The doors closed heavily after a last hug from the mother to her son. His parents, the King and the Queen, were to celebrating their 20th year of marriage in one of their many mansions in the south of the country. Having married without love under the obligation of their parents, they never really wanted to celebrate their marriage, but after ten years of living together, love has blossomed and they are now delighted every year to go celebrate this important day.

But for the young Prince Anthony, who was staying at the castle without being able to enjoy the view of the ocean, bedtime had long since arrived. The few maids who had not yet gone to their rooms bowed to the prince, wishing him a wonderful night. He wished it to them too and left quickly for his room, going up fifty steps and turning from hallways to hallways. Finally arriving in front of his room, he closed the door quietly behind him, entering the room which was completely dark, only the dim light of the moon that came through the curtains allowed him to see ahead.

He then walked to his window, grabbing a candle. He pushed the heavy curtains aside, opening the window gently, trying to keep as little noise as possible to not to alert the guards outside the castle. Moonlight entered the room, lighting up his face, making it glow faintly. The light wind that came in made his brown hair flutter, freeing his eyes from those natural curtains. He crouched down next to a flowerpot, grabbing the rope that was hidden behind it. He tied it with as many knots as possible to the bars of his balcony since falling from the third floor wouldn't be a pleasant experience. One foot after the other, he climbed over the railing and gripped the rope tightly, testing its strength. He then slid down, scratching his hands almost to the point of bleeding, the pain rose quickly to his brain, making him scream silently. When he reached the bottom of the rope, he fell with a loud noise to the ground, letting a growl come out of his mouth.

After getting up, he walked silently to the rose garden, being careful to always stay away from the lanterns. In the distance he spotted a guard snoozing against one of the walls of the gardener's cabin. Taking advantage of his drowsy state, he quickly walked past him, entering the rose groves quietly. The flowers, being slightly wet, glowed softly, thus lighting his way inside this floral maze. The soft light of the moon made this moment magical, taking his breath away. He lets his fingertips lightly brush the roses, sending off a group of fireflies.

Knowing the path, it didn't take him more than two minutes to reach the end of the garden. Now, far away from the guards, he pulled the match and the candle out of his pocket, lighting the end of the small wooden stick and spreading his flame on the stem of the candle. A path lit faintly in front of him, he continued walking and ended up in front of an old barn, already knowing where he was, he ran towards the large doors, removing the heavy chain that kept them closed. The sound of the door sliding against the gravel broke the silence of the night. Hoping the noise hadn't reached the guards, he went inside the barn. The scent of excrement along with the sound of hoofs hitting the ground made his nose rise slightly, but the happiness of seeing his horse again removed this uncomfortable feeling.

— *

Well brushed and fed, my horse let me climb her without difficulty and I quickly left the stable. The wind brushed my chocolate hair over my face, blinding me for a few seconds. The animal then quickly left for the woods, as if she was able to know where my destination was. As I crossed the woods, a few branches hit me as I passed, scratching my cheeks red of coldness. The last trees barrier passed, we end up in a place where we can only see fields at the horizon. The different colors of the fertile earth did not appears due to the darkness of the night.

—

The young prince's horse stomped on a few plants, crossing the fields towards the dark forest that slowly appeared at the horizon. Approaching more and more, the darkness began to take over, one would think that they were sinking directly into the night so much the black gradually invaded the rest of the light produced by the moon. The first wooded alley passed, the horse stopped abruptly, staying frozen like a stone. The prince lost his balance a bit because of the sudden stop. He caught up in time and straightened up, tense with fear. He looked around, looking for what could have stopped his horse so suddenly. He then noticed that behind him the fields could no longer be seen, yet he had only passed the entrance to the forest. He slowly got down from the animal's back, being careful not to fall face-first to the ground.

But suddenly the animal came to his senses, he raced into the woods, pushing the prince hard, knocking him face first to the ground, as he had just hoped before it wouldn't happened to him. The young man was now left alone in the darkness, he even had difficulty seeing the trees around him.

But then a small light appeared next to one of the trees, moving between the leaves and slowly closing the distance to the prince.




No one would have known that this day would be the start of the kingdom's most told love story.