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On the night after the night, two women stand in a dark stable.

The horses neigh around them, some already asleep, others disturbed by the unfamiliar presence. It smells like hay and dirt. A heavy pressure weighs in the air, as the importance of the moment is made clear by the four guards standing outside, heavily armed with double swords. Inside, a confused woman stands with her eyes wide open and hands trembling. She feels tremors rush down her entire body. Everything feels wrong.

She is around forty years old, with two sons that have served and died in war, and a husband that luckily survived with nothing but a bad leg injury. She suffers to do most of the work alone, on their little remote plot of farmland far away from the capital. Every year she travels here with her husband to watch the military parade in respect to her sons deaths. She has already given her husband's leg and two of her sons for this kingdom and this king. Now he expects more.

"I can't do it, her highness must find someone else"

They travel with a horse that they got from their friendly neighbor Desmond that works a few miles away from them. It's an old horse that won't even outlive its aging owner, but it works for the two of them to use as a slow traveling method. This cheap stable was perfect for them, and it has housed the horse well. It's almost like their trip was too easy. Fate was bringing them bad luck. On the way to get her horse, she ran into a cloaked woman standing inside. Almost as if she was just waiting for somebody to come. Whoever. And fate brought her in first.

"It's the queen's order, disobeyment will mean death"

And having no other choice, she was forced to take the small newborn child into her arms. And of course, she felt a small grain of motherly love spark up to the surface, just by looking into the baby's big brown eyes. She was so small in her arms, so innocent, so hopeless and in need of protection. But the mother inside of her had died the moment her last son did, and it was hard to ever feel like the real mother to that child. Because she would always know that the brown eyes of her new daughter belonged to the king and his queen, and she would always know that them abandoning her, wouldn't last forever.

Having a daughter means weakness. Birthing a child as the queen that has only had four sons in the past, it will be seen as weakness. Having one daughter, as a king with only four sons, will be a sign of weakness. A weak spot. An embarrassment that, during times of war, nobody in the royal family wants. It's always better to pretend that the child is dead, than to tell the world of her embarrassing gender. But god, she knows it won't last. At some point the kingdom will need its princess, every kingdom does. For there is one thing more powerful than winning a war, and that is a union of marriage.

So she left that day, with her life on the line, a baby in her hands, and a confused husband by her side.

"What is her name?"

"As an abandoned daughter, she will just be called the same thing as her mother"

"A peasant with a daughter named after the queen? That would not be believable in an already unbelievable situation, we need something simpler"

"Claude? Should we name her after you?"

"That would just be confusing when she grows up. How would we know who you're calling for when you say her name?"

"Then... let's combine them"

"What?"

"Let's name her Maud"

With a hand around her wrist, Maud finds herself being dragged towards a mysterious carriage standing outside her perfect home.

Her mind is empty.

There has always been a train of thought, a line of sound in her head. Something is always going on. Something that fills the quietness of the farm, something that allows her to be entertained by herself. But now it's all gone. All she can hear is emptiness, an empty static sound that is somehow much louder than anything else she has ever had on repeat. For a moment, she thinks that she should fight back. The carriage comes ever closer. She stumbles over the gravel, they are dragging her way too fast. Her entire life is behind her.

Maud looks back. She sees her parents, standing by the doorframe. They aren't waving goodbye. They stare back at her, eyes gray, expressions grim. They look tired, of life, of her, of everything. Perhaps this is a relief to them. Getting rid of her like this. Or maybe it's a nuisance, now they'll have to work on the farm alone. There is no way they'll be able to handle it. Selling the farm is the only option for them now. It's not like they'll get much money either, so homelessness awaits them. Maud thinks about it. She's losing her parents, she's losing her home. Her entire past flashes by her, looking back at the little house and the rundown orchard makes her remember everything in her life, all at once.

Her mind goes blank.

What does it matter if she loses her home or if she loses her parents? They weren't real anyway, were they? She doesn't belong to anyone now. Or well, she shouldn't. But as a woman, Maud knows that she will always belong to someone. She will never truly be free. So being dragged into the carriage, pushed down, the farm disappearing and the dark inside engulfing her, Maud realizes that wherever she resides, it will always be a prison. No matter how beautiful, no matter how remote, no matter if they call it home. As a woman, she always belongs to someone, and as a woman, she will always be imprisoned in that someone's home.

The guard shuts the carriage door and locks it. Maud, who has been carelessly thrown to the floor of the carriage, carefully stands up. It's a dark red carriage on the outside, but on the inside everything is in dark blue and wood. There are two benches opposite of each other, and Maud sits down on one of them. There are windows, but they are covered by heavy velvet curtains in blue. Maud feels a lump grow in her throat. She has never been in a carriage before. A thousand questions rush through her head, but they are quickly silenced by her own shock. Maud presses it all down. Instead of thinking about it too much, the newly found princess decides to do the one thing on her mind. She opens the curtains with a quick swing and stares outside, just as the carriage starts moving.

Her parents are no longer standing on the porch.

A sudden lump on the road wakes her up. Maud gasps, sitting up from her half-laid down position and exits the land of dreams. The farm prickles in her eyes, as she just dreamt of it. She can see the golden wheat, her parents cooking inside, the bright blue sky and the fluffy white clouds. The dirt road, the green trees in the distance and the lovely summer breeze that ruffles the skirt of her dress. But suddenly her parents are standing on the porch, the weather has taken a turn for the worse, the skies are covered by heavy clouds, the summer breeze is cold and rough, the wheat is cut up and sold, and she is dragged away.

A nightmare. A reality. Maud wakes up, half expecting to be safely in her own bed and laughing at the ridiculous dream that she just had. Instead she finds herself awake, sadly awake, in a reality much like her nightmare. It's raining outside, the raindrops drumming at the carriage roof and hitting the windows. The road is bumpy from the holes and rocks in the dirt road. Maud shivers, as a cold breeze somehow gets through the small crack between the door and the carriage wall. She can hear multiple people outside, horses, carriages, wagons, children laughing, knights rumbling about the weather and husbands and wives arguing. Maud has never heard so many people before, all at once. She barely meets their closest neighbor once a month.

Where are they?

The urge to open the curtains after she closed them when they left the farm, is strong. Still, she doesn't know if she dares to. There are so many people outside. Her carriage is so fancy. What if they are staring? What if they'll see her when she opens the curtains? What will the guards say? Maud has absolutely no idea why she is being transported by carriage, why there are so many guards with her, why the carriage needs to be so fancy or where they are. The least they could do is tell her where she is headed. But no, here she sits, inside a dark carriage, over a day since they left.

She's really hungry. And thirsty too. Really thirsty.

Hopefully they are there soon. Wherever they are headed.

Just as she has thought about it, Maud hears the guards around her carriage grow louder. They haven't spoken much during the trip, but everything they have said she has heard. Nothing they have said has hinted at why she is here or where they are headed. That's why she eventually gave up on listening in and fell asleep instead, too hungry and thirsty to care. Now she's too hungry and thirsty to fall asleep, so there's that. The guards are nearly yelling, their voices rushed and aggressive.

"It's a direct order from his majesty"

They explain to whoever is apparently opposing them. Maud perks up curiously. So she's here because of his majesty? Her father? Is her father still alive? She's heard rumors of his old age and possible death, but news are always unreliable in her remote village. It takes months for them to receive news, because travelers rarely stop or even walk by their house. So now Maud is unsure of everything, knowing that even if she hears what they are saying outside her carriage, she most likely won't understand any of it.

"I don't have any written order"

Maud shifts anxiously in her seat. Will they turn back if she is denied entrance to wherever they are going? Will she be brought home again? What happens then? Could life ever be the same again? Maud doesn't think so. What was her name again? Margaret? Whoever she is, whether princess or not, Maud knows that she is no longer just Maud from the farm. Even if they let her go, she will never be able to live a normal life ever again. Knowing that her parents are not her real parents, she won't even be able to have a normal relationship with them anymore. Ever again. That realization pulls at her heartstrings. She can only hope that she is not denied access, because backwards is not a route for her anymore, whoever she is going she must go forwards. Must go towards her new fate. Her new life.

"Of course you don't have that, idiot. This is a classified delivery"

Whoever they are talking to doesn't seem moved. Maud hears a sigh.

"You've met the queen right?"

"Yeah? At my knighting ceremony like everyone else"

"Then take a look inside. You'll see why it's classified"

Maud rushes to flatten her hair a bit, wanting to look somewhat presentable when exposed to the outside world. She can still hear people outside her carriage, but their voices have grown more quiet. Two guards fighting is always something to be nervous about, because if their fight grows physical there will be nobody caring about the civilians that may get caught up in the process. Maud hears footsteps on her left side, so she stares curiously at the door. A quiet knock echoes.

"Excuse the trouble, your highness"

He whispers the last part, so that the people around them won't hear. But Maud hears, and she doesn't like that title. It's almost like they weren't just treating her roughly and ignoring her. Is this how they were supposed to act from the beginning? With respect and courtesy? Maud wonders which one is better and which one is worse. She doesn't get a chance to answer the guard, because as soon as he has apologized the door to the carriage is opened. It's just a small opening though, so that she won't be able to make any surprise escapes, and so that nobody except that one guard will see inside.

He peeks inside. He takes one look at her. The annoyed expression on his face quickly melts away into one of near horror and shock. He quickly draws his head back and shuts the door. Maud is left horrified, wondering why he looks like he's just seen a ghost.

"Who is she?"

She can hear him ask the other guards with a silent, whispering voice.

"She's exactly who you think she is"

The carriage starts moving again before Maud can count to three.

This time, she is tired of just sitting in a dark room waiting for the inevitable. Instead, she quickly opens the curtains, just a bit. A small crack between the curtains and the carriage walls reveals the light from the outside. She can hear and see millions of things, half of which are not understandable. Thousands of shops zoom by her, people and people and people stand way too close to each other. They scream and yell, trying to sell things, trying to buy things, trying to find their missing friends or family. Slowly the smells from the outside enter the carriage, and Maud can detect bread, spices, seeds, fruits, vegetables, meat and fish, a wide variety of potatoes which is their speciality, wood, fabric and metal. She can smell the sweaty people and some of the richer ladies with extravagant perfumes. She can see them too, most of the people outside her window wearing much better clothes than her, and living much more complicated lives.

There is only one place that is this crowded, with this many fancy stores and wooden buildings, this many people and items to buy, and that's the capital. The soft smell of fish, spices and sea salt gives it away, as the capital is a port city with big ships coming in and out daily from all four corners of the world. The carriage continues moving, and Maud can't take her eyes off it. She sees everything zoom by, the houses and the people, the items for sale and the fancy clothes. The buildings get more spacious and fancy the further they drive, and big luscious parks and fountains appear here and there. They are getting to the richer areas, for nobility, for royalty. Maud has never even dreamed of coming here. Usually there are several guards separating the common folk from the fancy streets.

Maud takes a deep breath of air. She looks out the window at their final destination.

A wide blue palace engulfs her as a whole.

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