fair and just king, a king that believed in equality."

"And I am, but you must acknowledge what we have at stake. An entire kingdom." He reasoned. The princess frowned and looked right at him. "Tell me, Father, have you ever seen anyone from Galderium do any harm whatsoever? Have they caused any problems?" King Ronan stayed silent.

"No, they haven't, so to even think that they could possess any sort of magic is unclear to me. He rubbed the nasal bone of his nose, clearly frustrated. "You don't know the full story—" "Then please, enlighten me so that I can understand what is so wrong about this."

The King held a sorrowful look. "When the time comes, I will tell you everything." Adeline stared at him for a moment. "Ever since she left, you have never old me anything.." "Do not bring my wife into this." He spoke sternly. "She wasn't just your wife, Father, she was my mother. The strong woman who raised me and protected me till her last breath." The poor princess tried to keep her voice soft and calm, but the topic had still broken a part of her.

Clearing her throat, she spoke again. "I will admit, my outburst was uncalled for, but I'd say it'd be necessary to give them a chance before coming to any conclusions." She said, occasionally wiping away some stranded tears that had made their way down her cheek.

The king sighed. "If only you knew what dangers they hold, you wouldn't be able to give me even one reason why we should trust them." And with that, he walked out.

The princess stared at the spot that he stood. She had always been one for a challenge. 'One reason, huh? We'll see, Father, we'll see'

As the bright moon glistened in the dark room, Adeline sat awake, waiting for the chime of lights out. In the palace, that chime would show that everyone would be asleep, including most of the guards. There were only about three at the entrance; two on each corner, and one in the middle. She was on the left side, with an open woods and  guard-free.

As she waited, she thought about her plan for tonight. She was going to find the easiest dress to run in, grab a hooded cloak, and climb out of her window, heading for Galderium. It seemed outrageous, clearly, but once the princess set her mind on something, it was incredibly difficult to tell her otherwise.

The familiar chime brought a smile to her face. Just as previously stated, she got out of bed, walked towards her dressing room, and searched for the lightest dress she had. It was a hard task,indeed, but after a little while, she found one that was good enough.

It was a long sleeve, royal blue dress. Just where it's V- line met, there was a golden pendant sewed onto the fabric. A long, black hood was draped around her, reaching to her knees, and covered just above her eyes.

Walking out of the dressing room, Adeline went and stood in front of her window. She hesitated for a moment, seeing that it was a little farther than she had thought, but just enough that she wouldn't be injured when she jumped.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the window and put her foot on top of it, then she put two feet. By now, she had a decent balance, since her hand was grasping onto the walls next to her. She breathed in and jumped.

For about two seconds, the world felt like it was in slow motion, like she was flying. Then, gravity kicked in. She plummeted to the ground, landing in a kneeling position. She slowly stood up, processing what she had just done. Then, a voice made her freeze.

"Hello, is anybody there?" It was one of the guards. She looked towards the voice to see a silhouette coming closer. Wasting no time, the princess dashed dashed towards the cluster of large trees. Hearing the sounds of footsteps behind her, she kept pushing her legs as much as she could.

Several voices shouted behind her, yelling "Stop!", but she ignored their instructions. Finally, when the voices were no longer heard, she stopped running and hid behind a wide tree just to be safe. Her breathing felt louder than normal, and blinking seemed as loud as stomping.

After a good while, she stood back up and looked around her. By now it was incredibly dark, and no one could tell a shadow from an object. Adeline silently gulped and sat back down. 'It's to dark and dangerous to travel, I'll just wait till morning' She thought, as her eyes started to close.

Meanwhile, at the palace, the soldiers rushed to the kings chambers. "Your Majesty!", one of them spoke. Helpless, they franticly knocked on the doors. King Ronan, disturbed by the noise, opened his chamber doors, a look of anger on his face. "Do any of you know how late it is, what must be so important that you have decided to disturb my peace." , He complained.

"Your Majesty, our sincerest apologies, but we saw an intruder coming from the princess's chamber window." Another guard stated. The king's eyes widened at this. Shoving past all of them, he hurried towards Adeline's chambers. Not even bothering to knock, he flung the doors open to an empty chamber room.

He stood there in shock. "She wouldn't have...", He mumbled. He turned and shouted, "Guards! Search all around the area, including the woods! Do not leave a single spot out." As he walked away from Adeline's room, he couldn't shake the feeling that he could be wrong.