Dew sparkled like glitter off of the morning sun, creatures chirped over the horizon, and leaves rustled against the fur of animals as they woke up. I lay down in the damp earth, and as my shoulders thumped against the dirt, an earthy smell engulfed my nose.

The sun was almost blinding, and I could feel my eyes begin to water just from glancing at it. This is my Heaven, lying down in the morning sun, and this is the only time I can finally find my inner peace. My people think that I must mean so much, just because I am the daughter of a King. I don't want the responsibility. My sister does, but not me.

Ruling a Kingdom is definitely not my style, and never has been. I think it is way too overrated, and no one should be given all of the power. Sadly, no one seems to agree with me.

No Ali, stop. My own voice intruded my head. Don't think about your responsibilities… this is your time to relax. Use it and shut up. I closed my eyes softly and inhaled. Soon I would hear my name, and I would have to go back. Use your time wisely…

"Ali! Ali where are you! Time to come back!" I heard my brother, Jack, yell.

"I'll come when you leave!" I shouted back. No one knew where I went. This was the one place I could always go to, and know no one would follow me. It was in the middle of a meadow. I stumbled upon it when I was running from my parent's maids. I had been in the middle of a bath, but I didn't want to take it so when one of them turned around I jumped out and ran into the forest with nothing on. I saw a hole in a tangle of vines and jumped through. That was how it all started, and when no one could find me, I decided I would go there as much as possible.

I won't let anyone find me either, because I don't want them to. This is my spot, and if it was up to me, I would never leave. Nor would I have to, considering that there are fruits everywhere in my little secret cove, and there is even a stream with fish in it. Easily, I could stay here, and just get lost in its magic… that sounds so nice…

Chapter One

Sunlight shined through my window and onto the edge of my bed. I could hear the town waking up. Noises ran up the wall of the palace and slid in to the little cracks within. I closed my eyes for a few more seconds, hoping to just fall back asleep. I knew that in a few minutes I would be wide awake. Luckily for me, I was always the first person in the palace to wake up, so if I hurried I could scatter down to the cove in the forest. Just thinking about it made the scents of the luscious meadow fill my nose, and the sound of the stream and creatures fill my ears. This was normal for me, to be able to picture my secret with no trouble. It was as if I could fly there, even from a million miles away…

I glanced at the clock. Five in the morning. Yes! I still have time to make it to the meadow and watch the sun rise! I got dressed in to a short blue sun dress. I knew my parents would not approve, but it's not like anyone would see me anyway.

Cold air hit my bare legs and I giggled as I sprinted through the wet grass. For a few seconds, I stopped and spun in circles while looking up at the sky. Stars still barely dotted it, but I knew I would miss the sun rise if I didn't hurry! I got my balance back and then skipped to the cove quickly with a huge grin plastered on my face. "YEAH!" I shouted without turning around. No one would know it was me anyway! I burst in to a full out obnoxious laugh as I began running even faster, not even feeling the ground underneath my feet.

Soon I was under the cover of trees, and my eyes wandered up to the sky again, where stars were starting to disappear! I picked up the pace and stopped before the opening in the vines. I turned around for a few seconds to check and make sure that no one was following, and then stepped through the hole.

Sunshine immediately hit my face, and I closed my eyes, and opened my mind. Then I heard it. A new sound, something that added a counter melody to the orchestra of the cove.

"Who's there?" I whispered softly. I twirled around two times to see if I could spot anyone.

"Hello?" I spoke again, this time a bit louder. I relaxed when there was no response, and let my body slouch a bit.

"Forgive me, Princess." A voice whispered from behind. Then a hand covered my mouth, and I was violently dragged off my feet and in to a new place I had never been. The Unknown.

Chapter Two

I couldn't remember a thing. I woke in the arms of a stranger, and was unable to figure out where I was. I turned my head to look at who I was with, but the moment I went to move, pain sliced through my body. Everything came back in a rush.

I had been kidnapped. I didn't know where I was. I had a seriously scared feeling in my stomach, and I think I must have hit my head sometime in between unconsciousness.

I felt an urge to try and talk to my captor, but I almost didn't want to. There was a feeling in my gut that there was a big reason on why I was taken, and that somehow I really needed to figure out what it was.

Facing my fear, I spoke. "Where am I?" I was surprised to hear that my voice was filled with power, and not fear. Thank God I don't sound scared…

"You are with me." Was the response that was shot back at me. "Why am I with you?" I wanted to keep our conversation simple. For all I knew, he was just some stupid man capturing a princess to receive money, although what he was really going to receive was 100 lashes…

"Because you need to be with me. You are in danger as long as you stay in your home." He spoke slowly, as if trying to make me realize he wasn't trying to scare me.

"No" I said back. "I am not in danger in my palace. I am in danger away from my palace. You aren't helping me at all, so I think you need to take me back immediately, before my parents send our soldiers after me, and more importantly," I paused to make it a bit more dramatic, "you."

"Oh, you misunderstand. They won't send people out to look for a bit." I could hear a bit of a smirk in his voice. "What did you do to them!" I almost screamed. He chuckled softly. "Keep your voice down, princess." This time it was as if I could hear his lips form in to a huge grin. "I did nothing to them. It was all you, and that makes my job a lot easier. You see, you disappear for hours each day! Perhaps this is just a bad day, and you felt the need to stay there longer than usual. Believe me, they won't know you are gone for a while. Yet when they do, they will still be searching the forest for you." I slowly realized how true his words were. My parents wouldn't search for me until it was too late!

"No…" I whispered softly. "At least kill me quickly. Spare me the pain!" He chuckled once more as I tilted my head back. "What!" "You need to sleep Princess, for I know you well. Pay attention to my words like normal, and perhaps you will catch facts, like the point I am not killing you." I finally realized that I hadn't looked at him this whole time, so I twisted my head towards him as quickly as possible to at least see what my captor looked like, hoping the pain wouldn't be too bad. However, it was, so the last thing I saw before I blacked out was a gorgeous face staring at me.

Next time I woke, I was in a bed. Alone of course, and I wasn't in my blue sun dress anymore. "Where is it…" I said as I glanced around the room, looking for its familiar design of sparkling spirals contrasting with its soft, blue fabric. The room was very simple, and only had one chair, a small one door closet, and a desk. A light brown wallpaper was beginning to peal off of the sides of the room, and the floor was wooden with little crooks in it. There were two other doors, and I slowly got out of the bed and stepped on to the wood. It creaked under my weight, and I looked down at myself, wondering if I could really weigh enough to fall through the wood if I was on the second story of a house.

I tiptoed quickly to one of the doors, and looked to find that it was a bathroom. I walked towards a cracked mirror that had been carelessly thrown in to the bathtub, and picked it up. I barely recognized my reflection. I was wearing a short brown tattered dress with horrible sowing, and my feet were still bare. My eyes were a deep green today, but I knew they wouldn't stay that color for long. My eyes always changed colors, but by now I was used to it. My brown hair was perfectly curled, and my cheeks were a bit red. "Oh my…" I whispered to myself, thinking that maybe my voice could help me find the courage to walk outside.

I stared in the mirror for a moment more, and then I walked back in to the main room. Outside I could hear the beat of horses hooves crunching on churned up gravel. A small window was near the top of the room, so I grabbed the chair and pushed it up to the side of the wall. I stepped onto it so that I could see what was outside, but as I put both feet on the chair, it snapped. I fell straight through and slowly tried to catch my balance. However, right when I did the chair wobbled again, and I tripped over the back of it and crashed to the floor.

The noise must have alerted my captor that I was awake, because as I got up and smoothed my dress, the door opened roughly.