[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-116159-en":3,"doc-seo-116159-105":30,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":92},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":11,"is_downloadable":11,"audit_status":11,"page_count":21,"language":22,"language_code":23,"site_id":24,"html_lang":23,"table_of_contents":25,"faqs":26,"seo_title":27,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":28,"read_time":29},116159,549768064622,"Anda","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8",1,"Story & Novel","A Witch’s Guide to Love and Deception - Chapter 1","A Witch’s Guide to Love and Deception opens with Princess Sonya of Fairendelle making a desperate choice: she cuts off her iconic dark hair to help conceal her identity as she runs away from the castle. In secret, she hides the evidence in the rain-soaked night, disguises herself in a maid’s uniform, and gathers only minimal provisions and coins. As she approaches the guarded gates, Sonya relies on disguise and careful restraint to pass unnoticed, setting a tense escape into motion while grief and resolve collide.","ALSO BY AAMNA QURESHI  \nYoung Adult: The Lady or the Lion The Man or the Monster When a Brown Girl Flees My Big, Fat, Desi Wedding A Witch’s Guide to Love and Poison  \nAdult:  \nIf ILoved You Less The Baby Dragon Cafe  \nThe Baby Dragon Bakery The Baby Dragon Bookshop  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \n[www.hachettechildrens.co.uk](www.hachettechildrens.co.uk)  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nFor Hamnah, if no one else got me, I know you got me  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nContents  \nAlso by Aamna Qureshi  \nTitle Page  \nDedication  \nChapter 1  \nChapter 2  \nChapter 3  \nChapter 4  \nChapter 5  \nChapter 6  \nChapter 7  \nChapter 8  \nChapter 9  \nChapter 10  \nChapter 11  \nChapter 12  \nChapter 13  \nChapter 14  \nChapter 15  \nChapter 16  \nChapter 17  \nChapter 18  \nChapter 19  \nChapter 20  \nChapter 21  \nChapter 22  \nChapter 23  \nChapter 24  \nChapter 25  \nChapter 26  \nChapter 27  \nChapter 28  \nChapter 29  \nChapter 30  \nEpilogue  \nAcknowledgments  \nAbout the Author  \nCopyright  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \n1  \nSonya Tahir, Her Royal Highness, the Princess of Fairendelle, stood in a  \ndark corner outside the castle’s walls and chopped off her hair. The scissors were much more practical than the small dagger she had in her bag. With its carved marble hilt and the miserably blunt blade, the dagger was more decorative than anything else. Her father, King Roshan, worried she’d nick herself on it and so he ensured the blade always remained dulled.  \n‘Why not teach me how to use it instead?’ Sonya had once asked, not out of insolence, but out of genuine curiosity. It seemed the more practical route.  \nThe king had huffed and puffed. He was a tall and stout man with ruddy cheeks and a thick mustache, the black hair of which had long turned gray.  \n‘You are far too delicate, meri bachi,’ he had replied. My little girl. He then gave a glance to Sonya’s three elder brothers, and they’d all nodded in agreement.  \n‘Quite right, Baba, quite right,’ they had responded in a unified chorus.  \nPerhaps her father was right, and Sonya was far too delicate. As she cutoff her dark hair, her arm muscles ached. With a sigh, she dropped her hand, resting for a moment before returning to her hacking.  \nSonya was famed for the black tresses that fell to her waist, thick and long, which was precisely why they needed to go. She continued chopping, listening to the sound of the shears moving. She knew the cut was uneven, but she had no care for vanity and needed to be quick.  \nMoonlight shone from above, dimmed by the cloudy sky. Light rain fell from the clouds, picking up in intensity. Good, Sonya told herself, even as she got wet. The rain will cover my tracks.  \nSonya finished cutting her hair and watched as strands drifted in the wind. The sight of the hair in her clenched fist made a sob rise in her throat. In all the portraits of the mother she’d never met, the late Queen Zoya’s hair was long and dark like Sonya’s.  \nHer hair had been long her entire life, sixteen years. Even as a child, her  \nbraid fell down her back.  \nNow, with the hair cut above her shoulders, her head felt so much lighter but the black locks were heavy in her hands. Sonya looked around, searching for a spot to hide them. She was at the lowest level of the towering castle, in a quiet corner outside the staff accommodation.  \nThe rain came down more quickly, and Sonya dashed over to the bushes. She kicked aside some dirt and went to her knees, burying the hair deep in the ground, where it wouldn’t be found. She scrambled to cover the hair with more dirt and saw, with disdain, that some of it had got on her dress.  \nShe was wearing a maid’s uniform. It was much simpler than anything she had ever worn; it felt strange not to have the fabric of a floor-length gown swishing around her feet. This dress fell down to her calves and was made of a basic linen. The corset laced in the front for practicality, and she wore an apron on top.  \nAt least the tailoring was well done. She coul","cbCaivgv0GPst2Hj","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaivgv0GPst2Hj","pdf",4052916,9,234,"English","en",105,"# Chapter 1\n## Princess Sonya’s Escape Plan\n## Cutting and Hiding the Hair\n## Disguise as a Maid\n## Passing the Castle Gates","[{\"question\":\"Why does Princess Sonya cut off her hair?\",\"answer\":\"She needs to remove her distinctive black tresses so she can conceal her identity while escaping the castle.\"},{\"question\":\"How does Sonya hide the hair after cutting it?\",\"answer\":\"She buries the strands in the ground in the bushes, covers them with more dirt, and makes sure they won’t be found.\"},{\"question\":\"What helps Sonya pass the soldiers at the castle gates?\",\"answer\":\"She wears a maid’s uniform, dirties her face and hair, keeps her gaze down, and walks naturally so the guards assume she is just a simple maid.\"}]","A Witch’s Guide to Love and Deception - Chapter 1 | PDF",1785656534,360,{"code":4,"msg":31,"data":32},"ok",{"site_id":24,"language":23,"slug":33,"title":13,"keywords":34,"description":14,"schema_data":35,"social_meta":87,"head_meta":89,"extra_data":91,"updated_unix":28},"a-witchs-guide-to-love-and-deception-chapter-1","",{"@graph":36,"@context":86},[37,54,69],{"@type":38,"itemListElement":39},"BreadcrumbList",[40,44,48,51],{"item":41,"name":42,"@type":43,"position":11},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":45,"name":46,"@type":43,"position":47},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":49,"name":12,"@type":43,"position":50},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/story-novel/",3,{"item":52,"name":13,"@type":43,"position":53},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/a-witchs-guide-to-love-and-deception-chapter-1/116159/",4,{"url":52,"name":13,"@type":55,"author":56,"headline":13,"publisher":58,"fileFormat":61,"inLanguage":23,"description":14,"dateModified":62,"datePublished":63,"encodingFormat":61,"isAccessibleForFree":64,"interactionStatistic":65},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":57},"Person",{"url":41,"name":59,"@type":60},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-08-17","2026-08-02",true,{"@type":66,"interactionType":67,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":68},"ViewAction",{"@type":70,"mainEntity":71},"FAQPage",[72,78,82],{"name":73,"@type":74,"acceptedAnswer":75},"Why does Princess Sonya cut off her hair?","Question",{"text":76,"@type":77},"She needs to remove her distinctive black tresses so she can conceal her identity while escaping the castle.","Answer",{"name":79,"@type":74,"acceptedAnswer":80},"How does Sonya hide the hair after cutting it?",{"text":81,"@type":77},"She buries the strands in the ground in the bushes, covers them with more dirt, and makes sure they won’t be found.",{"name":83,"@type":74,"acceptedAnswer":84},"What helps Sonya pass the soldiers at the castle gates?",{"text":85,"@type":77},"She wears a maid’s uniform, dirties her face and hair, keeps her gaze down, and walks naturally so the guards assume she is just a simple maid.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":52,"og:type":88,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":59,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":90,"canonical":52},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":24},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":93},[94,97,101,105,110,115,120,125,129,132,136],{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":95,"slug":96},90,"story-novel",{"id":47,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":53,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":112,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":114},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":116,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":117,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":119},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":121,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":122,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":124},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":20,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":126,"show_sort_weight":127,"slug":128},"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":130,"show_sort_weight":127,"slug":131},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":133,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":134,"show_sort_weight":133,"slug":135},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":137,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":138,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":139},19,"General","general"]