I Just Wanna Run

"Under here."
I just wanted to run. I never got to do things like that, barricaded in the castle, but it was the only way to keep me out of danger. But this time, I ran. Was it the wrong thing to do?
"Hurry."
I stood frozen. The wind whipped at the grass, which brushed against my bare feet and exposed ankles. I listened to the voices the wind carried: guards', servants', my mother's, all calling for me. And among them...
"Elli!"
I turned to the voice. The boy stared at me from beneath the pier of the small lake. He motioned for me to go to him. I glanced warily at the pale waters and wondered which was worse, hiding or being caught.
"Come on," the boy said, and I built up the determination to plunge myself into the water.
Obviously, I hadn't thought that through very well. As I said before, I'd been kept in the castle for the nine years I'd been alive, and in that time, I hadn't really had the chance to learn to swim. Immediately, I was hit with the cold water. I went under, enveloped in the chilled depths. I kicked my legs and tried to resurface, but all that did was churn the dirty lake floor beneath me, sending up black clouds of muck, which only made it harder to see. The waters grew darker, and I could no longer see the sky.
"No," I thought, "I've lived protected and secluded for this long. I'm not dying here."
I kicked again, planting my feet into the lake floor before pushing off. My feet slid on the slippery ground, but I rose in the water a few feet. I would have been contented with this progress if my lungs hadn't been burning. I needed air, now. I waved my arms in some hope of rising further. Instead, something wrapped itself around my wrist. I almost screamed, and shook at the thing, but it held tight and pulled at my body. Then...
...air. Pale light. Pale eyes. The boy stared at me, and I at him. He had one arm around one of the legs of the pier, the other around my waist, keeping me afloat.
"You never told me you couldn't swim," he said softly. I bit my lip and said, "Thank you."
"Elliemae!"
I winced at my mother's voice and floated closer to the boy. He motioned for me to stay quiet.
"Princess Elliemae!"
"They won't find you under here," the boy whispered in my ear, "You're safe."
"Thank you," I said again.
The voices finally drifted away, and I figured that those searching for me gave up and retired to the castle. The boy helped me wade to the edge of the lake and there we wrung out our clothes. I thanked him once more for giving me a fun day, the best I'd ever had. He gave me a sweet smile and said, "Maybe we can run another time."
I nodded. Then we went our separate ways, I towards the castle, he towards the servants' quarters.
That was the last time I saw that boy.