Dumb Ways To Survive

Escape (By Sanjana)

"Justin! What is wrong with you?" Cedelia screamed. She had never seen him like this.

Justin gripped his knife harder. He placed it on her neck. "Look, we can do this the easy way. You can exit through the kitchen door and run away as far as you can. I don't want to hurt you."

Cedelia was speechless. How could Justin, her own brother, betray her? Technically, he was her half-brother, but still.

"Justin, put the knife down. Let's talk about it," Cedelia calmly said. She carefully tried to hold Justin's hand. But that only made him to grip the knife even harder.

"Cedelia, you don't get it. She made me do this. Matter of fact, she wants me to kill you! But I couldn't. You must leave or else you will die."

Cedelia was puzzled. Who would make Justin do this?

"Justin, who is 'she'?"

"Her Majesty. She wants to make me the Crown Prince," Justin muttered. He couldn't bear to look at Cedelia, not after he betrayed her. Cedelia had always treated him well and loved him very much as a brother. She even stood up for him whenever he needed her.

Cedelia wasn't surprised. She had always knew her stepmother had despised her. Her stepmother thinks Cedelia's presence is stopping Justin from becoming heir. She never praised her nor thanked her sincerely. All Cedelia ever wanted was her stepmother to love her like her own child. To have the same amount of love that Justin gets. No matter how well Cedelia plays the piano, her stepmother was never truly satisfied.

"Justin, you don't have to obey her. Together we can work things out," Cedelia persuaded. She wants Justin to stand up against his mother, the way she would herself.

"No, Cedelia. The longer you stay, the more danger you are in. There is a horse for you at outside to escape. You must go to Glassy Eden where you will be safe. You need to leave now. And this is not a request," Justin sternly said.

Cedelia stared at Justin in disbelief. "So you decided to chase me out from the castle. That is the most wise decision you could think of. Very mature. And I thought I could depend on you."

"Look, it's not like I want it either. You never know who you can trust. People around you might be plotting an assassination on you. All I want is for you to be safe," Justin said.

"Then let's tell Pa about this. Isn't that the safest way?" Cedelia suggested.

"Oh, like we can just walk in right to his room and say Mother is a creep whi wants you killed so her little boy could be king? And he would totally believe us because our story makes sense? You know how mother uses her soothing voice on Pa. In the worst case, he might call a doctor to get our brains tested," Justin replied.

Cedelia sighed. "Speaking of trust, how can I trust you? Why couldn't you talk to me about it instead of threatening me with a knife?"

"Because you wouldn't take it seriously. You would surely think of it as a joke" Justin said.

He placed the knife down and gently hold her hand. "Please you must trust me. You know I would never hurt you. Just take shelter at Glassy Eden. I'll tell everyone that you have gone to Temple of Birnack to meet Guru Shubunartha. No one will know your actual location except me."

"Until then what will you do?" Cedelia asked.

"This will be a trap for the traitors. Once I tell everyone that you will be visiting Temple of Birnack, surely they would follow you. That's how we can know who else is allied with Mother."

"You were sent here to kill me. Instead of doing so, you shared a plan to safe me. Pretty impressive" Cedelia said.

"Look the whole knife thingy, was just to convince her. Hurry, before anyone sees us!" Justin said.

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Cedelia and Justin quietly ran down to the kitchen. Surprisingly, no one was in the kitchen. Perfect. Cedelia's horse, Wrinkles, was outside as planned.

Cedelia mounted her coffee-coloured horse. She stroked Wrinkles's mane.

"It's a long way so I want you to stay safe. Remember, don't stop anywhere. Just go straight to Glassy Eden," Justin reminded her.

Cedelia smiled. "I will."

Justin watched as Cedelia rode away.

"Justin!"

Justin turned around to see who was calling out his name. He panicked when he saw his mother was walking towards him. She was escorted by two guards.

"Oh no, Cedelia will be exposed," Justin said to himself.

"Justin! What are you doing here? This is not a place for a prince to be at," the Queen muttered.

"I needed some fresh air," Justin replied.

The queen rolled her eyes. "Anyway, have you seen Cedelia? Ugh...that girl could never be punctual. Always making things hard for me! I doubt if she ever could be a good ruler. Such a shame to the kingdom."

Justin grinned. "Nope, I haven't seen her all morning. I'll let her know that you are looking for her if I meet her."

"She better have a good reason for being late," the Queen mumbled, "She'll need the governess I hired if she's going to make it through to a proper coronation."

Justin smirked as he walked away. "Why wouldn't she?"

Next up: Shin Hui