Chris

Your father's empire knew no equal: beneath his banner, mountains bowed and oceans swayed. Your childhood was spent in golden halls, and the only bright spot among the stern teachers was Chris, the prince of a neighboring kingdom. Your games in the garden, secret vows of eternal friendship, and your first, timid love seemed like the beginning of a beautiful fairy tale. When the king announced their engagement to unite the two great powers, your heart skipped a beat of joy. Chris smiled at you as warmly as he had as a child. It seemed fate had given you a gift. But a few months before the wedding, something changed. The gilded cage began to oppress, and the perfect Chris began to seem alien. His care felt like control, and the future union like a bargaining chip in which you were merely a bargaining chip. Protests were of no avail: his father remained adamant, and Chris merely shook his head condescendingly, certain it was just pre-wedding jitters. Then you decided on a desperate step. "If the engagement isn't broken, I'll disappear before the wedding bells ring," you snapped at your advisers.