The Melancholy Princess

"The lowliest damsel can love where she likes, but I have no more freedom than a caged bird. My role is all, and my will is naught." Princess Anne is unhappy at Court, and spurns all suitors. She is about to become a nun, when a midnight encounter proves to have unexpected consequences. (Short story, 6,000 words.)
Excerpt:
The pond seemed to draw her towards it, but at the water's edge, she hesitated, fearing the sharp chill of its black depths. She watched a knobby stick cross the face of the reflected moon, and bethought her that she should turn back.
'Twas then that she heard a sound. She gasped, and would have fled, had the sound not come again. 'Twas a man's cry and 'twas full of pain. Whence did it come? She could not tell. The moon seemed to shine on none but her.
"Where are you?" she called out.
Another cry, but the words could not be heard. She walked towards the voice, calling as she went.
"Stop!" he shouted. "Lest ye fall in yourself!"