Before Midnight, I was Happy | Chaelisa

The Escape

LISA POV

The eve of the wedding approached quickly, preparations causing a ruckus above Lisa's head. She was almost glad for her imprisonment as it granted her an escape from prudence's wrath. At dusk, the guards arrived, binding her wrists in steel and escorting her to the palace boundary, where the King stood accompanied by several other guards and a nervous stable boy holding the reigns of two stallions. One a deep chocolate brown with a diamond upon his forehead, and the other as black as oil. 

I enjoyed the fear that radiated from the King's eyes. It felt like justice, for the way Rosé had been treated all these years. Once we arrived before the group, I wordlessly thrust my shackled wrists towards the head guard, reminding everyone there that they were powerless to stop me. With trembling hands, he removed my cuffs as I let them drop to the ground. Taking the reigns of the black horse and holding the other to my side, I mounted the stallion with all the grace I could manage and smirked. 

"This was fun, we should do it again sometime." I smile, kicking the stallion into a canter and bolting out the gate I arrived in almost a year ago now. The comforting hug of the forest trees swallowed me soon enough, but I knew I was going to return shortly. I just had a short errand to run before returning to claim what was mine. 

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AUTHOR POV

The windows of the orphanage were already dark by the time Lisa arrived. The tall building cast dark shadows on the empty Seoul road. Lisa approached the second last window from the left on the right side of the building. It led into an old butler's pantry that had since been used as linen storage, but that's not why she knew to come to this particular window. She knew that the latch on this particular window had been removed some years before by Lisa herself. This was the very window she used to escape numerous times during her time in the orphanage. She gave the window an inquisitory tug, seeing if anyone had repaired the window in the time she had been gone, they hadn't. The old floorboards creaked beneath her feet as she squeezed herself through, careful not to knock the collection of mops, brooms and rakes leaning on the wall beside her. 

Despite the dark, Lisa knew where to go. She navigated the halls, still knowing just where to stand to avoid too much squeaking. She stopped in front of a large, timber door. The brass handle was old and therefore took a few attempts to open the door enough for her to push her way through. Inside, rows of metal cots lined either side of the room. Small sleeping bodies covered in crisp white sheets breathed heavily through the trance of sleep. There had to be at least 30 girls crammed into the small room, but Lisa was only interested in one. The girl was in the far corner, dark hair fanned out on the pillow behind her as she slept, splayed out like a starfish, innocent and uncaring of the world around her. 

"Ella" Lisa called into the dark. "Ella, wake up, it's time to go." 

"Lisa...?" The girl questioned tiredly, "Lisa!"

"Shh, quickly, put your shoes and coat on. It's cold out there" Lisa opened the girl's chest at the foot of the bed, handing her the necessary items. She grabbed as many belongings as she could and stuffed them in a dress like it was a bag, tying the two ends together to ensure nothing would fall out. 

"Come on Ella, Let's go."

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ROSE' POV

The clock rang 11 times through the halls of the castle. I had been turning the maids away for hours now so that they could not ready me for bed. Instead, I had slipped on an extra coat, gloves and pantihose in case Lisa was cold and needed more coverings. My pockets are full of bread and cheese for the journey to come, and most importantly, Lisa's mother's broach I managed to smuggle out of the treasury this morning. 

"You're still awake?" My Mother asked from the door. 

"I can't sleep."

"Are you nervous? You need not worry, Chanyeol is a good man"

"I'm sure he is mother, but that does not change the fact that I do not even care for him let alone love him" 

"You're a princess Chaeyoung, you have a duty to provide this country a King. Nothing comes before that."  

I sighed heavily, glancing past my mother to the decorated clock upon the mantelpiece. 11:45. 

"I'm going to my garden, I need some peace of mind." 

"Take the guards with you, that witch is on the run now. God knows we can't trust her word."

"Fine, I'll take the guards but they are to wait outside." 

"Very well then."

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The moon cast shadows along the garden path as I plotted down the hill towards my sweet rose. Part of me felt bad that I would be leaving it to die, but the excitement of a life with my Lily outweighed that 100 to 1. 

"Wait here," I told the guards. 

The old clock rang 12 times as I approached the door, opening it a such an angle that they could not see me. I kid behind the door and crept along bricks as close as I could as to not be seen. Gratefully, I made it around the back without them noticing. 

"Lisa?" I whisper-called into the darkness. "Lisa? Are you there?"

"I'm here" She called as she emerged from behind the trees. I ran to her, leaping into her arms and enveloping her in a heartfelt kiss. No words were spoken. No words need to be. 

"Let's go" She whispered, grabbing my hand and leading me back into the woods. We trekked almost a hundred metres on foot until we arrived upon a small girl, dressed in a nightgown with a coat and shoes thrown on, tending to two horses. 

"Rosie, this is Ella."

I smiled, removing my second coat and wrapping it around the small girl. 

"It's wonderful to meet you, Ella, now what do you say to getting the hell out of here?" 

Just the epilogue to go <3