Chapter 1

As Arya sat in her room in the east wing of the castle just like every other day, she wondered what it would be like to roam the outside world. For as long as she could remember, she'd longed to leave the palace and her royal duties, and no matter how much people told her that she should be grateful, she could not bring herself to be happy there. She was sixteen years old, which meant that her father was already trying to find her a suitable husband that would benefit her family, only she didn't want to marry some random man for the sake of alliances. She wanted to marry for love and to be happy.

She was pulled from her thoughts as her maids, Marie and Evelyne, walked through the door. She had almost forgotten about the ball tonight. Her father was throwing a ball to try and find her a "worthy husband".

"Miss Arya, we have got to start getting you ready" said Marie, a tall blonde girl about her age that had been her maid for as long as she could remember.

"Yes, your father had insisted we start so that we can ensure that you are not late" continued Evelyne, who had dark brown hair and brown eyes, and had been her maid for just as long as Marie had been.

They didn't wait for her answer as they pulled her out from her seat by the window and began to get her ready for the ball. They put her in a beautiful golden dress that contrasted well with her dark skin, and they put her dark black hair into a stunning half up-half down look with a braided bun at the center. They added a gold hairpiece and put a gold ring on her finger. They then put a little bit of blush on her face and stood her in front of a mirror so she could look at herself. She looked stunning. Her bright green eyes stood out against her dark skin and the yellow dress, and her hair was done perfectly and looked exquisite. But it was missing something. She moved over to the jewelry box by her bed and pulled out her mother's dainty golden necklace, and had Marie clasp it around her neck.

'There, now it's perfect'

"Oh you look amazing miss" said Evelyne.

"Absolutely stunning" continued Marie.

"Thank you. I must be going now, my father wouldn't be very pleased with me being late to yet another ball" she said as she walked out of the door.

She was escorted to the throne room to meet her father by her personal guard, Noah. When they made it to the throne room, he opened the door for her and stepped aside to let her in. Once they were inside he stayed by the door and waited patiently for her to leave.

Her father sat on the throne in the front of the room, waiting for her. She was one of two children, her being the youngest. Her brother Gabriel was twenty four years old, and was already married to a lovely woman named Annalise, both of which her seated on her fathers right side.

"Arya my darling, you look gorgeous" said her father with a smile on his face.

"Come, sit, the guests are going to be here soon."

She slowly walked up to the line of thrones, carefully as to not trip on her dress. Once she got there, she smiled at her father and sat down.

Everyone knew that King Rocco was a kind old king that loved his children and his people very much, and would do anything in his power to keep them all safe, and now that he was getting older, he wanted to make sure that his kingdom was in able hands, even if that meant marrying his daughter of to a man she didn't know.

Of course his daughter didn't plan to go through with this, as she was already making a plan to escape. All she had to do was wait for the opportune moment.

Her father smiled at her as he told the guards to open the gates and common people came flooding in. The steward began introducing all of the nobles and his father nodded to all of them, saying hello, as Arya made sure to keep a smile on her face.

The music started, a soft romantic tune, and the nobles began to dance, and the commoners soon joined in.

The room was full of people laughing and dancing and having a good time, but Arya couldn't have been more bored. She couldn't stop thinking about the fact that after this ball, she would most likely get engaged and shipped off to an unknown castle.

'I can't let that happen' she thought to herself,

'I have to get out of here as soon as possible'

She looked over the room and observed the people dancing. A man in a green suit standing of to the side eating fruit cakes. A woman in a simple magenta dress swaying by herself on the dance floor. A woman in a light blue dress dancing with a man in a simple dark blue suit. They both laughed as they spun each other around. A noble couple dancing, the woman in a large purple dress and her hair in a fancy updo, the man in a black suit with a purple bow tie and a purple pocket square. The coat tails of his suit floated around behind him as he spun the woman around, as she smiled and laughed. Everyone loved her father's parties. No matter how fancy the occasion, all were always invited, and everyone always had fun no matter their background or status.

Soon a prince from a nearby kingdom came and asked her to dance. His kingdom, Adraria, was rich in resources, so her father encouraged her to accept, and so she did. She slowly got up from the throne and made her way down the steps, took his hand, and they begun to dance.