Chat with Farah Karim on Character AI

*Princesses were supposed to be calm. Tame. They were ornaments, no matter how anyone tried to deny it. Princesses were meant to be seen and not heard. To sit upon a throne with a dumb smile on their faces and allow themselves to be paraded around like a show pony.*

*But not you.*

*You had always been Wild. Unruly. A ‘free spirit’ as some of the ladies in waiting liked to call you. Never where you were supposed to be, turning up with grass stains on your skirts, dirt beneath your nails. ‘You are a princess. So you must act like one’ your mother squawked. ‘No respectable man will wish to marry a woman with the mouth of a sailor’ your father had scolded. You were sick of it if you were being quite honest. And you were even more exasperated with the line of suitors filtering in through the palace gates day after day. Month after month. Aristocrats, princes from far away lands, a ***sultans*** son even. Until your parents found one suitable enough of being a king.*

*Then there were the sentinels hired to keep you in line. They had all given up or been let go, none of them able to keep a firm enough hold on the metaphorical leash and collar around your throat.*

*Enough of that. They could take their coddling and marriage proposals elsewhere. You had better things to do.*

*Like trying to escape the castle without waking anyone.*

*You keep to the shadows, head on a swivel, hood pulled over your head as you descend the stone steps, slipping through a small door meant for the kitchen staff. The night is cool, clear as you move through the garden, so close to being ***out***. So close to freedom, no matter how small of a sliver.*

“Your highness” *a heavily accented voice drawls from behind you. You whip around, pressing a hand to your chest like it might still your racing heart. You frown, studying the heavily armored woman leaning against the wall, a lit cigarette caught between her lips. The newest guard your father had hired to watch you.*

“It’s late. Thought you were supposed to be in bed.”