Perryn considered herself lucky, at least she was given a proper send of, quite shocking considering her father liked to pretend she did not exist. A handful of guards and two handmaidens expected to attend to all her needs, how generous.

  An arranged marriage is the best her father could offer, Perryn is to be wedded to the fourth son of some well-known councilman, she could not be bothered to remember the name of.

  First impressions were important, something her tutors had beaten her over the head with. Perryn should be happy, truly this was a joyous occasion, yet…

  The sudden jolt of the Panquin pulls Perryn out of her thoughts, truly what was the problem now? This was the seventh time in the st hour, was the path that bad?

  “Forgive us my dy, just a slight bump, nothing to worry about.” A voice spoke ahead.

  Another bump? Perryn had a feeling this had to be intentional, she was not quite liked by the guards back at home, it would not surprise her if this was all some sort of joke.

  “Are you alright, my dy?” A soft voice called out to her. She gnces to the small and only window- of her Panquin. The voice belonged to one of her handmaidens, Therill if she remembered correctly.

  Perryn takes a second to compose herself and gives Therill a small smile, hoping Therill could see said smile as her veil obscured her face.

  “I should be used to this, seeing as the st hour has been filled with nothing but bumps. I will manage.”

  Perryn hoped the conversation would end there, small talk was not her forte, it felt draining, like being under the sun for too long, she felt weaker and weaker until all she wanted to do was hide away from the world.

  The handmaiden, Therill, let out a sigh of relief.

  “It is our duty to make sure you are comfortable,” she turns slightly to Perryn, “Your wellbeing is of utmost importance, if there is anything I can- we can do, do not hesitate to ask-“

  “It is as I said, I am used to it, you need not worry.” Perryn was well aware cutting her off was a rude thing to do however, she wanted a few hours of peace and quiet before facing the inevitable, an arranged marriage to a man whose appearance she does not even know.

  Perryn let out a sigh, with nothing else to do, confident that the conversation is over, she inspects the inside of her cage, quaint, nothing over the top, spending more money than required was not her father’s way of operating. The Panquin was spacious; despite how suffocating it felt to her, she could at least stretch her legs.

  Perryn continues her inspection, her eyes drawn to a little chest almost pressed up against her feet, a simple box filled with sentimental items from home. There should have been more but, this was all she was allowed to carry.

  Seeing as there was still quite the distance before her group would meet up with the other party, she leans over to open the unassuming chest, her eyes instantly lock in on a hand mirror, gold in colour with precious gemstones embedded into its back. It was a gift from her mother during her sixteenth birthday, an item she held dearly and would cherish till the end of her days.

  Perryn raises the mirror to her face and- she can hardly believe the woman looking back was her.

  The floor length crimson veils which came in two yers, one see-through which covered her vision and the other opaque which draped behind her. A golden circlet rests delicately on her head, dangling from the lower edge of the circlet are golden beads each suspended by fine chains.

  It felt too much and too real, Perryn found it difficult to breathe, the proverbial noose getting tighter and tighter with each breath. She ‘agreed’ to the marriage yes but, what other choice was given to her? To continue to face the scorn of her half-siblings or deal with the pitying looks thrown her way.

  ‘A Bastard’

  ‘Pitiful creature’

  ‘You aren’t worth the trouble’

  ‘Father should have never taken you in, you do nothing but sully his good name’

  Like it was her fault that scum could not be a faithful husband. It was all so exhausting, trying to prove her worth as a person, Perryn’s thoughts spiraled out of control, her palms felt sweaty, the walls of the Panquin felt like they were closing in on her. Was this the only way to attain freedom? Agreeing to a marry a man she did not even know the name of?

  The Panquin jerks again, before Perryn could voice her displeasure once more a scream pierces the air, followed by the sound of steel drawing and then another scream until it is the only sound that could be heard.

  The Panquin jerks once more until it is dropped suddenly, the drop catches Perryn off guard and it takes a while for her ears to stop ringing, to catch her bearings. Her hand mirror is long discarded. Perryn reaches to open the sliding door but stops when she hears more screaming, this time sounding like Therill. A thud is heard from above her; it shakes the Panquin and Perryn is forced to hold on for dear life.

  A final scream is heard and then…silence.

  Perryn holds her breath, after a while she presses her ear against the door, hoping to hear something, anything…silence.

  Gathering up courage, Perryn reaches for the door, it takes her a few tries but she is finally able to get it open, the sight that greets her is nothing short of massacre.

  The viscera of her entourage decorate the ground, entrails all about, Perryn slowly makes her way out of the Panquin until something drops onto her hand, blood. She slowly looks up and into the eyes of Therill, gssy, her st expression that of pure terror, her body mangled, from below one can tell she has been disemboweled, Perryn takes a step back, the squelch from below making her freeze up with fear, disgust, a combination of both really.

  Perryn slowly turned around, she needed to leave, that creature could be anywhere.

  ‘I can do this,’ Perryn thought as she slowly turned around, ‘I can do this, one step at a time.’

  Right, left, right, left. It went on like a mantra in her head. Perryn tried her best to not acknowledge the carnage around her however, the occasional squelch or warm liquid from below made it much harder to concentrate.

  She felt like throwing up.

  The walk felt like an eternity until at st she made it to the edge of the forest, without looking back she ran like a girl on fire.