[[I do NOT own any of these photos used and I am NOT claiming to be the artist. But please use these as a visual reference]]
... I made it... I made it! The princess could not contain her joyful squeals of excitement as she danced in circles now standing on the edge of the town, far from her castle.
Her display garnered her some unimpressed, and worried glances from stray townspeople.
She came to her senses when she realized that she did not have time to spare, she had to separate herself from the castle as much as possible.
The princess looked around, she had no idea what led to what, or where she even wanted to go.
"Great... I get my freedom and have no idea how to use it." The princess scoffed to herself.
Alana did not even know if she wanted to be gone for only a day, or a month... or forever.
Princess Alana started to take steps in the direction of the docks, if she knew one thing, it was that she longed to touch the ocean.
"Do you see her hair?" The princess heard murmuring.
"Having hair that long can get you killed for trying to imitate royalty."
The princess realized it was not so much murmuring as they were passing warnings.
They wanted her to hear them. She had to take care of her damned hair, at the next alley she passed she slid inside.
She searched around for any reflective surface; all she could find was just a puddle. She pulled the golden scissors from her stocking.
Her heart began to race as she released her shaky breath and stared down at her murky reflection in the puddle.
If I do not cut it, I will be found out a lot quicker. But If I do, I will be punished severely when I return.
The princess bit her bottom lip, a pained expression laced her beautiful features.
But I do not want to be caught... and I do not want to return.
Without another thought, the princess clipped at her regal hair. It was as if she was cutting her ties to her royal family, she no longer wanted to be a Balosar, she never wanted to be compared to them again.
Before long, the princess chopped her hair off to the nape of her neck. She did her best to make sure everything looked even.
She was amazed at how light her head felt, she ran her hand through the short locks, feeling odd how her fingers immediately left the hair.
The ends of her hair tickled her chin as she looked down at her reflection. It gave her another reason to smile.
The princess picked up her cut-off braid and threw the python-like mess into the closest trash bin. She brushed any loose hair off her dress, placed her scissors back in her stocking, and left the alley.
The princess kept her hands fiddling with her new hairstyle all the way to the port, playing the ends, taking joy in the way it brushed against her neck.
I would love and hate to see what my mother would say about this. She giggled to herself.
As she walked and toyed with her hair, her curious eyes shifted from stall to stall.
She was amazed by the variety, and how loud the sellers called out to the possible customers. There was rarely yelling in the castle like this, in fact, this was the loudest place she had ever been.
And to think this was just within my reach my whole life.
"Real silk! Silk scarves great for your wives!" A man shouted loudly.
"Freshly baked bread! Muffins! Pound cake! Come this way!" A young boy stood outside a bakery motioning people in.
The princess smiled widely; this is absolutely wonderful.
When the princess finally looked ahead of herself, she was stunned to a complete halt. Her eyes widened, and her heart dropped as it began to race.
Just ahead were massive ships, docked at the port. It was the first time she had ever seen one, up close anyway.
Ships were the size of the tip of her pinky finger from her view in the cage.
Her mouth was gaped open as she moved quickly down to the docks to get a better view.
Men were walking up and down large ramps onto the ships, loading, and unloading.
They were covered in grit and sweat, dirt-caked some of their faces, and all of their clothes.
The Princess had never seen such people before, everything at the palace was pristine, even the manual workers. She continued down the docks trying not to make eye contact with any of the sailors.
That is when she saw it, the largest ship there, and the most beautiful.
It was a gorgeous cherry oak color, with deep navy-blue sails. It was an enormous vessel but seemed to be the least active.
The princess could hear the sails slap in the wind, the fluttering calling out for her to board the ship. It was an inexplicable urge for the princess, but without thinking her boots were pressing into the ramp, making her way up to the deck. She was in a trance by the ship's beauty and aura, like it is where she belonged.
"Wow," The princess breathed, pushing a piece of her now short hair behind her ear as the strong wind blew.
The deck was spotless and elegant, it was stunning.
Her feet carried her to the stern, the highest level on the ship, her slender fingers trailing the railing. She looked over the banister into the ocean, the small waves crashed against the ship.
The princess was content, the fact she stood on a stranger's ship never crossing her naïve mind.
This is what freedom is? The weight of a kingdom's future for once not crushing me. The princess lost track of time in her thoughts. Ah, the sea air is so refreshing, I would have never known. This is so relaxing, the breeze, the sound of waves, the sound of shouting, even the smooth sway of a moving ship... wait... moving? The princess snapped upright, finally seeing the ship was leaving the dock.
"Oh no!" The princess whispered to herself looking behind her.
There was suddenly a whole crew on deck, men covered in grime and dirt. Of course, not appearing magically, Princess Alana was just so tangled in her own thoughts she never realized most of the crew return and begin work.
The Princess spotted a man dressed in fine clothes barking orders.
He must be in charge. The princess thought as she lightly bites her thumbnail, not enough to chew it off, just enough to calm her.
I will just explain myself to him, surely, he would understand. Right?
Without much more thought the princess made her way down to the main deck and made her way to the man that had his back to her. All she could see was his light brown hair, dropping down over his shoulders.
Her heart was thundering in her chest, and she felt the heat rising, she was so embarrassed she had to confront someone because of her stupidity.
Some of the crew members noticed her and stopped working with perplexed and shocked expressions, never once had they seen a woman on the ship before. At least one not leaving in the middle of the night.
The Princess gripped the fabric of her dress tightly, trying to find her voice.
"E-excuse me?" The princess spoke softly. The man did not immediately hear her.
"You lot must want a good flogging, or are you all just deaf?" The man in front of her had such a kind voice, it sounded as if he was giving praises, but his actual words did not match his tone.
If he has such a sweet voice, then maybe there is not anything to be afraid of.
The princess thought and eased her grasp on her dress.
"Excuse me?" She said a bit louder and more clearly.
The man spun quickly to face her, perplexed.
When the princess looked upon his face her heartbeat just grew faster.
He had the most beautiful pale green eyes she had ever seen, that shimmered in fleeting sunlight. He was beautiful, the man had slender features, he was tall and very obviously muscular.
His flowy white blouse was undone until just above his belly button showing off most of his lean muscles. The princess took in his beauty in the same split second it took him to grab her arm roughly.
"What is a beautiful woman doing on the ship?" He smiled sweetly.
His words were drenched in honey, but his eyes, his aura, gave off nothing but danger.
"I- I came on by mistake, I want to get off." The princess said holding the wrist of the hand that clutched her arm so tightly.
"Oh-?" The man said standing straighter.
"I'm afraid this ship turns around for no one. You'd have to jump if you want to leave."
He shoved the princess towards the banister.
This man... he sounds so kind, and his voice is gentle, even his face is not contorting into malice or anger... but his words are venomous.
"Alright," The princess regained her stability.
"I am sorry for disrupting the beginning of your journey."
It was the princess's turn to show a true smile, one she meant with all her heart. She climbed onto the banister, throwing one leg over at a time.
Hm, the dock is pretty far... my swimming lessons better pay off. I wanted my first-time touching the ocean to be a little bit more special. I guess it cannot be helped.
The princess went to take a step off the ship and into the water, but as soon as she felt herself falling something caught around her waist.
"You don't think I'll let you get away that easily, did you?" The sweet voice whispered in the princess's ear.
The man had wrapped his arm around Alana's waist preventing her from falling into the sea.
"Huh?" That was all the princess could say as he hoisted her back over the railing.
"The captain needs to know about such a precious stowaway." The man did not bother setting the princess down, and she was amazed she was not too heavy for him.
The princess saw how everyone looked at her, almost as if they pitied her, but they quickly returned to their duties.
The strange man carried the princess down a few stairs and a labyrinth of lower deck halls.
She did not bother exchanging words with the man that carried her, her face was beet red and she figured she had no need to ask where he was taking her, he already said they were going to see the captain.
Finally, the man dropped her, and she went crashing to the floor. She managed to catch herself with her hands, but her palms and bottom ached.
Before she could adjust to the pain the collar of her dress was yanked, pulling her to a standing position.
She had never been this roughed around in her life, only switched by tutors.
The princess was always protected by Silas and her other dear friend as children, now as an adult Silas protects her closely.
Silas would have a cow if he saw me now.
The princess refrained from giggling to herself, she understood now was not the time for giggling, but it was hard for her to take a lot of things too seriously.
Alana could hear low chatter coming from within this room, people were in there having a discussion.
The brunette male knocked twice before opening the door, slipping in, and shutting it behind himself. The princess stood there confused.
I guess he wants me to wait.
Ivo entered the room as he thought of all the different ways to explain there was a young woman on the ship.
He did not mind leaving her out there, if she ran, he could and would catch her.
"Ivo, who is watching the crew? Those sad sacks will lay about if they aren't being properly told what to do. I would hate to throw some overboard to teach another lesson on idleness." The captain spoke leaning back in his chair.
"Oh come, those fools are in no rush to visit Davey Jones." Ivo smiled his fake smile and laced his words with his pretty false ribbon.
"Still," The captain rested his head in his hand, elbow propped on the table. "What brings you down here against my orders?"
The other two men have yet to speak yet, but they watched the exchange intently.
These four men were so close the captain's threatening tone could be seen as a bluff, but only an idiot would call it.
"Well, dear friend, it seems we have a stowaway." Ivo smiled brightly as he opened the door to reveal a short-haired girl, and to top it off she had the nerve to smile with a small wave.