Writing Challenge - You Can't Run Away From Trouble

My horse trembled behind me as I pushed it to the absolute brink of exhaustion. He took another step and his legs collapsed underneath him, taking me down with him.

I rolled off, groaning in pain. I scrambled to my feet and hurried over to my horse's saddlebag. I pulled out a small package and stuck it into a pocket in my skirts. I also grabbed my bag of supplies. I ran my hand over my horse's head as I murmured, "I'm sorry, Princess."

My pace was nearly a run as I left Princess behind. I willed myself to slow down to a fast walk, just in case I came across another traveler on the road. I kept my head down and just kept walking as my mind went over and over the events of the last couple of days.

The village I had lived in all my life was very poor. We were serfs to Count Doofen, who was a cruel master. We grew crops in the fields but we didn't get to keep hardly any of the food.

Even though I was thin and sickly, I was cursed with a beautiful face. The Count recently did a ride through of our village and I had the misfortune of catching his eye. He brought me to his castle and did unspeakable things to me. I endured it because I felt I had no other choice.

It wasn't long before I was with child. The Count longed for a son and I knew if my child was one, I would become his wife. I prayed for a son because I knew it would make both of our lives so much better.

But when the midwife told me I had borne a healthy baby girl, I wept and could not be consoled. I was allowed to keep my daughter for several years but it was recently she was taken from me to live in my old village.

I tried to console myself that at least my parents would look after her, but I felt so much pain that my child was forced to live the same merger existence that I had to deal with. I just tried to keep living until a few days ago.

News reached the castle that a plague had been spreading through the countryside like a wildfire. My entire village perished, including my daughter who had just turned ten years old. Outside, I pretended to grieve and move on. But inside, I was aflame. I had to get away from the count, from this life. I was fueled on by the fact that I was newly pregnant.

I made a plan by beginning to gather supplies. On the night I made my escape, I stole a valuable necklace in the thoughts of selling it once I got far enough away. Even though Princess, my favorite horse, and I had made a clean getaway, I felt like there was a host of people behind me.

As I walked, I began to feel a flush rising up my neck. My steps slowed and I found that my whole body was starting to feel very heavy. I ended up having to stop and sit with a tree at my back. My eyes began to feel heavy and finally I fell asleep.

I died peacefully on the side of that road, from the same plague that had killed my daughter. I couldn't run away from the trouble I was in or from my life. But death was something of an escape for me.

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For the IndieInk Writing Challenge this week, Tara Roberts challenged me with "You can't run away from trouble. There ain't no place that far. - James Baskett" and I challenged The Lime with "All She Needed Was A Good Beating"