Rey POV

I was not born of royalty and neither did I wish too. As a girl I always looked upon such things as uncomfortable and restraining.

But at a young age I became an orphan and was brought in the palace of a King and Queen I knew not the names of, I was to become a place of a maid.

I was only about nine of age then.

I knew not what luxury was.

And being that I was just some orphan girl I only looked more pitiful to those who looked upon me.

I was poor and only wanted a roof over my head.

But I seemed to fancy, at the time, a particular set of eyes.

A women who I would learn later was unable to have children as other women could.

She was of the Royal Court and one of the highest in ranking.

Her name was Cordelia. She would never tell me her last name due to the fact she was also a widow. She would also not speak of her past family either, probably due to some type of fall out with her and her family.

Even so, she took me in as if I were her own. And I was grateful for her kindness so much that I never faltered to do what was told of me.

I was now of the age of nineteen. The age to where I could wed. The age where all girls wished to meet that special someone.

The age were pinning for true love, as they put it...was at its finest.

Unfortunately I was not that girl. I never once wished such ridiculous things. Not yet at least. Not for awhile.

It would restrain my freedom as a young women. I wanted to travel places outside the royal walls of the castle that I had been confined in for eleven years.

And I would leave in a heart beat if it wasn't for the one person who raised me to become a refined lady in court.

The only person that kept me from leaving this place was my adoptive mother, Cordelia.

But even she, one day, will not be able to keep me from leaving this place.

Still though, to me I was glad to have her as a mother.

Since I had awoken before sun rise I laid in bed looking out my window.

I was restless and jumped out of bed, putting on the first dress I laid eyes on along with a matching pair of shoes.

I went to the gardens where the morning fog hung low to the ground.

The air felt a bit eerie giving me a flash of chills.

I rubbed my arms to stay warm. It wasn't really helping.

I should have brought a cloak but I wasn't really thinking at the time.

I wondered here and there, pacing back and forth until the sun peaked up through the castle wall gates.

The garden that was once dark and cool started to become alive.

The fog retrieved leaving trails of dew.

The gold orange hue from the sun dappled across the garden as well.

I sighed in contemptment.

I was never going to know when my last day here was going to be. When, supposedly...I'd get swept off my feet by a man and get carried away to a far away land, maybe even to another kingdom.

To eventually give birth and to bear his children.

I did not wish to be married quite yet or even at the very least think about any men or gentlemen...and in that I was very much troubled.

Cordelia still does not know of my struggle and I am uncertain rather or not I should tell her.

But in truth, more than anyone else, Cordelia should know first.

So I planned to tell her this evening, once supper was over.

Bells started to ring, meaning people were starting to arise from slumber.

I quickly made it back inside the inner castle.

I paced in great need to get to Cordelia's bed chamber to wake her.

She could never hear the bells as well as she used to.

I knocked twice before heading in her room.

"Good morning Mistress."

"Good morning." She was currently trying to tie up her hair.

"Here let me tie it up for you." She only nodded.

As I was in the process of putting her hair up she spoke softly.

"Is there something you wish to tell me? Something seems to be bothering you greatly."

"How could you tell?"

"It's written all over your face dear. And you're not very good at hiding how you feel, especially around me."

"Well...I was planning to tell you after supper this evening."

"Would you wish to tell me now?" She wasn't forcing but I could tell she was concerned and also curious about what was troubling me as we met eye contact through her mirror that was before her.

"I'm not ready... I'm not comfortable with the idea of marriage. I want to travel the world a little. At least parts of this country of not than over seas...but not because I was forced into a marriage...There is just so much I wish to learn."

"So you like to seek adventure? You know my husband before he was deceased of course, waited three years until I was prepared and ready to commit to being his wife. Just as you do, I desired the exact same thing when I was younger. Mind you, I had my freedom but I found that I was still lacking something."

"What was it that you lacked?"

"Love. A person to share my adventures with. It may be odd to you now but it is very much true. Eventually, dear one...it will make sense to you in time. Having adventure is all fine but having someone to share it with is even greater in reward."

"But I don't want to be locked down by being someone's wife. What if he's demanding, crude and brutish?"

"If the one you find loves you enough, your situations and troubles will work out."

I had finished her hair and was now sitting beside her.

I looked at the floor. I didn't know what to think.

What was I to do?

How am I suppose to give into love to feel the freedom I want? It made no sense.

And as far as I knew all the young men in the royal courts were all just a bunch of fools playing around.

Most if not all of them were boys who would never grow up.

And I didn't want to be the the only mature one in a relationship, let alone be the only civil one if I were to ever give into marriage and be the one to take the responsibility alone.

Just thinking about it gave me a headache.

"So what will it be my young Rey? What will you do?"

"When you put it like that..."

"Just trust in your heart. If you did end up meeting a man who you fell in love with, trust in what's right and do it. Follow here and not so much here."

She pointed to my heart then my head.

"Sometimes what we think we want is not necessarily what we really want. Compared to your days mine were a little less complexed so I can't say for certain about the whole traveling and having love at the same time. Since your here, in royalty, it's a bit difficult."

"What do you mean? You weren't royalty?"

"No. I was a simple girl like you once, a farmer's daughter. Young and in love with nature until my husband came along and stole my heart away. Later he became one of the most trusted courts in royalty and I was his wife then. Being married into royalty in a sense. To be frank I didn't know he was royalty until I married him."

"So this makes my position difficult?"

"In a way, yes. You are already in royalty which means rules are set upon you. Expectations higher than average are built on you and young men expect certain things compared to if you were a commoner."

"But what do you think mother?"

"What do I think? I think it doesn't truly matter. Rules may be rules but they can not rule your heart and who you are. Just don't shut your heart out from the possibility of finding someone who will mean the world to you. Just...don't be too afraid of the idea."

"I'm not afraid."

"Yes I know. But your uncertain about it."

"I am."

Our conversation was cut off by the sound of horns being sounded of someone's arrival.

"That must be the prince."

"Prince who?"

"Prince Gerald."

"How come I never knew they had a son?"

"He was set off to learn abroad a different country at the time when I toke you in."

I nodded.

She offered me her arm as I took it.

"Now let's go see how the prince has grown. He must be taller than his own father by now."

We walked through the corridors that followed downstairs to the courtyards.

People were everywhere as they tried to see the Prince.

I was not at all interested.

As the Prince came into view to his right was a dark dressed gentlemen built for combat.

"Who is that to the Prince's right?"

"I don't know. Must be a man from over seas. A friend or maybe a solider of some sort."

The man in black locked eyes with me for a bare second before I looked to the floor again.

"He seems quite intimidating don't you think?"

I said trying my best not to look his way.

"Maybe." I didn't have to turn my head to see what Cordelia's face was like.

I already knew. She was thinking if I might have been curious in him.

I was not.

And I swore it.