Ren saw a horse that had gone wild charging further into the crowd, heading towards where he was standing, and he imdiately understood the situation. There are so many people here, if that horse isn’t dealt with or brought under control many people will get hurt and so may even die. The horse will trample on many people and while they are in a panic, there will be a stampede in the crowd.
He furrowed his brows as he thought hard about his next move. He should find Rin but at the sa ti he had to do sothing about that horse. His people are at risk and the harm is charging directly towards him.
Stopping the horse would keep people safe and that also included Rin. Rin should not be badly hurt as long as she doesn’t encounter the wild horse. Without another thought, his body began moving towards the oncoming beast.
Wait for , Rin...
...
Where am I?
While being swept by the crowd I was sohow able to separate myself by stepping aside from the main path into a small alley. Peeking outside from the alley, I could still see the crowds going wild. People were still panicked and running in all directions. It was pure chaos.
Thankfully, I didn’t sustain any serous injuries when I was pushed down to the ground. I had a few minor scratches here and there on my hands, arms, and my knees but it wasn’t major. With so basic dicine, the cuts will heal in no ti, and I’ll suffer so bruises but that’s about it. I would count myself as very lucky given the situation that I was in.
The biggest problem now was that I didn’t know where I was, and I had no idea how to reunite with Ren. He’s probably very worried by now because I have been missing for a long while now. It was painfully obvious that I was lost. I had no idea how to get back to where I was, and I had no idea how far I had travelled either.
Apart from the maddening crowd that had started to quieten down sowhat, there was no one else around that I could ask for direction. Great.
The panic had died down and people were now walking calmly on the main path. The incident that had taken place so suddenly also seed to have co to an end so suddenly as well. I saw two young n walking along the path and I caught a few lines from their conversation.
“That was so scary. The festival is ruined now,” the shorter man said to his companion.
“It’s so sad. We ca so far just to see it,” the other man replied followed by a huge sigh.
“Yeah...let’s head back to our hotown. If we start now, maybe we’ll get there before noon tomorrow...” the shorter man suggested as he made an effort to sound a little cheerful.
I see, so many people travelled from other towns just to see the festival and now they were heading back ho.
Suddenly, a thought hit as I looked around where I was standing...
‘let’s head back to our hotown...’ the man had said.
To go back to my hotown?
I had been too scared and worried about getting lost and how I could et up with Ren that it had totally slipped my mind. However, now that my eyes were scanning my surroundings once again, it hit . After months of pining to go ho, finally, the right conditions were in place right in front of my eyes.
Unbelievably, I was out of the inner court. Better yet, I was completely out of the palace walls. There are no guards with , and Ren wasn’t around. I was alone and free. No one around here knew who I was and no one, except for Ren, would be looking for .
I didn’t have a lot of money on . However, I could sell all these jewelry that I was wearing for more than enough money than I would ever need to journey back ho. My eyes looked down at the bangles on my wrists before my hand felt the necklace around my neck and the earrings in my ears. I had so many pieces of precious jewelry. None of which I would have a problem parting with.
If I decided to slip away and leave now; no one would be here to stop . My sudden realization left in shock. What had seed so hard to achieve before now seed so easy. A few giggles broke out in between my lips, and I realized that I was laughing at how stupid my efforts all seed now that the solution was right in front of my eyes. I could feel it for the first ti in ages: my own freedom.
If I chose to go ho, I could do it now. I could just simply walk away and never co back...
...
Rin...where could she be?
It had taken a lot longer than Ren had anticipated to stop the troubleso horse and calm it down. The horse hind leg was sohow wounded and that caused it to panic and run into the crowd. It was probably soone’s fowl play that went horribly wrong. Thankfully, a few n in the crowd along with the horse’s owner were brave enough to step up and help out. Together the n managed to calm the horse down and restrain it, sowhat.
“Thank you for helping out. Of course, I am so sorry for this...” the owner apologized profusely.
“It’s ok. Please watch out better next ti,” Ren replied curtly.
“Of course. Can I offer to treat you to dinner perhaps? You know...as thanks,” the older man offered.
“No worries. I must go now,” Ren quickly excused himself.
The crowd had dissipated and that only worked to confirm his fear. Now that there were very few people around, he could see with certainty that Rin was no longer in the area. I sinking feeling filled his stomach; it was a combination of worry and a sense of dread that he could not quite explain. For once, he regretted leaving the palace without guards and followers.
--To be continued...
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