Keira sat in front of the mirror in her room as she adjusted her headband. Once it was in place she began examine her reflection in the mirror. She listened to her mother and had fixed up her appearance after leaving the throne room and was now wearing a dress much like the one she had one before minus the tear and stain marks. She placed her hand on the cut mark that was still visible and began to think about Jack. He had been so courageous to go out and rescue her without any real knowledge of who he was saving or what he was up against. Then the kindness he had shown, though brief, was enough to make her feel a little more than grateful for him.

Feeling a little curious she stood up from her chair in front of the mirror and walked over to her window overlooking the town and pushed aside its golden curtains and looked outside. She scanned around the towns various cottages and residents as they walked about and talked amongst each other until she found who she was looking for in the market area near the center of town. It was Jack sure enough. She watched as he bartered with one of the traders who had set up a stand in the area as he tried to sell the basket of strawberries they had harvested. Once they seemed to reach a deal Jack handed the trader and the basket and was handed a small brown bag, likely filled with gold, and began to make his way out of town and into the forest with his horse following behind him.

Keira removed her hand from the curtains causing them to once again block the window as she made her way to the other side of the room. She opened the large set of glass doors beside her bed that lead to her balcony over the garden and stepped onto it. She leaned up against the railing and rested her head on her hand and looked down at the garden below as she began to think about her past.

As a child her parents had always focused on bring her up to be proper and respectable. They had their maids and servants spend night and day giving her various lessons on how to be a lady and just about confined her to castle, limiting her contact with the outside world. At times though her main caretaker would see how tiresome the process was for her and let her go out and play in the garden with her daughter for the as long as she could. Usually she wouldn't get caught but there were someday where her mother would find her skipping her lessons and get angry with her and force her back inside. Those times though where she could go out in the garden were one of the few, and as she believed, the only times she could actually feel less like a princess and more like an average person. But that brief day she had just spent with Jack brought her back to those days where she could be carefree and truly happy that she just didn't want to part with them so soon.

Suddenly the sound of the door opening filled Keira's ears bringing her back to reality. She turned around and walked into the room to see her maid Celia enter the room. Celia was the girl who she used to play in the garden with but ever since her mother fell ill and passed away she had taken her role of being Keira's main servant and friend.

"Princess Keira I'm so relieved to see you." Celia said as she walked up to her. "I was starting to get worried after you didn't return back here to the castle yesterday."

Keira smiled at her. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

"You seem rather happy about something." Celia said.

"Oh, it's just that I met someone the other day while I was out." Keira said happily.

"Really?" Celia asked curiously.

"His name is Jack." Keira told her.

"Jack?" Celia asked. "That doesn't sound like the name of someone who would be your suitor."

"That's because he isn't. He's a farmer who saved me after I was captured by some thieves out in the forest." Keira said causing her to let out a gasp.

"A farmer?" Celia exclaimed. "You like a farmer?"

"Kind of, what's wrong with that?" Keira asked.

"He's a peasant Keira!" Celia told her. "You shouldn't be attracted to them! They don't even have as high status as me."

Keira crossed her arms and looked away angrily. "You sound just like my father. Just because he isn't royalty it doesn't mean he's any more different from me."

"What do you even like about him anyway?" Celia asked.

Keira sighed and took a seat on the edge of her bright yellow bed. "Remember when we were little and your mother used to let me go and play with you in the garden?"

"Of course I do. It always made you so happy." Celia said as she took a seat beside her.

"Well… it's just that after he saved me Jack took me to his farm so I could relax for a day and being there without any worries reminded me of how carefree I was during that time out in the garden." Keira told her.

"So he makes you feel carefree?" Celia asked.

Keira sighed again. "You just don't understand. Every day I feel like I have to act like someone I'm not but when I was with him yesterday it just didn't feel like that. I even got to work in his field with him."

"He had you working?" Celia exclaimed before leaning in closer and started whispering. "Does your father know? He could have him executed."

"He knows but he's not going to do anything." Keira told her. "Or at least I hope he doesn't."

"What does it matter?" Celia asked. "It's not like you're going to see him again."

Keira became angered by that comment. "You don't know that. We could meet again. What did you even come here for anyway?"

"Oh I almost forgot." Celia said as she stood up from her spot on the bed. "Your mother wanted me to inform you that dinner would be ready soon."

"Tell her I'll be down in the dining hall soon." Keira told her.

Celia gave her a little bow. "Yes Keira."

Celia began to walk towards the door to leave the room before stopping and turning back towards Keira.

"Oh she also wanted me to remind you about your suitor tomorrow." Celia said causing Keira to roll her eyes in disgust.

"How could I forget about that?" Keira asked rhetorically.

"She wanted me to tell you that his name is Edwin and that he comes from one of the nearby kingdoms." Celia told her.

"Like it matters." Keira muttered.

Celia bowed once again before leaving the room and as soon as the door shut Keira glanced over at the balcony. She began to once again think about how she desired to feel carefree and how Jack was the key to that desire becoming a reality. But first, she'd have to deal with her next suitor.

A/N: I don't know why I chose Edwin as her suitor and eventually antagonist of the whole story, I just thought it sounded like a fancy name. Please R&R and feel free to check out my other ongoing stories if you wish.