The princess reached into her bag and pulled out a badge. "Here," she said, "You dropped this in my room that day." She handed it to Tristan. For a moment, his eyes brightened as he stared at it.
"So, it was you," Tristan said quietly. "But you're not the same as you were before."
"Yeah," the princess agreed, "I guess I was a bit shy."
"A bit?" Tristan teased, smiling.
"Okay, okay, totally shy," she said, grinning. "We were just kids back then. We had to follow strict rules because we were royal heirs."
"But you didn't have to live like me," she added, her voice sharp with frustration.
"What do you mean?" Tristan asked.
"You were never locked up in a castle, training to be the perfect royal," she said. "You didn't have to worry about things like I did. You weren't like me, who had to give up my throne for my cousin. You were free—free to do whatever you wanted, say whatever you wanted, go wherever you wanted.
"But me? I couldn't even go down the stairs to the dining room without a maid following me. I couldn't visit the courtyard without two maids and three guards. I couldn't get into the chariot without my parents, six guards, and three maids. I wasn't allowed to have animals, not even a dove. I couldn't play games. I couldn't stay in the throne room during my parents' meetings, even though every other royal was supposed to. Things only got worse after my mom died. I had no one to talk to. My dad became so cold. The smallest mistake meant punishment.
"By the time I turned thirteen, I wasn't even allowed to be touched by anyone—not even my maid. Life kept getting worse. When I turned fourteen, I stopped going to the academy of royals because my dad forced guards to follow me to every class. My friends weren't allowed to speak to me without bowing or calling me 'princess.' My cousin Kyle, my only male friend, left for another kingdom because my dad hated us being close.
"But you? You lived in the wild for fourteen years! And then you got to take back your kingdom—because of a prophecy! That prophecy shook every kingdom that heard it. Your cousin, the king, was so scared that he exiled the seer who spoke it. You got to live the life people like me could only dream of.
"King Tristan of Lutcharin, I envy you. I wish I could've seen the things you've seen and felt the freedom you've known. Because being here? I'm not free. Everywhere I go, a royal guard is watching me.
"I'm not dead yet, but that's only because I have no feelings about my life. I neither love it nor hate it. It's just... in between."
She sighed deeply, then continued. "If I could've stayed longer with you in your shed in the woods, maybe things would've been different. Meeting you when I was six and again when I was eighteen were the best memories of my life. You reminded me how trapped I am. Your life was tragic, but it made you free—like a lone wolf. Mine has always been like a prisoner's. I just wish..." She trailed off, tears forming in her eyes.
Just then, the chief adviser rang a bell, signaling for everyone to pay attention. He stood at the podium and cleared his throat.
"Everyone here today should've found someone they feel is right for them," he announced with a grin. "So, it's time for winning, dining, and... tea-ing!" The room burst into laughter.
"Oops, sorry," he said, chuckling. "Where are my manners? It's not 'tea-ing.' Your highness, I beg your pardon, could you please come up here and read this for everyone?"
Tristan stood up from his seat and walked to the podium. Once there, he smiled and addressed the crowd.
"I'm sorry, everyone, for my chief adviser's cheeky antics," Tristan said with a laugh. "What he meant to say was 'tea party.' I'm sure everyone here knows what that is, right?"
He gave a quick bow and stepped away from the podium, returning to his seat next to the princess. As he sat down, the attention of the room shifted to her. She noticed this and quickly bowed her head, hiding her face with a handkerchief.