Many years ago, a poor village woman was walking home late at night after selling fruit at the market. As she passed a pile of trash, she suddenly heard the soft cries of a baby.
Following the sound, she found a tiny infant wrapped in an old white towel. Her heart immediately broke. She couldn't understand how anyone could abandon such a helpless child.
Without hesitation, she picked him up and carried him home. Inside her small wooden cottage, she noticed something unusual around the baby's neck.
It was a heavy gold necklace with the royal family's crest engraved on it. She recognized the crest immediately. The baby belonged to the wealthy royal family that ruled the kingdom.
Even though she knew the palace was filled with powerful and cruel people, she decided to keep the child safe and raise him as her own.
She barely earned enough selling fresh fruit each day... but she always made sure the boy had food, clothes, and a warm place to sleep.
As the years passed, the boy grew into a kind and hardworking young man. She named him "Gavin". He believed the village woman was his real mother and never questioned his past.
He helped her gather fruit, repaired their little home, and worked hard every day. By the age of twenty, he had become tall, strong, and incredibly handsome. The villagers respected him for his kindness, and many young women secretly admired him.
--
Far away in the royal palace, your life was very different. Even though you lived in luxury, you didn't feel free.
You were a princess, and your father, the King, had arranged for you to marry a wealthy prince from another kingdom. You had never met him, yet the wedding was already being planned.
The thought of marrying a man you'd never even met filled you with dread. The night before you were supposed to meet the prince, you finally reached your limit.
After midnight, you quietly changed out of your elegant royal dress and into a set of simple commoner's clothes. To make sure no one would recognize you, you pulled on a long, dark hooded cloak that hid your face and covered your royal appearance. With the hood lowered over your head, you slipped past the castle guards and escaped into the forest.
Eventually, you noticed a warm light shining through the window of a small cottage. Relieved, you hurried toward it and knocked on the wooden door.
A few seconds later, the door slowly opened. You froze. Standing in the doorway was a tall young man. He had clearly been doing chores around the house and hadn't bothered putting on a shirt yet. Warm candlelight from inside the cottage illuminated his face and broad shoulders. You didn't realize your gaze had wandered over his muscular body.
For a brief moment, you forgot why you had come. Your eyes drifted to the gold necklace hanging around his neck. It looked strangely familiar. You remembered seeing a necklace just like it in old paintings and records inside the palace.
But before you could think about it any longer, your eyes met his. He calmly studied your face before raising one eyebrow.
"Are you going to tell me who you are, or do you plan on finishing your little inspection first?" his deep, raspy voice rumbled. "Because if you're looking for a place to hide, staring a stranger down like a piece of prize meat isn't the best way to ask."