Runaway Bride ━ James Potter

002: THE GRAND ESCAPE

CHAPTER TWO: THE GRAND ESCAPE
song of the chapter: cornelia street, taylor swift

A royal lady must abide by three simple rules:

Number one: keep your back straight. This is non-negotiable, and even those at the lowest rank of the monarchy must follow this one simple rule. It might apply to both men and women, but men, unconditionally, are forgiven much more easily than ladies. Anastasia thinks her father could shoot someone dead in front of his entire constituency and they would forgive him quicker than they did when she accidentally said 'haven't' instead of 'have not.'

Number two: never speak back. This is a given, really. It's blasphemy to speak back to the monarch as it is, never mind when you are his child. Every time Millie spoke back as a child with a mouth too wide she found herself in the dungeons for the night. She might have still had steak for dinner, but eating it with rats and cockroaches as dinner guests isn't the most pleasant experience. Anastasia was always the more quiet of the two, almost never stepped a foot out of line and Millie almost always took the blame when she did, but even she got a bit too wide mouthed as a teenager. The only thing that kept her from the dungeon was the risk she may contract an illness.

Number three: pledge loyalty to the Crown, no matter what. You are a member of the royal court, and more importantly, you are the Kings servant-- Princess or not. The only thing asked of you in exchange for a life where everything is handed to you on a golden platter is that you do not betray the Crown. You must stay in line at all times, not a hair out of place, and you will be rewarded with dreams beyond your desire.

Given her current situation, it is clear to anyone with sight that Anastasia has failed this one miserably. She's picked it up and drowned it in gasoline, thrown it into the fire and walked away, practically. There's no easier way of saying she might as well have picked up her fathers shoe and spat on it.

She is terrified, venturing out of the first floor window and planting her feet on the windowsill uneasily, her head sheltered from the hammering rain by a thin hood. Millie is standing there with tears in her eyes, one hand still clasping hers, grasping her bottom lip between her teeth. Anastasia wonders what she did in a past life to deserve such a cruel fate.

She's clutching onto a drainpipe outside of her room in Meadowhall Palace, dressed in commoners clothes, preparing to jump and run from the only life she has ever known. She's abandoning her sister, her best and only friend, and though she knows it is for the best, she is on the verge of throwing up and crawling back in through that window. She wishes Millie could come with her, so that they can both abandon this life and live beyond their gilded cage.

But Anastasia, while young and oh, so naive, is wise enough to know that only one of them get to live through this. The other must stay behind and hold down the fortress, ensure that it does not come toppling down all at once. It must be brick by brick, or they'll have done it all for nothing. There is no satisfaction in a quick ending.

The crescent moon stares at them from across the horizon, and Anastasia knows her time is running out rapidly. It's now or never, and she will be damned if Millie's hard work is for nothing.

"You have to go," Millie chokes out, gasping for breath through tears. She knows it's for the best, she never would have done this otherwise, but God, it still hurts. "They'll be coming to check on you soon. You need to go."

Anastasia nods, feeling completely out of it, "I have to go. I have to go now."

"Go," she whispers, finally having caught her breath. She smiles so sadly that it makes Anastasia think this is truly the end of it. This might actually be the last time they see one another, and it is not by the feat of death, it is of their own doing. "I love you, but I need you to go. I care too heavily to let you stay."