This wasn't what I was expecting. The tall grass, the lush leaves under the summer sun. It all felt too artificial, too unreal. Not like what I read while I was hidden away in that tower.

The thief took one glance at me, then back at the dense forest we found ourselves in. It felt endless, and I was trapped there with a total stranger for eternity. I didn't even know which way to begin to go. It was all too shocking even to touch the grass that now tickled the bottom of my feet. I tried to calm myself, sniffing all the types of smells the forest had to offer. It was completely different, sending my nerves into overdrive, only making the anxious feeling worse. I covered my mouth, sneezing. That brought the thief's attention back to me.

"I'm fine." I brushed him off before he had any ideas of getting closer. I may not have much social skills, but my instinct told me not to trust this man. He admitted to being a thief, he stole a literal crown from the kingdom itself. There was no way that this dude was trustworthy.
"I wasn't asking." He coldly remarked, annoying me further. Was this dude serious?
—
"Well, miss hostage, I think we have found ourselves lost in the woods." He sarcastically commented, shoving his hands into his pockets. I rolled my eyes, almost fed up with his bullcrap.
"Don't expect any help from me. I've been locked in a tower all my life. As If I'm gonna know anything about an exit."
"Yeah, cause all Forests have a glowing red sign that screams 'exit' " He chuckled, annoyed.
"I'm starting to rethink that deal I made with you."
"Well, too bad. We're already down here. Might as well kill two birds with one stone. You want that crown back or not?"
He groaned, Slicking his hair back with his sweat. I cringed at how gross other humans could be. At least with mother, she never openly showed me any of her flaws. This dude was just straight up disgusting. I sighed, sitting down on a nearby rock.

This is what I wanted. I wanted to leave this tower, essentially disobeying my mother, and going into the unknown world with a stranger I just met. I didn't expect it to go like this. This freedom I was granted, doesn't feel the way I thought it would. It left me more unfulfilled than when I was locked up in that tower, longing for the day when I'd finally see those lanterns for myself. The day came too soon. I wasn't prepared, and now here I am. More alone and scared than I could possibly imagine.

The prompt for this short clip (inspired by Rapunzel from Tangled) was "Freedom doesn't feel the way I thought it would" if you would like to join me on this little trend :)


© Tannni