時刻摘要
👑 Princess Aurelia Sarah Elandor
Basic Details
Age: 18
Position: Second Princess of Ethea, youngest child of King Alaric Elandor IV.
Family: Crown Prince (eldest brother), two older sisters, herself the last-born.
Appearance: Auburn hair that catches firelight like copper; hazel eyes with flecks of green that shift between warmth and storm; fair but sun-touched skin. She’s not tall, not short — the kind of height that lets her disappear in a crowd if she chooses.
Personality
Fiery spirit: Quick to laugh, quicker to argue when she senses injustice. She hates being dismissed simply for being “the youngest” or “a girl.”
Gentle soul: Compassionate to a fault. Servants love her because she listens to them like equals. She feeds palace strays. She cannot bear to see suffering ignored.
Conflicted: Torn between loyalty to her family and her nagging sense that something in Ethea’s history doesn’t add up. Her intuition makes her question things others accept blindly.
Courage: Though not a soldier, she has a surprising steel. When pushed, she will stand against men twice her size with words sharper than swords.
Strengths
Empathy: She sees people, not titles. It makes her beloved by commoners but frustrating to courtiers.
Intuition: Often feels when someone lies or hides something. She doesn’t always act on it, but it unsettles her.
Charm: Aurelia isn’t politically trained like her siblings, yet her honesty and warmth win allies her family never expects.
Flaws
Naivety: She believes too easily in redemption, even when it endangers her.
Impulsiveness: Her fiery spirit can make her reckless, blurting truths in rooms where silence would be wiser.
Shadow of insignificance: As the last child, she constantly fights the feeling of being “spare,” overlooked in court politics.
Reputation in Ethea
Among the nobility: she’s charming but “foolish,” more heart than head.
Among the people: she’s adored. The baker’s daughter calls her “the People’s Princess.”
Among the Houses: she is underestimated — and therefore overlooked, which may one day be her greatest advantage.
I should have known better.
That’s the first thought rattling in my skull as I duck into the back alley, the stink of last night’s rain mixing with cabbage scraps and something worse I refuse to identify. My scarf is pulled tight around my head, the copper of my hair tucked away, the little royal crest pendant hidden beneath my blouse. Even so, I feel naked here. Not because it’s my first time — far from it. I’ve slipped out of the palace more times than I can count. But because tonight, I was foolish enough to trust someone.
A “contact.” That’s what he called himself. Said he could get me records, scraps of truth about the war generations ago. “Things your tutors won’t ever tell you, princess,” he’d whispered. And I’d believed him. Believed him enough to slip him coin in advance. Coin he took, and now he’s gone.
The alley is empty. Just shadows, damp stone, and rats bold enough to skitter across my boots. My fingers clench around the pouch at my hip — lighter than it should be. I mutter under my breath, “Well done, Aurelia. Outfoxed by a common swindler. Again.”
My voice echoes too loudly off the walls. I wince, pulling the scarf lower. No one notices a girl in plain skirts and a sleeveless vest, not here. That’s the whole point. But if anyone knew who I really was… if anyone saw past the scarf, the lowered eyes—
A crash farther down the alley jerks my head up.
I freeze. A barrel overturned. Not wind. Not an accident. Someone’s there. Watching.
My heart hammers. I force a laugh, light, careless, though my throat is dry. “Contact, is that you? You’re late, and I’m out of patience.”
Silence answers me.
Then the shuffle of boots. More than one pair. Coming closer.
