Jasper led the way into the town. I was mesmerised by the sights before me. I had gotten used to the grandeur of the palace as I saw the same thing day after day but this was something new completely. There were skyscrapers bigger than what I could ever have imagined, taller than the trees that were in the forests. These are the kinds of buildings I have only ever seen from glances out of a car window when I was on royal visits. They leave me breathless.

Unlike the country road leading to the village and the night spent in the forest, the town is lit by streetlights and not just the moon and stars. It is a small comfort for me to be surrounded by electricity again after just one night without it. It reminds me of home.

Everything looks more expensive in the town as well. As Jasper and I walk down one of the streets (one where the lights are not working), I notice that parked along the sides of the roads are very expensive looking cars, the same type that the palace often uses. For a moment my heart stops and I wonder if they have found me but when I take a closer look at the car I see that it does not have the palace crest on the front so I sight out in relief.

Growing up I always imagines that towns would be busy. I have accompanied my mother on numerous events that have taken place in towns and there have always been massive crowds though as I have gotten older, I begin to imagine that a lot of it was set up. This town is deserted though. Other than Jasper and I, there is not another soul on the streets. All the curtains in windows are drawn shut and every shop is closed. It even looks like that all the lights have been switched off in every building.

"Jasper, is the town always this quiet?" I ask him, hoping he can put my mind at ease.

I watch him as he carries on walking forwards with his head down; "no it's usually busy. I don't understand why there is nobody out." He says, his tone being very serious.

There is a part of me that wants to ask where we are going but I know that right now is not the right time. Both of us keep checking our surroundings, knowing that it only takes one person to see us for everything to be ruined. Luckily for us, there is absolutely no one on the streets looking for us.

"This is strange. It is far too quiet out here. I would have thought there would be have guards all around the town looking for you. Also the shops should still be open. Nothing about this makes any sense." Jasper mutters to himself, loud enough that I can still hear him though.

"There will be some reasonable explanation for this, I'm sure about that." I try and comfort him.

He stiffens where he is stood, "I hope you're right princess. This way." He leads to an alley way that has been abandoned and stops in front of a door.

I expect Jasper to keep walking but instead he stops and knocks on the door.

"What are you doing?" I hiss at him.

"Trust me." I watch him as he knocks on the door again.

This time the door creeps open and a woman's head pokes itself through the gap.

"Who is there?" she says fiercely.

"Anita, it is just me. Will you let us in?" Jasper says to her and her face then turns calmer. She signals for us to come and then she quickly locks the door behind us.

"Jasper, what are you doing here? You were lucky not to be caught."

"Be caught by who? There was no one on the streets other than us. What is going on?"

I stay quiet and hide in the background, knowing that my presence will probably create more drama. Where I am stood I am able to take a good luck at Anita. In all my life, I have never seen anyone look the way that she does. Her hair looks to have been shaven off apart from areas which are spiked up and they have been died blue.

I realise that too late that I have been staring at her because she begins to stare back. "Who is this that you have brought with you Jasper?" Anita asks. 

I look over at Jasper who is also looking at me with worry in his eyes.

"Tell me what is going on and I'll tell you who she is." He bargains with her.

"Watch this then." Anita walks over to a screen and turns it on. The first thing I see is my mother's face. 

Her voice booms around the room and sets me back a little. "Ladies and gentlemen of Strongway, it is with great sadness that I report that the princess, my daughter, has gone missing. She was last seen in the palace on the night of the ball and since then has not been seen.

I have sent out many of my palace guards along with soldiers to search for her which is going to lead to changes in your life. A curfew is now going to be set in place in every village and town. No one is allowed to leave their house after sundown and all shops and businesses will be closed. This is so my guards will be able to find the princess quickly. Anyone who does not obey these rules will be arrested immediately and sent to the palace for their sentence.

If you see the princess, contact a member of the palace immediately and you will be rewarded. Thank you for your help. I am your queen of Strongway, Queen Arabella."  The report stops, stunning me into silence.

"This is why there is no one on the streets Jasper. I don't know how you and your friend got here without being caught. Anyway who is she?"

Instead of telling her who I am, I walk into some light instead. At first Anita's expression doesn't change but then her face drops when she realises who I am. "Please tell me that you have not kidnapped the princess!" she screams at Jasper.

"I didn't. I just found her in the forest land..."

"You thought you would keep her? She isn't a pet. It would be bad enough if she were just a normal person but a member of the royal family? I always thought you would be the death of me Jasper but I never thought it would be like this." Anita rants to him and I shuffle back into the darkness, hoping that I can hide myself away.

"I didn't decide to keep her. I agreed to help her and that was before I found out she was the princess. She wouldn't have survived the next couple of days without me."

Anita doesn't say anything after that; instead she just walks around shaking her head.

"I'm really sorry to have caused all of this. I'll leave now if you want. I don't want the two of you to fight. Thank you Jasper." I say while walking towards the door.

At the same as I am walking towards the door, Jasper says "no stay. There is a reason why I have brought you here. Anita we need your help. I am asking you this as your nephew, not someone breaking numerous laws." 

Rather than it being the word of help that makes me stay, it is the word nephew. That is certainly news to me. I don't know what I was expecting, I hardly know Jasper so why should I know his family tree?

Anita lifts her head up which she previously had in her hands, "what is it you want?" she asks sharply while looking at me.

I just stare back at her, unsure what I should say. I don't know why I am here.

"She needs a makeover if she is going to be able to live the life that she wants."

"WHAT?" I yell at the same time as Anita.

"Your long black hair is going to be the first thing that people recognise about you along with those green eyes. Of course there isn't much we can do about the eyes other than contacts. If we can change your hair then people will be less likely to recognise you. After all, the guards and the rest of the public will be looking for long, black hair so if we can change that then they will be off our scent. You will also need a change of clothes. That ball gown is pretty much ruined and you need some better footwear." Jasper tells me which I have to agree with.

"I'm not having my hair cut though. Surely I could wear a wig instead?" I suggest as vanity gets the better of me.

Jasper nods his head at me which I assume means I can keep all of my hair. Anita reluctantly agrees to help which I am thankful for. She leads me upstairs in the tiny apartment that she lives in and tells me I can use the shower. I didn't even realise how much I needed to bathe until I got under the hot water. For me this is the closest thing to heaven in my life. All the muck from my body runs off with the water leaving me to feel brand new again. I then wash my hair because I don't know when the next time I'll be able to do that will be. When I get out of the shower, I feel so much better than before.

I meet Anita back in her bedroom where she has laid out a range of different wigs. "How come you have so many?" I ask.

"I used to own a salon a few years again but then I stopped getting business. I kept all my supplies and I have just hidden myself in here ever since. Now sit here while I dry your hair. I would rather get you out of my house sooner rather than later." I sit down where she told me to and I let her do my hair.

As I expected, it took Anita about hour to finish drying it completely. It feels so nice to have my hair clean again after what feels like years when in reality it has only been a couple of days. I thank her and we move on to choosing what wig I should wear.

First of all I try on a red one which is shoulder length and I like the feeling it gives me. I feel like I can take on the world. I then try a chin length, brown haired wig on which I don't like as much. It makes me want to hide away in the background and it doesn't suit my eyes. We soon get rid of that one. The next one I try on is a blonde wig. The length is just past my chest. When I see myself wearing that wig I know that it is probably the one. It's a huge contrast from my dark hair which made me the dark princess to now this unbelievably light hair. I'm now the light princess.

I tell Anita that the blonde wig is the one I am going to choose so she shows me how to pin my hair up so I can wear it properly all the time when I am back outside. Once I have understood this we move onto clothes. I pick out some jeans along with a t-shirt and jumper just in case I get too warm or too cold. There were not as many shoes in my size though so indeed up with an old pair of battered trainers. They are easier to walk in than the heels I was wearing earlier though.

Once I have the whole outfit on I feel like a completely different person. I am no longer Princess Alexandria Willows but instead I am Ria, a girl on the run. And hopefully no one will be able to find me.

When I go back downstairs after getting changed, I notice that Jasper is sat alone at a table reading a newspaper. My face covers all of the front page.

When he looks up, surprise flashes across his face. "You look different. Really different. Are you sure that your the same princess that I came here with?" he jokes with me.

"I'm pretty sure although I do feel different." I tell him.

"Good. So are you ready to get going?" he asks me and I agree but before we can reach the door Anita stops us.

"You can't leave yet." She hastily tells us.

Jasper look confused, as do I. "Why not?" he asks.

"The curfew is still on and even though you snuck your way in here, you might not be as lucky on your way out and then all of this will have been for nothing. You will probably be best waiting here all of tomorrow, until maybe an hour before sundown. That will be your best chance to escape because you will still be allowed on the streets and there will be less people. Stay here until then." She pleads with us.

Everything she says sounds reasonable so I agree to stay and so does Jasper. Now we just have to wait until tomorrows sundown until the next part of our adventure begins.

A/N: it's that time of the week again, happy #RoyalWednesday! I hope you have enjoyed this chapter.

The edit in the banner was made by kaseyswift7!

What do you think is going to happen next? Any thoughts on Anita? What do you think of Jasper at this point?

I want to mention the cover contest that I am doing. All the information is in the part before this one so go give it a read. You can email me any covers that you make as well, just pm me and I'll send you my address that way. I really hope you enter as it will be a good way to spread the word on this book.

Talking about this book, it reached a new peak of 690 in the fantasy charts so thank you so much for that. Tag some friends below to do they can come and read the story as well.

That's it's for today, don't forget to vote and comment. Thank you!