Putting dignity behind him, and sending a wordless apology to his mother who was surely looking on in despair, the Second Prince ran after the fleeing boy. His only thought was to stop the person he had enjoyed talking to so much from flying out of his grasp. The thought of never talking to him again made him sad. He didn’t mind being fooled, since he was sure everything but his appearance and name had been honest. He also didn’t care that he was not a girl. It wasn’t as if he had been searching for a bride. He hadn’t even been looking for a friend, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if he had found one all the same?

He caught up in the entrance chamber, by the now guard-less doors. Grabbing onto his arm to stop him, he spoke calmly and with quiet concern, giving no sign that he had just been sprinting inelegantly down the hallway. “Where are you going? There’s still an hour to go, and there’s no need to leave yet.”

His captive attempted to escape his grip, then said something he only half-heard: “…not much of a fan… seen without my wig…”

Reassured that he wasn’t going to lose him, the prince smiled playfully. “Well, I’ve already seen you without it, and I’m starting to rethink the suit. I think a blue one would do – the colour of your dress, say – or perhaps a green. If I can’t persuade you to dance any more, why don’t we talk for a while? There are plenty of empty rooms in the palace. Or would you prefer the gardens?”

The boy glanced wistfully at the path leading out of the palace grounds, then looked back at Alexis with an expression that was part rueful, part stubborn. “The gardens, then. I’d prefer to see them in the day, but I’m sure they’ll be nice in the dark too.”

Expecting this answer, he had already thought of where to go. He let go of ‘Martha’ and led the way towards the back of the gardens, to one of his favourite spots. It was dim and the colours of the plants had given way to shades of grey, but the boy was so distracted by looking every which way that Alexis had to slow down so he wouldn’t trip again.

They reached their destination, a small pond with wild flowers and cobbled paths around it, sheltered from view of the castle by a line of trees a short way away, and he sat down on the stone bench by the water. With a little prompting, the young man joined him.

“You seem to know your way very well.” He spoke warily, as if testing the waters.

Did he think Alexis was angry at him? Well, perhaps some people would be. He could get straight to the point, and ask the questions he was biting back, but it might be more fun to make him wait a little.

“Well, I do spend rather a lot of time here. And where do you spend your days?”

“Also in a garden, but it’s not quite as fancy as this one. I work as a gardener for a Duke.”

“I see. It makes sense that you like it here then. You’ll have to come back sometime when it’s a little brighter.” His invitation was casual rather than sincere, but now he thought about it, he would enjoy having him visit. “But I’d suggest you don’t bother with the dress next time.”

“Or the wig, I suppose? Who are you to invite me here, anyway? It’s not like us commoners can simply walk through the gates. A ball like this is the only chance any of us get to be here, and only half of us at that.”

“So that’s why you dressed yourself as a girl?” He had hoped to chat for a little longer, but he couldn’t supress his curiosity.

“I just wanted to see a ball. I didn’t even care whether I danced or not, I only wanted to watch. And… also to try the food. Can you blame me for that? All these balls are great fun for the nobility, I’m sure, but I’m not given even one opportunity to attend, so I think it’s completely worth wearing a dress to make myself one.”

“I’m not blaming you at all. You’re quite right, actually, it’s rather unfair on the men in the kingdom. And who knows, perhaps you’re not the only one who snuck in. It’s quite fun to think about that, actually. Although I’m sure it must be hard to do it as successfully as you did.”

The boy smiled despite himself. “I did have help, you know. From a young girl named Madeline who claimed to be my ‘fairy god-sister’. I don’t know if there was any magic to it, but she definitely did a good job.”

“That she did. Still, there’s no need to downplay your own part. You even lied to royalty for this.” The young man’s secret had been outed, so perhaps it was time to reveal what he himself had not said.

“You mean at the gates? I wouldn’t call it lying, exactly. I didn’t lie to you either. I believe I said you could call me Martha, but I never claimed it was my name. Isabelle lied for me, though, calling me her sister. Oh!” He suddenly looked panicked. “She didn’t know, I didn’t tell her I would be here, you see, I didn’t know myself, so she only found out partway through the evening.”

“No need to be so defensive, I won’t scold her for it. In any case, isn’t it time you told me your real name?”

“Markus. With a ‘k’. At least, I can’t write, but my mother always told people it was written with a ‘k’.”

“Well, Markus, would you like to see more of the grounds?”