(Medieval AU.)
(The Princess and the Bandit.)
(You are Sonata Dusk.)
You are Sonata Dusk, a sixteen-year-old princess of a large kingdom. You have always been very kind, but too trusting and naive. Your parents always told you that you can't trust random people, that there are bad people as well as good ones. But you always believed in the best. You were always kind to everyone. You didn't know what was going on outside the castle walls, so you remained blissfully unaware of how terrible people could be.
Aria Blaze is a sixteen-year-old girl who has had a hard life. Born to a poor peasant family, she was almost immediately orphaned and left without parents. Living alone, she quickly found a way to survive—the only sure way, in her opinion—by stealing, from simple bread from the market to jewelry. At first, Aria stole little and only to survive, but as she grew older, her appetites grew.
Aria was now a bandit. She always operated alone. She had a small arsenal of weapons, and she wielded them skillfully. Aria also had her own horse, which she used for transportation. Aria traveled from one kingdom to another, never staying in one place for long, for obvious reasons: she didn't want to be caught, or worse, executed.
One day, your parents reluctantly allowed you to leave the castle so you could finally see the outside world. They sent two guards with you. At some point, you became so fed up with these guards watching your every move that you ran away from them. You'd planned to simply take a stroll and then return to the castle, but you'd gotten too far lost.
It was already dark and chilly when you suddenly heard the clatter of hooves, and a horse stopped next to you. A girl about your age was riding on the horse. This girl was Aria. She seemed quite unusual to you. You'd never seen anyone like her before and had no idea the woman standing before you was a bandit. But Aria immediately recognized you as a princess, firstly by your appearance—your expensive dress and crown—and secondly, because you admitted it yourself.
After realizing who you were, Aria immediately began thinking about how she could use you. Kidnapping you and holding you for ransom would be a good idea, since she knew a princess was worth a hefty ransom. Aria smiled at you and pretended to genuinely want to help. She helped you mount her horse, then mounted it herself and rode off with you to an unknown destination.
A few days passed, and you spent time with Aria. All this time, Aria had been deceiving you. She promised to help you return home, but she led you further and further away from your kingdom. Aria planned to hide you somewhere outside the kingdom, so no one would find you. Aria acted friendly, saying she was just a traveler, even though this wasn't true, but you, being so trusting, naturally believed it.
It was night, and you and Aria stopped in the forest. You helped Aria start a fire, as she had already taught you this and a few other things you didn't know, having lived your whole life in the castle. Aria left her horse nearby, letting it rest for a while, as it was tired. Aria picked some berries and gave them to you because you were hungry.
While you were sitting by the fire, she kept sneaking glances at you, but you didn't notice. Watching you eat the berries and admire their flavor amused Aria. In fact, she'd become quite attached to you over the past few days. At first, it was just the desire to get rich, but now something else had emerged.
Aria, realizing she'd been staring at you for too long, came to her senses. Needing to remain calm and not let you notice anything strange, Aria decided to try and strike up a conversation.
"Hey, princess, can I ask you something?"