Phase 1 of Operation Escape the Crown (just named it); Complete.
Phase 2: Hasn't even started yet. But it will.
I managed to reach a pavement alright after landing (on the ground thanks to a homemade zip-wire) and then I realized. The whole idea (cowardly as it sounds) was to sneak out of Altea unnoticed. Some random just said "Hello, Your Highness" to me.
I went behind a tree and managed to excavate a scarf out of my suitcase, which I tied round my head so that you could only see one eye. Of course I'll have to take it off when going through customs, but it'll do for now. The police will probably start searching for me shortly after someone realizes I'm missing. People might tell them that they'd seen me tonight.
Time to test out my new mask. I caught a bus that pulled over and approached the driver.
"Aírotan se Ūnāri, please. Single."
"Sure. But what's that thing on your face?"
"I'd rather not talk about it." I lied solemnly.
"Okay," sighed the driver, giving me a ticket. "Get on."
After a while I made it to the airport and checked in. Several people commented on the scarf, and I got reminded twice that I'd have to take it off during customs. But luckily the guy at passport control was a bit too tired to care that about my status when I did take it off. And I had to take my hoodie down and felt really self conscious.
I reapplied the scarf and pulled the hoodie up afterwards, but the people actually letting us on the plane needed to see our passports, so of course I had to show my face.
"Welcome aboard, Your Highness," said the flight attendant checking everyone's passports.
"Call me Rupert, at least!" I hissed. I didn't want to draw attention to myself.
"Okay, Your Highness."
I slapped my hand to my face and went to the back of the plane, where I put the scarf back on and gradually fell asleep.
A flight attendant had to wake me up as a Tannoy "welcomed us to Saltney and thanked us for flying with Mināri se Altéa."
It wasn't until I left the airport (after taking my scarf on and off a few times, of course) and took the bus (I almost took the first one I encountered but then I realized I'd forgotten to exchange my euros to dollars and had to rush back. I took the next bus.) to some random village that I realized that Operation Escape the Crown might actually have succeeded. Okay, so it's early days... well... kind of. It's about 4 in the morning here and yet it only feels like 2 in the afternoon (the flight lasted about 8 hours and Altea is 10 hours ahead of here, plus there were bits of time in between)
Translation: I was wide awake really late at night. Well, the place was pretty much asleep anyway.
I couldn't stay in the main city. It wouldn't take Sherlock Holmes to realize that the missing Crown Prince had boarded a plane from Unari to Saltney. That would be a great place to start looking. So instead I took a train (I said "Thorliskali" to the ticket officer and handed the necessary dollars over. He understood.) to the village I'd Googled yesterday.
(Wait a minute, what if they could find out what I'd Googled? I'd researched other villages in Saltney, but still.)
I was pretty much one of the only people on board. I was pleased that the train services were still running. It seemed to have snowed a fair bit and the landscape from the window was iced entirely in white. The people and the staff were as quiet as the night around me as well. A bit too quiet.
I beatboxed a little beat to myself until one tired passenger gave me this cross look.
Fine. I'll stay quiet for now. But to be honest... a little music would brighten things up a fair bit. Nothing too loud or thumpy, just any beautiful sound.
The scene that greeted me when I left the train looked like something off Hanikō. You know, when Élsa accidentally turns summer into winter. (Oh my days that snowman... Poor oblivious, clueless snowman...)
Thorliskali looked like a strange place. I supposed it wouldn't be too out of the ordinary if I sang a derpy show tune to cheer myself up. It was still rather quiet, but the odd car was passing by.
"The snow glows white on the mountains tonight..." I sang quietly to myself as I walked along the fresh snowy streets.
"Not a footprint to be seen.
A kingdom of isolation, and it looks like... I'm the King."
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Cultural Notes
- In case you hadn't read my earlier posts, Aírotan se Ūnāri is Ūnāri's main airport and literally translates as "Airport of Salvation". A lot of Altean cities are named after virtues and good qualities, such as Somen (determination) Senhū (kindness) and Kyen (wisdom)
- Mināri se Altea is an Altean airline and translates as "Eagle of Altea."
- In case you didn't realize, Hanikō is Altean for Frozen.
