I glanced behind me one last time before opening the iron gates and shutting them. Thunder boomed in the sky, as if to tell me I needed to hurry. It was true, I didn’t have much time. I quickly darted through the garden and onto the road.
Rain was pounding onto my head with big heavy drops that soaked through my clothing quickly. I risked being found on the street, but it was better than what may lay in the forest beside me. I stayed on the edge, alert for the signaling lights of oncoming carriages. I made my way through the streets and to the outer wall of the city.
Lighting flashed, illuminating the entire sky and allowing me to see. While the rain and thunder gave me more cover than a normal night, the lighting might give me away if it stuck at the wrong time. It was also Samhain. The guards would be on edge tonight, they kept track of our holidays.
I clutched my cloak fiercely around my body and kept my head down as I continued to the gates. They were right in front of me. Although when I was on the other side, I would still have to deal with the dangers of the weather, but I would be free. And that is all I cared about. I walked away from the road and into the trees for cover, gathering up my skirts so it wouldn’t snag or rip. It would give away my direction when the guards at the prison discovered my escape. My mind flashed back to the breakout I had been planning for months. I smiled in spite of myself. I had actually done it.
Not yet, I corrected myself. Although the famous spiked gate, the last obstacle, was not ten meters away, I still had to get through them. I couldn’t feel safe until then. Maybe not even then. Maybe not ever.
I was now right next to the gate. I put my back to a tree, and cautiously peered around, looking for the guards. I knew that the generally went inside in the case of a storm, and watched the gates from the window, but I had to check. I spotted the lit window of a little hut on the side of the road. It was slightly fogged up, and I could see movement beyond it, but it didn’t seem as though there was anyone doing there job inside that hut.
I waited for the next fork of lighting to flash through the sky. I counted to three, and dashed towards the gate. I braced myself for shouting. For the door to burst open, and for armed soldiers to run out and tackle me to the ground. I held my breath as I slipped through the bars of the gate. Scaling it would make too much noise, and being in prison had made me skinny enough to squeeze through. I set foot on the other side and dashed into the forest on the other side. I stared at the gates for several seconds before disappearing into the trees. I had finally done it. And now, now my life would truly begin.