Chapter 1

"Kaylan, are you sure about this?" Jaden asked in a whisper as they crouched behind the bush, looking left and right.

"Of course! Stop asking me" Kaylan replied in a husky whisper. 

"For the first time, I pleaded with someone not to report me to my mother, but the dump man still went ahead to paint me black. So, he needs to pay". 

Jaden sighed, knowing she wouldn't be able to change her best friend's mind. 

Kaylan looked left and right again, and when she confirmed there was no one watching, she stood up and tip-toed out of the bush. 

Philip's little house was right in front of her and his tables of fruits were well arranged, drawing her attention. Well, that was exactly what she was heading for. 

He was actually a fruit seller and she figured it must've taken him a lot of efforts to arrange those, but hell, she didn't care. He was a wicked man and needed to be thought a lesson. 

She got to where the table and with a little effort, she pushed it down, making the fruits roll over on the floor. 

Philip came out of the house immediately and his eyes dilated in shock when he found his table of fruits rolling on the floor. 

"What?" He flinched. 

"Princess Kaylan?! Princess Kaylan?!"

Kaylan giggled and without much hesitation, picked two apples from the floor and ran back to the bush. 

"Here. Let's go" she gave one of the apples to Jaden and they started running away immediately. 

"Hey! Stop right there!! How dare you?!" Philip called out ran after them, but they were way faster than him. So, he couldn't catch up with them.

Kaylan and Jaden laughed as they ran heavily and only stopped when they sure Philip wasn't after them anymore. 

"Oh my God! You're such a badass, Kaylan!" Jaden laughed so hard as they both fell on the floor, resting their back against the wall. 

"Well, yes. That man is so mean. The very day I'd gotten to know he'd beaten up his wife and chased her out of the house over a minor argument, that was the moment my hatred from him increased. Big fat fool" Kaylan snapped and took a huge bite from her apple 

And so did Jaden. 

"Whatever, Kaylan. Your father's warned you to stop causing trouble around. How were you able to leave the palace alone, anyway? I thought he's assigned some guards to you?" Jaden asked. 

"Well, I offered them drinks. But unknown to them, the drinks were poisoned" she paused and giggled. "They're fast asleep in my room at the moment". 

"What the...Are you kidding me, Kaylan?" 

They both busted into hearty laughter. 

"Sometimes, I wonder if you're truly a princess". 

"Oh, please! To hell with royalty. It's boring" she rolled her eyes. 

"Do you know what my plans are?" She paused and took another huge bite from her apple. 

"In a short time from now, I'll run away from home. I'll go far to a place where I can live the kind of life I want - as a free lady. I'll make sure father doesn't get to know of my location so he doesn't bother me with his boring queries" she rolled her eyes. 

"Huh? Are you kidding me? What about your mother?" Jaden nudged her. 

"Oh... That's true. Mother would never agree to go with me" she placed her hand on her jaw in thoughts. 

"Anyway, I'll definitely think of something" she concluded and continued eating her apple.

Ahhh! If she had known, she'd had taken more than two. 

"By the way, Kaylan. I overheard my father discussing with one of the King's cabinet this morning" Jaden said after a few seconds. 

"They said...Master Xander's cabinet is looking for a bride for him. They had actually requested for one from your father, but your father turned them down, saying he couldn't marry any of his daughters off to someone like Xander" 

"Hold on" Kalyan clicked her tongue. "Xander is that cruel Master, right? Who's lost 2 wives?"

"Yes, yes. Exactly". 

"Huh? So, he's looking for another wife?" 

"Well, Personally, Xander wouldn't want a wife. But having an heir is important to the community. So, he needs to. He isn't even making any efforts about it as his cabinets have been the ones doing the search". 

"Oh..."

Kaylan turned back to eat her apples.  

"What happened to his late wives, anyway?" Sbe asked. 

"Well, I don't know. Nobody does and I guess it's a mystery. But that Xander is really cute. Just that...he's very mean. I heard his people are extremely scared of him. And I heard he's never lost a battle. He's a very powerful man". Jaden enthused. 

"Oh! Whatever. Why did father turn down his reauesty, anyway? He should've married Rebecca to him. That witch deserves to be with a devil" 

"What? You're unbelievable, Kaylan" Jaden nudged her and they bursted into laughter. 

"Well, despite how Popular and powerful Xander was, people are still scared to marry their daughtets out to him. I heard before his previous wives died, he was very mean to them and never showed love to them - not even for once. That man is really scary, you know? Most people nickname him - the handsome devil" Jaden paused and giggled. 

"Anyway, I hope for the..."

"There they are! Get down!" They suddenly heard a voice and turned to see Philip running towards them with some boys. 

"What?? Kaylan!" Jaden exclaimed and they sprang on their feet immediately and started running away. 

"Make sure you get them! I need those brats alive!" Philip roared in anger as the boys ran ahead of him. 

Oh! He really couldn't wait to lay his hands on them - especially the princess 

Kaylan and Jaden actually found it amusing as they kept running away from the boys. 

They ran into the market place, accidentally ruining people's goods as they bumped into them. 

"Oh! Good heavens!

"What Is happening?" 

Some of the market women flinched as their goods came crashing to the floor.

"Sorry..!"

"I'm so sorry..!

"Excuse me...!"

The two ladies apologized and giggled as they ran away. 

They bumped into a paint man and different colors of paint got poured on their faces - especially Kaylan. 

Hers was from her hair to her legs.

"Oh my God! Kaylan, you look like a clown!" Jaden laughed so hard at her.

"They're coming. Come on!" Kaylan urged and they continued running. 

Finally, they stopped running when they ran into a carriage. 

The rest of the people around were actually standing aside with their heads bowed, but Kaylan and Jaden were too overwhelmed and by the time they could notice, they were already standing in front of the Royal carriage. 

"Oh-oh" Jaden shook her head and took some steps back when she realized it was the King!

The King was sitting on one of the horses and couldn't believe his eyes when he saw his daughter, looking like a local tout. 

And unfortunately, it was too late for Kaylan to run away.