The Princess And The Stones

   Esmaeiria twisted her ring around her finger. More specifically, her engagement ring. The tiny band of silver and rose coloured diamond that would forever bind her to the man her parents had chosen. At that point in time though, he wasn't a man, he was a boy. A thirteen year old boy, with sparkling grey eyes and a dazzling smile, that could melt any girls heart. All that put aside, he was still just a boy, future king or not, and Esmaeiria herself was still just a girl, a twelve year old girl.

   It wasn't like she could fight against the engagement. She knew very well it was her destiny to marry him. After all, the only real reason her parents had a child within the first century of their marriage, unlike most fae, was so that she could be his bride and their heir. It certainly hadn't been because they wanted children, seeing as the queen hadn't even one maternal bone in her body.

   The young princess leaned against the balcony outside her chambers. The cool night air kissed her fair cheeks, and tossed her golden locks of hair and her gown in all directions. After such a stressful, confusing evening, a peaceful night was truly a blessing from the gods. She whispered a silent wish that she would never, ever have to attend a ball in her own honour again. Now that her twelfth birthday ball had passed, and her surprise engagement party was nearing it's end, her wish stood a fair chance.

   Two arms wrapped themselves around her small waist. The owner of the arms rested his head on her shoulder, and blonde hair brushed against her face. Esmaeiria didn't have to question who it was. Her fiance, the son of Lord and Lady Thormas. “Oreon?"

   "Yes, princess?"

   "Are you scared?" she asked, playing with her ring again. "For our marriage?" She asked.

   He shook his head and pulled her close. "No, why would I be? Are you?"

   Maria took a deep breathe, and held on to his hands tightly. "Yes. Terrified." She finally admitted, after an endless amount of silence.

   He twisted her around, forcing her blue eyes to meet his grey ones. "Why?"

   "Because, we're so young..." She murmured, pushing away from him, and leaning against the stone balcony. She nervously adjusted her tiara, and drummed her fingers on the stone. "Ree, I am nowhere near ready to be a bride." She explained.

   Oreon didn't look hurt, not like she had expected him to be. He looked like he understood, a rare expression for him. "It'll be okay, princess." He encouraged. "It won't be for another four years."

   "Ree?"

   "Yes?"

   "Whats the point of marriage?" The princess asked, pushing her fiancée away from her. He stumbled before he slowly inched his way back towards her.  

   He stopped to think. The expression on his face made it quite clear to his princess that he didn't really know the answer. "To create a union between two people that are in love, I suppose."

   Esmaeiria nodded, trying to understand, but couldn't even force herself to comprehend. "Are we in love?" She asked, staring off into the darkness surrounding the balcony.

   "I am." Oreon replied, slightly confused by the strange question.

   "But am I?"

   "I don't know. Are you?" He asked, trying to pull her back into his arms, only to be shoved away harder. For such a tiny girl, Esmaeiria was very, very strong.

   "I think, maybe? Maybe not... Oreon, it's too soon to figure this all out!" Maria could feel tears trailing down her ivory cheeks. "Your voice hasn't even dropped yet, you have no noble standing of your own, and as for myself... I still look as if I were a ten year old child!" She exclaimed, then lowered her voice, to prevent any unwanted eavesdroppers.

   "It'll all work out in four years time, my princess." He whispered, finally getting her to come closer to him. "I swear to it."

   "Oreon?"

   "Yes princess?"

   "Is everything perfect?" She asked. It was a strange question, but he answered none the less.

   "It will be, first thing tomorrow." He replied with a smile, an attempt to comfort her.

   "Will it stay perfect?" She asked innocently.

   Oreon wanted to say no, it wouldn't always be perfect, but he'd do whatever he could to create that illusion for her. "I promise Essie. I'll make sure everything is perfect."

    As the days turned to weeks, and those weeks turned to months, something had become clear to Esmaeiria. Oreon had not so much as even remembered his promise.

    Each day, he became more and more possessive of her, as if she were an object, rather than the girl he was going to marry, and quite frankly, Esmaeiria couldn't deal with that forever.

   “Princess?” He called, running down the palace halls. He pushed open the door to the castle library. “Princess, your mother is looking for you everywhere!”

   Esmaeiria turned away from him and faced the wall. She buried her face in her book and pretended that he wasn't there. He was attempting to drag her down to another ball taking place downstairs where he would show her off to other boys his age of nobility.

   “Esmaeiria? Are you okay?” He asked, in attempt to sound sincere. She knew he truly didn't care, he just wanted her to fall for his charms. In the reflection on the glass pane in front of her, she could see his emotionless expression. His obvious lack of true concern made her want to stay on her own even more. “Esmaeiria, I know you can hear me, just say something.”

   “Fine. Go away.” She hissed, as she turned another page in the old book.

   “Essie, please! I'm asking only one thing of you, and it's this. My parents want you to meet some relatives.” Oreon pleaded. “Please. For me?”

   She turned around, batted her blue eyes, and stared at him with the most innocent expression she could muster. “For you?”
   “Aye, please Essie!”

   "Well, I guess if it's for you, then...” She wiped her head around to face her book again. “No!”

   “Essie!” Now he was starting to show some real emotion. That emotion may have been frustration, but it was emotion none the less.

   Esmaeiria sighed, and gently folded the corner of her page. “Fine, I'll go down for ten minutes, make my entrance, say hello, and then I am headed straight for the stables. I'd much rather spend the evening with Soniadore.”

   Oreon let his head hang, and allowed his silvery blue wings to go limp. He knew this was the best offer she'd give him, and it was pathetic to even attempt to get a better agreement. “Alright, now let's go.” He held his arm out for her to link hers through, but she simply brushed passed him as if the gesture hadn't been made.

   "I'll meet you down in the ballroom in a few moments, I just need to fix my hair." She said, turning down the hall towards the stairway that lead to her private chambers, placed in the eastern tower of the castle. As far from the ballroom as she could get.

   "You look fine, Esmaeiria. Let us go before everyone thinks that you are avoiding me." Oreon pleaded.
 
   Esmaeiria was less than sympathetic. She turned around and put her hands on her hips. "I am avoiding you. I'll join you in a few moments. Just go, or I won't come at all."

   "Alright, be down soon. We can't have you locked up here forever." Oreon said, as he walked away.

   Esmaeiria shut and locked the chamber door behind her. She just wanted to be alone for a bit. Spending the entire night down in the grand ballroom with several hundred nobles and diplomats was not exactly her idea of an enjoyable night.
 
   She pulled her tiara out of her hair and gently placed it on top of the armorer. "Sometimes," she whispered to herself, "I just wish I could just disappear from this world, from this life, from..." Her eyes drifted to a worn old dress draped over the foot of her bed. It was wrinkled, and the colours were fading from the vibrant pink they'd once been into a shade close to white. A poor commoner would be found wearing a very similar dress. "Maybe I can..."

   There was something about that peasant dress that gave the princess a completely mad idea. She wanted to run away.
 
   It was a perfect plan really. Her disappearance would leave Oreon a free man, giving him the chance to marry any woman he wanted. It would leave her quiet but brilliant sister Ariana the logical choice for queen, and it would leave everyone happy.

   Once those ideas came into her head, there was no way she would ever get it out.
 
   She didn't want to wait for another moment, there wouldn't be another moment for awhile when she wasn't been guarded at every minute. If she didn't go now, she might not ever get to go.
 
   She reached into her vanity draw and pulled out a small knife. It was a beautiful knife, with a decorated golden hilt. Encased at the end of the hilt was a pink gemstone.
 
   With great care, she brought the knife to a lock of blond hair and chopped it off. Piece by piece, golden waves fell to the floor, leaving only a short bob of tight curls on her head. After tying the cut locks together with a ribbon, she slipped into the old dress.
 
   She turned to the mirror, and carefully concentrated on a new appearance. Slowly, her wings began to disappear, her blue eyes became rose, and small freckles sprinkled her face. Princess Esmaeiria was gone, this new elf girl stood in her placed, and would never switch back.

   With one final glance in the mirror, she left. Slipping out of the tower, out of the castle, and into the stables, where she saddled up her horse and rode off into the sunset. 
          
   Twelve days passed as she rode across the country, stopping to dine and rest in the twelve small kingdoms that made up the country. Her trip was rather uneventful, not a soul realized that she bore such a strong resemblance to the princess who has mysteriously disappeared several days before. The only comments she recieved were along the lines "Such a pretty child shouldn't travel all on her own." Other than that, most people weren't concerned with her presence at all. Then again, during the time, Karelena was at war, and  a large majority of the residence were only concerned with themselves. 

   On the dawn of the twelth day, she reached the border that separated Karelena from the neighbouring country Ishiba, a country made up mainly of idyllic farm towns and traditional villages, where gossip amd news stayed strictly between the villagers. Nothing came in, and nothing came out. What better place to hide? If that weren't perfect enough, Ishiba's population was mostly elves, meaning she'd fit in without as much as a hint of trouble.

   Esmaeiria took a moment for one last glance back out the country she had once been proud to call home, and when that moment ended, she road off into her future. Her future not as Esmaeiria Halin, a miserable but as Maria Harmoniac, a girl who was nobody special, just the way she liked it.