Please explain why

8-11 years old. I picked 10 because that's the age where you start to grow up, but still have plenty of imagination.

she should be a dreamy type. mature, but still a little less so, with her head in the clouds, in a world of her own.

^^Wow, I wish it was like that where I live- twelve year olds that act their age. The ones near me are too busy getting caught up in the material world and wishing they were sixteen to be in any way mature or dreamers in the Disney princess sense (which means dreaming abot things more important than getting new Uggs or meeting Justin Beiber).

It seems that would be around the time her father died.

I agree with what firegirl1515 said!

Love all of them.

You are going to write about how she's run away!? Aren't you?
If so, she should be as younger as possible. I think she was rather responsible girl, even when she was a child, so I think only her early age could explain her running away. Just IMO. :)

I think so because of what firegirl1515 said.