Chapter 55: back home
Crown knew the journey back to Ashford was going to take half a day on a horse and longer on foot. She chose foot to make herself less noticeable.
She wondered around the mansion for a few days after her introduction to society. What she was really doing was studying the building as well as the servants and how attentive they were to things happening around them. She knew when the guards kept watch and when they were to switch places. She endured dinner and breakfast with Zaccai as best as she could so he didn't suspect a thing, saying very little to him while disliking him more for the secret he held on to.
All she wanted to do now was run.
It was a week after before she finally felt ready to make her escape. All had been well thought out.
Crown was left alone by midnight when Eli had retired to her own room. She got up from her bed and changed into the boys outfit she had found on a line and regrettably stolen. She tied her hair and wore a cap over it. She left her feet bare so she could move silently until she got to a safe distance.
It took a while before she got into the city and soon she blended in with the few stragglers who walked about the city at night.
She covered herself with a cloak and clutched the bag she packed with a little food and water even tighter
She got to the gate and surprisingly was allowed to pass without any hassle. Leaving Tahu was easy, getting in was the tricky part.
The moment she was a safe distance from the gates of Tahu she turned towards the road that led to Ashford and started to walk faster, and soon bursted into a sprint.
"Finally! I can do this. Even if it takes me two days." She said to herself as she continued to run, keeping herself away from the middle and to the side of the road.
It wasn't long before she heard hoofbeats behind her, going fast. Crown didn't dare look back and instead picked up her pace, running as fast as her legs could carry. Her chaser picked up his pace too. She was about to make a run into the trees and bushes by the side of the road when one powerful arm picked her off the ground and on to the horse. The scent of him filled the air, it was Zaccai.
He had her sprawled on the horse in front of him like he would a bag of grain. He said nothing, did nothing else but simply turned his horse back to Tahu.
Ashford
"I feel uneasy tonight. I truly hope our daughter is safe and sound." Yara complained to her husband
"Its been more than a week. I want to believe she is settling in nicely and her husband is doing his best to protect her, just like he promised.
"Okay. I will share in your belief then." Yara replied, doing her best to go back to sleep.
Tahu
Zaccai dragged a rather angry Crown up to her room. He concluded that he had never met a woman as stubborn and bold like Crown. Going by how much he knew about her, her silence all week only meant she was up to something, so he had tasked Hawthorne to follow her in the shadows and study her every move.
He had watched her leave her room dressed as a newspaper boy of some sort, seen her leave the gates of Tahu. She had him hanging off people's roofs just to keep track of her movements
"I will not want this to drag out, as I already know what you were doing. I only ask why?" He asked when they were safely in her room.
"Why you say? Don't you have the answer to that. You are the reason why. Let me go!" She walked to the door but he pulled her back.
"You were going back to Ashford." He said.
"I was going back home." She retorted.
"This is your home! When will you get that!" He yelled
"A home you say." She walked to him looking up at his face..."You lied to me, deceived my family, my people on the guise that this marriage was for a greater good but it was all a lie, wasn't it?" She snarled. "How could you?
There was nothing he could say now that was going to appease her. "Don't ever leave Tahu again."
"Watch me."
He expected that. "If you go back to Ashford, my army will match in there in search of you, what they would do your people or family for abducting a royal from Tahu, well. . ." He let his voice trail off.
"You wouldn't dare." Something changed in her eyes.
"Watch me." He threw her words back at her. "You are Princess Crown Zeror. You no longer belong to the household of Lod.
"You cannot erase my identity."
"I didn't. One comes before the other, you should know this and act accordingly."
"How can you choose to be so selfish and cruel. You lied to me, you are sending me to my death, from you or your kind. And you expect me to roll with it?" She asked as sadness filled her.
"I will protect you." He said truthfully.
"From yourself? From your kind? From your family? How long do you think you can do that for? How strong are you to do that?"
A knock sounded on her door, alerting them both
"Who is it?" Zaccai asked.
"Adin, your highness. I heard noises, is everything okay?
"Yes. Go now." He turned back to her. "It obvious we have so much between us that needs to be settled and it will be. But I warn you, do not leave Tahu again, for your own betterment and safety. She turned away from him and ran to open the window. She needed air, lots of it.
He left off to catch her hand in his that he just noticed, the hand she was meant to be having his ring was empty. "Where is your ring? He said not entirely offended.
"Threw it away." She snapped.
"No problem, I'd have another ready for you in the morning. Go to bed now, princess." He placed a kiss on both her hands before quietly slipping out of her room.
It had been an eventful night for him. He wanted to see how far she would go and was pleased with all she had done to escape.
Zaccai knew if he had married any other human, they most likely would have accepted their fate and stayed put. But not his Crown.
His mind raced for answers as to how she found out about his punishment, he knew when she found out but how still was still lost on him.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone