Chapter 3

Liliana is a very smart and crafty young girl. Her most beloved uncle has taught her well. Every time she thinks of him she smiles, because he sees the true beauty of her all the time and he treats her as a person, not an object to be utilized.

After the long day of being made to pose in a stupid outfit, Liliana is sure she is doing the right thing. Liliana is smart and she knows the dangers of an often cruel world, but she also knows nothing will bring her uncle to her like her disappearance. At least her mom will make the whole kingdom listen to her words. She knows her mom will be sad and scared, and in truth Liliana is scared herself, but she feels this is a necessary action to prevent any further distortions of true beauty.

After Liliana is tucked in for the night, she waits until everybody is asleep. She dresses smartly in dark brown riding clothes. Princess Liliana was the first girl to wear pants. Her uncle, the Whiteknight, loves it when she looks pretty, but he also knows there is more to a person and life than looking pretty.

For Liliana to be an effective warrior and rider, she would need to wear pants. She takes as much food and water that she can carry in her bag, and she takes her very sharp dagger that her uncle, the Whiteknight, gave to her as a birthday present on her fifth birthday. It is so long it is almost like a sword to her.

She goes out her bedroom door and goes from shadow to shadow until she reaches the kitchen exit of the castle. She goes outside quietly and goes to the stables to get her favorite black horse named Kara that she secretly saddled before dinner. She tries to be quiet opening up the stable door, but it squeaks loudly. She cringes, but makes it out of the Royal Castle courtyard. As she is riding out of the city of Canter she has a big hat on so nobody will recognize her. Once she is out of the city she takes a deep sigh of relief.

"So far so good. I have made it out of the city." she says to herself in her sweet voice.

Now she rides out into the Grasslands of Trilliant heading towards the Shadowy Forest, because the last she heard, Uncle Whiteknight was patrolling there. As soon as she gets close enough she will start blowing her bronze horn that her uncle gave her to blow if she ever had need of him.

Once she gets riding, she throws her hat into the air with laughter and her beautiful brunette hair streams out behind her and again she starts to feel free and pretty. Her pretty face lights up with a divine smile as she looks to right a wrong. Liliana may be a petite and pretty seven-year-old girl, but she has ability, and she has such a beautiful heart that Uncle Whiteknight will stand up for her, no matter what.

Come morning time she is tired, but she knows she cannot stop until she reaches the forest, because very soon they are going to discover she is missing and they will come to get her.

As the sun continues to rise in the east, which just happens to be the direction she wishes to go, she admires her beautiful kingdom. She must travel southeast until the land straightens out, and then she can travel east until she gets to the border with the mean and aggressive trolls. All the best warriors of Precious guard their land from invasion from the trolls.

With a warm wind blowing, the golden grasses are swaying to the sounds of birds chirping and groundhogs singing. There are many mounds of dirt sticking above the golden grasses that are the homes of the groundhogs, and Liliana does her best to make her black horse Kara miss them because she does not want to hurt any of them. Liliana loves animals and the free world, so pure is her heart and mind.

Not only does Liliana like modeling, but she also likes singing. As she is galloping along she can just now see the Shadowy Forest on the horizon, with her beautiful long brunette hair streaming out behind her she starts to sing a song that her most beloved uncle encouraged her to write.

My name is Liliana.

I am a smart princess of the kingdom of Precious.

And I would like to tell you a story.

I love freedom and freedom loves me.

I hope you are happy because laughter is fun to share.

It takes courage to be open.

When somebody does something nice for me, I say thank you.

When I do something nice for someone, it makes me feel good inside.

It makes me smile.

It makes me feel pretty.

And when I am told I am loved just for being me, I shine.

And when I'm encouraged to be the best I can be, I try.

I am here to tell you it is wonderful to have someone you can turn to no matter what.