Larksong Grotto as the sun sets

Her mouth suddenly felt dry as she stared at him incredulously, wishing she had something witty to say. His eyes were so beautiful, as though she could easily drown in them, and she swallowed dryly when he spoke to her, responding nicely even though she'd just called him names. Seff. She stared a bit longer before realising he'd asked for her name. She considered giving a fake name for a moment, but the silly thought struck her he might be looking for her later and he wouldn't know where to find her then if she gave a name nobody knew.

"Laurel," she said as her breathing started to slow down, the feeling of her lungs burning slowly drifting away. "I'm a princess here." Just in case he didn't realise who he was talking to. Laurel was bursting at the seams needing to talk to someone about how ugly and useless she felt, but she just couldn't tell anyone the truth. What if they'd realise it was true? It was better to pretend to be a beautiful princess, and maybe they would buy her charade.