Silently Nasrin rose to her paws. She stood still until she was sure she had not awoken anyone else. One of her brothers grumbled in his sleep but that was it. Tentatively she made one step after another until she was out of the den. Keeping to the shadows she looked around for guards but there were none. She let out the breath she was holding and quickly walked away. She had to get to the border as soon as possible.
Soon she was in the surrounding jungle. There were a few close calls with several guards and a couple of pride members out for a late night walk. Thankfully she managed to evade detection. Now all that was left were the guards patrolling the border. Certain that she would not meet anyone else in the distance between where she was now and the border, Nasrin broke into a run. The faster she got out of here, the better, she had to put as much distance behind as possible before they even knew she was gone.
As she ran, her thoughts wandered back to the talk she had had with her father a couple of days back. She couldn’t believe him. She knew he had always looked out for her and whatever he did, he did it for her own good. Or what he thought was good. But with this he had gone too far. Choosing a mate for her, how dare he. This was her life, her choice and he hadn’t let her utter a word. And the one he had picked, dear Mkodi. She would not stand for it. She was young, full of life and he wanted to give her to that old brute. He would protect her best, her father had said. True as that may be, it was a choice that would condemn her to a life of sorrow and regret. But her father didn’t want to hear her out, even though he was claming he was only looking out for her happiness.
She could understand him on some level - she was the king's only daughter and he wanted to make sure his little girl was going to be alright. It had always been like this, her father took great interest in every aspect of her life and was very overprotective. She didn't mind it before - she got what she wanted and was very well cared for. In short - he spoiled her rotten. But recently she had begun to understand that he basically managed her life. She wasn't as free as she thought and this thing with finding her a mate was just the icing on the cake.
Nasrin realised she needed to live her own life and that wasn't going to happen as long as she stayed with her pride and under daddy's supervision. She wanted to see the world, to learn to take care of herself. She wanted to live, have adventures and meet new and interesting creatures. She did not want a mate, not yet. She wasn’t ready to commit herself to another, she wanted to be free. And there was only one way to do that – she had to run away. And so she did. She just hoped they didn’t discover she was missing before morning. It would give her enough time.
The lioness ran for a long time before she reached the border. When she neared it she slowed down and began sneaking trough the long-grass. She couldn’t see any of the guards but she that this didn’t mean that they wouldn’t see her if she revealed herself. And so belly almost brushing the dirt she slowly and carefully moved forward.
Suddenly a dark shadow loomed over her. Eyes widened, she almost gasped but caught herself in time. A guard was passing by but he had not noticed her. She stilled, not even the tip of her tail twitching, and waited. It was several agonizing minuets and Nasrin kept thinking he was going to turn around and see her. Luckily he didn’t even look in her direction. When he finally disappeared Nasrin almost collapsed. Taking a deep breath she gathered herself and continued moving forward.
When she finally crossed the border and was sure no one would see her she broke into a run again. She was finally free! The thought gave her new strength and she didn't feel as tired. She ran and ran until the sky started brightening. When she could run no more she collapsed under a bush and fell asleep immediately. Her last thoughts before she drifted away were 'I made it.'
"I made it." She whispered with a tired smile.
Soon she was in the surrounding jungle. There were a few close calls with several guards and a couple of pride members out for a late night walk. Thankfully she managed to evade detection. Now all that was left were the guards patrolling the border. Certain that she would not meet anyone else in the distance between where she was now and the border, Nasrin broke into a run. The faster she got out of here, the better, she had to put as much distance behind as possible before they even knew she was gone.
As she ran, her thoughts wandered back to the talk she had had with her father a couple of days back. She couldn’t believe him. She knew he had always looked out for her and whatever he did, he did it for her own good. Or what he thought was good. But with this he had gone too far. Choosing a mate for her, how dare he. This was her life, her choice and he hadn’t let her utter a word. And the one he had picked, dear Mkodi. She would not stand for it. She was young, full of life and he wanted to give her to that old brute. He would protect her best, her father had said. True as that may be, it was a choice that would condemn her to a life of sorrow and regret. But her father didn’t want to hear her out, even though he was claming he was only looking out for her happiness.
She could understand him on some level - she was the king's only daughter and he wanted to make sure his little girl was going to be alright. It had always been like this, her father took great interest in every aspect of her life and was very overprotective. She didn't mind it before - she got what she wanted and was very well cared for. In short - he spoiled her rotten. But recently she had begun to understand that he basically managed her life. She wasn't as free as she thought and this thing with finding her a mate was just the icing on the cake.
Nasrin realised she needed to live her own life and that wasn't going to happen as long as she stayed with her pride and under daddy's supervision. She wanted to see the world, to learn to take care of herself. She wanted to live, have adventures and meet new and interesting creatures. She did not want a mate, not yet. She wasn’t ready to commit herself to another, she wanted to be free. And there was only one way to do that – she had to run away. And so she did. She just hoped they didn’t discover she was missing before morning. It would give her enough time.
The lioness ran for a long time before she reached the border. When she neared it she slowed down and began sneaking trough the long-grass. She couldn’t see any of the guards but she that this didn’t mean that they wouldn’t see her if she revealed herself. And so belly almost brushing the dirt she slowly and carefully moved forward.
Suddenly a dark shadow loomed over her. Eyes widened, she almost gasped but caught herself in time. A guard was passing by but he had not noticed her. She stilled, not even the tip of her tail twitching, and waited. It was several agonizing minuets and Nasrin kept thinking he was going to turn around and see her. Luckily he didn’t even look in her direction. When he finally disappeared Nasrin almost collapsed. Taking a deep breath she gathered herself and continued moving forward.
When she finally crossed the border and was sure no one would see her she broke into a run again. She was finally free! The thought gave her new strength and she didn't feel as tired. She ran and ran until the sky started brightening. When she could run no more she collapsed under a bush and fell asleep immediately. Her last thoughts before she drifted away were 'I made it.'
"I made it." She whispered with a tired smile.
