The Girl I spilled Beer on

"Can't we just have a normal Christmas for once, mom?" I complained to the humble queen of the white kingdom.

"Emma, we give a ball every year on Christmas eve. That's how we show our love for the kingdom. We show that everyone is even by inviting everyone who wants to come." She explained again for the thousandth time in my life. "You have to understand that, if you are going to be queen yourself someday." she sounded sterner now.

"Yes mom..." I replied with an eyeroll. I was getting so sick of this talk I had to have with her every year. I could complain to her all I wanted, but she always put the people first. I didn't stand any chance to change her mind, because rulers of a kingdom needed to be humble to their people.

"And besides maybe there is a very handsome guy in the kingdom that pics your interest." She smiled at me and gave me a wink that grossed me out.

"There are no guys in the kingdom that pic my interest. They are all so high of themselves and by only the sight of them I get the creeps." I complained lazily with making creepy movements with my fingers.

My mother's hands reached for my face, and she looked me in the eyes. "I'm sure there are, sweetheart. You may feel like that right now, but you just haven't found the right one yet." She talked but I wasn't listening anymore to her nonsense.

"Yes, mom..." I blindly said and I wringed myself out of her touch to go away from her.

I walked down the corridors and I thought about another horrible Christmas to come. It was every year the exact same, the Christmas ball to give all of the kingdom the best day of the year, except the princess.

I had to be someone I was just not all the time. On normal days, when there was no citizen around, my parents already didn't allow me to be myself, but with a castle filled with citizens on Christmas eve, it was even worse to be the pretty princess all the time, no moment to escape. I had to be this example for the people, someone that the people adored. I would sit on my throne and look out over the people, answering life questions of the citizens. I had to wear gowns, high heels and my hair needed to be tight back. Everything to radiate calmness and sweetness.

But I just wanted to be wild and free, away from the rules. I didn't want to wear dresses and make up, I'd rather have dressed as a boy, than to wear that. I didn't want to be this neat queen, I wanted to be a warrior, someone who fights battles for the kingdom, rather than kill the enemies with kindness. The ogres were attacking in all surrounding kingdoms, and without a good army and a strong leader, the kingdom would definitely fall. But I would never be able to show the people that I could be that leader until the day my mother would die, she would never allow me to show my inner self to the world.

Although she wouldn't allow me to show my true self to the world, I did it anyway. Every week when the guards would change shifts, I was able to sneak out of the castle.

My best and only friend, Graham, was one of the knights in our castle. He was able to smuggle some time for me to get away. He was also the one I got secret fighting lessons from.

I loved fighting, not only to be able to protect people but also to train my body and see my body become stronger. It satisfied me to see my body develop and change and how I was able to do more difficult stuff over time.

So after the tiring talk with my mother, I was going to do exactly what she didn't want me to do and headed to the stables to get on my horse and get away from the castle after I had changed into my comfortable outfit.

I was just wearing my casual clothes, black puffy trousers, a white shirt, brown high boots and a red cloak to keep me warm. That was something I wasn't supposed to be seen in, yet here I was, on my horse, on my way to the nearest village.