1 Prologue: The Girl in the Night

The little girl's eyes opened to darkness.

There was a rustling sound as the girl's mother moved around the room. Staying completely still with her back to the rest of the room, the girl listened as she heard her mother discard her day clothing for her night clothes. The soft padding of her mother's steps soon make their way to the side of the room where her mother preferred to sleep.

Making sure to keep her breathing steady, the little girl waited and listened as her mother sighed, collapsing onto her dilapidated mattress. Depending on her patience and training, the child feigned sleep while she waited for the sound of rustling to cease.

Silence quickly filled the room as her mother settled in bed. Waiting until her mother's breathing began to deepen and stay within a consistent pattern, the little girl waited for a few minutes until she was sure that her mother was sleeping.

Slowly and silently, her small head lifted and turned from where she was laying, readying her body for movement underneath her thin blanket. As she sat up the little girl was sensitive to every sound her actions made, her gaze carefully observing for any sign of wakefulness from where her mother lay.

The thin figure of her mother was fully beneath a blanket and huddled with her back against the wall. Checking to see if her mother's slight frame was shivering from the biting cold seeping through the stones, the daughter was relieved as her mother seemed unaffected from the chill. Assured by her mother's seemingly comfortable condition, the girl continued with her nighttime excursion.

Agilely assuming a crouching position, the girl smoothly stepped over where her mother's soiled clothing had piled up on the ground and made no noise of surprise as her already cold feet met the freezing stone floor. Lightly stepping to where her worn shoes were, the girl quickly slipped them on and pulled on her old cloak before she left silently through the sliding door.

The hallway outside their shared room was lit by a single torch. Checking both directions quickly, the little girl chose to walk away from the light without hesitation. Her feet were sure of their path and the night around her was silent as she slipped through the shadows.

Following the hallway past several turns, the girl finally came across a window. The moonlight shining through the hole illuminated the smooth stone floor, allowing for natural lighting to guide those walking down the corridor.

Seeing the opening into the night, the girl smiled and ran up to the window, nimbly jumping onto the ledge. Sitting and dangling her feet carefully over the two story drop, she paused to look at the view before her, relishing in the wind that ruffled her dark locks.

The window showed a picturesque view of gardens of the inner palace, the only natural area in the girl's life of dusty man-made walls and floors. Although the night was illuminated by the moon, clouds lightly covered the sky, creating a world of shadows every few minutes. Fireflies danced in the darkness, and crickets chirped their songs with cicadas to create the unique melody of nighttime.

Off in the distance was the short wall surrounding the palace. It was barely taller than two grown men on top of each other, and from the window the girl could see over the stones and all the way to the city surrounding where she lived.

Lanterns decorated the streets, covering the capital city with the happy colors of red and orange. Crowds of people were bathed in the warm light provided by the lanterns, their movement appearing like a hypnotic dance from a distance. The noise of people talking and food sizzling over fire was carried by the wind far into the night, while smells of deliciously seasoned foods and freshly baked treats spread along with the noise.

The little girl couldn't help but close her eyes from her perch upon the window ledge and listen to the mesmerizing music of the nighttime mixing with the sounds of the festival.

Her eyes popped open again from her excitement, and the mystical appearance of the festival from the window only made her even more impatient to join the crowds on the streets.

Quickly glancing around to make sure no one was watching, the girl began taking off her shoes. Although she knew it was improper, it was necessary to use the grip of her toes to succeed at what she was about to do.

Placing her shoes into the hood of her cape, she made sure to secure her shoes so they wouldn't fall before she began the climb down from the second story.

Skillfully lowering her body from the window ledge, she felt her way down the wall slowly, her feet finding well-used footholds and her hands gripping at small gaps between the stones that made up this wall of the inner palace. Making her way down like a spider, the little girl finally landed on the soft grass and sat, breathing heavily.

Pausing to catch her breath, the girl waited for her blood to stop pumping so much. Even though she often used that method to get to the gardens, it didn't change the high level of strength needed to accurately climb without falling.

Finally calmed down from the climb, the girl brushed her feet off and put her shoes back on before she began walking through the shadowed garden toward the outer palace.

All week she had heard about the festival the King had ordered for his son's birthday. The servants that passed through the hallways had ceaselessly gossiped about what they were going to do with their night off, while the girl knew her mother wouldn't bother bringing her anywhere and would rather go to sleep early.

The night had lured her with the sweet promise of freedom all week as she had thought of the fun she might have at the festival. She hadn't bothered feeling guilty about sneaking out, since she did it often enough. All that occupied her mind was the excitement the night would bring.

A small smile graced her lips as her feet skillfully carried her through the palace garden, her small figure sticking to the darkest and most covered areas. The night was still calling to her with its promises of dancing and treats and fun...

Ducking behind the last of the trees, the girl paused as she neared where the garden ended and the covered walkway began.

This walkway represented the divide between the inner and outer palace, and it was the most populated spot where patrols passed. There were already two guards on opposite sides of the path, surveying the grounds before them. They were a part of the moving watch that guarded the inner palace at all times.

The girl was unperturbed by their existence and waited patiently beside the tree closest to the covered walkway. As the guards began their survey of the area, neither of them noticed the small figure avoiding their detection beside a tree along the edge of the garden.

Once the guards had thoroughly swept their gazes across the garden, they looked to each other for a consensus on the safety of the area. Slightly nodding to each other in affirmation on the absence of intruders, the pair began to move on to the next area they had to patrol. Turning their backs to the palace garden they just checked, the slim figure of the girl slipped away from her hiding spot and snuck silently around their areas of perception and further into the darkness beyond the walkway.

Now that she was outside of the inner palace, the girl was nearly halfway to the wall that separated her from where the festival was being held. Her pace began to quicken as she followed the covered walkway, her excitement speeding up her usually careful steps. Without thinking twice she slipped into a low-lit hallway that housed several of the King's concubines.

She rarely used this hallway when normally sneaking out, but today was different. All the concubines had been required to attend the festival even though the consort was the only one that was given a place directly beside the King, meaning this area would be vacant of the concubines and servants that usually infested the hallway and adjoining rooms.

Glancing around decisively, the girl chose a specific room along the outer wall. Slipping into the room that was had the obvious appearance of a rushed effort to prepare a concubine for the festival, the girl entered the darkness once again, her figure ghost-like as she gracefully dodged furniture and approached the windows hidden in the inner rooms.

A slight smirk appeared on the girl's lips as she thought of her cleverness in finding this short-cut. On any other night she would be caught by choosing this route, but tonight was surprisingly perfect for an even more efficient way of exiting the palace than what she normally used.

Once she reached the window, she poked her head out to check for guards, baring her glee to the night before her.

Before the moonlight could shine fully on her delicate features, the girl quickly ducked to hide below the windowsill as her hand flew up to her chest to try and calm her now racing heart.

The shadow patrol--a specialized group of guards that wandered the grounds randomly--was just outside this window.

She had glimpsed their animal-like grace and strength before, and it had only spelled disaster for her. Through the girl's mind flashed the consequences of her failed attempts at escaping, the pain laced memories of men holding her thin arms too tightly, whips lashing her white skin, and her mother's rage; the only emotion her mother bothered to express toward her daughter.

Supressing the panic that had entered her system, the girl decided to quickly put her adrenaline to use instead of blocking it off. Forcing herself to even out her breathing, she instead focused solely on her hearing, attempting to detect the unnatural rustling of grass to measure where the shadow patrol was located.

After anxiously listening to the group get closer to her window, the girl began to feel her heartbeat steady when they passed her hiding spot and continued with their patrolling. Once all that was left was the light tinkling of the grass moving due to the gentle breeze, she finally released the breath that she had held for the past five minutes.

Slowly peeking out of the window again, the girl double checked her surroundings before jumping over the window ledge. She had already been spooked into making sure she held perfect knowledge of her surroundings and was determined not to mess up again.

The girl had finally made it to the outer edge of the palace.

Knowing that this area provided little to no cover, the girl began sprinting through the open lawn that lay between the outer palace and the palace wall. The girl only stopped once she was covered by the shadow provided by the wall, and then reached out to touch the stone wall with reverence.

Once her skin made contact with the rough stone, the girl breathed a sigh of relief. It had been her challenge to reach the wall and climb over it since her birth, and now that she was accustomed to the paths she could take to overcome this goal, all she had left was respect for the milestone that the palace walls represented within her thoughts.

Breaking her moment of reverence, the girl began walking in the shadow of the wall until she reached the most suitable place to climb over. It was a miracle that she had spotted the shadow patrol before they had caught her and returned her to her mother.

Shivering at the thought of what the punishment might have been this time, the girl quickly put such thoughts out of her head and began searching for the first handhold she would use to climb over the palace wall.

Once she found her first handhold, she spent a couple seconds securing her grasp and then fluidly began to climb the wall. The stone here was rougher than what was used in the inner palace, so she didn't have to remove her shoes for added grip.

Not pausing to take a rest on top of the palace wall like she had to the first time she had succeeded at sneaking out, the girl immediately began climbing down the other side, speeding up her careful pace out of excitement. The night was calling to her again, whispering about the fun and treats that were awaiting her.

Landing lightly on her covered feet, the girl's face lit up with a happiness that brought light to her eyes. The cuteness radiating off of her could be clearly seen in the light from the moon and shone through the darkness. Anyone who might have stumbled across the scene would have thought an angel had graced their presence, but her mystical aura quickly disappeared as the wind blew clouds in front of the moon to block the light.

It didn't take her any longer than a second to disappear from her position as she began swiftly walking towards the streets shining with lanterns.