"Come on! Come on! Work darn thing work!" was all the prisoner thought as she tried to pick the lock with two hair pins." Hurry! Before the guards hear you!" Her thoughts screamed at her. Hearing the small clicking sound a smile formed on the prisoners lips as she gentle pushed the iron bared door open and ran down the the stone path of the dungeon and out to the world." Keep quiet and run.. Run and don't look back till you are home."
Maria Dartanrin could hear her heart pounding in her head as she ran up the cliff. Behind her she could hear the hoofs of horses and running of men. They were still after her. That realization made her run harder. Reaching the top, she slid to a halt at the edge off the cliff and looked down into the open sea. Turning around, she came face to face with the people who wanted to kill her - or worse.
The other kingdom simply wanted more land - her fathers land - and when her father wouldn't hand it over they decided to take it. And so they had attacked, trying to kill everyone in the castle by catching fire to it. Whether her family was still alive or not she wasn't sure; Maria had snuck into town and hadn't been there. With her return, Maria had been so shocked at the scene of her home in flames and servants slaughtered bodies laying around that she ran.
She had accidentally gave her position away at the forest edge. Not that it mattered, she was sure they would have found her soon enough. As one young man began to shout about 'finding the princess', she had turned and ran blindly up the cliff. An ignorant move when she had the whole forest behind her to disappear into.
Maria green eyes focused on the man who stepped forward with a taunting smile. Taking a deep breath, she counter stepped back and felt pieces of earth crumble beneath her feet. Looking over the cliff her thoughts became obvious. The man crossed his arms and raised one of his eyebrows at her. "You wouldn't dare princess. And even if you are that foolish, we will find you. It really doesn't matter if you're dead or alive." Laughter rang through the crowd but she refused to answer him. Maria had a plan in her head and that was the end of it. The chances of the rocks below killing her were great, but anything was better than being a captive. Taking a deep breath she took her last step back...
Maria expected to feel nothing except the air rushing past her as she fell. Instead, strong arms wrapped around her waist, locking her arms against her and pulling her from the edge. A small yelp of surprise passed through her lips before she started to thrash against the man who had taunted her moments ago. Her struggles had no affect. She wasn't near strong enough to fight the man off.
