The torches flickered in the dimly lit corridors of the palace, casting elongated shadows against the stone walls. Princess Arianne moved soundlessly, her silk robes traded for a commoner's garb—plain, practical, and free of the weight of royalty. Beside her, her youngest brother, Prince Kael, grinned, his eyes alight with mischief.
"This is the third time this month, Arianne," he whispered as they slipped past the guards. "If Father finds out—"
"He won't," she interjected with a smile. "Unless, of course, you decide to be loud about it."
Kael scoffed but followed her through the narrow passage, the secret route they had discovered as children. Beyond the palace walls, the air smelled of earth and freedom. They mounted their waiting horses and rode under the moonlit sky, leaving behind the suffocating expectations of royal life.
They had no grand destination—only the world before them. The bazaars, the quiet forests, the villages where no one bowed upon seeing them. It was a taste of something they weren't meant to have.
But freedom, no matter how carefully pursued, never lasted.
The king's men found them on the third night. They had been careless, staying too long in a border town. The sight of the royal crest on their captors' armor had frozen Arianne's heart with dread.
The return to the palace was swift and silent. Her father, King Aldred, stood at the top of the throne room steps, his gaze unreadable. Her five elder brothers flanked him—each with their own silent expressions of disappointment, amusement, or worry.
"You wish to leave the palace so often?" the king finally said, his deep voice reverberating through the hall. "Then you shall do so under different circumstances."
Arianne's breath hitched.
"You and Kael will join the border garrison. You will train as soldiers, fight as soldiers. If you crave adventure so much, you will earn it."
The words struck harder than any reprimand she had expected.
"Father—" one of her brothers started, but the king silenced him with a look.
"No titles. No privileges," he continued. "No one will know you are of royal blood."
Arianne swallowed hard. This was no mere punishment. This was a test.
And then came the final blow.
"You will serve under General Rian Dorne."
Her stomach twisted. Rian Dorne—the kingdom's most revered general. The man her father had chosen as her future husband. The man who, at this very moment, had no idea who she was.
And soon, she would stand before him, not as a princess, but as a nameless soldier in his army.
The path to freedom had taken an unexpected turn. And it was only the beginning.