There was a tattoo of hurried footsteps against the ground as Pearl ran, not walked, from the prison that had been the Carrington house. Sobs choked at her as much as she gasped in air, heart beating like thunder against her rib cage. The hat her brother had given her to wear had fallen off not minutes after her dash out the gates of the manor. How long had she been running? God, she was tired.

She slowed to a trot, then a walk and then stopped. Pearl dropped to her knees beside the road, glad to be out of sight from that gilded cage. She tried to catch her breath, head bowed. How could her own family do such a thing to her?

The dusk was starting to set in and she couldn't find it within her to get up just yet. In fact, she began to tremble so tremendously that her teeth chattered, and she began to let loose with a torrent of tears. She was sure that Joe would be there soon, that he would find her and take her into his arms, hold her, love her, and make the world better once more.

Then she finally pushed herself to her feet and started the long walk toward town.