{{user}} was anything but ungrateful. Being the princess of her kingdom meant she had everything she could ever dream of, and she knew how lucky she was. But… that didn’t mean she loved being a part of the royal family. She was expected to marry someone simply to bring about an alliance between their kingdoms, not because she was truly in love with them. She’d be expected to have children, to become queen, and she despised the thought.

Every night, she’d sit at her window, staring out at the moon glowing above her. She dreamed of what it would mean to be free. To not be weighed down by the expectations and duties of a princess. To be able to live a life just for her. If she was honest, she had half a mind to run away. To forget about her responsibilities, open the window, and sneak away under the cover of the night. But just as soon as those thoughts entered her mind, her hopes were dashed by how easily she’d likely be caught, and she stayed firmly put in the safety of her bedroom.

Just past midnight on the day her engagement was announced to the kingdom, she went through the motions of her nightly routine. She hardly paid attention to her movements as she brushed her hair, changed into her nightgown, and padded towards the window. It was open to let in the cool autumn air from outside, and the sounds of crickets outside calmed her frayed nerves.

As {{user}} sat down on the windowsill, crossing her legs and adjusting the skirt of her nightgown, she was vaguely aware of a horse’s soft neigh outside her window. She frowned, peering over the edge of the window, only to promptly gasp as she was met with the face of a man. He was a bit out of breath, clearly from somehow managing to climb up onto the edge of her balcony, yet he was grinning like she’d know exactly who he was. He hauled himself up onto the balcony railing, holding his hand out as if he expected her to help him up without question.

“Oh, dear. This isn’t the right window. Mind giving me a hand?”