Once upon a time, a beautiful princess lived in a very lonely palace. She'd been there for as long as she could remember and no one ever came to see her.
She felt so lonely that whenever she was allowed out into the garden she would talk to the plants. It sounds crazy, but to her they were all she had. Nothing could make her feel complete except her flowers. She would sit in the garden for hours because she would always lose track of time. The princess had never felt happy, maybe at one time she was, but she can't recall. If you ask her she'll tell you that whenever the wind blows the flowers whisper to her. They still do to this day.
    One day, when walking around the garden, the princess hears footsteps approaching from behind. Before she can react she is taken by the wrists and whirled around to face her captor. "It's you! I've found you." The young man standing before her isn't familiar to the princess at all, and she bursts into tears. "Oh no, please don't cry. I didn't mean to startle you," she whimpers, trying to escape the grip he still holds on her wrists. When she realizes it is no use, she gives up. Defeated. "It's alright, I won't hurt you. I'm Damien, you don't know me. But I know you," the princess looks up startled.
     "How do you know me? No one ever comes to see me. I've been here for ages," Damien smiles.
       "Elody. I know you," the princess goes rigid. She can't find words and she stands there, unmoving. "Aren't you going to speak?" His tone is mocking, Elody tries to take a step back, "Elody, please. Do you not remember?" She shakes her head slowly. He turns his head sideways, studying her.

“What have they done to you?” He whispers, lowering his hands and bringing her wrists with them. He looked so upset, Elody searches her brain to find the right words to say. She tries to place his face with memories, but even he had said that she did not know him.

“How am I supposed to remember if I don’t know you?” She whispers quietly, averting her eyes from his.

“I knew you’d forget.. I guess I wasn’t ready to hear it yet,” He looks up at her intensely. Something inside of Elody is screaming at her to get away but something else is pulling her closer to him.

“I can see it in your eyes, you want to run but you can’t,” the sun is sinking below the garden walls and Elody would give anything to be somewhere beyond that gate. Squeezing her eyes shut, she lets tears escape down her face. “Darling, why are you crying?”

“I’ve been alone for so long.. I don’t remember the last time I had someone to talk with. But I can’t even remember who you are,” the flowers that stand near their feet flutter in the wind, almost as if whispers are escaping from their petals.

“Let me take you away, somewhere safe. I promise no one will ever hurt you again.” Damien studies Elody’s face, looking for signs of resistance. Conflicted emotions cross her eye, and he lowers his head.

Catching sight of the flowers Damien finally lets go of Elody’s wrists. The multicolored blossoms are still swaying as if invisible fingers are brushing against them. Bending down he scoops a blue flower from its perch and carefully places it in Elody’s hair.

“You might not remember but I chose to never forget,” he takes Elody’s hand and pulls her into a kiss. It’s filled with so much emotion and passion that it surprises the princess but she soon relaxes into him. “You have no idea how much I missed you, darling. I’ve been looking everywhere for you. They took you away from me but you’re my sunshine and you’re back now,” with their foreheads touching he lets a smile spread across his face.

The night sky begins to light up with stars and the moon casts shadows through the branches of the trees. The garden comes alive. Foxes emerge from the underbrush and the crickets sing their sweet song. Nothing can break the magical veil of the night.

“We should leave...” Damien whispers into Elody’s ear softly.

“But this is my home.” Elody stutters, “What about my garden? My flowers? What will become of them,” panicking is something the princess never does but her flowers are her world. The only things that stuck with her when she needed something to hold onto.

“I promise, they will be okay. We can have our own garden once we get you safe,” he smiles, almost apologetically, like he’s unsure of what to do.

Elody takes a huge breathe and stares down at her only friends. How can she ever part with them? But she knows, deep down, that she has too. Being alone is something she won’t be able to handle much longer. So, she puts all of her trust into two simple words, “Let’s go.”