Chapter One

The bag did not want to close.

Rowen sighed, stepping back from her bed and putting a hand to her head. Of course she would run into her first bout of trouble just minutes before she was supposed to be headed to the palace. She could only hope that this would be the worst set back she would have to face although she doubted it.

The bag was too small, she grudgingly concluded, despite it being the obvious problem. And it was her last one, too. Apparently throughout all her planning, she had somehow managed to forget something. A trivial something, but still something that could ruin her entire mission.

Well, okay, so maybe that was an exageration. But the point was still the same. Even the smallest problems, the ones that were the most easily over looked, could be the ones that would destroy her plan.

"Need some help?"

Rowen turned around to see her mother leaning up against the threshold to her door. She was wearing probably the dingiest looking rags she had ever seen which was saying something in and of itself. Not to mention seeing her in them made it hard to believe that she was planning to be seen in public. Never before had she seen her mother wear anything that wasn't rare, and brightly colored.

She shook her head, turning back to the bag with a sigh. "You aren't always going to be around to help me with this."

"True," her mother marched forward and grasped the two sides, "But I'm here now."

Rowen smiled, before moving over and grasped a hold of the clip, struggling to clasp it. Even when it wasn't over packed, the stupid thing was so old that the metal had rusted over, making it hard to close all the way.

"Ah, there we go." her mother sighed once they had managed to snap it shut. She leant back before looking up to meet Rowen's dark eyes. "Y'know, Ma, I really don't want you to do this."

"I know," Rowen sighed, staring down at the bag. "But they're my best friends, Ma. And who knows what that bastard has been doing to them?"

"You know I'm not stopping you." her mother reached up and placed a pale hand against Rowen's tanned cheek, "I'm just worried, that's all. The prince isn't known for taking things being stolen from him lightly."

"Which is why we'll all be running out of the province." Rowen covered her mom's hand with her own.

"And who knows how long we'll be separated? Or what will even happen if someone finds out what we've done?"

"Not for long, Ma, I promise." Rowen forced a confident smile onto her face. She was used to having to comfort Ashen and Rose, not her mother. "Just a couple of weeks, and then we'll meet up in Kyrie like we planned."

"Three weeks," her mother corrected, her hand tightening over her cheek. "We've never been apart that long before."

"Ashen and Rose have been separated from their families much longer. It'll be okay."

Her mother stared up at her for a bit longer, before manouvering her hands around Rowen's waist and pulling her in for a tight hug. "Promise me you won't get caught."

Rowen sighed and embraced her mother back. "I promise."

They stayed like that for a moment longer before pulling apart. It hurt Rowen to see her mother like that, alone, as she probably would be for the next few days. But this was something she had to do. Even if it meant that fourteen people would be running from the province they were born and raised in, probably to never return again.

"I love you," she sighed again, picking up the bag and moving towards the door.

"I love you too."

"See you in three weeks."

"Twenty-one days." her mother took in a deep breath before letting it out loudly. "We can do it."

"Of course we can."

They didn't say anything else as Rowen decsended the stairs to their front door and placed the bag next to the others. There were almost a dozen of them, consisting of everything her, Ashen, and Rose would need to survive until they settled down in Kyrie. Her parents would take care of making sure they got dropped off at the border for them before departing themselves.

She shouldered her satchel and closed the door calmly behind her. It was best not to cause a scene, lest someone catch on to her plan too soon.

On the horizon sat a white castle that shone a bright gold in front of the blazing sunset. It was a beautiful building, Rowen had to admit, but knowing what went on behind it was something that made her stomach churn.

Just a little over two months ago, the ever crazy Rose had approached the two of them with this "amazing" ball they just had to go to hosted by the prince. Rowen had simply turned it down, telling the truth about how boring she found those types of things. Ashen, however, was not quite so mean. It was a shame, really, that the laziest and most antisocial one of them was also the nicest of them all. She hadn't had the heart to say "no" and therefor, had been dragged along.

They never came back.

There was a rumor that had started going around, saying that the prince had taken them in as his concubines. Really, not all that unbelievable, Rowen had to admit. The prince was known for doing that sort of thing. She had just never thought it would happen to one-much less two-of her friends.

Her legs were numb and wobbly beneath her waist by the time she finally reached the palace walls. The sun had dipped way low in the sky at that point, leaving most of the village in a dark overcast. She only hoped that the prince had also turned in for the night, with everyone in their own rooms.

Otherwise this mission would be a lot more difficult.

TPCS

Ashen sighed as the maid pulled the final thread holding that day's gown out and allowed it to pool on the floor at her feet. Seventy-two days she had been held captive in the castle, almost all of which they had forced her to go through this god forsaken ritual.

The maid tugged a night gown over her head, before plopping her down in front of her vanity mirror and running a brush through her shoulder length blonde hair. Through the reflection she could see two more maids struggling to get Rose out of her own dress. The poor girl could sleep even through that nightmare. Although sometimes Ashen couldn't help but envy her almost constant state of unconciousness.

Her hair was braided neatly on either side of her neck, allowing the short weaves to fall on both her shoulders. She hadn't touched her tresses in over two months, something she found herself oddly missing. She was supposed to be perfect at every second of the day, despite the fact that neither she nor her friend had even caught a glimpse of the damned prince since the night of the ball.

Once the maid was finished, she scurried off to help with Rose who was now fully undressed. Ashen watched through the mirror, fighting off the urge to shoo them all away and preserve what little was left of her friend's dignity. But all that would probably get her was some drugs in her own food tomorrow, and then she'd be no good to either one of them.

The maids left as silently as they had entered after Rose had been re-clothed and her long brown hair braided to match Ashen's. Once the door had closed behind them, she stood up from her seat and lowered the brunette into a laying position. The bastards hadn't even the decency to remove her from where she had been propped up against the wall. Not that she was surprised. They never did.

"You stupid idiot," she murmured, adjusting the pillow under Rose's head so that her neck wouldn't have too much pain tomorrow. "First you get the two of us locked up, and then you go and get yourself in a permanent stupor. How you ever managed to survive that first fifteen years before you met us, I will never know."

She tucked the blankets around the brunette's chin and splayed her braids on either side of her head so that she wouldn't accidentally pull on them in her sleep.

After that was all taken care of, she straightened up and moved to sit down on her own bed. They were going to have to escape soon. Who knew how long they would be able to escape the prince before he came after them. And once that happened, there was no way they would be able to fight back.

But where would they go when or if they got out? They couldn't go home. The palace would look there. But they also had to let their families know that they had escaped, otherwise they could be taken in and used as hostages to make them return. After all, the prince wasn't exactly known for taking it lightly when things he deemed as his were taken from him.

A startled shriek left her throat as a tap came at her window. She froze in place, fear coursing through her veins. Was it the prince? Had he finally come for them?

Slowly, she placed herself as close to in between Rose and the window as she possibly could. She wasn't sure what she would do if it really was the prince-after all, she was the weakest of all her friends and he would probably have guards with him-but she wouldn't go down without a fight.

However, instead of the brown haired royal bastard, she was met with the crazy tresses of Rowen. A gasp escaped, as she sprinted toward the window. She couldn't believe her eyes. There was no way her best friend was there. The palace was all but impenatrible. A simple teenage girl-even if it was Rowen-couldn't just break in like it was nothing.

Rowen flashed her a silent smirk, before holding up a single finger and disappearing. Ashen leaned in to the window as far as she possibly could, trying to see where she had gone. There was no way she would leave them. Absolutely no way.

The sound of someone fiddling with the lock of the door suddenly echoed throughout the room. Ashen whirled around, watching the door until the fiddeling stopped and it was burst open to reveal her best friend.

She let out a quiet squeal and shot across the room, into Rowen's arms. It had been over two months since she had last seen anyone besides Rose and those three maids, which just made this reunion all the sweeter. Glee bubbled in her chest. It was all she could do to keep from crying out in relief. It was finally all going to be over.

"What are you doing here?" she gasped excitedly, not loosening her grip.

"What do you think?" Rowen laughed. "I'm here to save the two damsels in distress." she pulled away, much to Ashen's displeasure and tugged on her arm. "Come on, we don't have much time and we still have to find Rose."

"Uh," Ashen pointed behind her. "She's right there."

"Well, aren't we lucky?" Rowen chuckled, moving towards the sleeping girl.

"Good luck trying," Ashen sighed, "They've been drugging her for the past couple of weeks. There's no way she's waking up for at least a few hours."

Rowen froze and turned around, her dark eyes wide. "Excuse me?" anger laced her voice.

"We kept trying to escape," Ashen explained quickly, realizing that they were still tight on time. Maybe even more so, now that they were going to have to drag the lifeless body of their friend. "After the seventeenth try or so, they decided to start drugging her, seeing as she's the one who kept coming up with the ideas."

"Dammit," Rowen groaned and scratched the back of her head. "Alright. That's going to make this a bit harder, but not impossible. Any possible way you could carry her?"

Ashen winced, trying hard not to think about how bad that option could be. "Well, I could try."

Rowen shook her head. "Nope, you know what? You're right. It'll be better if I do it. Quicker."

"Are you sure?" Ashen asked. After all, Rowen had to have been tired, after sneaking in to only the most secured place in their entire province. All she had done was allow someone else do everything for her.

"Yes, I am," Rowen bent down, easily scooping Rose over her shoulders. "Now's not the time to try and prove strength you don't have, Ash. Now's the time to run."

Ashen sighed, but nodded, conceeding to her point. She quickly pulled on a pair of slippers before grabbing two extra pairs and stuffing them into a pillow case. She then followed Rowen out of their room, pausing only long enough to shut off the light and ease the door shut. Hopefully if they were careful enough that would keep anyone off their trail until morning when the maids came in search of them.

"I'm surprised there aren't any guards out." Rowen pondered as she led Ashen across the grounds.

"They tend to stay close to the royal family's rooms." Ashen respond her. "They trust that a locked door and guards at the gate will be enough to keep us in."

Rowen turned to raise an eyebrow at her. "Then how did you two end up getting caught almost twenty times?"

Ashen rolled her eyes. "Rose didn't exactly spend two months planning each of our escapes."

"Fair enough."

She skidded to a stop, before reaching out with her free hand and pulling Ashen back. The sound of footsteps sinking into wet soil echoed around them. Fuck. They had somehow managed to wander in to the outer ring of the patrol rounds. The same way her and Rose got caught six times before.

Even though it was dark, she could still sense Rowen's eyes darting around as she tried to come up with something to do. It didn't take long, much to Ashen's relief. Almost immediately, her hand tightened around Ashen's wrist and pulling her toward the gate.

"Stay silent." she hissed in her ear.

Silent? Ashen didn't know just how silent she could be. Especially when her heart was beating so loudly in her chest. Any second now the guard would hear it and then all three of them would be caught. And then tomorrow the prince would hear about it and decide to check out his new consort and then they would all be doomed.

However, the guard merely passed by them without even so much as glancing their way. Before Ashen could let out a breath of relief, Rowen was grasping her arm again and dragging her along the wall. She stumbled as her feet sunk low in the ground, at one point she even lost one of her slippers, but she couldn't take the time to care.

"Get down," Rowen hissed, pulling them to a stop. Ashen did as she was told, getting down to her knees. She could vaguelly make out a small hole, just barely big enough for a person to crawl through. It must've been hidden by bushes or something or else the king would've had it filled in. But leave it Rowen to find it.

She shuffled through it before spinning around, still in a crouched position. Rowen gently lowered Rose off of her back and stuck her feet through the hole. Ashen reached out and grasped a hold of the brunette's ankles and carefully dragged her out. Her night gown would be stained and she probably had mud and grass in her hair, but she doubted the girl would care. Better to have dirty clothes than to live in constant fear of being attacked by the single most powerful man in the province.

As soon as Rose was all the way through, Rowen followed closely. She stood up quickly and hoisted the brunette over her shoulders again. Ashen bit her lip, wondering if she should offer to carry their friend now that they were out of the palace, but decided to hold back until Rowen felt safe to stop long enough to switch off.

"Where are we going?" Ashen asked as Rowen began leading her again.

Rowen shook her head. "No talking. I'll tell you once we're safe."