Rosalie

The air was damp with rain as the girl climbed barefooted over a crumbling wall. Her heels were hard and cracked and there was a graze on her knee from her previous attempt to climb the part of the wall that towered over her, but that didn't deter her from wanting to reach the highest piece of wall that was still standing. She had never been able to climb the wall entirely, always falling short whenever she had almost reached the top as she would have nothing to hoist herself up with, but now she was a little taller than the last time and would be able to hold onto the top to pull herself up.

Parts of the wall were already slick with the rain from earlier so the girl knew she would have to be extra careful as she climbed. Her first attempt to hold on failed when her left foot slipped against it and made several pieces of wall flake off. This did not stop her from digging her fingers firmly into the crevices of the wall and trying again, this time managing to place both feet securely. She then slowly made her way up the wall, hooking her fingers into any place she could in order to remain on it should her feet slip again. It took a while to reach the top and by the time she was pulling herself up onto the uneven top, her hair had become damp and frizzy from the rain. Her appearance did not matter to her, though; instead a smile broke across her face as she stood to her feet and was able to look across the entire yard of her home, towards the fields that stretched out past the outer wall that kept outsiders at bay. Never had she ventured beyond the outer wall, though it was just as ruined as the castle she called home was. Although the world beyond the wall was exciting, she knew she was safer on the inside.

A sudden clap of thunder made her turn her attention towards the sky before the rain began to fall harder, immediately plastering her hair and clothes to her body and pelting her tongue with cool droplets. Her smile stretched further until she focused back on the fields and noticed a score of people in the distance, watching her. A gasp left her mouth as she realised that these people were those who she had been warned about, and without any hesitation, she began making her way down the wall.

Prince Christian sat upon his horse and watched as the girl disappeared from the top of the wall. She had spotted them, there was no doubt about that, but he did not know how she would be likely to receive them. His cousin, Philip, moved his horse next to his. "Is she alone?" he asked.

"I highly doubt she would be. There has never been any talk of any other person being seen other than her, but no one has ever seen her leave the ruins," he said, relaying the information his men had told him upon their return. Knowing that their prince would expect it of them, they had travelled into the nearest towns and villages to question the people about the ruined castle. Some had spoke about a lone girl roaming the grounds, others called her a spirit that was doomed to walk the place she died, but some swore by the Gods that they had seen fire be thrown up into the sky at night. He knew that villagers were not the most reliable of sources so most of the information had been discarded.

There were a hundred men at his command, ready to storm the ruins and rescue the princess, but the unknown made him hesitant. "Someone should go ahead, make sure she is alone."

Philip studied the ruins. "That will make you look weak."

"I am not weak!"

"Then why be hesitant?" he rebutted, gesturing to the ruins. "No one is in sight. I would have given the command already but you, dear cousin, hide behind your title."

Prince Christian bristled. "And you do not use your title enough, Lord Philip," he snapped, irritated at the implication. He was not afraid otherwise he would not have swore in front of the Queen that he would bring back her daughter. "Ready, men," he called to the company behind him.

They prepared themselves, poised for action, as the prince scanned the ruins once more, trying to spot any movement. When he found none, he gave the signal and he and his men charged across the field and towards the outer wall. Although there was a large gate that would have provided a better entrance, it could not be opened from the outside and therefore he and his men needed to gain enough momentum to jump over the crumbled wall that surrounded it. The rain that was hitting the ground did not make it any easier. "Remember, we are here to save the princess," he called out once they were inside the grounds. "No harm may befall her."

His men nodded and began separating into groups to search around for the girl. Prince Christian, his cousin and a dozen men dismounted from their horses and decided to head into the main part of the ruins. It did not look suitable for horses and he feared that if they knocked a wall too hard it was likely to tumble down and crush them.

"What happens if we do not find her?" Philip asked as he and Prince Christian walked through the ruins at the head of the group.

"We do not leave until we have," the prince insisted. He could not return without the princess. A promise was made and a promise would be fulfilled. Not to mention he would never be able to forget his failed rescue mission, or have any man alive trust his word again.

Ahead of the men laid a long, narrow corridor that started off ruined but slowly grew more solid as they reached the end of it. A huge, heavy door stood in their way and only with the combined strength of five men were they able to open it. Inside laid what evidently used to be a grand room, which Prince Christian guessed to have been the throne room way back when the castle was intact. There were many large pieces of stone scattered around the place which had clearly been moved into the room, and surprisingly there was still a tapestry hung on the wall where the small elevated platform was opposite them, which confirmed his thoughts of the room previously being a throne room.

One of his men let out a whistle. "Nice lookin' tapestry for such a ruined castle," he mused.

Another man nudged him. "You know what they say, that girl haunts this place 'cos this is where she were killed."

"A ghost ain't able to drive off bandits."

"A vengeful ghost can. Didn't you ever hear those stories as a boy?"

Prince Christian and Philip had walked away from the men and towards the far end of the room. Philip let out an amused chuckle. "Your men are so very simple," he said.

"They were commoners," the prince mumbled, placing a hand on the hilt of his sword. "Their silly stories are not amusing when they talk about ghosts and spirits. You would think they were old women at times."

"You ought to be more accommodating. Sometimes the commoners say the most fascinating things."

While they had been talking, neither had noticed the girl that was peeking out from behind the tapestry. A small alcove behind it allowed her to stay hidden, something that she had used many times whenever intruders would venture over the outer wall. None had ever entered the ruins, though, and she did not know how long she would have to remain hidden. She assumed there were only a few men, judging from the voices heard and the ones seen, and their purpose had not yet been verbally stated. None had thought to inspect the tapestry and after a while she watched as the men in her sight headed back towards the door. Thankfully they had not attempted to remove the heavy stones that blocked the door at the end of the platform.

She waited until the voices had left the room before slowing pushing the tapestry away from the wall and leaving the alcove, stepping out into the room. The men had not closed the door so had any looked back into the room, they would have spotted her. Quickly and lightly, she ran across the stone floor and towards the torn curtain that hung beside the entrance, and in a blink of a second, she revealed a passage that she disappeared into, allowing the curtain to flutter back into place.

As the men headed back the way they came, she crawled through the narrow crawlspace that went around the throne room and had it exit behind the blocked door. Had the men taken the time to move the stones, they would have come across her living space and another door that would have led them back outside. It was her main way of venturing outside as before now, the passage had only led to a blocked throne room. It was here that she sat on her bed made of fur to wait until the men left.

Unfortunately, she was unaware the amount of men that had accompanied Prince Christian, and after curling up in her bed she was disturbed by the door being opened and the unfamiliar voices of men seeping into her living space. The moment the voices reached her ears she threw the furs off her and ran back to the passage, intending to escape their ill-conceived intentions. However, the men were faster than she and dashed forward the moment they spotted her, so as she was attempting to crawl into the passage, a pair of arms grabbed her at the waist and pulled backwards, making her dig her fingers into the stone desperately.

"No, no, no!" she cried, thrashing around in the man's arms as he struggled to drag her out the room and into the rain. The other man rushed away while she continued to fight the man's hold on her. "Let me go!"

"Milady, you are safe now. The prince is 'ere to take you 'ome," the man insisted, losing his hold on her when she flung her head back and hit him in the face. She took advantage of the slack hold by running back into her living space and throwing herself into the passage, scrambling to pull herself further away from the opening. It was difficult to crawl while her skin was slick with rain but she knew that if she didn't get back into the throne room while it remained empty, she did not stand a chance of remaining free. She had been reminded consistently that if she was caught by any man that trespassed into the ruins, she would never be free. They would take her away, keeping her captive in their own castles, never allowing her to leave and come back to her home.

The men were ahead of her, however; so by the time she reached the entrance in the throne room, Prince Christian had been made aware of her and realised her living space was to the rear of the throne room. He had hurried back there and discovered the passage behind the curtain, so as she climbed out he was there to stop her. Only he was in the room but all the same, he prevented her from escaping back into the passage and encased her in his arms as she thrashed about in rage, shouting and crying for him to let her go. "Leave me alone," she sobbed as he began telling her about what he had sworn to the Queen. "I don't need saving."

But he did not listen and as night fell, she was on his horse, still trapped within his arms, being taken far away from her home.