Luka slid open the young girl's bedroom door, glancing over Miku as she twirled and twirled until she fell dizzily onto her bed.

"You're very happy tonight, Miku-chan."

"That's because a good thing happened to me tonight!" Miku sat up, and stroked her chin thoughtfully. "Luka-san, is it wrong for two girls to be in love?"

"I personally wouldn't say so," Luka cocked her head questioningly. "Why are you asking?"

Miku lowered her head and hid her blush behind her long curtain of blue hair. The maid put two and two together and hopped at her conclusion.

"You love Gumi-kun, yes?" she exclaimed in a hushed voice, before pushing the door closed. Miku hid her head in a pillow.

"Maybe."

"Miku-chan~! Awwww, that's so cute." Luka pulled the pillow away from the girl's face. "Does she know?"

Miku nodded slowly, refusing to meet the woman's eyes. Luka shoved her, giggling at the girl's reddening face.

"You can't tell anyone though, Luka-san."

Luka nodded, understanding at once the serious note in the princess' quiet voice. "Of course I won't."

"If my father finds out… he won't be happy, that's for sure," Miku gazed at nothing in particular. "He's only happy if I do what he wants."

"Like marry Gakupo?" The maid watched her carefully as she considered the situation.

"Exactly. But I don't want to do that." Miku jumped off the bed and paced over the rug in a continuous circle. "Sure, he's nice and all that, but he's not my… type, I guess."

She sighed and chewed on her thumb as she kicked the rug with her bare feet. She was running out of time. Luka let out a sigh that mirrored her own and stood up, smoothing down her skirt.

"You really should be getting ready to settle for the night, Miku-sama," her voice carried over the room in a breathy whisper, before she hurried over to the door and left the room. Miku groaned and followed her out of the room to the bathroom. She stood staring at her reflection in the mirror on the wall, holding up a toothbrush and screwing her nose up at the minty scent that attacked her senses. The reflection copied her actions and she glared at the puppet that she had become.

"Nobody's going to control me anymore."

She turned on her heel and stormed back to her bedroom. She rummaged through the closets and drawers, throwing her necessities into a bag and hiding her hair under the hood of a large cloak. Turning back once more, she looked over the room that no longer seemed to hold any meaning for her, and she ran.

Her footsteps echoed loudly when her feet tapped down the steps and across the wooden flooring to the doors at the entrance of the castle. One push and she was a step closer to her freedom from the strings that came with being a princess. Nothing more than a shadow in the darkness, she sprinted across the courtyard, taking care to keep quiet and avoid the guards standing outside the building.

"Come on, Miku, you're almost there!"

She caught sight of the guards standing at the main gate and cursed at herself for forgetting the fact that they would be guarding all entrances and exits from the grounds. Her eyes searched for another way out and fell upon the fences to her right. Before long, her bag was flung over to the other side and she quickly scaled the barrier, wary of the spikes that poked her legs and caught the skirt of her nightgown. She dropped down the other side to the cobblestone next to her bag and brushed herself off, before grabbing her things and skipping off in the direction of the town.

When the castle faded into the darkness in the distance, Miku giggled and danced down the sidewalk. She passed the many blacked out buildings that she and Luka had become familiar with after their first venture out of the castle. Casting her mind back, Miku thought of life before that, and how boring it was, until she found herself outside the shop where Gumi lived. She disappeared around the back of the house and tried to see if she could find which window led to Gumi's room. She squinted, trying to spot any clue in the darkness, before tentatively picking a small stone from the ground and tossing it at one of the glass panes and holding her breath, praying she had made the right choice and not just awakened the drunken store owner. The seconds seemed to go on for hours as she held her breath in the scrubby garden. A light flickered on and a hand pulled back the blue cloth curtains to reveal a pair of sleepy emerald eyes and messy green hair. Gumi gazed down to the grass below, rubbing her eyes before she realised what she was looking at. Or rather who she was looking at. Her eyes widened in shock and surprise, and the tired feeling no longer existed in her body. She indicated to the princess to stay there and silently padded down the stairs to the back door. Her hands fiddled with the stiff lock and she dragged the wooden door from its frame to reveal the messy back garden and messy princess.

"Miku-sama? What are you doing here?" Gumi kept her voice low as she questioned the girl.

"I'm running away," Miku replied casually, pulling the hood from her head.

"What do you mean 'running away'?"

"I mean I'm sick of being a princess and I want to be a normal girl."

Gumi giggled and shook her head at Miku, who grinned back.

"So, uh, can I come in?"

A/N: This is the first thing I've written in a while, hopefully I've improved a bit X3

Also, to everyone who has left a review on this, thank you, I really appreciate it, it's so nice of you to do that :3 3