Love and Deepwater • A Rafayel story

Escape plan number 99

[[ Many, many years have passed on the humble land of Philos. And on this land lives now a noble princess. Her heart, pure and flawless, is blessed by the god of the Sea,

It protects Philos forevermore, believing to grant immortality to its denizens, and safety from other great calamities.

The source of Philos's glory is the Princess's heart, and it earned her endless love and respect.

Everyone wishes the best for Her Highness.

To protect her heart, the Princess made a small sacrifice. She can never leave her palace.

Books describe Philos with winding rivers and seas, yet to the Princess, "outside" is a small garden.

The Princess's dearest wish is to leave the palace and see the world with her own eyes...

—Legends From Deepspace: Sea of Golden
Sands Prologue. ]]

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Today marked yet another incredible escape plan for Elara. She pilfered her maid's uniform, which was both dirty and damp from being cleaned in the bathroom. Elara had thrown tomato sauce onto her maid robes and lent her one of her dresses while the maid fetched another uniform from the service room. Thanks to that, Elara stealthily went down the servant's stairwell, avoiding prying eyes until she reached a part of the castle used only by service personnel. There, she reveled in a moment of triumph, her caramel locks swirling as she laughed with unrestrained joy.

Finally, her 99th escape attempt was about to begin!

Elara longed to travel the world, explore its vastness to find her place within it, a pull that needed to be followed or she felt like perishing. Yet, her adoptive family believed firmly that Elara's heart was the lifeblood of Philos, that it pulsed within her chest.

They said that the gods had bestowed this gift upon her, and in return, she had to protect her people for all eternity. She had to protect their small Oasis of water and gardens, be the shield against the encroaching desert sands and calamities far greater than any tsunami.

Yet, protection exacted a steep price.  Elara could never venture beyond the palace gates. Her world was confined to the manicured gardens that surrounded her home, a paradise of blooming flowers, tinkling fountains, and beautiful palm trees. To her, the outside world was a distant dream, from where she was free to wander the world, after leaving her small village, when she was free to follow the guiding pull to myriad destinations,  ever searching, yet never finding. Now, it existed only in the narratives of books and hushed tales.

The palace library held volumes upon volumes of knowledge. Elara devoured them all, her fingers tracing the faded maps of distant lands. She imagined the rivers that wound through forests, the mountains that scraped the sky, seas that lay beyond the monstrous desert encircling their continent. Even though everyone told her that the seas had dried, she never believed it!

But her soul craved more, a longing that mere words could never satisfy.

That day, through the small door from the servant's area, she ventured outside as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm glow over the garden. Elara, clad in the stolen maid uniform, was hidden behind a small boat, waiting for the guards to stop searching for her. She pressed her palm against the cold boat wood, yearning for the touch of wind on her face, the sensation of floating on water.. of being able to feel the pull again. She crouched behind the boat, her pulse echoing in her ears. The guards patrolled the perimeter, their lanterns flickering like distant fireflies.

She had planned this escape meticulously, she knew of the boat used by one fisherman to meet one of the servants, as they meet at night, in a secured and dark part of the gardens. She always saw him arrive, hiding the boat beneath the weeping willow, the timing aligned with the changing of the guards.