Runaway

1

He was running, he didn't know where he was going but he had to 2

get away.  Away from the man who had tortured him all his life, away 3

from a life that no longer supported him.  His mother was dying, and the 4

man he called father was a stranger to him.  Prince or not he would be 5

sent, against his will, to live with an aunt who despised him.  His 6

mother was dying, and no one could help her.  He was no longer a prince, 7

he was a boy, and his mother was dying.  8

He ran, blinded by his tears and his foot found the root before 9

his eyes.  He fell, rolling into a stagnant pool of rainwater.  He 10

struggled to gain his feet and resumed his mad dash through the forest. 11

The trees ended abruptly and the boy staggered into the sunlight, and 12

stopped.  There before him were the docks, beyond them lay the Frenne 13

ocean, calm and clear.  The boy had never seen so much water in all his 14

life.  He had been kept indoors and protected from the world.  Only 15

child of a dying queen.  He stared, awed, as two of his mothers' 16

warships were tied up and unloaded.  A few miles down the beach he could17

just make out the smaller vessels waiting for passengers and trade 18

goods.  A few shops and warehouses stood between himself and the first 19

of the passenger ships.  There was nowhere to hide between the trees and 20

the buildings, it would be a straight run through the street to the 21

boats.  The boy paused to catch his breath then charged straight for the 22

ships.  In the bustle of passengers and shop-owners he was just another23

child running around causing trouble and went mostly unnoticed.  He made24

it to the first dock and followed a carter up onto the deck and then25

below to the storage area.  There was no one yet on board and the carter 26

never once turned to look behind him, too busy finding the right place 27

to store his goods.  The boy wedged himself in a corner and waited for 28

the carter to finish his job and go topside.  The boy waited until he 29

heard the mans steps fade away and then scrambled back behind the 30

passengers stowed items.  31

In the dark cramped space he had not way of knowing what time it 32

was, early or late, only that he felt the boat lurch away from the docks 33

hours ago and he could hear the people in the rooms above sitting down 34

for their meals.  All he had to eat was from the passengers bags.  35

During his food-searches he was surprised to find a bag of sweet-candies 36

tucked deep in a brown leather knapsack.  After a more thorough search 37

through the pack he was rewarded with two ripe orange-colored fruits, a 38

skin of lightly spiced wine, and five dried flat-bread cakes.  He also 39

found two sets of hunting clothes and stuffed these into the knapsack 40

with the food.41

He had no idea how long they'd been traveling, or when they would 42

dock, so he kept himself occupied playing makeshift games with the 43

passengers coins and possessions.  After a while he settled the knapsack 44

under his head and fell asleep to the sound of rolling waves, lulled by 45

the soft motion of the ship.46