Come on...Keep going.

You could tell that Mei was getting tired from the fast pace you were telling her to go at, but you couldn't have her slow down.

You had shifted into the forest for traveling and on the main road you could hear hooves constantly going back and forth. The guards were too close to you and you didn't want to get caught. Not when the end was so close.

"Take one more sweep of the village and then spread out into the forest!" You heard a voice command on the main road and your pulse quickened.

"I'm sorry Mei, just a little longer." You whispered as you snapped the reins again and Mei picked up speed. She jumped over roots and twisted around trees while you scanned the trees for any sign that the guards were getting close to you.

"Hey! I've got horse tracks!" You heard someone yell and your ears picked up on hooves behind you. At the fast pace you were going, all the trees blended together and looked like silhouettes, causing you to jump every time you saw something out of the corner of your eye. You couldn't see anyone like this.

You flicked the reins, but knew it was pointless. Mei was at her limit. You looked around anxiously before letting out a small frustrated scream. You had to make it. You were so close.

"Hey! They keep going. It might be her. Spread out!"

The sound was becoming increasingly louder. Three decisions flashed through your mind.

You could either keep going and hope you'd outrun them, leave Mei somewhere and continue on foot, or turn around and hope that they would somehow let you go.

Your grip on the reins tightened and you fought back tears of frustration. None of the options had great success probabilities.

"I'm sorry Mei." You whispered as you let go of the reins. You hesitated for a moment before jumping off the horse and rolling across the ground. You sprung up to your feet and continued running. It would be harder for them to track you this way.

You glanced back to see Mei watching you and you felt slightly guilty. She'd gotten you that far, and you'd just left her there. You shrugged it off and pushed yourself harder, your feet flying across the ground.

"There's a horse here!" You heard a voice yell. "She has to be in this area. Look carefully!"

You cursed inwardly and kept running.

How far...How far do I have left.

If you squinted you could vaguely make out the outskirts of the village. Relief flooded your system for a moment before you remembered the immediate problem behind you.

Risking a glance behind you, you saw flashes of brown and white through the trees. They were really close.

It's now or never.

You cut across the forest floor, heading for the clearing behind the last house in the village. The forest was just beyond there.

"Hey! I see her!" Someone yelled and you willed your feet to go faster.

No.

"After her!" Someone else shouted and suddenly you heard multiple pairs of hooves hitting the ground behind you.

"I said no!" You screamed as you cut through the trees and found yourself out in the open.

Looking back, you saw them at the edge of the forest.

Propelling yourself forward, you made it across the clearing and into the forest on the other side. Breathing heavily you made it a few steps before you grabbed a branch of a tree and started pulling yourself up.

You barely had time to disappear into the foliage before they came crashing through the underbrush.

"We can't let her escape!" One yelled as they all ran underneath you. You held your breath as you slowly watched all of them continue farther into the forest and disappear.

Once you were sure they were far enough away, you climbed down and made your way back to the clearing. You looked around and made your way to the south side of the village.

It was quiet and you winced with every small sound your feet made as they came in contact with the ground. You glanced around until you slowly saw two people leaning against a tree at the edge of the forest.

Your heart soared as you came closer and recognized the (h/c) hair of your mother.

"Mom!" You exclaimed as you ran over to her. She was slumped against the trunk of the tree, her face down.

You smiled. She fell asleep while waiting for you.

You glanced over to see your father lying on the ground facing away from you.

You bent down so that you were level with your mom, "Hey! Sorry for waiting. I had to evade some guards. Wake up!" You shoved her shoulder gently, but she didn't react.

"Alright mom, the jokes up. Come on, let's get moving before anyone from the palace gets here." You stood up and stared down at her. She still didn't move.

"Mom...?" You knelt down and slowly lifted her face up.

You had to shove a hand against your mouth to stop a scream from escaping. You stared at your mother in horror, feeling as if you were going to throw up.

Her face...Her pretty face...It was cut and distorted in so many ways. Blood trickled from two large gaping wounds on her cheeks and smaller cuts all over, and she was missing an eye. You gazed around in horror to see it lying in the grass a few feet away.

How...

You stumbled back and tripped on your own feet, causing you to hit the ground roughly. You choked back a sob as you looked at her blank gaze.

How did this happen...

Your eyes traveled over to your dad and you shakily stood up and made your way over to him.

His face was set in panic and you could see a large stab wound in his chest. Blood had stained his cotton shirt and some of it trickled from his mouth onto the grass.

Mom...Dad...Why...

You felt the tears coming down your face as you looked at your parents. How had it come to this?

Your eyes widened and you looked around hurriedly. Where were Alex and Nadia?

You wandered into the forest a little ways before you saw them.

Nadia's body was draped over a tree branch, her red hair lightly touching the grass. Your hand came over your mouth again as you made your way over to her. She had a stab wound similar to your fathers, but she didn't look panicked. You let out a small sob as you looked at her. She looked so serene, like everything hadn't been taken away from her.

You turned to see Alex's body and gagged. Why had they been so rough with him? You wished you had memorized his face better the last time you had seen him because there wasn't even a face to memorize now.

You turned away, made it to a tree to lean against, and threw up. Wiping at your mouth, you turned back to your parents to see something clutched in your father's hand.

Walking back over silently, you closed his eyes with your hand and took the paper out of his grasp.

Unfolding it, your eyes widened.

Littering isn't good dear. It can lead to very bad things. Do you like our present? It's quite fitting since you decided running away was better than accepting our love like you should've. Now let's take a headcount. There's four people there...who's missing?

You glanced up and looked around wildly, trying to search for him.

Ah that's right. Reed. Let's play another little game, since you love hide and seek so much. Whoever gets to him first wins~ We're already out there looking (Y/n). Don't spend too much time on the past unless you really want to see the child dead.

~C&A

You shook with anger and you crumpled the paper in your hands.

"Damn it!" You screamed as you threw the paper to the ground.

How had it come to this...

You looked around at everyone in front of you. They all loved you in some way...and had all died for it.

There was no one...There was...Reed.

You glanced at your family one last time before you stood up and walked back the way you came. Reed needed you right now, and you wouldn't let those psychotic princes anywhere near him.



A/N: Alright now, here's where I come to a crossroads. I've decided to have you guys choose. When I first started writing this I had no clue how it would end. Now, I have two endings in mind. Do you guys want the original ending I was going to go with, the other one that would probably make some of you happy, or both? This is the first time I haven't known where I was going with the story, so I need some help! Pick your poison (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)