A daring escape
“Father no, I can’t marry him tomorrow. I was supposed to do everything I dreamed of doing before settling down and marrying him for the sake of our kingdoms.” Mary has spent the last five minutes practically begging her father to give her more time until the marriage. She looks at him with tears in her eyes making her vision blurry.
The King speaks for the first time since he revealed she would be married the next day. “You would have had more time if you hadn’t danced with that girl, now we have to do damage control and what better way than to have you marry Rabastan.”
“Honestly Mary, you really didn’t expect this? I mean you really thought your father wasn’t having someone watch you?” Rabastan says with a smug look on his face.
Mary looks around the room to see if there was anyone there who could save her from this. But no one can. Mary gets up from the table and grabs Pandora's hand, and runs out of the dining room to her bedroom with Pandora in tow.
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As soon as Mary has Pandora in her room she breaks down crying hard. She had been holding back so much that she crumbled to the floor, her body wracked with sobs wondering to herself if she deserved this for dancing with Lily.
“Oh Pandora I can’t go through with it, I can’t.” Mary just barely chokes out between her sobs.
“Mary, oh Mary I am so sorry, I am so, so sorry.” Pandora curls up next to Mary on the ground and holds her in her arms, and leans her head on Mary’s shoulder. Mary clings to Pandora like she is the only thing keeping her afloat in an ocean of uneasiness.
Mary sniffles, wipes her tears, and blinks a few times “Pandora there must be something we can do.” Mary leans her head against the wall for a moment trying to think of something to get her out of this, when suddenly she remembers the conversation she and Pandora had the day before. “Pandora, I know what to do.”
Pandora lifts her head from Mary’s shoulder and looks at Mary hopefully “What can you do?”
“Actually Pandora for this its what we can do.” Mary looks into Pandora's eyes hoping she understands what she means.
“Mary, do you mean it? Are we actually going to run away?” Pandora is obviously trying to not get her hopes up as she asks Mary.
“Yes, Pandora. Today we run away and we will never return.” Mary gets up and goes to her closet and starts grabbing what she thinks she needs, and blinks the tears out of her eyes thinking to herself that this is not the time to break down.
Pandora quickly gets up and helps Mary grab what is needed and Mary is immensely grateful that she does not have to leave home alone and gets to go with the girl who is her sister in every way except for blood.
They pack in complete silence for a few minutes before Pandora stills suddenly “Mary, where are we going to go?”
Mary freezes from where she had been stuffing a wad of money into the pocket of a pair of pants. She hadn’t actually thought that far ahead, she had been completely prioritized leaving that she forgot about where she would go. Mary goes through the list of people she trusts in her head, desperately trying to think of someone that will take them in and help the escape when she thinks of “Frank and Gideon. We will go to Frank and Gideon, they will take us in with no questions asked.” Pandora's face relaxes and she goes back to packing. Mary turns away from her and takes a deep breath, she can do this, this is what she has always wanted to do. Then why is she so nervous? It's probably just her being nervous about being caught when they leave.
Mary pushes the thoughts out of her head, she doesn’t have the time or space in her head to be doubting right now. Right now she has to figure out how to get her and Pandora out of the castle and into the village without being caught by the guards.
They are startled by a knock at the door, worried that it is Mary’s father of Rabastan, Pandora moves the items they had packed away under the bed before answering the door. It is only a girl from the dressmaker, she is dropping off the dress Mary is supposed to wear. It is a simple a-line white dress with small crystals embedded in the neckline. It is rather gorgeous and the tag says that it is from Rabastan, Mary only thinks that at least he has a good eye for wedding dresses.
The pair pack away the final items and create their final plan. They have been throwing out ideas on how to escape for a while, but they finally create a concrete plan. “When I went to the laundry to grab one of your shirts I heard a servant girl say that you are going to be escorted to the chapel for the wedding by two guards.” Pandora says as she paces around the room again. Mary is sitting on the floor exhausted from how much time they spent gathering stuff. “So I was thinking that when they come to pick you up I would hit them in the back of the head with the dictionary you have in your desk drawer over there.” Pandora looks over at Mary to make sure she is still following what she is saying. Mary nods to show that she is absorbing what Pandora is saying.
“Then we steal their swords and make a mad dash out of the castle. Do you think it will work?” Pandora sits down next to Mary as she finishes speaking with a hopeful look in her eye and Mary is reminded of how much that poor girl has gone through at such a young age and yet somehow still finds a way to have hope.
Mary smiles a warm smile and says “I think it is a brilliant idea Pandora.”
“Really?” Pandora's voice is hopeful like her eyes.
“Really.” Mary is immediately crushed by a hug after saying this by Pandora.
“You’re the only person who ever thinks that my ideas are good.” Pandora sniffles and curls herself even farther into Mary’s embrace.
“I will always think that your ideas are good Pans.” Mary pulls Pandora back slightly so that she can see the genuine look in her eye.
“Mary” Pandora curls herself into Mary even more and Mary starts to think that she is trying to hide herself with Mary’s body, and Mary can only wonder what she is hiding from.
“Yes, Pandora, what is it?” Mary says softly in a way that she hopes soothes Pandora.
“I’m scared.” Pandora whispers so quietly that Mary has to strain her ears to hear what she said. Mary’s heart breaks into a million tiny pieces at the sound of Pandora’s small voice, and Mary is reminded once again of how young Pandora really is. Fifteen. She is as young as Mary was when she met Emmeline, when she was naive and believed that things would turn out alright in the end. It is also a startling reminder that Pandora is planning on escaping the kingdom, leaving her whole life behind, to help her escape could be charged for treason if Mary’s father wanted Mary back badly enough.
Mary hugs her so close that she is sure that she is making it difficult for Pandora to breathe, but she can’t bring herself to feel bad about it. Pandora deserves all of the love in the world, and Mary will be damned if she can’t give her as much of it as she can.
They stay like that for a minute, Nady had silent tears rolling down her face not wanting Pandora to know because she doesn’t need to know how wary Mary is about uprooting Pandora's life.
“Mary.” Pandora's voice sounds slightly strangled.
“Hmm, what is it Pans?” Mary wipes the drying tears from her eyes.
“You’re holding me a bit too tight, I can’t breathe well.”
Mary lets go of her immediately and apologizes profusely, wanting to make sure she is ok.
“Im fine now Mary, really” Pandora has a smile on her face and she spins in a circle to show her that no damage has been done “But we need to get you in your wedding dress. We have an hour and a half before the guards arrive to pick you up.”
Mary makes an over exaggerated groan as she gets up off the floor. Pandora laughs as she ushers Mary to her closet, and Mary wonders where she gets all of her energy from and where she can get some.
Pandora makes quick work of getting her in the dress and shoes. It is such a beautiful dress and Mary would love it under different circumstances, but because of why she has to wear it she wants to tear it to shreds.
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The guards knock at the door and Mary gets off her bed, nerves have overtaken her entire body and she feels ill.
She has been sitting alone for the past ten minutes because Pandora had to leave to get into position. Mary realized as soon as Pandora left that the only thing that had kept her calm all day had been Pandora, and now that she didn’t have her she was spiraling towards a panic attack. Mary has had them before and she hates them with a passion. They make her feel vulnerable and helpless.
Her thoughts have been only of what could go wrong. What if Pandora is caught? What if they get caught on the way out? Mary has worked herself up so much that she doubts the plan now more than ever. She forces herself to remember that this will not happen, this is just her brain making her afraid for no reason.
So with a deep breath Mary opens her door and is greeted by the sight of the guards.
“Your Highness, we are here to escort you to escort you to the chapel.” One of the guards says.
Mary puts on her fake smile that she uses at public events, “Yes of course, my lady in waiting told me to expect guards to come and bring me to the chapel.”
The guards give her a small smile and begin to walk her down hallway after hallway. Mary knows when Pandora is going to knock out the guards and she just has to wait for the signal, which is a blue handkerchief, that Pandora took from Mary’s room, falling to the ground. Then Mary will run to the side of the hallway and Pandora comes in and beats the shit out of the guards.
They walk for about another thirty seconds before a blue hankerchief falls in front of Mary and in a split second she runs to the side.
The guards stare at her confused for a second before Pandora comes flying down on a drape cord from where she had been perched at the top of a window. The guards are so caught off guard that they don't do anything when she comes at them with a metal serving plate.
Mary thought she knew what Pandora beating the shit out of someone would look like before, but how wrong was she.
Pandora whacks at them like it is life or death, she looks like a madwoman filled with an unbridled rage.
As soon as the guards are out Pandora grabs Mary’s hand and starts to drag her down the hall. Mary is so in shock that she forgets how to walk and stumbles over her feet a few times before getting into a sprint, in her wedding dress, with heels on.
Pandora breaks a window and screams, “GO GO GO MARY I WILL BE RIGHT BEHIND YOU!”
Mary doesn’t waste a second and dives out the second story window onto a ledge, Pandora right behind her.
“Ok Mary, I am going to throw down this drape cord and you are going to climb down it, don’t worry I will be right behind you, well I’ll actually be above you.”
Pandora ties the cord and throws it down. Now Mary trusts Pandora, but right now she is really doubting her. She nearly turns around and climb back through the window when she hears the sound of guards running and without another thought grabs the cord and begins her descent to the ground.