Nayara looked one last time at the mirror to check everything was going right. The rich, golden frame of the precious artifact made a big contrast with her condition as she dressed. She tried to hold her breath so as to avoid the smell of the sleeping perfume - if she slept like the maiden from whom she had just stolen those poor, dirty clothes, her plan would be jeopardized.
It was not the first time a princess tried running from a castle by disguising as a servant, but still it was a new experience to her. Princess Nayara had never been this subtle in her escapes before.
Success was closer this time than ever, but it worsened things rather than helping. It got her mind clouded, and there was trouble double-checking everything that should be done. In a flash, her life passes before her eyes…
…King Marius, the sovereign of Laboria, and Queen Karina, the most noble amazon, met when a coalition of kingdoms sent an expedition to the great forests beyond all frontiers. He spent a month in the wilderness before going back home. About twelve months later, a group of fifty amazons visited his castle and brought a baby. She was his daughter. The mother had died some days before. The warriors decided she should be rised by the father, for otherwise the child would be slain in the war for power that was to come in her homeland.
The child, named Nayara, had a difficult childhood. She never got along well with other noble children. She didn’t like the life of a princess and spent hours daydreaming about a life of dangerous adventures. Her teachers could hardly get her to pay attention to what they said - but fortunately, after learning how to read, the books themselves taught her most of the things she knows.
Her pre-teens were more interesting. She tried running away from home many times. The maidens stopped counting after the 15th try. She had already jumped from a tower to the river that passes by the castle, hiding in cargo that went out the building, climbing the walls down with the help of tied blankets, and even the most straightforward one, runing while the bridge is down… Just to be caught by the guards moments later.
She took her non-running time to learn how to fight with swords and staves, ride horses and practice gymnastics. Her father never liked the idea of a princess doing these things, but he thought that if she chanelled her energies and agressiveness through these things, she wouldn’t try to run away. However, swords and riding accidents gave Nayara some scars. She never cared much about it, but hid them under long clothes anyway.
In her 16th birthday, she was told the story of ther mother and how she came to Laboria being less than one year old. It was almost like telling a teenager that she is actually an adopted child. But at learning it, Nayara finally discovered why she had always tried to escape that boring life. She had to go back to her origins in the wilderness. To that day she had no destintion, but now she knew where to go.
Ten tranquil days passed. People in the castle thought Princess Nayara had suffered a trauma for being so quiet the last few days. None knew that a escape plan was being arranged, and a one that would be more functional than all the previous ones. Nayara had gotten some sleeping perfume with the master alchemist at the castle by bribing him with some golden rings. That night, at 10:30 o’clock, she called a maiden to her room and locked the door by inside, so the two thugs guarding her room wouldn’t see what she was up to. The maiden was put to sleep after having the perfume quickly spilled in her face. The princess then used a fast hair and skin dye, another ‘gift’ from the alchemist, to change her appearance. Her hair, once plain and green, was now curly blonde. Her skin, with a beautiful tan, became really pale - by the bright side, the scars were gone. Now she looked like the maiden that slept in the floor…
…The flashback finished, and Nayara saw her plan working. She dressed the sleeping maiden with her royal clothes and put her on the bed. All that exercizing helped somehow - it was a difficult task, but it could have been worse. She then covered the maiden with a blanket from toe to top to make her look like a sleeping princess. Next step was going outside the room. She opened the door and walked out as if nothing had happened. The thugs didn’t notice anything suspicious and didn’t say anything. turning in a corridor, the princess sighed in relief. Phase 1 went alright.
Now she was going for the hard part. Next step took place in the castle dungeons.
Scenes from the next episode:
In the throne room, strange knights from a neighbouring country demand the execution of a prisoner that ‘belongs’ to them and is in the castle. In the dungeons, Nayara finds a young mad man who is said to deal with creatures from another world and learns about the Rune of Return, an artifact that has powerful teleportation spells in it. Will she finally escape the castle? What is true and what is fantasy in the depths of the insane prisoner’s mind? Will the knights put their hands on their prey? Don’t miss it.
