I never had such an amazing time since I have started running. One second, I am trapped in my castle, angry and disappointed, but the next second, I am gone, into the stars with that man; the man that has never told me his real name. I never knew who he was exactly, but I trusted him more than anyone else. I have been running with him for what seems like a year, and the only reason I met him was because I had to get away from my home.
I was about seventeen when I found out I was going to be forced into an arranged marriage. I stayed, alone, in my room for almost two hours forming a plan in my head. The one idea that had come to me was what anyone could do. Run.

The plan was simple: sneak some bread off the table during dinner and leave while everyone slept. I already had a small bag ready and hidden under my bed. About one hour after dinner, my maid came in to make sure I was in bed. If she knew I was leaving, my parents would immediately know. They would not want the future leader abandoning her kingdom, but after a few seconds, I heard her turn and leave. A sigh of relief escaped my lips. I waited a bit longer for the talking downstairs to die down, then quickly, but quietly, sprang from my bed, drop my necklace into my bag, grab the bag, and climb up the ladder onto my balcony.
The last time I stood on this balcony, I looked up at the sky and watched the glowing lights of the rings that wrapped around Sambiok like a few other planets I would go on to later learn about. My homeland, Trelia, was just a small section of Sambiok; the home I knew for seventeen years became smaller to me than it actually was. There was no time to stop and admire the rings, I had to get going.
I made the mistake of looking down to see how long I would have to climb to get down. Three stories high, smooth, vertical walls; this was going to be difficult and time consuming. My hand reached into my bag and grabbed the necklace, I put it on. One dangerously stupid idea flashed through my head.
Just jump down. I will be safe.
A small part of me was telling me not to and to play it safe. An even bigger part of me was telling me to jump.
So I did.

I regained conciseness about two hours later. My natural reaction was to check for broken bones or any wounds. I was completely unscathed. Something must have saved me; I just couldn’t understand what it was. Cautiously, I got to my feet and looked around. I could barely see a thing. My only light was from the rings surrounding Sambiok. I felt no presence around me. No animal, no Trelian, just me and my parents and servents sleeping in my home behind me.
I was a bit hesitant, but I summed up the courage to stop thinking in the past and start thinking of what to do next. Before walking away, I looked back. The castle was just as dark as everything else in the world that night, but I still knew, this is the home I’m running from, the home I knew for seventeen years, and I was finally leaving.
I turned back around, grabbed my bag, and started towards the forest.
The forest, the only place where you can stay completely hidden. The only reason why I knew which direction to walk in was from how many times Thomas and I went to the forest to practice with my new sword. Thomas, my friend, the one I’m running from.
It took me about fifteen minutes to reach the clearing I knew well. Thomas and I have been here many times. No, I tried telling myself, I don’t want to think of him. It’s not his fault, though. I just don’t want to see him again.
I felt myself yawn and I immediately knew I needed someplace to sleep. In the ring light, I made out the silhouette of a tree. Nice, I thought. Even though I have never climbed a tree before, I was able to climb up without a fault. After a few seconds of relaxing on the tree, I closed my eyes and I was asleep.

I woke to the noise of galloping. Horses galloping to be specific. Damn, they knew I was gone. They were searching for me. And they were close. I immediately grabbed my things and jumped down. I was running right when my feet touched the ground.
“There!” I heard someone yell. I ran faster. The galloping got closer. I wouldn’t be able to get away. At that point, my legs acted before my mind and I found myself up another tree in mere seconds. The knight who found me stopped at the tree to get me down.
A new sound entered the area. I never heard anything like it. My confusion lead to fear.
“W-what are y-you?” I heard the knight ask. There was a flash of light, another sound, only different, then a scream and a thump. I looked down and saw the lifeless body of the knight. Tears formed in my eyes. I didn’t know him personally, but I have seen him a few times around the castle. It saddened me to know someone I knew was dead.
I fell. A strange, bulky, silver-coloured man looked at me with hollow eyes. I immediately got to me feet and ran. The strange noises, which I believed to be it walking, followed. Then, I reached a dead-end. Now? Seriously? Wait, I had a weapon. The sound doubled, and then tripled.  Great. Just, brilliant. My hand went down to my pocket for my quill. Yes! I have it. The sounds were getting closer.
I found the small button near the tip. They were almost here. I pressed the button and slashed. The sword sliced right through the first one, the one that killed the knight. The second one came up right behind me. I slashed once more. The second one was down. There was a flash of light, and I felt a sudden pain grow from my back. I hit the ground. Wait . . . I should be dead. The knight was killed; I was hurt the same way.
Something happened way too quickly for me to comprehend. A man appeared and hit the last metal man in the head with what I believed to be a rock, or maybe a pipe. The metal man collapsed. “That’s better,” I heard him say. He ran over to me.
“Are you all right?” he asked, he had a bit of an accent; I just couldn’t tell what it was.
“I-I don’t know,” I tried getting up. A sharp pain shot up back. I cringed.
“Here,” he kneeled over me, “let me help you up.” He grabbed my hand. I was up in seconds.
I cringed once more and fell against the rocky wall.
“What exactly happened?” the man asked.
“T-that thing . . .” I croaked, “I-it tried to kill me. There was two more, I killed them. The third hit me,”
He frowned a bit, “How exactly did you get hurt by the last one?”
“There was a flash of light, and I was in pain,”
“Then how could you be alive?” he muttered. He shined a strange light in my face. “Their beams always kill their victims;” He stopped and looked at the light for a second, “strange, you’re just a normal Trelian. How did you kill the first two?”
“Um,” I started, shaken. What did he mean? “I-I used a sword,” He looked down at the weapon I was holding.
“Can I see that?”
I shook my head, “I need to go,” I heard the galloping once more. “I’m being . . . hunted down, and I need to get away.” I turned around to walk away.
“Wait,” he stopped me, “I know of a place we can talk without you being found.”
I turned once more, “Do you promise?”
“Yeah,” he said confidently, “just follow me.” He turned away and started walking, then he stopped, “and I would get going if I were you, that heap of metal won’t stay unconscious for much longer,” he started walking again.
I hesitated. Could this man be trusted? After a minute, the man was farther away, and I had a decision.
Before walking away, I took my sword and jammed it into the metal man, making sure it was dead. Then I followed the man. The man I knew nothing about.
That is the story of how I started running. I have not stopped since.