A long, long time ago, somewhere at the edge of the world, when skies were closer, people lived simple lives, and magical creatures were not afraid to be seen by human eye, there lived a girl named Eliza. 

She might have been a girl like any other, if not for a tiny detail to set her apart from all the other girls her age — she was the miller's daughter. Well, you may think that doesn't make a girl special. But precisely because she was the miller's daughter, and spent so much time around the mill, Eliza was almost always covered in a thick layer of flour. Every night, before going to bed, she would brush the flour off. But in the morning, it was back on, like it never left. On her clothes, hair, and skin, the flour wouldn't go off. This wasn't such a peculiar thing since Eliza was keeping herself busy all day long, helping with unloading the wheat sacks, emptying them, and grinding the wheat. 

But underneath that layer of flour, however thick it might have been, anyone could tell she was a beautiful girl. Her thick chestnut hair was flowing down her shoulders, reaching her waistline. Her black eyes, blacker than the jackdaw's feather, were so cheery, that even the grouchiest people smiled at their sight. And her snub nose, as powdered as it was, made her look like a true lady, not the country girl she was. 

And there was something else Eliza was great at — straining the flour. The girl could winnow the flour better than the most skilful housewife of the village. And the flour coming out of her hands was the finest, lightest and whitest flour anyone has ever seen. The miller was proud of his daughter and people from far away villages and even the neighbouring country were coming to buy that special flour. 

And since Eliza was not the kind to sit around doing nothing, she soon found a new passion—baking bread. But not just any kind of bread. Hers was the fluffiest, softest and most flavoured bread in the entire world. And in between her chores, the miller's daughter always found time for her friends—Tommy, the spotted tomcat lingering around the mill, and Adrian, the forester's son. And so her life was going by without a care in the world. 

Yet Eliza had a dream that was quite unusual, one she shared with anyone willing to listen. She wanted to become a princess. A real princess, with a tiara and long, swishy silk dresses, with servants to attend her smallest needs, and a prince who would take her to his castle. On a white horse, of course. Eliza was dreaming about this all day long. The old miller tried to explain that girls like her could never become princesses. Maybe their attendants, at best. But to no avail. Even her friend, Adrian, kept telling her that princesses live either in fairy tales or some faraway places she'll never reach. 

But Eliza couldn't let go of her dream. Some womanly advice might have been useful. But the girl never knew her mother, and each time she asked her father, he would put off the answer, finding something to do, and leaving her puzzled. Eliza didn't want to upset her father, and soon, she stopped asking him questions about her mother. 

Thus, time was flowing by on its no returning paths. Eliza grew up to become more beautiful and more skilled in the milling craft. When she reached about sixteen years old, the word about her diligence and kindness was spread throughout the entire village and beyond. There was no shortage of young lads who wanted her to become their wife. One by one, they found their way to the old mill, trying to steal one smile from those rosy lips, glimpsed from underneath that thick flour cover. 

But Eliza was minding her own, not even sparing a glance. So the lads left as they came. This entire time, Eliza never gave up on her dream. She had no clue that her dream was about to come true sooner than she would have imagined. 

● 

One bright summer day which looked like any other, Eliza met a real princess. She was Mara, the King's daughter over those lands. It so happened that, right in front of the mill, the horses pulling the Princess's carriage got frightened by a poor rabbit crossing their path. So they toppled the carriage with the Princess, the coachman, and her nanny. 

Luckily, Adrian was there, and he wasted no time when he saw they needed help. He was the one to help everyone from under the carriage, to hand back the Princess's tiara and to dust off her gown. When the Princess straightened up and was back on her feet, high and proud, as a princess should, her beauty struck Eliza. Her chestnut brown hair was falling on her shoulders with silky sparks. Her skin looked so white, you could swear it was made of milk cream. Her dark eyes, dark and piercing. And her cheeks red like peonies, flaming by the disgrace of being seen toppled over. Eliza was speechless, looking at her bright necklace made of a thousand suns, her tiara encrusted with stones broken from a rainbow and her gown of thick silk brought from faraway lands. 

But the Princess' s beauty did not charm only the miller's daughter. Adrian, her best friend, was struck in place as if the most beautiful fairy has appeared right then and there. 

Soon, the Princess was gone just as fast as she came. A few hardy village people hoisted the carriage up, harnessed the horses so the Princess and her cortege faded away, leaving behind a cloud of dust. Eliza and Adrian stayed in place watching the disappearing carriage. They had no idea that meeting the Princess was to change their lives forever. 

And there was something else they didn't know. That someone with a soul darker than the pits of hell was lurking in the dark, watching their every move. Waiting... 

●

 Days, weeks, then months passed by and the encounter with the Princess was slowly becoming a fading memory. Only Adrian could not forget her pretty face. He stopped eating or drinking, and the company of the miller's girl didn't seem so charming anymore. The boy made his mind up to go to the Palace and meet the Princess by any means. 

At that time, the Princess was reaching her marriage age, too. And from all the corners of the earth, high-ranking suitors were arriving. For it was not only her beauty to impress them all. Princess Mara had a gift like no other—she could sing like the birds in the sky, and her voice was so sweet as if coming from another world. They said about her gift it was so soothing, it could heal an ill man in a blink of an eye. Only her mother, the Queen, could not be cured of her sorrow. She has become sad ever since the Princess was born and no one, not even her daughter, could heal her soul. 

As for marriage, the Princess couldn't care less. She was turning down her suitors one by one for various reasons—nose too big, speaking too loud, scratching too much, and must've had lice. Too thin, too fat, eyes crossed, stumbled on the feet. She liked none of them and that was that. And this was because the Princess had one boy on her mind—the forester's son, the boy with green eyes and golden hair who looked her deep in the eyes that bright summer day. 

During all this time, the King didn't know how to relent his daughter to accept one of her suitors. And what he feared most, he couldn't get away from. 

One bleak autumn day with cold rain pouring all over the land, the Dark Prince arrived at the castle. He gained his name because, at the slightest nuisance, he could wage war on anyone who crossed his path. When he walked into the land where our story takes place, he threatened the King he would start a fierce war if he couldn't have the Princess as his wife. So the King, over his daughter's cries and pleads, saw no other way than to promise her to the Dark Prince. He loved his daughter, no doubt about it. But he loved his country more; under his reign, the land knew only peace and prosperity. That very day, he announced that his only daughter was soon to be married, so the whole kingdom was to celebrate.

 Only Adrian didn't get the news with a cheerful heart. Instead, he was struck with such a grievance, that he did not speak for three days in a row. The fourth day, he packed the few things he had in a ragbag and, without listening to his parents' laments or Eliza's plea, he was on his way to the Palace.

 And he walked, day in and day out, without stopping, for the thought of seeing the Princess gave him strength and courage. When he reached the castle, he was taken in as guardsman, since they needed help, now that the whole kingdom was preparing for the biggest celebration those lands have ever known. 

Adrian wasted no time when he met the Princess on one of her morning walks. It was late fall, but a warm sun shone after long days of heavy rains, like the day when they first met. When Adrian approached her, the Princess recognised him at once. And when their eyes met, Adrian and Mara knew their fate was to be together at any cost. 

But what was there to do when there were only a few days left before the Princess had to go to the court of the Dark Prince? To run away was useless. The Dark Prince would have found them no matter where they went. And the whole land would have been plagued by war, while her poor parents would die of grief and loneliness because of losing their only daughter.

 'Oh my, how could anyone wish to be a princess?' Princess Mara whimpered. 'I would gladly give up all the gems and riches and live away from any castle, just so I wouldn't have to go to that far land, to live with that bitter prince. What girl could wish for such a life?' 

That was when Adrian got an idea and whispered it into the Princess's ear in great secrecy. The Princess wiped away her tears. And the sun was shining again in her eyes.