Run Away With Me

My heart pounded as I ran, which was amazing, since I felt like it was shattering into a million pieces. And those pieces then shattered again and again. There were no words to explain the hurt that tore through my whole body as I left Frank behind. Bits of the letter I had tried to write him fluttered out my pocket as I ran.

Dear Frank, it had read.

I love you, I really do. But, Tessa doesn't know I'm here. I promised her I'd come back, even though I probably shouldn't. She's sick of me now, I'm too old to be an adopted kid. Another year in Foster Care and then I can strike out on my own.

I'm sick of who I used to be. The girl who tried to hide from her problems. I don't want to be her anymore, but I need to be, just once more. I can't drag you down. You're better than me. That's why I have to Run Away...

Now it was just ripped up bits of paper with different words on it that made no sense.

The tiny white paper bits flew through the morning light, looking like snow. It looked beautiful, and for a moment I could feel the ghost of a smile breaking through my gloom and doom. Then it was gone and I was left with a bitter aftertaste that made me want to cry.

My whole body was yearning to stop, wait for Frank, to kiss him one last time. But I knew if I went back now I could never leave. And I had to. I had the ticket for the return flight, plus Frank's parents weren't very fond of me, so it wasn't like I could move in with him.

Nobody wanted me.

Except Frank.

I stopped, the crippling pain too much mentally, as well as physically. I could feel a stitch developing on both sides of my stomach. It hurt a lot. As the tears threatened to slip free, I remembered how on Sitcoms, the kid always says "Tell me a story Mommy/Daddy," when they're upset. Well,

"Once upon a time, in a place far, far away, was a story never meant to be. A girl who was once a Princess was kicked off her throne because a Prince from a nearby City turned everyone in the Princess's kingdom against her. And the Princess had no King and Queen to help her, so she was turned into a measly servant who worked in the kitchens.

Soon, a new Princess was chosen, one with beautiful rosy cheeks and long blond hair like spun gold. The old Princess was very jealous, and the new Princess was very cruel. She mocked the old Princess' raven black hair and pale, snow white skin. Of course, the kingdom all agreed with their new Princess, and everyone decided the old Princess was very, very ugly, and was suited to kitchen work.

The servant cried every day and every night. She missed being a Princess who everybody loved or at least liked. It felt like long, long ago. The Mistress of the kitchens tried to be nice to the Princess, but soon too was poisoned by the new Princess' lies. So the old Princess was alone, and she forgot all about being a Princess and she was just a Servant.

One night, the Princess held a big ball to choose her new Prince. As the night wore on and the Servant served food, she spotted the Prince she hoped wouldn't be chosen. He was tall and athletic, with a perfect face, like he was sent from the Gods. He too had beautiful golden hair, but his green eyes were kind and warm, unlike the Princess. The Servant girl hoped he wouldn't be stuck with the Princess.

Unfortunately, he was the Prince the Princess chose, and the Servant girl wept, for she knew he was too good for the wicked Princess. But he was also too good for the Servant girl, so she decided to run away.

But when she was almost gone, the new Prince found her and they talked for a long time. The Prince and the Servant girl became friends, even though it made the Princess very mad. It made the Princess so mad, she got a wicked witch to cast a spell on the Prince to make him sleep for 100 years. The witch did so, but also cast a spell on the rest of the castle, meaning they could never be near the Prince. This drove the Princess crazy, and she ran away. But the Servant girl loved the Prince so much, she fought the spells and awoke the Prince, 95 years too early.

The witch was so mad that her spells had been broken, she cast another unbreakable spell on the Prince, and he forgot he was a Prince and who the Servant girl was. He thought maybe she was the Princess and he was just a regular man. The kingdom was so angry, they took the Prince away, and the Servant girl was alone again. She tried to visit the Prince, but he still thought she was a Princess.

This upset the Servant girl so much, she ran away again. But this time nobody stopped her and she ran away, thinking how silly the Prince was, thinking she was a Princess, which was something she could never be.

The end."

"That's not how it ends."

I turned around, startled. Frank stood there, looking upset. I blushed. I hadn't even realized I'd been muttering aloud.

"How does it end then?" I asked, my voice trembling.

"It ends," he took a step towards me. "With the Prince seeing the Servant girl running away from his window. He felt so lonely when she was gone, and he missed her the moment she left. So he sought out after her.

He found her in an Enchanted Forest, and he told her that he loved her, even if she was a Servant girl. Because to him, she was his Princess."

"Frank," I swiped at my tears, wishing he wouldn't, knowing this could only end badly.

"I'm not finished," he took another step forward again and pulled me into a tight hug. "And then the Prince kissed the Servant girl, and even though it didn't break the witches spell, it helped, and the Prince decided if the Servant girl would run away then so would the he."

I looked up at him. Was he mocking me? Trying to lure me into thinking he cared, just for him to abandon me? No, I knew he meant every word, I could tell by the look on his face. He looked like I felt, and I knew then, it had been stupid to doubt him.

"Do you mean it?" I asked, just to be sure.

"Of course. I love you. I'm in love with you. Please, please don't leave me," a tear slipped from Frank's eyes, then another and another. I wiped them away gently.

"I won't leave, but your parents will never let me stay," I frowned, biting my lip.

"The Prince decided if the Servant girl would run away then so would the he," Frank repeated, looking determined.

"But why?"

"Look," he held up a bit of paper with the words Run Away... written on it. "It's a sign."

"That's not a sign, Frank, that was the letter I never got to give you."

"Now you've given me the only bit I need. Rosie, I mean it. Whether you wanted it to be a sign or not, I still got it. I still love you."

"I love you too," I whispered.

I took Frank's hand and we held onto each other tight, needing one another. It didn't matter if we were the last two people on Earth, or if we were just one story in amongst a million others wanting to be told, because we loved each other, and no matter where we went, that wouldn't change.

"Run away with me," Frank whispered as the sun broke the horizon and a new day started.

The kiss I gave him was my answer.

Our story, like our journey, wasn't at it's end. In fact, it was barely just beginning. But for now, this was our Happily Ever After.