"Hush a bye, little child. Soon you will be a princess." The mother kissed the soft plump cheek of the little girl, then lay her down in the woven basket. She hid the basket under her cloak and hurried through the empty plaza to the royal gates.
She touched the little child's forehead before disappearing into the night.

"Aerith!" Aerith turned her head, her black ringlets spraying everywhere. She pulled up the hood to her cloak. Somebody had recognized her.
She hurried into the throng of people, hoping to lose her pursuer.
"Aerith! Aerith!" The voice continued.
She stopped and twirled to face the voice.
It was Esther.
"You do realize that if the guards catch you, you'll be grounded again!" Esther hissed into Aerith's blood red cloak.
"I can be grounded." Aerith twirled around, looking up into the blue sky.
"No you can't! You know as well as I do that if you are grounded once more you can't participate in the Royal Ball!"
"Ball schmall...Isn't it just lovely out here? The fresh air...the people..." Two little girls ran and giggled around the skirt of Aerith's dress.
One of them dropped their doll, and she bent over and picked the cloth toy up in her fingertips.
The small girl clapped, and Aerith handed it to her.
"Sweet child." Aerith said quietly. She sighed.
"You can't be out in the plaza. You need to be in the castle, preparing for the ball. Let's go." Esther tugged her away.
Aerith looked wistfully back at the plaza and hoped one day to be a part of it.

"Dearest Aerith, you shouldn't be wandering the streets of the plaza." Darcy, her servant, tsked her tongue as she helped put on Aerith's corset.
Aerith held her breath has Darcy laced the last laces and started to pick up her old clothing.
"Continue to dress and I will be back."
"My brush, Darcy, then-"
"Soon, Aerith. Be patient."
"It's in the hall-"
"Soon." The plump woman left the room, and closed the large cherry wooden doors.
She sighed and looked down at the baby blue skirt of her dress.
She put on the top, struggling with the buttons. She brushed her untamed ringlets behind her ear and pushed open the door to the hallway.
She heard the soft slap of her bare feet on the cool marble of the floor, and she searched the tables by the windows for her brush.
She found it and turned to look out the window.
The sunlight pured inside, and she leaned forward to smell the air. She blinked and felt the light droplets of the lowest hanging cloud surrounding her quarters.
She tried to search for the plaza, but something behind her fell to the ground. She turned casually, expecting to find the vase all shattered to pieces, but she found a man.
It shocked her for a moment.
He stood there rigid.
"Excuse me, Princess, I meant no harm to you but-"
"Who are you?" Aerith said, shocked to be meeting someone from the plaza.
"Excuse me? You aren't...mad?" The young man seemed surprised.
"Well, you are just visiting." Aerith smiled politely.
"Uh, sure." The man hid his hand behind his back.
"Your name?" She asked quietly.
"Darius."
Aerith saw the gold glitter in the man's hand.
"Is that my pendant?" She gasped in shock.
Darius shuffled sideways.
"I can't believe it! You're a theif!"
"Princess, please excuse me. Forgive me for this!" He bowed politely and took off down the halls.
"Darius!" She called after him.
But the mysterious man was gone.
She stared after him where she had seen him leave.
Darcy walked up behind her.
"What was all that commotion!" She laughed.
"Nothing..." Aerith's childish innocence had rescued many men's lives, for she saw what was really inside of them.
But she wasn't so sure about Darius.
"Well, then, darling, let's go and finish up." Darcy gently took her hand and pulled her back into the room.

"Tell me!" Esther said dreamily.
"About whom?"
"The mysterious theif you've been gushing about!"
"Oh...Darius." She sighed.
"He is rather captivating, I believe. He looked like an archer, quite rugged but graceful. He had non shaven face, and the most penetrating pair of hazel eyes, and brown hair like silk...It was bound behind his head, and there wasn't much there anyways."
"Ew. Sounds like a nomad."
"Ew? He was amazing...but a theif. He stole my golden pendant." She touched the empty spot on her collarbone and sighed.
"What did he wear? Was he at least dressed for royalty?"
"A white tunic and some brown pants. Boots over it. Simple." Aerith twirled around the courtyard of the castle.
"I need to tell your father."
"What?"
"So he will bring him in and you will be able to save his life. He'll owe you." Esther winked.
"I'd rather have trolls in my castle than that happen." Aerith made a disgusted sound and sat down on the grass.
She could see, down the hill, the plaza of the kingdom.
"He's down there," Esther said quietly.
"Yeah...but he must be in hiding. I wish...I wish I could meet him for real...So i could learn about the outside of this kingdom."
"Isn't that just the cutest thing?" Esther sighed beside her.
Aerith turned her head up to see the pixies in the trees, glowing and dancing.
"Adorable." Aerith said sarcastically. She got up and walked to the stables, where her white stallion trotted around in it's paddock.
She clicked her tongue and Berth walked towards her.
SHe pulled up her hood and mounted the stallion.
"Bye Esther!" Aerith called as she rode off into the woods surrounding the castle.