Change The Tides

Rebirth (Part One)

*Don't Look At The Image Yet Unless You Want Spoilers For The Chapter Ahead :)*

Third Person

The time was eleven thirty at night, Arlette stared over at her desk from her bedside. She and Harry had finished cleaning up the Chip Shop for the night about thirty minutes prior.

Harry had noticed how Arlette was a bit quiet all day, not sad or anything, she just wasn't very talkative. He of course understood that she was allowed to have quiet days, but he just wanted to make sure she was alright and not having a sad spell or anything. So he'd planned on checking on her a bit earlier than usual, though Arlette wasn't aware of this. She did know he checked on her sometimes, but she was planning on making her quick getaway soon.

So once she knew it was late, but not late enough to run into when Harry would usually check on her, she stood up from her bedside and took a deep breath before walking over to her desk. She slowly grabbed her scissors, the ones she usually used for her alterations, and crept towards her door.

When midnight struck, it would be Arlette's sixteenth birthday, a birthday that Arlette always envisioned being grand, extravagant, and memorable. She and Audrey had been planning since they were kids, and now... Arlette didn't really have anything.

Audrey was able to have hers, but even if Arlette had never run away she would've never had the chance to have the sixteenth birthday she'd always wanted. She would be spending her sixteenth trapped in a castle all alone, full of fear and devastation, and possibly even pregnant if Dominic had decided to do the unthinkable to her. She'd thought of this all too much that day, hence why she was so quiet.

She was beyond grateful that she was here rather than there, and she was going to make her sixteenth birthday worth something regardless of what it could've been.

So she picked up the scissors and held them firmly in her hand, prepared to take more than enough weight off tonight.

Arlette was sick and tired of letting the past rule her thoughts, her life. Though it wasn't very far in her past, what happened about four months ago now was indeed in the past. Having the massive shadows of her breakup with Chadwick, her forced engagement to Dominic, and the entirety of Queen Leah looming over her constantly wasn't just tiring, but it was dehumanizing, demeaning, and completely consuming, and Arlette was over it.

Her body and mind were finally strong enough from the months of healing to feel like she could pull away and survive.

So Arlette took her scissors and snuck out of her room, able to sneak around any remaining crew members who were hanging around who were either chatting or playing card games, and made her way to the upper deck. It was already dark out, so Arlette took a minute to let her eyes adjust before giving the entirety of her surroundings a good look before continuing. It was a classic, quiet Isle night, the crew was all in the ship and the docks were almost completely empty besides the few people sleeping against walls or in makeshift shelters. With this visual analysis done, Arlette flipped her scissors around so the blade was pointed back, just in case she was attacked like she had been before, however this time she had a weapon. Harry was beginning to teach her how to use one as well in training, so she wasn't clueless in that realm anymore.

So she confidently but discreetly walked across the upper deck, scissors firm in her hand, and walked onto the docks in the direction of the washrooms. The only mirror she had in her room was small after all... and she needed something far bigger for what she was about to do. Her eyes scanned back and forth constantly as she walked alone, in the dark for the first time around without anyone else's knowledge. But even if someone was in the dark, planning something with ill intent, Arlette... for once... looked a little intimidating. Especially armed with her sharp sewing shears that were all too comfortable in her hand.