Young Writers discussion

In the kingdom of [kingdom name that I don't know yet], a peasant girl named Araminta is caught stealing to help her family. She is taken to the palace, where she meets Prince Thorne, son of the evil rulers Jayta and Farlon. She sees something about him that makes her wonder if he isn't all bad, and as civil war becomes imminent*, they slowly fall in love.
*=subplot

What can be done to improve the story?

The question would be why would be she sent to the Palace instead of a dungeon (even though the dungeon might be in the Palace, unlikely though) and what are the odds that a common prisoner meets a Prince.

Perhaps the king/queen wanted to talk to her or the prince sneaked into the dungeon maybe because he likes to talk to the prisoners or he wanted to see the new prisoner?