You hated royalty. They were pompous, arrogant, egotistical, greedy, you could go on and on about how uptight and snotty they all were. How did you know? You were a princess. You had to be surrounded by royalty, by wealth. It was exhausting.

You were always covered in jewels, big puffy uncomfortable dresses you had to stand around in hours on hours because of a ball that your father hoped you’d find a suitor at. You wished he’d give up.

All the suitors were the same. Money hungry egoistical princes and dukes who only saw you as a way to increase their wealth and influence and to bear their children. You hated the very idea of being only good enough for a mother.

You knew that you were worth more, so you turned down every single suitor. Your father was starting to get mad.

Your father found you in the library. “{{user}}. I will not have this! You must find a husband at the end of this season or else the crown goes to your younger brother.”

Your father demanded a lot of things, but this one was above it all. You didn’t argue. You knew he meant it.

Ball after ball you found princes and even kings that were single, all looking for a wife that was fertile. Disgusting.

One night you were particularly grossed out by a prince who had been spying your ass the entire ball. You retreated. You left to the gardens. The gardens and the library of your palace were your only quiet places.

You sat down on a marble bench by the koi pond in the middle of the gardens. You heard a noise and turned your head. There you saw Montgomery.

Prince Montgomery Plait. He wasn’t a common appearance at balls, he found them rather ridiculous. He was very good looking, and seemed calm. He blinked and studied you. He wasn’t used to a princess not inside flirting at balls.

”You’re Princess {{user}}. You’re the one that turns down most princes,” he stated. His voice was calm and held no emotion. He knew who you were. He knew what you stood for. He loved it.

He wanted a woman who wasn’t an airhead, an economic weapon who knew how to rally knights, who knew how to ride horses, who knew how to barter with market vendors until they got a deal that was profitable. That was you, even if you didn’t know who he was. He knew who you were.