She was a princess, and he an ordinary man, as these things were measured, in that time. An adventurer abroad, someone who left his home village a long way behind him, and traveled paths long and hard, in search of things he could himself never explain. Roads that meandered and seemed to lead nowhere, feet hardened with callouses. But he was of a good temper and an enviable charm, and where he went goodwill followed him.
He met her as she was going on her rounds about the Kingdom, as was her habit in those days. She passed him on the street, and the glance that passed between them must have possessed an understanding, for she sent an aide to summon him, to her carriage. They spoke, then, for the first time, and many more times after.
One day they walk through the forest, their footfalls soft on the wild grass.
