Rebellious Royal

She steps out onto the balcony,
Boredom written in her face;
She sees her people, she there lady,
Refined and poised and drowning in grace.
The kingdom is all she has ever known,
The castle a prison and joy in the same;
It is her hate and pride, it is her home
Where everyone knows her name.
She thinks of the guards as her safety-
Whatever to get her through the day;
She sees her people, she there lady,
Praying suddenly to be able to stray
Away from the gentlemen and ladies of court, 
Away from the finery at every corner,
Away from the knights and their games of sport-
She prays not a soul shall mourn her
Presence and usher her back inside her home,
Away from the filth and fun of the world;
All she desires is but a chance to roam
Like any other restless girl. 
"How I fear I may never be
Who I want, who I think is me
But who others expect to see-
What if that is all I am to be?"
The princess looks out over the balcony,
A frown upon her face
As she wishes she was not everyone's lady-
Merely a girl draped in manner and lace. 
She thinks of all those below,
All they have suffered and all their pain-
Things she wonders if she will ever know
As she combs out the waves in her auburn mane. 
She remembers the tales of the peasants' horrors,
Stories told by her servants twenty-
Tales of heartache, plague, and war-
And she suddenly feels quite empty. 
The princess knows best how to make gems shine,
Which men to accept for any dance,
In what order one is to dine,
And to always carry favors for a grand knight's lance-  
Yet what paltry things she had learned 
In all her years as their lady!
On her slippered heels she turns
Away from the depression of her balcony;
Through the door and out her chambers,
Down the steps with all her speed-
Not a soul had dared to shame her
But the princess, the lady she. 
All could watch her hasty descent,
None the wiser she was to be free;
She rode after the night's silver crescent
On the back of a midnight steed
Until morning came and day returned,
Princess breathless in what she had done.
"You must turn back!" the sunlight warned,
Princess laughing as she cursed the foolish sun.
"All may know that this was the day
The kingdom's princess wished no more,
This night a bed of heather where she lay,
This the day their princess soared!
Tell the ground and tell the sea,
Tell the birds and tell the roe,
Tell the blossoms and tell the trees
Not a soul shall again know where this princess goes."