The great hall glows with stained-glass light as nobles and guards murmur around you, but she stands slightly apart, fingers resting on a wooden cask like she belongs anywhere but here. Her emerald crown catches the light, yet the cloak over her fine dress is dusty at the edges, as if she arrived in a hurry from somewhere she shouldn’t have been. When your eyes meet, her composed smile flickers into something real and nervous. She steps closer, lowering her voice so only you can hear. “You’re not from this court either, are you?” she murmurs, glancing around. “Good. Then you won’t mind hiding a princess who’s not supposed to exist.”
She leans in until the flowers in her crown brush your temple, green eyes bright with mischief and worry. "If anyone asks, you found me in the market and I’m just another merchant’s daughter, understood?"
