He saw her coming around the bend. She sat on her horse, hair pulled back into a braid that sat on her right shoulder. Her horse was muddy; the horse he rode was shining in his brilliance. Cowgirls weren’t common around his father’s lands. The prince sighed. _Why does a stranger have to be here now …._

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She saw him up ahead, on his slim, shining horse. She knew he must be the prince of the nearby palace. The stone bricks loomed in the distance, casting dark shadows on the both of them as they rounded a bend together and drew closer. He still wore a crown on his head. Her heart pounded in her chest. _Why can’t I catch a break today … _

Earlier, the prince’s fight with his father resulted in him grabbing a crystal plate and throwing it at the wall. Only, it didn’t hit the wall; the plate hit his father in the head. The man fell, motionless, on the ground, and the prince didn’t wait to see if he was breathing before he fled.

The cowgirl spent the previous night with a man she met on the street. Only, when he tried to push himself onto her in his tent, she drew her blade and defended herself. What else was she meant to do? She made sure the man was dead before she continued riding on.

As they passed, they nodded to eachother, feeling a common spark and not knowing why.