"Rose," a voice said behind me.

I came back to my senses and turned from the window to see Dante. He was standing in the doorway and had his usual smile. He wore his hunting clothes, which consisted of leather boots, trousers tucked into the boots, and a button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His bow and quiver filled with arrows were attached to his back.

Dante was one of the few people my father had let visit me in the castle. It was also suprising since Dante is one of the townspeople, but my father only allowed him to come here, so I wouldn't go to the Astershire.

I had met Dante when I was eleven and sitting by the docks. He had sat down beside me and told me I was pretty. I smiled and didn't reply. He wasn't particularly a handsome boy. He was quite small for his age and awkward. His hair was very messy and stuck out in random spots. I wasn't impressed.

The next time I went to the docks, he came back, and I spoke to him. We grew closer and closer. When my mother died, he would sneak away at night to see me. Eventually, his parents found his bed empty one night. With my father following me, I went to Astershire to speak to his parents. I apologized to them and promised to never see Dante again. Days later, he was in the castle telling me how his parents thought it was brave of me to walk through Astershire to apologize to them. From then on, we continued to see each other. My father only allowed it as long as I didn't sneak away, and Dante visited me in the castle.

Now here he was. He had grown into a young, handsome man. He had turned seventeen a few months ago, but looked on the verge of twenty. His body was tall and muscular. His skin was smooth and tan from working out in the sun. His hair was still messy, like it was when we were younger, but not as much. It was a dark shade of brown and swept to the right from him running his hands through it. What caught my attention the most, though, was his face.

His jawline was strong, his nose was straight, his cheekbones were high, his lips held a smirk, and his eyes had the gentleness they usually did. They were brown with flecks of green and could hold anyone's gaze. It was sometimes hard to look away.

"Rose, are we going?" Dante said, as I realized he had his hands on my shoulders.

"Where?" I replied.

He laughed softly at me and said, "To the garden. You told me you wanted to."

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry. Let me get dressed, and I will be right out."

He nodded, smiled, and walked out while closing the door behind him.

Elizabeth brought me my clothes for the day along with a ribbon for my hair. I quickly put on the slightly decent outfit and boots. I grabbed my brush and sat at my vanity. I began to brush my hair when I looked into the mirror. I could see a resemblance to my mother. My hair was long and jet black and my skin was olive. The only difference was the shade of green in my eyes. It was slightly darker.

I finished brushing my hair and walked out of my room to find Dante standing right by the door waiting for me.

"Ready, princess?" he asked.

"Just call me Rose, and yes, I am," I said.

He stopped walking for a moment and turned towards me.

"I thought we were going to the garden," I told him.

"We are, but I wanted to give you this first," he handed me a rose and said, "Happy 17th Birthday."

"Thank you."

Dante smiled at me and put the rose behind my ear. It didn't fit properly, so I removed it and held it in one hand as we walked to the garden. The corridor leading to the stairs was illuminated by sunlight and made dust particles known. I allowed myself to be interested in the little details of the castle to remove my mind from the bigger issue outside of the walls.

Dante and I had finally reached the garden. I was so occupied by other thoughts that he had to stop me or else I would have continued strolling on the path.

I sat on the marble bench and stared down at the flower. I placed a finger on a petal and slowly bent it backward. When I removed my finger, the petal moved back into its place. The small petal knew its place in the world. It helped build a structure that represented love, devotion, timelessness, and sacrifice. If the petal were to be removed, the rose would no longer be stable. The stigma would become a failing structure. Plucking only one component of this already ended life may ruin its beauty to the point of no return.

I placed the flower beneath the bench and stood up beside Dante. He was staring in the direction of Astershire. He didn't move with the exception of switching his weight to the other leg. I put a hand on his shoulder and looked up at him. His face was stern, and I recognized this look from years ago.

"How is it?" I asked him.

He stood very still and did not answer. I stepped in front of him and tilted his chin down only a few centimeters for I was only a bit shorter than him. His eyes averted from the village to me slowly.

"The children can't attend classes anymore. They work in the shops with their parents trying to gain a pay, but no one can afford to purchase items. My sister helps Lillith bake bread since you're not allowed to step foot into Astershire. She earns a few coins a week, but it doesn't help much. I hunt for dinner. The game population is declining.

Rose, you will never fully understand. You're protected here and recieve all your wants and needs. Outside of this castle and these walls is a different world. When your mother was alive, the village thrived. The men and women recieved a decent pay, so they were able to feed their families. The children laughed and played with each other. Now, it's as if a dark cloud hovers over us. We struggle to survive. Many are dying of illness and starvation. We are all worn down, and I am sorry to say this, but after your mother died, your father seemed to get his wish."

I felt my eyes sting right before a tear slid down my cheek. I fell to my knees and began sobbing into my hands. Dante kneeled down and pulled my hands away from my face to hold onto them. He looked at me, and his eyes were filled with tenderness and care. I looked away because I felt ashamed of who I was.

I wiped my cheek and said, "I never wanted this to happen. My mother never wanted this to happen. Our people are suffering while we dress in the finest clothes and dine heartily. We have men and women who serve us. Greed has filled my father and I."

Dante shook his head and lifted me into his arms. I wondered how he carried me because I was tall and not feather light even though I was slim.

As he carried me, a drop of rain fell onto my arm. Gray clouds were beginning to loom overhead, and more rain hit the earth's surface. By the time we were inside, a steady wash of rain was pouring down.

He carried me upstairs to the wash room where he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around me. My cheeks were wet from the mix of tears and rain, and they burned from my constant wiping. I unwrapped the towel and stood up. I walked to stand behind Dante and dried off his hair. It stuck out in spikes like it did when we were younger.

"I've never thought you were filled with greed," he said as he combed through his hair with his fingers.

I walked out of the wash room and heard him stand up and quickly begin to follow me. I kept walking down the corridor until I could turn left. I reached a door. I grabbed the knob and twisted it to open the door.

I stepped inside the room, and Dante entered behind me. It was a large room filled with chests. There were many shelves that held books and documents. Paintings of past generations hung on the walls. In the center of the room was a pedestal with a book on it with records of the money going in and out of the castle walls.

"All of this," I said and spread my arms wide, "is my greed. This is the treasury. It is full of what you and the others do not have."

"This is not you. I know you. You are generous and kind. This," he said as he placed his hand on a chest, "is your father. He did this to us. He took our lives away. You did nothing to the people of Astershire."

"But I am the princess. I am the king's daughter. They think I am as horrible as him."

"Rosalinda, listen to me!" he yelled.

Dante rarely became angry, so when he spoke my full name, I knew this was no petty argument. He never wanted to hear me speak so harsh about myself, but at that moment, it was how I felt. My father was causing the destruction of his own people single-handed, but I felt like it was as much of my fault as it was his. I may have not been allowed to travel to Astershire, but I never attempted having a conversation about the failing economy of the village with my father.

Dante wrapped his arms around me and kissed my hair before he said, "You didn't cause us any harm. None of this was you. Only your father. I am sorry to say this about him, but it is true. Maybe if you speak to him, he might try to salvage the village. Do not allow this to bring you down though. He has been a terrible ruler to us all."

The door swung open a second before Dante finished his words, and my father along with four guards stormed in. Two guards grabbed Dante by his arms, and he began to struggle to get free.

"What are you doing, father?" I asked frantically.

"I will not allow this fool to feed you lies, Rosalinda. I am doing good for these people. They cannot simply work hard enough to earn a fair amount of pay," he replied.

"Work hard enough? Everyone has been working night and day! Is that not enough for you? You only care about yourself! I bet you couldn't wait for Isabelle to die, so you could have all the money to yourself!" Dante ranted.

"Get him out of here! Take him to the servants' quarters! He can be locked away in a room there!" my father ordered.

The guards began to drag Dante away as he squirmed to get free. I ran towards him and was stopped by the other two guards. They held tightly onto me, and my father stepped close and put his face in front of mine.

"I thought your mother and I raised you better. It's a shame he won't be able to return back here. I have told you, Rose. They will never be at our status. Do not try to fight with them. You will not win," he told me and stood up straight.

He nodded forward which signaled the guards to march. They carried me to my room and dropped me. My father gave me a stern look before closing the door.

I crawled over and sat by my bed and wept. He had never spoken to me like that before which scared me. My own father was causing suffering and was not affected by it. To him, this was a huge profit, but to me, this was the beginning of an end.

* * *


I awoke on the cold floor of my bedroom. I must have been asleep for quite some time. The rain was pouring down harder and thunder roared causing vibrations through the castle. Moonlight did not illuminate my bedroom, so I couldn't see anything.

Suddenly, I thought about Dante. He was still trapped in the servants' quarters enduring whatever torture my father had him put through. He was a strong boy, but he would not be able to hold up for long. I had to get him out, but guards were posted around every corner. It was a dangerous risk, but Dante was the closest friend I had.

I reached to remove my boots but felt nothing. Elizabeth must have been in while I was asleep and took them off. I slowly stood up and felt around to find my way to the door. I grabbed onto the knob and twisted it. The knob creaked, and the door opened slightly. I peeked through the crack to observe the area. No guards were around, so I pulled the door open a little at a time. I stepped out and shut my door as quietly as possible.

The hall was very dark except for the few lanterns lit here and there. The only other light was natural, but it was only a flash. Everything seemed so ominous on the castle grounds.

I silently walked down the hall and made a right. I saw shadows moving, and I pushed myself against the wall. Elizabeth and another servant, Larson, were talking. They stopped at the edge of the wall to have a conversation.

"You have done this for so long. I don't know how you do it," Larson told Elizabeth.

"When you reach the age that I am, you will understand. It is all about patience and underst---" Elizabeth cut off and was staring out the corner of her eye. I knew she could see me, but I stood still.

Larson looked past me and said, "Is someone there? It's hard to tell."

"My eyes are playing tricks on me. A flaw of being elderly. Let us go check on King Aston," she replied as she put her hand on his back and guided him away.

I owe her all my gratitude for what she had just did, but it was not the time to be thinking of what I could do for her. I had to rescue Dante.

I made my way down the hall and turned left. The servants' quarters were in front of me. Majority of them should be asleep or tending to my father, so I opened the door slowly and slid in. Candles were lit by every other table. This made it easier to maneuver. I walked around, but did not find Dante anywhere in the first section of the quarters. I moved to the second, but he still was nowhere to be found. Finally, in the third, he was there.

His right arm was shackled to a table leg. Obviously, he had tried escaping because his wrist was only raw skin, and the table leg was scratched terribly. His hair was stuck to his forehead from the sweat that had beaded up.

I squatted down and pushed the hair back from his face. Luckily, he was asleep, or I would have been scolded for doing this. His cheeks were red from the heat in the warm room. On his left cheek was a cut about five centimeters in length. It wasn't horrible, but it had to be treated for infection. It was probably made by a dagger drawn by one of the guards or maybe even my father.

Dante didn't deserve to be treated so cruelly. He was not speaking for the good of only himself, but for the good of Astershire. He wasn't afraid of what my father would do to him because he had gotten his point across. Astershire needed to be nurtured and cared for, but my father only brought it down.

I reached for anything small on the table. I wandered my hand around until I ran my hand over a pin. I grabbed the pin and began fiddling with the lock. It took hold and I turned it. It didn't budge, so I twisted it the other way and the lock unlatched. I removed the lock and the shackles.

"Dante. Dante, wake up. I'm here," I said as I gently patted his uninjured cheek.

"What? Rose?" he asked sleepily and opened his eyes and said, "Rose! What're you doing here? If your father finds out, he w---"

"He won't find out," I cut in, "Elizabeth saw me, but she didn't give me away. She let me go. I assume she is occupying my father right now."

Dante closed his eyes and let out a sigh. He slowly rose to his feet and wobbled slightly. I quickly got up to help him, but he waved me off. As I stood like a statue, he paced the length of the table. I saw him reach up to touch the wound. He winced at the pain and brought his hand back down.

"Sit," he told me.

I walked over to a chair and sat in it. The texture of it was rough and very uncomfortable. As I looked around, I realized most of the furniture was very old and unfit for humans. I have only been in the quarters a few times over the past seventeen years and never paid much attention to the conditions the servants lived in. As I had mentioned, the chairs were uncomfortable. The beds had a wooden frame, and the mattresses were covered with handmade quilts sewn from extra fabric that must have gone to waste. Some had carvings on the frames, and others had only knotches. There were only two windows to allow light in, but they were small. Candles must be burning throughout the whole day. I knew they hadn't lived in the best way possible, but I never had imagined it this terrible.

"Rose," Dante said.

I quickly snapped out of my thoughts and looked up at him. His face was stern, and he stood with his arms crossed.

"You should not be down here. I made the mistake. I am being punished for what I have done. I will not let you suffer with me, Rose. I just won't. You can't always defend me."

"But I try!" I fired back, "I try for you and everyone else! I am tired of being the locked away princess! If Astershire is to be saved, I have to fight with you! You cannot do it alone, Dante. I want the people to survive just as much as you do."

He stood quietly, and a moment before he spoke, we both turned our heads in the direction of a muffled scream. I was about to say something when Dante shook his head and put a finger to his lips to tell me to remain silent. He took my hand and led me towards the scream.

He stopped abruptly, and I walked into his back. I heard whimpering and peered around him. A servant girl was pressed against the wall and tears were leaving streaks on her face. I didn't recognize her, so she must be someone new brought in for extra help. She did not have a family, or else she wouldn't be here. She looked around the age of fifteen and was very pretty for her age. Her hair was strawberry blonde curls with a ribbon that tightly formed a ponytail, but some ringlets framed her face. She had a heart-shaped face with big, ocean, blue eyes. Her body was quite small though, and she wasn't very tall.

I averted my eyes from her to see one of the guards leaning with one hand against the wall in front of her. He was speaking softly to her, and then he put his other hand on her cheek and stroked it. The girl began to cry harder. She attempted to escape, but the guard grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

I began to move forward when Dante stopped me. He held up a hand for me to wait.

"Your parents should have known not to leave such a pretty face. It is quite a shame for this beauty to go to waste, don't you think?" the guard asked the girl, "Luckily, the king and his brat are both in bed."

Dante let out a silent breath and started tip-toeing towards the guard. He stood behind the guard for a second, and then reached up and twisted his head quickly. There was a sickening crack, and the guard fell to the floor. I stood in complete shock, and the girl stared at the body. I crept over to where Dante and the servant stood.

"What did he do to you?" Dante questioned the girl.

She shook her head as she said, "nothing."

I looked at the girl and stuck out my hand hoping she would take it. She did so, and I smiled at her. She slid her back down the wall and sat on the floor. I had to kneel down to keep a hold of her hand. The guard's limp body was close to me, but I ignored it.

"What is your name?" I asked.

"Liliana," she said in a whisper.

"Did he hurt you?"

She swallowed and shook her head. She would not make eye contact with me, but I wasn't going to force her to. She may have been traumatized from the experience.

I turned to look up at Dante, and he looked down at me.

"We have to get out of here," I told him.

"You can't," he replied back.

"Yes, I can. We all can," I said as I motioned at all three of us, "Not because you may have single-handedly started a war, but we are going to need allies if we plan on severing the reign of my father."

"You want to kill King Aston!" the servant girl exclaimed.

She was looking wide-eyed at Dante, and he nodded, but she looked at me for confirmation.

"He has ruined the lives of a whole kingdom, Liliana. He has to be stopped, but Dante and I cannot do it alone. Will you defend Astershire with us?" I asked.

Liliana bit her lip and stared down for a moment. Then, she sighed and nodded slowly and gripped my hand tighter.

"Well, we have gained one person on our side, but we are going to need many, many more," Dante said, and he was very right.

The three of us sat in my room planning a way to escape from the castle without being seen by guards. We had very little time before the sun peeked over the horizon. It was critical that we all know the exact route, or else it could result in one, or all, of us being executed.

"What about the tunnels? They lead directly to the outside of the wall," Dante said.

"It's not possible. Part of them collapsed not long ago, and the other accessible tunnels have been gated off," I told him, but then I thought of one other way. It may not be the safest, but it was our only chance.

"The sewers. We will be abl---"

"The sewers! That's disgusting!" Liliana exclaimed.

Dante and I looked at each other, and then looked at Liliana. She was right. The sewers were full of waste and who knows what else, but we had to go. Astershire stood a chance against my tyrant father if we gained some support. There was no way I was letting the people, my people, suffer because the man who supposedly knew them would not even spare a coin.

"I understand that you do not want to travel through the sewers to escape, Liliana, but, we have to and have to fast. The sun will be rising soon," I said.

Dante rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Well, let's not go in blind. We know we are able to come up through any grate in front of any shop in town, but which locations are safest? The bakery, tailor, and inn are also homes to the people who own them, so those shops aren't our best bet. The stables seem logical. Only the horses are there. We could each take one and ride to a spot in the forest, but we should go different paths."

I nodded in agreement and looked at Liliana for the same motion, but she was biting her lip and staring at the floor.

I scooted closer to her and wrapped my arm around her shoulder.

"It's going to be okay. Don't worry," I told her.

"It...It's not that. I can't ride a horse," she said.

Dante snorted, and I shot him a glare. The girl basically lived her whole life in town. Everything was in walking distance. It also was a hassle caring for horses if one had the privilege of owning the majestic creatures. If there was the chance to rent a coach for the day, it costs a week's worth of what her family may have earned.

"You can ride with me. Once we reach the horses, it may be daylight, so we will have to hurry before the shops start opening. Liliana and I will go left, and you, Dante, will go right. We will meet under Bandits' Birch. If you see anyone, keep moving," I said as I went to my dresser and grabbed three cloaks. I handed one to Dante and Liliana.

"Wear these. Liliana let your hair down to conceal your face."

We all put on our cloaks, and Liliana and I removed the ribbons from our hair. My hair fell over my shoulders in thick waves. I turned to the sweet and innocent girl beside me and could see the fear written across her face. She looked at me, and her eyes began to fill with tears. I hugged her for a moment and stroked her hair. I felt a tear soak into my cloak, and I gently pulled away from her.

"We will be fine. Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you," I said as I comforted her, "Go stand outside the door. We will be out there soon."

Liliana exited through my door to the hall, and I turned around to see Dante inches away from me. I sighed, and he pulled me into him. I laid my forehead on his chest, and I could feel it move in and out as he breathed. He rubbed my back gently as if he was trying to calm me down.

"What if something happens to you, Rose? I...I could---"

I put one finger to his lips and said, "Nothing will happen. I will be fine. We will be fine."

His arms fell to his sides, and he shook his head. I know he couldn't stand the thought of something terrible happening to me, but it was the risk we were about to take.

I looked at him and smiled and waited for him to smile back. He came close to softly kiss my forehead and stroke my hair. I kissed his cheek one last time before we made the journey down to the sewers. He pulled the hood of my cloak up, and I pulled his up before we walked out of my bedroom door.

It was all becoming so real to me. For me to start a rebellion against my own father was what many people would see as a mistake, but to me, it was the beginning of a new era. The people would no longer have to suffer, children would be able to run free again, and Astershire would come back to life. What Dante, Liliana, and I were doing was for the people, not ourselves. I was not about to let my people lose to the man who I thought I could trust. They were not going die of starvation or illness. I wouldn't allow it.

Dante and I exited through my door into the dark hallway and saw Liliana sitting down under the window. She stood up as soon as she noticed us and waited for once of us to speak. I looked to Dante for some encouraging words, but he stood silent.

"Listen, do not cough, sneeze, speak, or do anything that causes noise on our way out of here," I whispered, "We will only use hand signals to tell each other which direction we are headed. I know there are guards posted at every door. The only way out is to go down the hall and make a right and go out the window. There is ivy to climb down and crevices in the wall. The grate is about a hundred feet away from the point. Try not to make a sound as you land. Everyone got the plan?"

Both of the hooded figures nodded, and I motioned for us to go. We crept fast down the hall and stopped at the corner. One guard was patrolling the area we needed to go. I waited for him to turn to head down to the opposite end, and then, made a signal for us to go. Luckily, the window was open for us to escape.

We ran as fast as possible to the window. I let Liliana out first. She very slowly climbed down the ivy and quietly reached the ground. Next was Dante, and his descent wasn't exactly the most elegant. He was heavier, so the ivy tore away from the wall slightly and some broke with a snap. He eventually made it down, leaving a soft thud to echo in the air. I was last, and I made it with ease. When I was younger, I loved climbing up and down the ivy, so I had had practice over the years.

The rain had let up, but it was still hard to see. The clouds were blocking the moonlight, so I couldn't find the path to the grate as easy as I thought. I began walking with Dante and Liliana following from behind.

Soon, I felt metal under my feet, and I knew we had reached it. I knelt down onto the ground to lift the opening. The moisture from the ground soaked through my clothing, and I could feel my knee sinking in. The sewers began to seem like a better plan now since we could be easily tracked by our footprints left in the soggy earth.

I pulled at the grate. It wiggled a little but not enough for it to give.

"Help me," I whispered.

Dante knelt down beside me and placed his hands on the grate. He got a good grip and pulled. I began to pull with him, and it finally lifted.

I looked down into the hole. It was an abyss. I could hear water dripping down, and the smell drifted upward. I started to feel nauseous and leaned back.

"Remember what you said about us not going in blind?" I asked Dante.

"Yes," he replied.

I pointed to the darkness below us and said, "There is no way we will be able to see down there."

Liliana peered down and scrunched her face from the smell. It was absolutely pungent, but we would have to deal with it to be able to make it to the stables. This was our only hope so far.

Dante didn't want to seem to wait any longer, so he stood up, looked into the grate for a moment, and began his descent down the iron ladder into the wasteland. I only saw him for a few seconds, and then he disappeared. This terrified me because I didn't know what we were entering into. We could get lost and never find our way.

I made Liliana go before me, so I was sure she was coming with us. She hesitated before crouching down to climb down the ladder. I heard her say a quiet "disgusting" while slowly moving down.

Finally, I made my way to the sewers. The bars of the ladder were slippery from the rain and were covered in muck. My hands almost fell off a few times, so I was forced to grip harder on the bars making the muck seep between my fingers.

With only a few steps left, I decided to hop down. My landing wasn't as graceful as I intended it to be. My left foot slid causing me to almost fall.

I reached out with my hands and felt around for Dante and Liliana. I must have touched Liliana first because I heard a high pitched yelp. I felt Dante second, and he grabbed onto my hand. I relaxed a little and tugged for him to step closer to me. I could feel him move. He let go of my hand and placed his hand on the small of my back. I let out a slow breath before reaching for Liliana again.

I waved my hands out in front of me, but I didn't touch her at all. I leaned forward in case she moved a little farther away, but she still wasn't there.

"Liliana. Liliana!" I yelled as quiet as possible.

"Theres an opening down here! I don't know what it's to though!" She yelled back.

I quickly grabbed Dante's hand and felt around for a wall. I pressed my hand against the cold damp surface and began to walk. Dante followed behind. I picked up my pace, and we soon caught up to Liliana.

I looked up to see some moonlight peeking in. It was enough to see the town was above us, but we could not tell if the stables were there. We couldn't risk someone seeing us if we all decided to leave the sewers and run to the stables, so Dante made the choice to climb up and hopefully see what we were below.

"It's the tailor, but the stables are right next to it," he whispered to us.

I was about to speak when Liliana asked if we could make it from here. I thought about the path. It was possible, but we would have to move quickly. The tailor usually is awake later than most of the shop's owners.

"Do not hesitate. We have to run to the stables," I told Liliana, "Dante, go now."

Dante lifted the grate, which was easier than the first one, and climbed out. I could hear him running, but his footsteps were light enough not to disturb anyone.

Liliana moved up the ladder with ease and disappeared above. Then, I went up. I looked at the distance and crept out. I ran as fast as I could towards the stables.

The horses began to stir from the commotion we had caused. I walked over to one of the beautiful mares and stroked her side. She slowly but surely began to warm up to me, as did the one Dante chose.

I saw Liliana staring at the horses. She had a look of worry in her eyes and still didn't seem to fond of the idea of riding them. I had to comfort her somehow, so I motioned for her to come near me. She walked over to me, and I gently took a hold of her hand. She seemed confused until I placed her hand on the mare.

"Don't be scared. She's nice," I said.

Liliana nodded and started copying what I was doing. She smiled slightly and whispered something to the horse.

"Do you speak horse?" I asked.

She laughed a little and said, "No, I was just asking a question."

"And it would be?"

"I asked if she would help save us. I like to believe she said yes."

I smiled at Liliana. She was so young and innocent. She is what is worth fighting for. We all needed that spirit that we once had before it was taken away from us. I had to do this for Liliana. She is what we need to retain hope in this fight.