Some people are born with a silver spoon in their mouth.
Princess Lara Swordthain's was solid gold.
But the life of the unlucky 13th in line for the British throne was never going to be simple, or easy.
She grew up with doting parents, in a huge manor house in the countryside, surrounding by ponies, corgi's and servants. She went to a girls only school in Switzerland where she was given the best education, but flown back every weekend on a private jet to spend time with her mummy and daddy. She developed an annoying habit of saying "Yah", instead of "Yes". It seemed Lara would be the belle of the upper class society and grow up just as her parents expected. And if anyone ever ran riot in Windsor Castle with a machine gun, she might even become Queen.
Those were everyones hopes, and Lara seemed like she would fulfill every single one of them.
But every fairy tale needs its evil queen.
And Aunty B was as evil as they come.
Her father's sister was a cruel, wicked, cold woman who was jealous of her niece from the very beginning. Lara's poise, intelligence, beauty, sheer cuteness and massive inheritance irked Aunt B from the beginning. Around Lara's parents B was gracious, accomodating, and friendly. But when they were alone, she would taunt Lara about her hair, or her growing boobs, or anything she could find to poke fun at the young Princess.
When her parents died in a plane crash over the Brazillian jungle, the situation became perilous.
Lara, of course, inherited the lot. Billions and billions of pounds, dollars, and massive slabs of gold. Overnight, she became the world's most eligible young woman (at the age of 15), she had a personal income of hundreds of thousands up until she hit 21, when she would have full control over it all.
Except Aunty B had other plans.
Given full guardianship of her niece, B pulled Lara out of the fancy swiss school and "home schooled" her. This schooling consisted of cleaning, washing, cooking, ironing, making B's gin and tonics, and generally being a modern day Cinderella. Aunt B would mock her and berate her constantly, beat Lara with her walking stick, and lock the girl away in the attic for weeks at a team.
The worst came when Lara turned 16. Aunty B threw a "coming out" party to celebrate her nieces debut and to introduce Lara to society. It also turned out to be an engagement party, where B announced to all the royals and aristocracy that Lara would be wed to B's son, Horace. Horace, a dimwitted harelipped thirty-five year old seemed delighted by the idea, and leered at Lara in a way that gave the young girl the creeps. She felt physically sick, and fled for her room.
Wasting no time, Lara packed up a rucksack with some basics, and raided the safe in her room which held enough money to last most people a lifetime. And then she fled into the pouring rain, still in her Vera Wang dress and high heels.
She managed to flee to france first, and then around Europe, and then the world. She gained an appreciation for history, a fantastic suntan, and a knack for quick escapes. People began following the tales of her adventures on Twitter, her posts having imaginative titles like "A TYRANNOSAURUS IS JAWING AT MY HEAD" or "LIONS DON'T EAT PEOPLE, CANNIBALS DO!." She gained thousands of followers, and even inspired a video game franchise, though her stories were always more fiction than fact.
Aunty B paid for adverts in papers, TV appeals, and Private Investigators to track Lara down. If Lara slipped away and wasn't found before she was 21, B would lose a fortune. If she could force Lara into marriage, she would have everything.
When conventional methods didn't work, B got creative. She hired a team of bounty hunters to trace and follow her niece. Private Eyes around the world were being paid to look for the girl. They all had orders to bring her back with force. Lara began to see shadows chasing her around every corner, her vivid and often overactive imagination making the situation worse.
Lara found she wasn't safe anywhere, so she's fled to the one place where no-one is safe.
Hathian, the murder capital of the world.
At least here, she figures, everyone really IS out to get you...