1 Chapter One - Ava

Ava hated her family. This wasn't news.

Her stepmother cared so little about her well-being that if she stayed in her room for days at a time, she would barely be noticed when she returned downstairs to restock her food cubby. She did her own laundry and dishes and stayed away from Denise and Claire. They had their own lives; they just happened to live in her house.

Ava had unfortunately gotten used to this routine. She'd hide in her room with a few days worth of food and books, read until her heart's content and she was out of books or food, restock, repeat. Nothing changed. Nothing interesting other than maybe a few jabs at her appearance from Claire, which tended to sound the same after a few months.

Her most exciting days were when she left the house to get more books from Julianna, the seamstress who lived next door. She got groceries first, of course, but Julianna was the spark she needed to keep going in her routine until she found a way out.

Julianna was not the kind of person you'd assume would be friends with someone like Ava. Her brown curls matched her equally bouncy personality, and her taste in clothes and books reflected that as well. Most of her clothing was pink or white with fancy lacing and embellishments, which her clients tended to enjoy. Whenever she got dark fabric from her supplier, she tended to make things for Ava instead. The darker colors didn't fit the aesthetic of her business and Ava needed clothing anyway.

Julianna did have a hefty collection of sappy romance novels, however, which Ava loved to read and critique by marking character flaws and unhealthy tendencies in relationships. Julianna didn't mind that her books were getting inked up; they were much more interesting to reread with Ava's side notes in the margins about how "Pauline shouldn't forgive him this easily! He's an asshole!" or "Why is he alive? Juli, this man should be dead! Sword wounds kill people! He lost a lot of blood!".

So when Ava came around every few weeks or so, the girls exchanged hugs and baskets; Ava's full of marked up books and baked goods as a thank you and Julianna's full of new books and new blouses and skirts. It was a silent agreement of theirs that had gone on for years now. In the exchange, sometimes there was gossip, or maybe quick book reviews, and every once and awhile, the news of a handsome young man wandering the streets of their small town.

But the "handsome men" were usually shared by Julianna; Ava wasn't planning for any sort of relationship. The men she saw daily were the delivery boys or merchants who overlooked her in favor of her much more attractive stepsister, so none of them were at all an interest to her.

One night, all of that changed.

---

She was in the woods. The trees were glimmering, almost sparkly, but not with any glitter that she could reach out and get all over her fingers.

There was a clearing up ahead, and someone was standing there. He turned toward her, eyes wide, as if he didn't expect her either.

"Hello there!" she called, slowly beginning to approach him.

"Um, hello!" He waved gently, smiling a little. It was sort of cute. He actually acknowledged her presence and seemed genuinely interested in her, at least in this moment.

"My name is Ava." She held out her hand in proper greeting.

He seemed surprised somehow but beamed and took her hand nonetheless. "You may call me James. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"It's nice to be the one people talk to for once," she admitted quietly. "Usually men like you ignore me entirely and talk to Claire, my stepsister."

"How could they ignore you when you're so beautiful?" He said with a smile, before flushing bright red. "I'm sorry, that was very forward."

"That's alright." She laughed. "I found it very flattering."

They then proceeded to sit in the middle of the clearing and stare up at the stars. They talked about their hobbies: Ava, her favorite books and random things she'd written, and James, his favorite composers and piano pieces he wished he could play himself, Ava had never met this man before, but she felt like she'd known him all her life. He was special and a stark contrast to every other man she'd met.

Her soulmate.

---

Ava woke up with a start. Her dream; it was too real, too magical, and...she could have sworn she recognized that face.

There was no point wasting time trying to remember, since her dreams seemed to fade faster when she struggled to recall fine details, so instead she got up and began her morning routine: washing her face, braiding her hair, and getting her breakfast ready.

Right before she could take a bite into the baguette she procured to eat, she had a startling realization.

"Holy shit, that was the prince."