As Princess of all Capsion, Princess Adaline May was not allowed out of the castle much for her own safety. Her father was the King of Capsion but her mother had been killed after a brutal raid of the castle shortly after Adaline’s birth. The king had decided from then on that his precious daughter would not be allowed past the castle walls and if anyone spotted her in town they were to report her immediately. King David was not aware that Adaline was not happy being cooped up in the castle, after all, he gave her anything she ever wanted, everything except freedom. She had tried many times to escape but had never made it far as the guards would always stop her.

But this time she had a plan. Early this morning was the day when all the peasants and poor people would address their complaints to the king. Princess Adaline had seen a young widow enter the gates wearing a deep violet cloak and she had not exited yet. Adaline had a violet cloak that looked very expensive on the outside, but when turned inside out looked similar to the widow’s. The princess decided that today would be the day she would escape. She was sick of being cooped up with nothing to do but practice her lessons. Her father had suggested exploring the castle but Adaline had seen all of the hidden rooms and been in every other room in the whole entire palace. She owned a horse named Sapphire but could only ride her across the courtyard.

She didn’t wish to be queen one day; she wanted to ride Sapphire into different countries, to explore uncharted land. So as Princess Adaline threw her cloak over the dark green dress she was wearing and drew the hood over her eyes she decided that it would be now or never. She had packed only a few items in her saddlebag just earlier, and brought just a few pieces of gold and food. The other items consisted of a picture of her father, a map, bow and arrows, and a locket from her mother.

Adaline tiptoed quietly out of her room and down the long empty hallway. She was lucky that the woman had rode a black horse that was almost identical to Sapphire because if she hadn’t, the guard would have either saw that it was her or thought that she was stealing the animal. So as she was walking towards the gate that led out of the courtyard, the guard saw nothing suspicious and gladly opened it. She trotted slowly out the gate and didn’t have enough courage to gallop until the castle was far behind her. She took in a breath of fresh air and couldn’t believe she had done it. She had finally made it past the castle wall. Adaline was so amazed that no one had told how beautiful the land was. She had barely been able to look out over the wall from the tallest tower there. Maybe her father was trying to keep from the world. Maybe he wanted to keep her there so she would get all traveling notions out of her head. She was angered at the thought and struggled to pay attention to where she was riding. She was snapped out of her thoughts as she approached an oncoming farmhouse.

“Oh my!” she exclaimed. “Those poor people live in that old broken down house?” She was very bothered by this and rode up to the dirty dwelling. As she trotted around it appeared to be abandoned. She reined in her horse and dismounted. She swiftly walked around the house and scanned the area carefully. It appeared abandoned but as she turned an upcoming corner she felt a cold hand cover her mouth and pull her to the side. She struggled to get free but could not.

“Stop moving and listen. You are to answer my question and I’ll let you go. Who are you and what are you doing here?” It was a man’s voice, about the same age as her. She didn’t want to give out her identity to anyone incase her father told people to keep an eye out for her.

“Excuse me for being rude but you asked not one, but two questions,” she remarked smartly. She gave a final tug and escaped her kidnapper. She drew the hood over her eyes and turned to face him. She was shocked to see that he was not as scary looking as she had pictured him. He had blonde curly hair, not very long but not short either. He had deep blue eyes and a friendly face. She felt her own face burning with embarrassment at her thoughts of the young man before.

“Uh, may I ask whom I may be speaking with?” she asked nervously. The young man shifted and answered,

“Isaiah, madam.” It was a lie but Adaline could see right through it.

“Fine you might not tell me your identity but I will politely tell you mine,” she answered. “I’m Mariah.” She held out her hand to shake his and he accepted the greeting. He had not been able to tell that she was lying about her name as well.

“Well, is this your property?” she asked. The boy looked around as if pondering on the thought but then answered,

“No, but an elderly friend of mine does. Speaking of which, here he comes.” Adaline turned to watch an older man make his way to the front steps of the house. He turned and saw both of the guests.

“Hello there, Josiah!” he greeted. “Who’s this you have with you?”

“Hello, Fred this is Mariah!” he introduced the girl with pleasure. She gave a small wave and just as she was doing so, her hood fell slightly. Josiah did not recognize her but Fred did. His face showed his shock but he quickly regained his conscience. This girl was not as Josiah introduced her; this was the princess of Capsion, the daughter of his King’s rival. He was supposed to report any of the enemy’s royal stature to the king if they were out by themselves of their territory. But this girl looked so young and helpless for her age and he knew what would become of her if she were caught. He decided to hold his tongue but drew Josiah aside. Josiah excused himself from Adaline’s presence and followed Fred to an isolated area.

“Does she know who you are young prince?” Fred asked worriedly. Josiah scowled but shook his head.

“I didn’t want her to see me as a prince, she’d think I was looking down on her anyways.” The prince answered. Fred rolled his eyes helplessly and informed Josiah,

“Forgive me your majesty for saying so, but that girl’s name is Adaline, and she is the daughter of your father’s enemy.” Josiah’s eyes widened in shock.

“She’s the princess?” he asked. Fred nodded his head sadly. Josiah turned back to study the girl but returned his gaze to Fred quickly.

“You won’t tell her will you? Her or my father?”

“What?” Fred asked.

“Please don’t! She might not hang around with me if she knows I’m an enemy and if my father finds out he will have her head and I will never see the outside world again!” he joked about himself but not about Adaline. Fred thought for a moment but agreed. Josiah thanked Fred softly and returned to Adaline.

“Would you like to take a ride around town? I have not seen you around here before so I’m guessing you must be new,” Josiah lied very easily this time and Adaline’s eyes shone with excitement as she agreed. She mounted her horse and he mounted his and they rode off into the distance, Fred’s head shaking with discouragement as he watched.

“How do you like your tour so far?” Josiah asked with an amused grin. Adaline’s violet eyes were darting from one direction to another, trying to take in all that she saw. The prince guessed that she had not ever been let outside the castle before if she had not even known what a cat was. She had saw one and had squealed in fright as it rubbed itself against her legs. Josiah had laughed and said,

“Don’t worry it is just a cat! I know that particular one and it is harmless.” She had gone to the baker’s shop where the baker almost gave away the prince’s identity but Josiah had quickly mouthed for him not to say anything. Both Adaline and Josiah walked away with fresh garlic bread, which she ate joyfully.

Josiah smiled at all these thoughts as Adaline played with a grasshopper and some crickets. Suddenly, down the cobbled road came a group of soldiers, followed by Capsion’s king. Adaline gasped and fell back, sadly crushing an ant.

“Oh no,” she whispered. “Come on let’s get out of here, I do not wish for the king to see me this day.” She pulled Josiah to his feet and they ran along a path that led out of town. He could hear people’s astounded cries as the king searched the city for his daughter. Adaline was running for this reason but Josiah was running for his own. If the king of Capsion caught him he might capture him and hold him hostage. Once the two of them were deep in the forest Adaline slumped to the ground in order to rest. She giggled nervously.

“Running from the king was a fun game. It was almost as if we actually needed to be running from him.” She was not to good at lying and Josiah felt pity for her.s