Landing herself in trouble with a man who seems to always be there for her, Winter learns she is a cursed witch with a ruined magical core.
Secrets and lies appear more often than she expected as she tries to escape what she thought would get her fu...
Still, there were no signs of guards and Winter wasn't sure why. "Mother, I'm-"
"Thank you for saving me, Phoenix. Would either of you mind telling me what's been going on?" Her mother stood up and brushed herself off.
Phoenix smiled. "You're welcome. Before we do that, where are all of your guards?"
"I don't know, I haven't seen them since before I got attacked, but we can figure that out later. Winter, why is your hand in a cast?"
The nerves inside her wouldn't let her speak for a few moments as she tried to process how she would explain. There was no way she could ask about the curse now. It wasn't the right time, but she also couldn't tell when the right time would be. No matter which route she took, her mother would get upset. She took a deep breath. "I...went into the chambers on accident and found Phoenix, landed myself in jail when I tried to steal the keys and broke my thumb while trying to escape..."
Everything was out in the open now and there was nowhere that Winter could hide. Whatever her mother would do, she deserved it.
Mother's jaw fell open while she was speaking. "I can't believe you would do such a thing! Who put you in jail? Those guards should know better than that. You are the princess, and whether you deserved it or not, they should know to contact me first!"
"It was Blake, Your Highness," Phoenix answered.
Her mother sighed. "Blake. I should've known. The King never liked him, but I couldn't figure out why he didn't get rid of him. I'm going to have him brought here so we can have a chat."
Winter chirped up. "You can't!"
"Why?"
The response of him wanting to attack her was on the edge of her tongue, but Mother had already turned her back to call a guard so he could be brought in.
All of them walked down the stairs when Phoenix whispered in Winter's ear. "Now's our chance to escape."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, neither of us want to see Blake because of everything that happened. Why don't you just come with me? It's not like you want to be with your mother anyway. Or your brother, considering what he did."
Winter scoffed. "Of course I do."
"Really? Come on, even I can see you don't want to." He rolled his eyes at her. "Plus, who knows how she would act related to what you did when I leave."
She knew he was right. The only reason she let Phoenix save her mother was because they're family and she wasn't ready to lose another one, yet she always knew her mother didn't care that much. Mother may have acted like she did just now, but she was always this way around others. She knew Summer loved her and she would never be without him, but maybe the entire family needed to be alone. At least she could talk to them if she needed to.
Although she still couldn't trust Phoenix completely, he was there for her throughout all of this and he did tell the truth about her mother. It may not have been the best time or the greatest way, but the thought was still there. What would she achieve if she left with him? Would she still be Queen? More importantly, what did she have to lose?
They were right by the door when Winter whispered. "Fine. I'll go with you, but if anything terrible happens I'm coming right back."
"Trust me, nothing bad will happen."
With quiet footsteps, Phoenix opened the castle door slightly, a tiny squeak almost giving them away when Winter's mother turned around.
Winter smiled at her as the two of them leaned against the door but as soon as her back was towards them, they slid outside. The castle door made a soft echo as it shut, a sigh of relief slipping from both of their mouths when they made it to the bottom step.
A smirk appeared on Phoenix's face when she turned her head towards him, but she wondered if he knew she was paying attention with how quickly it went away. "What was that look for?" she asked.
"Oh, nothing."
His words weren't believable to her, but she let it pass even though she thought he was up to something. "Where are we going?"
Phoenix gave her a smile. "We will be heading to Lost Meadow."
She had never been out of Goldenfordge. Everything that was happening now would be a new experience to her, but no matter what, she was excited to be leaving her mother. Freedom flew through her mind when she realized she could do anything she wanted now with no one to stop her.
One thing was for sure though, being a princess, freedom always came with a price.
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