A Journey Of Lost Souls {Tom Holland}

Part 1

The princess only had one thought circling throughout her traumatized mind: run.

It wasn't easy; she ached and she was scared. But nonetheless, despite her heartbeat racing much faster than it ought to and her breaths coming in fast and panicked, she persisted running.

She didn't know where she was going or where she was at. The looming forest confused her, and she wasn't sure if she was just running in circles or actually getting somewhere.

The shouts behind her frightened her. They were chasing her, not too far behind. She had to keep moving. Her ash covered dressed snagged against the low lying bushes, ripping its hem, but she didn't care.

Keep moving.

She refused to look back, to know how close they were to her. It would only scare and distract her more. She needed to find somewhere safe. Somewhere with people.

No.

No people.

The princess was over people. If she found people, how did she know that they wouldn't just hand her back over to her captors?

But, if she was around people, there was a chance -a small chance- that someone could help her. That they wouldn't be able to take her back in front of others. She was uncertain, but she had to try.

The thought was feeble though. She didn't know where she was going, so how was she meant to find a village? The never-ending vastness of the forest drained the hope within her. She was growing tired, she wouldn't be able to run forever. And when she did tire out, they would get her.

The shouts continued behind her; they were getting closer.

She was almost done, ready to give up and face whatever brutal treatment they had in mind this time, but that's when she saw it. A row of houses on the horizon. Hope sparked in her chest as adrenaline refilled her body, propelling herself towards the village.

When she reached the houses, she didn't stop. She dove herself further and further into the village, running up and down alleyways in attempt to lose those chasing her. She was admittedly doing a great job, gaining distance by weaving in and out of the alleys. She quickly realized this village was much bigger than she had thought.

She was growing more confident that she had acquired a much greater length away from her pursuers. As she approached the inner city, the princess began to see more and more people. The adrenaline rushing inside her refused to allow her to stop and ask for help, so she kept running.

It wasn't long before she hit a crowded marketplace. People all over were bustling to and fro, trying to shove people out of the way. She saw this as the perfect way to officially separate from her captors.

She dove right into the middle of the crowd, traveling as far she thought reasonable before taking a sharp left and diving into yet another alleyway. Unlike the bustling marketplace, the alley was empty. She raced all the way to the end and turned right-

Just to smack right into someone.

—

When the girl smacked into him, Tom was completely unprepared. Despite this, he managed to reach out and steady the girl, lightly placing his hands on her shoulders out of instinct.

She immediately shied away.

He looked at the girl, who was sweaty and dirty and looked to be breathing extremely hard, no doubt from the run that Tom had just disrupted. Her hair was a mess, down and tangled, and also sticking up in funny places. She had a common dress on, but it was torn at the bottom and looked as if it hadn't been washed in months.