• She shakily stood, the accursed crown tilting dangerously on her head. 'Was it worth it?' She wondered, raising her head and trying to glimpse the sun through the stained-glass window. True, she had been given the chance of a lifetime and a few months ago she could never have imagined being seen with royalty, never mind being numbered as one of their own. And yes, even though she couldn't leave the palace or speak without being spoken to, she had ladies-in-waiting and a handsome (if somewhat dim-witted) prince at her side. Yet there was an emptiness in her that she couldn't ignore. A gaping hole that she couldn't explain away. She tried to sketch a picture in her mind. It began to form and there she was in her long white gown and sparkling crown, a hesitant smile appearing on her lips. Two beautiful golden wings sprouted from her back and the freedom that had long escaped her began to shimmer into view. The prince strolled into her mind's eye, admiring the glamor that far outshone his own. He reached out to her, placing a ring on her finger and her smile grew. In that same motion he clamped down two rusty chains on her wrists. Horror stole over her features as she began to float back down to the earth. Not finished he reached up with cold fingers and ripped a wing from her back, dispelling the hope of flight forever. A door opened and she turned, the story fleeing from her mind. For there was her prince in the flesh, with his hand outstretched to her. She took his hand and closed the door behind her, turning her back on the sun-filled window.