Farron sat down and rubbed at his face, "I would never want you to be unhappy, Azura. Never. But I also don't want you hurt." He said gently, "You have to understand where I'm coming from as your best friend. If something were to happen to you then I-" He cut himself off and looked away.
Oh my gosh, Azura thought. how could I have been so stupid?
"I appreciate your friendship, Farron, I really do," she said. She took a slow breath. "I know that you care about me and only want the best for me. But there is really nothing I can do. . ." she trailed off. Then a light bulb went off in her brain.
of course!
"I got it! I know what we can do! Do you. . . maybe. . . want to come with me?" She saw Farron's look of surprise and quickly explained herself. "I mean, no one know the land like you do, being my mother's adviser's son, and you don't really like it here either, right? Please? It would mean a lot to me."
Farron's eyes widened as he looked back to Azura. He could tell she wanted this, badly, "You honestly really want me to come with you?" He sighed but the smallest smile cracked at his lips, "If it is what you wish then I guess I can't say no, especially to the princess."
It was her turn to be surprised. "Really? You're agreeing to this without a fight? Usually when I give suggestions we have some sort of issue, but okay. . ." she stood up.
"Now for the hard part. How do we actually go about doing this? I know that the guards switch places at about ten thirty for the night shift, but I don;t know much else. There is a back entrance in the kitchen downstairs, but the cook is probably still in there."
Farron looked to the fire in thought, "Well, you see I found these… tunnels, in my room that lead under the castle and out into the city, we could always use them. It;s just a matter of getting you to my room then without suspicion."
"Well, that is mighty convenient," she laughed. "That might be a bit hard though, the guards walk the halls constantly." she stopped to think. "My mother might also be walking the halls, because she does a good bit of her work late at night, and then she takes a walk to clear her mind. And imagine what would happen if she saw us. She might faint!" Azura laughed out loud at the thought. Farron joined in and started mocking Queen Blair. That made Azura laugh so hard she fell to the floor. Farron fell with her, and they were eventually laughing so hard they couldn't even breathe. When they slowed down, they looked at each other. Then they looked away.
Farron coughed and stood up, regaining himself in the time it took for Azura to stand with him, "Yes, um we need to be careful then. Pack a bag and I'll be back in a few hours." He walked to the door then looked back to Azura who looked like she didn't him to leave yet but Farron pushed that away, "Make sure you wear something good for traveling." He made sure he saw Azrua nod before opening the door and leaving to his own room.
As the door closed, Azura collapsed onto her bed. She wasn't even sure she wanted to run away, and now she was doing it with Farron in a few hours? This was crazy! She went and looked out her window, the one thing she would miss about the palace. It was probably the best view in all the kingdom. What are we going to do? she huffed and rested her face in her hands. Can I really do this? And what if something bad happens to Farron? I don't want to get him in trouble. What about his father? Goodness, I have been so selfish. He probably doesn't even want to go, he just wants to protect me. Her head slid down to the stone window sill. oh no, no, no, no. . .
Farron hurriedly walked back to his room, his worries circulating in his head the entire time but he tried to push them aside. Once at his chambers, he grabbed a bag and placed some clothes, daggers and any other things they might need. He placed his money in their, too then changed into some light, black traveling clothes. He slung his sword over his back with his sword then headed back to Azura.
Azura had a small bag into which she threw everything into that they might need. She had changed into the outfit she wore when she went into the village (a dark brown, short garment made from a potato sack, with brown leggings underneath and short, black boots) And put on her hood. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail with wisps of hair flying, and she had a sheath with a sword at her waist. Then she put her crossbow over her upper body and put arrows over her shoulder. She put her bag on her bed and walked around the room, waiting for Farron's knock.
Farron slung his black cloak over his shoulders, flipping up the hood as he neared Azura's room. Once there, he knocked lightly and waited.
"Come in," she said, barely over a whisper. She was uneasy because she didn't know if it was him or not, and she let out a breath of relief as she saw him. "Are all the hallways clear?" she asked.
Farron nodded, "All clear for us to move. I've cleared the path to the tunnels and it's a near straight path out of them to the forest." He explained.
(I'm starting to really like this lol)
"okay. . ." Azura took a breath. "Oh my goodness I can't believe we're doing this?!" she breathed. "Well, here we go," she reached for the doorknob.
As they walked out, they were very cautious so as not to make a sound. They walked down the corridor very slowly. Each time they had to pass a corner where a guard might be, Farron peeked around the corner. If there was someone there, they would take another hallway. They were almost there when Azura heard a noise.
Farron turned to Azura with fear all over his face. footsteps he mouthed.
(I did a drawing of Azura btw https://imgur.com/2h3Wb2l )
(Tell me if the link doesn't work)
Pushing Azura to the side he removed his hood and stood facing her, "I'm sorry for this." He muttered before kissing her right as the guard came round the corner. He took one look at the two of them and continued walking away. As he was gone, Farron pulled back, "Come on." He said, walking round the corner.
wow that's amazing!
''Wha-" Azura's eyes were as big a saucers. Once they got a safe distance away, she kept talking. "What was that about? Was that the only thing you could have done?" she asked. Of course, she liked it, but she didn't need him to know that.
thanks btw :)
"Yes, it was. Any other way, he would have asked questions. Now drop it." Farron said over his shoulder before yanking open the door to his room, shutting it behind them both. He walked over to a tapestry of the kingdom and removed it, pulling on a golden chain that revealed the passageways, "In."
Azura rolled her eyes. Farron always did have a way of being dramatic. Bot, she dropped it, and walked inside. The hallway was dark and dusty, and she instinctively put her hand on her sword as the passageway entrance closed. The two walked for a good bit, but Azura hardly even noticed. She was too deep in thought. I can't believe I just got my first kiss! And he told me not to talk bout it! Goodness, what am I supposed to do? Were there sparks? Was he smiling? This is all so crazy! But, I have to stay clam, don't let him know you thought about it. She absentmindedly strolled through the passageway.
The passageway went on for a while, bits of rusted metal poking out form the corners on stone, grime and dirt coating it too. There was a strong stench in the air and Farron used the top of his cloak to cover his nose and mouth. Eventually, the passageway widened out and a faint light shone at the end of the hall, “Hurry.” Farron muttered, picking up the pace.
Azura followed his lead. They went towards the light very quickly, until Farron stopped at the door. He put his ear to it, then opened it wide for Azura to exit first. As she walked out, she could tell where they were; they had gone all the way around the castle to the back, and were now at the edge of the woods. There was a lantern next to the door, which is why it was bright, but it must've been at least 11 at night when they made it out. They sat down for a few minutes, just enjoying the view, and each of them was thinking about the fact that, within the past hour, their lives had changed completely. They were now runaways, and the king and Queen would no doubt send out a search party for the two of them in the morning. They both sensed what the other was thinking, but neither of them said a word.
After a few stolen moments, Farron pulled his hood back up over his head and stood up, inclining his head for Azura to follow. There was a cabin in the woods that they could stay at a few hours walking away and he decided it was the best place at the moment. Checking one last time to make sure the path was clear before heading off into the woods. There was a light breeze in the air which gave the night some chill. The two walked for what felt like hours, and in truth it was. About three hours later, the light of a small cabin showed and they hurried their speed to reach it. Once inside, Farron lowered his hood and nodded to a bed in the corner, "Get some rest, I'll keep watch."