CHAPTER 2

  The carriage ride was bumpier than I expected and I was tossed back and forth in my cramped hiding space. I couldn't hear the conversation too well from my position in the trunk. The blankets inside were stifling but I dared not move them. I needed to think of how I was going to introduce myself before I alerted him to my existence.

  What was I doing here? Yes, I was being bullied at school, but climbing into a trunk and running away from my troubles was more than a little extreme and I knew it.

  But this strange prince wanted me. Besides my mother and dads, it wasn't like anyone else ever wanted me around.

  I was Karina the ignored.

  The carriage rocked me from side to side and my eyelids got heavy. If it wasn't for the bumps in the road, I'd have taken a nap.

  What kind of response would that get me? Some prince opening up his trunk after a long ride and finding a young woman passed out inside of it?