The moon hung low in the sky, casting long shadows across Princess Elara's chamber as she paced restlessly. Her traveling cloak lay draped across a chair, packed bags sat by the door, all in readiness for the journey that would begin at dawn. Yet as the night deepened, so too did the princess's doubts.
Elara paused by the window, her fingers absently tracing the outline of the pendant beneath her nightgown. The weight of responsibility pressed down upon her shoulders, threatening to crush her spirit. In that moment of weakness, a desperate thought took root in her mind.
What if she simply... left?
Not to the Shadow Lands, not to face the unknown dangers that awaited her there. But away from it all – the politics, the prophecies, the fate of two realms hanging in the balance. She could disappear into the night, find some quiet corner of the world where she was neither princess nor savior, just... Elara.