Disclaimer: I don't own anything for either Pandora Hearts or Beauty and the Beast. They belong respectively to their authors along with the companies Disney and Square Enix. Except for the characters' OOC moments, that can all be blamed on me. I have put some other loosely based Disney quotes in the story, I don't own those either. Let's see if people can find them!

Chapter 21

Older servants, christened the Old Hens, according to Marie, were gushing about the Fall Festival., The recurrent topic of the day was the festival tonight. Everywhere you turned people were discussing one of the following: appropriate outfits to wear, dances commencing, and mountains of food being served. Tonight, there would be a huge bonfire meant to welcome everyone.

Besides the lighting of the bonfire, the dances seemed to be the focal point of tonight's entertainment.

People looked forward to prospective courtships occurring at the bonfire. Servants and commoners would come together through ceremonial dances. This incited excitement for the romantics and thrill-seekers. Tonight, it didn't matter if someone was a commoner, servant, or noble, everyone was an equal.

Right now, the thought of drinking spiced cider and chewing on smoked deer meat was keeping Lacie from keeling over. Why couldn't the evening come faster?

Her peers had offered recommendations for things to try at the festival per her request. The Old Hens mostly mentioned food and games. Lacie was fixated on playing at the pie throwing booth when she heard the rumor Break would be the one receiving a pie to the face- sadly this was debunked.

The younger generation offered some other suggestions but a majority of their statements all revolved around the same topic- looking for a partner for the dance. Everywhere she turned people were looking forward to romantic 'prospects' or whatever fancy term they used to cover up their real intentions. She knew some people honestly wanted to meet someone tonight to start a budding romance.

Others were looking for 'other' things.

Courting and other frivolities were of little interest to Lacie.

While she held some trepidation about attending Lacie couldn't deny the urge of wanting to get out and have fun. Weeks had passed with hardly any change in routine. She needed a night of unwinding or else she risked losing her sanity soon. Polishing tabletops and folding clothes could only entertain the brain for short periods.

Interactions with the prince offered some sources of entertainment. Due to recent developments- treaties and compromises being built or revised, and political meetings with royal houses and commoners alike- the prince hardly had time to spare. Jack was nowhere to be found in his usual hideouts.

Lacie missed the newfound, though odd, friendship they had developed. Discreetly, she would try to catch glimpses of him to check on his well-being. The dark circles under the man's eyes were making him resemble a raccoon lately.

If she was suffering from the monotonous, simple daily routines she had no doubts the prince was caving to exhaustion.

Lacie missed having someone to playfully banter with while rearranging furniture or cleaning. It was hard to concentrate on things outside work when no one was around to entertain you. For the most part, she enjoyed having limited interference in work from other servants pestering her for something.

Apparently, nobody messed with the prince's main servants. They were untouchable. At first, this knowledge would make an individual gloat over their self-importance within the castle hierarchy until loneliness crept in.

With public knowledge of the prince and his advisors' hand-selecting certain people allowed to approach the prince without prior authorization it meant limited interaction with other people. These hallways tended to be quieter than other areas of the castle without the hustle and bustle of keeping the main floors cleaned.

Sometimes it felt as though ghosts frequented these halls more than living humans.

Thankfully, Cheshire helped keep her some of loneliness at bay by writing her letters about life in the village. Change in season meant new progressions were on the way no matter the location. Cheshire reported the new baker- Arthur- was quite the pastry chef. Arthur had a wide-range of new recipes to add to their menu from time spent learning in the castle's kitchen. Cheshire's family was experiencing an upsurge in new clientele that they may need to hire an additional baker to assist him.

Apparently, Arthur was nothing like his sister. Cheshire went into great detail on the man's humble, hardworking nature and his desire to create recipes oriented to the villagers' customs.

Guess great work ethics were the only thing the siblings shared in common.

The Baskerville siblings were vastly different in personality but they shared enough similarities for people to know they were siblings. Honestly, she wondered if either Arthur or Miranda was the adopted one in the Barma family. Those two were as different as the sun and the moon.

Lacie was happy for Cheshire and his family. With the extra funding they could splurge on materialistic things they often mentioned abstractedly. Cheshire and his father could afford new fishing rods and his mother could purchase a pearl necklace.

Cheshire's mother had quite an avid imagination; Lacie had no doubts the woman poured through Lacie's letters after Cheshire was done reading them.

The changing season seemed to be stirring a sense of adventure and yearning in everyone.

In fact, Autumn was working its' magic to bring some charm to the castle grounds.

It was the first Friday in October and the signs of the season were in brilliant display.

Lacie wrapped a wool shawl around her shoulders as she wandered the gardens. Despite a faint chill in the air it was otherwise a beautiful sunny day. She bid other servants good morning during her stroll.

After a week of rigorous of cleaning, Marie agreed to grant Lacie a temporary reprieve. A welcomed blessing because if Lacie had to wipe another spotless surface clean she was going to lose her mind.

Out of professional courtesy, she reached out to the prince's advisors to learn whether he would require her services. She was informed the prince was kept preoccupied with meetings. Jack would not have free time until dusk.

For the first time in forever she would have a day to herself.

What to do, what to do?

The thought of staying indoors made Lacie feel claustrophobic.

Most of her time was split between caring for Oswald or assisting the prince. Since both of these jobs were quite time-consuming, she barely had time to venture outside.

Plus, the terms of her arrangement were still ambiguous on how far she was allowed to travel from the base of the castle. After asking Marie the woman looked dubious and finally settled on, "As long as the castle remains in your line of vision, I think that should suffice, little bird."

Oswald was not held under the same obligations. Then again, getting tortured and having to receive intense medical treatment tended to make the victim's benefactors open-minded on granting their requests.

Luckily for the prince, Oswald wasn't a vindictive person and kept his requests modest. Other people would have demanded gold or torturer's head on a plague. All Oswald wanted was to get healthy.

Although, with Sharon's healing capabilities, Oswald was having a remarkable recovery period. Pretty soon he would have full capability for independent mobility.

Lacie was torn between joy and distress. Each day he improved meant the closer his departure day would arrive. She wanted him to return to his former state as a working man but concern made her doubtful in regards to his safety.

This doubt made her responses overbearing. At one point, when Lacie kept asking him if he needed help, he forbade her from visiting for the rest of the day. Tiny Sharon had to act as a guard outside his door per his request. On the seventh visit of the day, Sharon shook her head on having to reiterate Oswald's words again. "And once more, your brother states 'Tell her to stop fretting over me and get out and enjoy herself.' Lacie, I promise you as a healer, there have been no new developments since your last visit."

And just like that, Lacie was promptly shoved out of the corridor with strict instructions from Sharon. "If I see you prowling these hallways again, I swear before the prince himself I will have you imprisoned for aggravating my patient and myself. I'm going to self-appoint myself in Isla Yura's vacant position, mark my words." The Head Servant turned around to retort, only halting upon seeing Sharon's menacing look as she pointed down the hall.

Lacie left with her tail tucked between her legs.

Thus, here she was, enjoying the smell of spices and freshly planted sod lingering in the air.

The trees were all shades of reds, yellows, and oranges. Children were collecting pinecones in the far distance to use possibly as decorations or put into recipes.

Some of the family units in the castle were out browsing the pumpkin patches. The castle's gardeners had grown some pumpkins to provide to the kitchen staff.

She saw children carving pumpkins in the dining area one afternoon. When an advisor scolded them, she overheard Jack telling them to leave the children be. Supposedly, Jack had a soft spot for children.

The next time she made him seething mad she was seeking out the nearest infant.

Nowadays the kitchen had the aroma of baking pumpkin pies and hearty stew. The food had looked mouthwatering when she passed through earlier to grab an apple to munch on while exploring.

The pleasant atmosphere was bringing up everyone's spirits. Even haughty Miranda had a look of contentment today. The red-eyed woman watched as Miranda's face glowed while turning dough in her hands. For once, she looked…chipper.

Chipper for Miranda meant she wasn't scowling or giving everyone murderous side-eye glances. Miranda even offered a lukewarm greeting seeing Lacie pass through.

Lacie was proud of the restraint she put on not letting her mouth hit the floor.

Shrugging her shoulders, Lacie stuck the apple in her mouth and headed outside.

Gardeners has spent weeks laying down sawdust and wood chips to create pathways between vegetable trails. Different patches of vegetables were spread as far as the eye could see.

Currently, Lacie walked between rows of radishes and onions. There was a mixture of smells in the air between the essence of sod and earthy vegetables. Taking another bite of her apple she enjoyed the cheerful energy surrounding the castle.

Far off in the distant she could see servants hauling bags of wheat onto a cart to deliver to the nearby villages. The Autumn season was still in the early stages but people were already preparing for the cold front closing in throughout the next few months. At least the castle and villages would be prepared for winter.

She couldn't deny finding it strange that a small village was hosting such a grand occasion. The castle was barely ten miles away. When she voiced these thoughts out-loud to her peers, the older servants rebuked her for asking foolish questions.

"Why host a party in this gloomy place?" an elderly woman snipped, pulling the remaining carrots out of the ground. The woman pointed the carrot tips at Lacie in a lame threatening posture. The younger woman bit her lip to keep from snorting. "The goal of the festival is to create an opportunity for commoners and servants to socialize. People outside these cursed walls have trepidations on his lordship's standpoints on the welfare of common folk. Nobody knows what to make of the prince and they refuse to investigate for fear of repercussion. It's safer to gossip outside the walls, they consider neutral grounds, than to be overheard on the prince's turf."

Wasn't this the case for every ruler long past? Citizens questioning their ruler's motives until the day the monarch died? How could one tiny festival play a major factor in the grand scheme of things?

"Does it honestly matter?" Lacie innocently asked. "When it comes to the crown there will always be someone questioning the agenda of their lordship. I see no reason for the lord to worry about such trivial things."

In reality, the prince showed indifference about the public's opinion of him. She chose to keep this information to herself as a courtesy to the shaky alliance they had created.

The woman leaned back to stare at Lacie like the peasant girl was the daftest person she had ever encountered. The woman tilted her straw hat back, "Definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed, are you?"

Crossing her arms to hide her clenched fists, Lacie internally mustered any will power she possessed to not snap at the woman. Channeling Oswald's patience, along with lessons engraved in her to respect her elders, she sucked in her cheeks and fought off the urge to argue. This much she could manage.

One of the few positive traits Lacie proudly possessed was her politeness to the older generation no matter how bad their cantankerous attitudes. Such as the attitude of this old woman.

Too bad the woman was grating the last strain of Lacie's tolerance.

An older man working beside the woman had sweat pouring down his face in rivulets. Brushing his soaked bangs back, he paused to take deep inhales through his nose. Lacie offered to help them but the duo gave her a harsh glare and waved her good intentions away. He sat back on his haunches planting his dirt covered hands against his thighs.

After catching his breath, he added his two bits in. "Back in the day, when our current majesty was but a young lad, his parents would occasionally host the Festival on the castle's grounds."

Bearing a lopsided grin, the old man appeared to be reflecting on times long past. "Oh yes, those events were a grand affair. The king and queen would find any method to spend time with their subjects. The two of them had a great love for the commoners and wished to create civil relationships. Sometimes, they would offer tours of the castle as a way to appease their company's apprehension and make them feel at home."

Lacie bit into the apple harshly, the action causing juice to run down her chin in sticky streams. Using the back of her sleeve she wiped the juice off her face. Her company appeared repulsed by the sight. "Why did they stop hosting it?" she asked while shaking out her sleeve.

The furtive glance they shared didn't go unnoticed by Lacie. They kept staring at one another as though they were telepathically communicating. Shifting her focus on work, the older woman chose to speak while pulling out carrots. "After his parents passing the prince closed himself off to the world. You saw it briefly for yourself he became a recluse. It's as though a part of himself died along with his parents. Hence forward, he showed no interest in experiencing life again. No parties, no human interaction, nothing."

There it was again, the nagging sensation there was more to the story than her peers were mentioning. All people discussed was the prince's dynamic personality switch with his parents passing. But there was something else to the story they weren't saying. Grief reared its ugly head differently for each individual. Some turned to destructive coping habits like drowning their sorrows. Others, herself included, underwent the grieving process, gradually accepting the loss. While not uncommon, it was rare to hear about people having such a change in demeanor in response to death.

She found herself questioning the ordeals of their deaths.

What was it about their deaths that seemed to linger inside these walls and the lives of their son and vassals?

Why was everyone afraid to even mention their names?

Without thinking, Lacie started, "How did his parents di-"

The man yelped exaggeratedly, "Would you look at that! My finger got snagged by a rock!"

His female companion looked over dispassionately. "Put pressure on the wound and that'll stop the bleeding."

Lacie almost hung her head in defeat. If her company was willing to commit self-injury to avoid questions then they would use any means necessary to brush her off.

It was beyond frustrating.

All these thoughts brewing inside her mind agitated the young servant. Lifting her head, she focused her gaze to the tallest tower towards the back of the castle. A shadow hung over the tower even in daylight. She could swear the thing was glowering at her. Inside the tower was the prince's bedroom, the room he forbade anyone from entering. One day she hoped to get a peek inside that room. Judging from the prince's enigmatic nature, there was something inside his room he didn't want others discovering.

God, she hoped it wasn't the corpses of his deceased parents... she shuddered. Waving those thoughts away, she focused on the current persona of the prince: a tired, awkward young man exhausted from dealing with people's bullshit piling up.

The prince in this reality was preferable to the nightmarish version her mind had concocted.

Her eyes wandered around the layout of the castle grounds. She rarely had opportunities to view it from this angle. The three towers located in the back, further away from the village, looked lifeless and dull compared to the walls closer to these gardens.

One thing she had noticed touring the grounds were the vines climbing along the castle walls. Someone needed to trim those things down before a passerby decided to climb them for sport.

Or individuals with more nefarious reasons.

Lacie chose to venture into safer topics, she returned to their previous conversation about Jack's lack of people's skills. "Maybe the prince just needs a good lecture on building public relations," she shrugged, asking with a teasing lilt, "think he'll listen to a lowly servant's attempts at counseling?"

The man barked in laughter, even his stern-faced companion showed a hint of a smile. The man's eyes brightened as he humored Lacie. "If the prince listens to you it would be a first. Before the recent battle, the man hardly attended meetings even with encouragement from his most trusted advisors. Be thankful for his majesty's rekindled interest in kingdom affairs or else you would be the one indulging the royals' derision in his place."

The man ran a finger under his nose, "Your predecessor was forced to attend those atrocious meetings. Poor girl was in over her head."

"Miranda?" This sparked Lacie's interest. "Is that right?"

Initially, she was under the impression her leadership role involved attending council meetings alongside the prince. Or that's what the Old Hens told her. Marie later clarified her presence was no longer required with the prince's return. Secretly, Lacie was thankful. She did not possess Miranda's poise or intellect when it came to dealing with emissaries and other royal guests.

The older woman nodded disapprovingly, "You can imagine the rumors circulating on her attendance. Nobles left furious thinking the prince was mocking them."

It sounded as though Miranda's hands were full having to manage Jack's affairs and run a household. Dealing with people ridiculing her and having to serve as a carrier pigeon between the regals sounded taxing. No wonder the woman's interests took a dark turn with a newfound longing for torture.

She would never condone Miranda's actions but learning the woman's history overtime provided Lacie with a better understanding of Miranda's character.

Even with Jack's latest interest in public affairs, some nobles still held the impression he wanted to humiliate them. People just couldn't win in the game of politics.

"Bah, enough talk of trivial things," the man shook his head, "my blisters are keeping me from getting a grip on this stem here." He looked over to his working companion, "Mind helping an old man out, my fair lady?"

The man's hands were a bright shade of red with several cracks on his skin. Those were hands put to daily usage.

Sneaking a glance down, Lacie noted her tanned hands had developed a creamy color. Working indoors tended to bleach people out. Her hands weren't quite as rough as the gardeners but they definitely belonged to a working woman.

When the nobles were visiting, she noticed they hardly had any blemishes on their hands. Not that it was important but it was small details she noticed cleaning their rooms. On another note, the extravagant makeup and creams she found made their appearances unsettling. A clown would be jealous of all the products used to liven their appearances.

A slight frown appeared.

Fanning herself, she shook her head in disbelief. Her interest in stranger's skincare was a definite sign she needed a day off to mingle with friends. The long hours cooped up in the castle were starting to get to her.

With the lady's temperamental nature, Lacie was certain the old woman would brush him off. Instead, the woman showed an uncharacteristic fondness towards her companion. "Why don't you take it easy for a while? If you're not careful those hands of yours are going to be so sore they can't hold an old lady's hands for dancing."

The two gazed upon each other with similar looks of adoration. She felt a heart string tugged recalling her parents sharing a similar look.

Lacie left them alone to enjoy one another's company.

Stretching her arms up, she took a moment to appreciate the beauty surrounding her. With her stubborn nature, she would deny, with all her might, this place did have a peculiar beauty if someone were to ask her.

While walking around she hummed to distract people from noticing her snooping in on people's conversations. People would sneak a glance her way while they were discussing somewhat controversial subjects in regards to arrangements 'after' the festival.

Some conversations were more innocent than others.

Innocent conversations involved servants figuring out who to ask to the dance. Bold individuals would toss out names of people less likely to bite their heads off for asking. Lottie's name came up in a majority of these conversations. Two males and a female whispered about a desire for Lottie to frisk them.

Their conversation took a drastic nosedive into risqué from there.

Failing to hide her blush, Lacie hurried away from this group. Secretly, she swore to avoid Lottie until that particular conversation disappeared from memory forever.

Servants turned to look at her strangely when she blanched; scrubbing her face furiously as the thought of Lottie with a rope popped up.

Nope, tonight was definitely a night to spend with friends. Her intentions for attending were innocent compared to those three assholes.

Who could she ask to accompany her?

Lacie crossed one arm over her chest, resting her other elbow against her hand she tapped at her cheek pondering this dilemma.

Maybe Reim?

Out of all the people she interacted with daily he was one of the few, shockingly, that annoyed her the least. Plus, they were friends in a way. Mostly they were drinking buddies enjoying freedom to bitch about their day to someone willing to listen.

Sharon popped up as another possible option until it occurred to her Break might tag along with his wife. She waved that option away. Also, Sharon was the type to introduce Lacie to all eligible bachelors and bachelorettes just to make Lacie uncomfortable.

There wasn't a doubt in her mind Sharon would shove Lacie into someone's face just to get a reaction. If their lips were to accidentally touch would be an even better scenario for Sharon to gossip about the following day.

The last thing on Lacie's mind was pursuing a romance this evening.

The woman paused considering. A relationship was out of the question but she was open to kissing someone if they proved to be a somewhat decent human being. Nobody could blame her for needing physical intimacy. She was young and hadn't flirted with anyone in ages.

It was at that moment she remembered teasing Jack with a small display of her leg. Since she had done that mostly to get under his skin it didn't count. "Right? Right," she nodded her head brusquely.

Marie would harp on her all night about wanting to get back home at a decent time.

Miranda would glower at everyone until they withered away and spend most of the night scowling at Lacie.

Lacie wanted some human interaction with people of similar backgrounds. She was looking forward to communicating with commoners tonight; she missed having a provincial life.

The only possible female companion Lacie could tolerate would be Lottie. The woman had a knack for theatrics and seemed to enjoy getting into trouble which guaranteed a lively evening. Plus, Lottie wasn't the type to refuse festivities.

Covering her smirk, a servant looked at her suspiciously, she considered inviting Lottie just to annoy Reim. Memories of that horrid conversation be damned she wanted to watch the uptight Reim blush like a schoolboy at Lottie's teasing.

Her smirk widened at the scandalous thought of getting those two alone just to see what could happen. But… she didn't want Reim to suffer a stroke from his heart doing somersaults from Lottie's provocative jokes. Poor woman would charm him into an early grave.

The image of Lottie standing over a cowering Reim with a whip appeared with a vengeance.

Lacie tilted her head back to groan. She was getting as bad as Sharon in stirring things up just for the sheer thrill.

Those two would be tolerable options but…

In that particular moment, Lacie's mind wandered to Jack randomly.

The woman felt ashamed of not considering him sooner. The poor man needed a break as bad as she did which pegged the question- Was the prince even allowed to attend?

The old man and woman stated the prince used to attend these things meaning he was expected to make an appearance, right? She would make a pitstop to his chambers later seeking an audience to ask him.

Getting out for fresh air would do wonders for them both.

The sounds of thuds broke her reverie. A group of men were tossing provisions into a storage room. From her angle she could see the bags of food reached the ceiling in clumpy piles.

A thief would have their work cut out for them trying to steal one of these bags. One bag required five men to lift it.

Wiping tables was preferable compared to their jobs of loading and unloading these things. God, she never felt happier to serve as a cleaner.

The sounds of hooves galloping in the background seemed to be growing closer. A rider shouted for her to move right as she turned her head to see a herd of horses coming at her. She scrambled to the side to get out of their way. A white horse leading the group.

Lacie looked up to see a pop of pink hair on the rider as a feminine voice barked out, "Good ride today folks! Be back before dusk for a final run through! If the coast is clear then you're all free for the night!"

The riders gathered around Lottie listening to her speech. Upon hearing they possibly had a free night a chorus of cheers followed with people throwing their fists in the air. Lottie yelled in a tone commanding obedience, "Everybody move out!"

For such a small woman Lottie had a charisma about her alerting newcomers into realizing who was the boss.

Definitely a dominant woman…

"Shut up voice," Lacie thought. She was going to curse the lewd trio with hexes before falling asleep.

Lottie leaned over, crossing her arms to rest against Leo's neck as she rubbed his sides affectionately. Her pink eyes were trained on her men's departing figures. Once they were out of sight, she tousled Leo's mane and sat back to stare down at Lacie. A glint of mischief brightened in those eyes, "Attempting to sneak off, troublemaker?"

Oh, if only it were that easy.

"Of course! Just as I was plotting to sneak off into the night you caught me in the act. Curses to your outstanding investigating skills," Lacie clapped her hands sardonically earning a chuckle from Lottie. Rolling her eyes, Lacie shrugged, "Surprisingly no, just scoping around to see if this shindig is living up to everyone's expectations. Would it be worth my while to attend?"

Lottie shrugged, lifting her hair to wipe sweat off her neck, "Only if you enjoy having fun."

Neither of the women had gotten a chance to interact much with the forest guard's busy schedule. Lacie wanted to amend this travesty. The red-eyed woman could use the company of someone known as a rule-breaker. Also, she wanted to see if Reim's drunken tirades of Lottie being a hellion were true.

Dying to escape her bubble of stagnancy, Lacie considered Lottie her hero saving her from boredom.

"Sounds good enough for me," grinned Lacie. She began walking off but paused to question, "Think you'll be attending? It would be nice to see a friendly face."

Please say yes, please say yes.

Suddenly, the thought of being surrounded by strangers seemed rather gloomy. One way or another she was coercing somebody into going with her.

Lottie shrugged donning a strange smile, "Perhaps, perhaps not. Only fate can dictate that choice."

The stunned Head Servant blinked in response to the woman's uncharacteristic proverb. What does that even mean? Lacie suspected she wouldn't get a better answer than that. Waving bye, she decided to pay one final visit to Oswald to see if he would like her to bring anything back. The man was going to throw a tray at her for stopping by again but she had noble intentions.

Plus, she would manhandle Sharon into morphing into something to throw back in retaliation.

"Let's see who wins this battle, brother," she whispered out-loud.

Once she was done with the visit, she could change into something more appropriate for tonight. Then it was time to seek out the prince. Maybe he could accompany her and Reim?

She hadn't really asked Reim if he was open to joining her but he was easily intimidated so he was coming with her one way or another.

Could she coerce Jack, too?

There was only one way to find out.

A thought popped up in her mind, one nagging her for examination. The prince couldn't walk out the front door without causing a commotion. They needed to find a way out without anyone realizing it was him...

Her head shot up.

Maybe she could break a few rules herself without getting caught.

Lacie stopped walking to stand tautly as she took a deep breath in. Her lungs inflated in response. Closing her eyes, she thought to herself, "Here goes nothing."

"Hey Lottie!"

The pink-haired woman turned to look over her shoulder with curiosity. Lottie's face appeared inquisitive, maybe she would cooperate! However, her frown was throwing Lacie off.

She had to tread carefully.

Her mind was running rampant with images of prisons. The images alone made her hands feel clammy. The thought of those hands being place in handcuffs nearly sent the woman booking it back to the castle to forget about escaping reality tonight. Lacie wiggled her fingers to get the blood circulation flowing.

Should Lottie show any hint of tattle telling Lacie would play it off as a prank. Lacie pretended in her head, "Oh, you know, I love to tell fibs! Right Lottie?"

Yes, like anyone would believe the woman sweating buckets right now.

Faking a relaxed grin, Lacie inquired, "How would you like to assist a fellow troublemaker get into some trouble?" Shrugging her shoulders, she added, "Actually, we would only get in trouble if we're caught?"

The forest guard's glare turned impish. "Depends on what type of trouble we're talking?"

Bingo, she had her.

"The kind earning a lecture and a night in the dungeons!"

The statement alone earned her Lottie's undivided attention. Those imp-like eyes glued onto Lacie's phony angelic orbs with absolute intrigue. Lottie turned her horse around to trot up to Lacie. "Despite my feminine wiles telling me I'll live to regret my decision count me in. Spill, what are you planning?"

Both women shared equal looks of thrill.

Dusk would soon be on the horizon and with it were promises of adventure. Something told her tonight would be one to remember.

She hoped the evening provided everyone with pleasant memories. With these thoughts in mind, the two women started orchestrating a pretend kidnapping.

Three hours later

Her logic proved correct, with a few unsubtle threats, Reim could be coerced without breaking a sweat. All it required was the simple threat of informing Break about his subordinate's genuine thoughts regarding his boss's leadership style. Some would say her methods were petty.

However, her counterargument would validate her pettiness. Reim started the whole ordeal by claiming he would tell the prince she had neglected alphabetizing his incoming letters this past week.

The two exchanged heated barbs until Reim finally broke by the mere mention of Break's name.

Reim's horrified expression was a testament to Break's willpower.

A disgruntled Reim grudgingly agreed to skip laundry night.

Heaven forbid he forget to wash the stains out of his thirty-two pairs of slacks. Though Reim did not have the annoying habit of asking for his clothes to be washed two or three times to make certain they weren't stiff. Jack could be a real pain.

Nitpicky men seemed to be a commonalty here.

She paused by a window to watch servants strolling down the cobblestone path to the village.

The people were leaving in throngs.

Due to the sun's descent shadows were crawling towards the castle from the tree-line. Lacie looked down at a sundial in a corner of the gardens. According to the angle of the shadow, there was some wiggle room, regarding time, to come up with an offer the prince flat-out couldn't refuse.

Should negotiating fail to persuade him it was time to resort to physical methods.

First, Lottie could tie him up… actually, Reim could do it.

She frowned. There wasn't a doubt in her mind with the messenger's neurotic nature he was more likely to tie himself up out of shame.

Scratch that, nobody would be tying up anyone.

Lacie's gaze sharpened as she considered the forest, humming quietly. Hmm, something in her gut told her the forest could play a substantial role in her strategies.

Pieces of her plan were falling into place. Her plan was divided into two separate portions: naughty versus sophisticated.

The naughty portion involved: securing Reim, through his ignorance, and Lottie, who knowingly agreed, into coercing the prince to join them for a night of entertainment.

Poor Reim was going to have a seizure upon learning part of his agreement for attending was essentially kidnapping a royal. Lots of liquor would be consumed within weeks to come.

The sophisticated portion included details such as: convincing Oswald to provide her a list of things he wanted from the festival.

That was pretty much the end of her reputable intentions in the comprehensive plan. To give herself some 'virtuous' credit, she needed one good deed incorporated within the list of misdeeds. This made her feel less guilt-ridden about some of the questionable approaches the trio would have to rely on to get the job done.

The only task left was figuring out a way to encourage Jack into joining them. If that failed, she would fall back to exploiting her choking skills.

After learning more about his personal history from the Old Hens she felt compelled to help her friend have a break from royal obligations and spending time alone. One way or another the man was coming with her tonight if she had to bound and gag him.

Lacie had chosen to wear leggings and brown boots under a loose-fitted green dress. She didn't want to stick out in the crowd and the leggings would make it easier to ride a horse. Initially, she opted to wear wool pants and a blouse belonging to one of the stable boys. She even snatched a hat to hide her long raven locks under, pretending to be a male.

Lottie took one look at Lacie and said the outfit made her breasts noticeable and failed to obscure her femininity. With her new life in the castle, she managed to have a balanced diet and thus had started gaining weight. Every pound gained helped fill out her feminine features.

Thus, masquerading as a young teenage boy was proving difficult nowadays.

Ultra-feminine Sharon kept trying to work her magic on transforming the tomboyish Lacie into a princess.

Out of boredom, Sharon kept trying to "doll her up" whenever Lacie came to visit Oswald, much to Lacie's chagrin. Oswald's eyes bugged out of his sockets seeing Lacie wearing cosmetics. On rare occasions, Marie would get involved with Sharon's theatrics. The women claimed they couldn't help themselves since Lacie was the new girl and needed grooming.

Supposedly, they picked a random victim -woman- periodically to dote on. This included for the others: applying cosmetics and picking a variety of gowns for the victims to flaunt.

They managed to ambush Lacie at least three times.

Discreetly, she wished they would have ambushed her today. An alteration to her appearance could have come in handy if people recognized Jack.

Alas, she cursed her unusual eye coloring for making it difficult to blend in with the crowd. No matter the effort exhibited to keep her identity disguised, her red eyes would garner people's attention.

She would have to avoid frequent eye contact to not draw attention to them.

Speaking of avoiding attention, the young woman nodded at some servants while hastening through the hallways holding onto two cloaks and a hat against her chest like a baby. A few people questioned why she was in a rush and she jokingly claimed to be running behind on errands. Thankfully, people were hardly concerned about a busybody slacking off on duties trying to play catch up.

People would give her a passing glance and then continue on their way indifferently.

Without a doubt, Lacie could do cartwheels in the hall and people would find it troublesome but could hardly care less. This was why she loved public outings, people stopped concerning themselves about other people's business and focused on having fun.

She had managed to camouflage the garments into appearing as rags to throw off suspicion. Luckily, everyone was preoccupied with gossiping.

The trickier part of the plan was edging closer with every step she took. Imagination would prove useful here in crafting a believable story on why she needed to meet up with the prince in order to get past his guards. If she was lucky, the knights would grant her permission to meet with the prince without asking questions. Once Jack made an appearance, she would encourage him to sneak into a room with her to explain her plan.

If Lady Luck failed her then she would have to discover a way to slip into Jack's chambers and pray he would forgive her for intruding in his established territory. The man protected his room in a manner similar to a tiger guarding its' domain. Cross into the prince's domain and expect your head to be chewed off.

Although, an old castle like this should have secret passages. Surely, there were other ways to get into his room. Lacie couldn't get in too much trouble for using a passage already connected to his room? He never clarified whether secret entrances counted, all he mentioned was the main entrance. Therefore, it was fair game!

Even she cringed from the faulty logic.

Fables she read in childhood cited there were always secret passages or portals magically appearing to help the hero in these types of situations. Surely, a pathway would miraculously reveal itself in her time of need, right?

Focus Lacie!

Hiding behind a pillar, she chanced a glimpse to count the number of knights. There were only two posted outside his tower tonight. She almost wept in gratitude.

Should she pretend to be here for professional reasons or try to flirt one of the knights into listening to her?

The sun was continuing its' descent. Hints of royal blue were starting to appear in the sky.

Memory helped her recall times she dropped by at an unreasonable hour because he left some important document in his office. Maybe she could play that trick? Her spine went taut when an ingenious plan formed in her head. Lacie looked down at the bundle and silently thanked Jack for his occasional spaciness.

The woman jumped a foot in the air when she overheard the man of the hour's voice coming down the hall. Lacie bit the inside of her cheek to reclaim attention away from her racing heart. Tilting her head slightly, she peered over to watch as Jack instructed his subordinates shadowing him to retire for the evening. The knights argued stating it would be a foolhardy decision to leave him unattended but he briskly dismissed their disputes stating he wanted time alone to finish up some work.

The tone of his voice brokered no argument. Both knights ceased their admonishments simultaneously.

The man's solitary nature and obstinacy was much appreciated in this timeframe. She couldn't blame the evident frustration in his voice. Here he was king of the castle and his knights were treating him an insubordinate child.

Youth was not always a blessing. And having to rule an entire kingdom while others his age were out frolicking and enjoying their youth? Even she admitted she would grow resentful overtime if placed in a similar situation.

The knights bowed and left without another word. She could hear them murmuring about feeling tentative on whether this was a good idea.

As they moved closer, Lacie tucked herself into a small groove between the pillar and the wall. Hopefully, they wouldn't notice her. Please, please don't look over. Luckily, they seemed too preoccupied with their discussion to notice a young woman awkwardly hugging the pillar.

"We'll tell one of the boys to check in on him later, that'll save both of our hides from an ass-chewing later."

"Whatever, if his majesty throws a fit for doing our jobs then it's his own damn fault if a turncoat guts him."

"Shhh! Somebody will overhear you!"

"Who? A mouse? Nobody is here moron."

Her hands were starting to ache from the way she was bending her back while spooning the pillar to make herself appear smaller. The wall and her were becoming very intimate this evening.

If the moronic knights kept moving at a snails' pace she was going to lose her mind.

Placing a fist against her mouth she fought off the urge to reassure them the prince would be fine. He would have the leader of the forest guard, a nervous messenger that could give people anxiety attacks, and a crazy head servant, with a knack for stabbing people, accompanying him. He would be the safest man in the village tonight!

She excitedly bobbed in place.

Once their footsteps retreated down the hallway, Lacie straightened herself up, tried to appear nonchalant, and walked towards the tower.

One of the knights stopped her asking why she was here at this time of night. Lacie gave a semi-believable scoff. Rolling her eyes, she sighed, "The prince caught me shirking my duties earlier, so here I am, trying to make amends. I was given strict instructions to tidy up the room before I could head to the festival." She gestured towards the bundle with her chin. "Plus, he forgot his laundry again."

The knights chuckled.

One of them, an older sounding male with a baritone voice, informed her, "We'll let you pass this time, just be quick about it. We have a changing of the guard here shortly and I'm not letting those guys suffer listening to you have a screaming match with his lordship. Got it?"

The prince and head servant were renowned for their sporadic heated exchanges. The knights looked crestfallen whenever she stormed out of the room for reasons unknown until recently. A knight off duty informed her the prince would shuffle his paperwork, once she left, in an aggressive manner that sounded like he was chopping the desk into pieces.

Each pounding of a stack of papers felt like a nail being rammed in their skulls.

Knights' amusement for the shouting matches pended on the volumes reached by the combatants. If the shouts were loud and piercing, they were aggravating; if the shouts came in hisses through clenched teeth it was amusing. Thanks to both of the parties' olive branch, the time they spent together involved less altercations, but there was an occasional brawl just to vent frustrations.

Definitely some strange coping mechanisms they developed in their time together.

Lacie smiled and spoke in a syrupy sweet voice, "I'll try my best."

Asshole.

With their expectations voiced, they waved her off. The knights were blatantly vocal regarding their frustration of monitoring an empty hall; their whispering voices weren't discreet despite popular belief. Their main priority was getting back to their rooms to remove the clunky armor and put on civilian clothing.

Obviously, their attention was directed elsewhere instead of one measly working woman.

Perfect.

Brushing a stray hair out of her face, Lacie knocked on the door. She kept stealing glances out of the corner of her eye to observe the knights' movements. The younger sounding knight with a weaselly voice leaned against the doorframe groaning. The older knight made a halfhearted jab at his young accomplice to straighten up.

A loud clank sounded when the older knight smacked his accomplice for a rude gesture.

The sounds of a chair scraping against the stone flooring alerted the woman her company would soon make an appearance. A disheveled Jack opened the door, his clothing looked in disarray and his hair was poking out at odd angles. She suspected the man was trying to yank his hair out in frustration again. A bad habit of his.

One time she joked about feeling sorry for interrupting the prince during his paid hour with a prostitute judging from his messy appearance. He ordered her to leave promptly.

His eyes lit up with confused recognition. Frowning, he asked uncertainly, "Good evening, Lacie, is something the matter? At this hour, I thought you would be off gallivanting at the festival? Do you need something?"

The man was speaking with pleasantries in a mannerism similar to an older gentleman, another bad habit of his when he was nervous. Courage lit up in her belly. Maybe she wouldn't have to spend time pleading with him since the man was already unnerved.

Nervous individuals were usually the ones most easily persuaded into cooperation.

Whatever god or entity of fortune was smiling down on her tonight was receiving all the praise in the world.

Sensing their prince was within eyesight the knights jumped to attention pretending they were the peak of professionalism. A whole bunch of bullshit. One of the "esteemed" knights had been banging his head against the wall repeatedly before Jack opened the door.

Half the time she suspected these people had learned to sleep while standing. There were a few times she heard snoring while dropping off the prince's belongings.

Great, now she had to channel her best acting abilities to keep the knights from growing suspicious.

Somewhere in the castle Oswald was probably having a shiver run down his spine. The woman's acting abilities fell short unless sarcasm was involved. Lacie was already failing spectacularly to make an impression of a modest, working woman as she stood here eerily smiling at Jack while trying to come up with an introduction.

Time to wing it.

Embarrassment nearly sent her scrambling away when Jack looked at the petite woman with absolute horror as she was failing- spectacularly- to make a cute laugh. Actually, it sounded like noises emitted by a creature living in a swamp.

If a shield was nearby Jack would be using the thing to defend himself. She couldn't blame him for responding in "fight or flight" mode with her animalistic, maniacal laughter.

Unbeknownst to her Oswald was shivering in his bed; he asked Sharon for extra blankets.

Even the knights, with visors obscuring their faces, appeared to have looks of horror. The older one was gripping his sword handle.

Subtle Lacie, really subtle.

At this rate, she was going to wind up in an asylum.

Jack was in the process of closing the door, claiming he had business to attend, as she stuck her foot in the door to stall him. His look of concern turned to bafflement.

Poor man was experiencing a range of emotions today.

Just as he opened his mouth to say something, she jumped in to silence him. Continuing with her maniacal laugh, she stated, "Behold! I am here to make amends for shirking my duties per your request! I'll get this room nice and tidy so I can gallivant!"

The woman saluted him with her most serious expression. The prince opened his mouth to stare at her with absolute bewilderment. Yes, she was the epitome of inconspicuousness.

The prince leaned back to look around the room with scrutiny. Every inch of the place sparkled and shine. "I think you're fine, Lac~omph!"

The head servant darted a glance to the side to find the "attentive" knights being sidetracked by a bug flying in the air. With no time to waste, she shoved the clothing in his face, yelling, "Here's your laundry, my lord! Now, without further ado, I'll clean the room to get out of your hair pronto!"

Giving the prince a gentle push, he stumbled back into the room and she was quick to follow. Jack spluttered as he struggled to remove the cloaks off his face. Sheepishly, she bit her lip to keep from wincing. She may have been too rough in her attempts to silence him.

After a valiant struggle, Jack yanked the cloaks off his head gasping for air. His hair was a tangled mess and his face was a dark shade of cherry red. The look of annoyance on his face was too much to handle, she couldn't choke back her laughter.

The look on his face turned murderous making Lacie laugh harder. She tried to sober up, honestly.

Only she would be idiotic enough to laugh in the face of her possible murderer.

Crossing his arms, with all the flyaway hair, Jack tried to look menacing. "Have we regressed to our old habits, Lacie? Weren't we pass the stage of you trying to clobber me?"

Brushing tears out of her eyes, she made a dismissive gesture, "Oh, lighten up. Honestly, I'm here to help you, despite my actions proving otherwise."

He cocked an eyebrow. "How is asphyxiation going to help me in any way?

"Come on, get off that trivial stuff," she ignored the darts shooting out of his eyes, leaning her ear against the door she listened to the older knight telling a story about the time he killed a boar with a bow and arrow. Offhandedly, she added, "Princeling, you need to lighten up or you'll start growing gray hair fussing over the little things."

Apparently, the knights were trading stories trying to one up the other in manliness.

Let the pissing contest continue if it kept them from bothering to check in on their prince.

With these guys monitoring, Jack was lucky she wasn't here with homicidal intentions because he would be dead twice over.

The knights' argument soon turned heated, Lacie considered them safe from third party interference for the moment. She turned around to find the prince standing only a few centimeters away. His eyes were dark matching his thinned lips.

The shadows weren't helping to make him appear less intimidating.

Instinct told her to practice caution with his close proximity but her mind was in disagreement, instead the fickle thing encouraged her to stand her ground.

Stubbornness and pride determined her decision.

"Why are you here, Lacie?" he asked tiredly. From this angle, she could now see the weariness in his eyes matching his defeated stance. He was trying to look intimidating to conceal his bone-weary appearance. They were past the point for these theatrics.

All this time they spent together had groomed her to being able to call out his bluffs.

Lacie pushed him back gently, which he allowed, ducking under his arm she walked to the desk and dropped the retrieved cloaks down ungracefully. "Why, my dear prince, your humble servant is here to kidnap you for an opportunity of spending the evening free from captivity. Denial is not a wise decision."

At his blank look, she rolled her eyes. "Simply put, I'm here to escort you out of the castle. You're coming with me to the festival whether you like it or not."

Maybe she put it too bluntly but it got the point across nonetheless.

Jack scoffed. "And how, exactly, are we going to do that?"

Her eyes brightened. He didn't say no!

True, he said those words with blatant scorn, but she could handle a little attitude compared to him completely dismissing her.

Waving her hand across the table, as though she was presenting the answer to life, "Behold! The answer to your scrutiny." Picking up one of the cloaks, she held it up to his face for examination. Lacie noticed he tensed for a second but calmed down when she didn't make any moves to fling the thing at his face.

She guessed her earlier antics had given the man some apprehension. After perceiving his lack of enthusiasm, the woman shook the cloak trying to rouse a reaction. "It's a cloak!"

Jack stared at the thing with perplexity. "I can see that it's a cloak, but can you enlighten me on how this is going to help us?"

Placing her hands on her hips, she cheekily announced, "It's meant to cover up your features so people don't recognize you!"

The prince looked at her as though he had never met someone so idiotic in his life. A pregnant silence followed that was finally broken when he stated, "And sneaking through the palace with hoods over our faces is not going to rouse suspicion?"

Lacie balked. In her mind she imagined them moving like assassins in the shadows, leaving behind no traces that they had even been there when people turned to look. Clearly, the prince was not on the same wavelength as her.

Stuttering, she argued, "Not if we move quickly!"

The prince placed a hand over his face in response. Tiredly, he muttered, "Sometimes I think you need a dose of reality with all these childish whims of yours. Can you practice living in the real world for once in your life?"

Jack turned to stare at her scathingly, his tone was cold, "Not everyone lives to indulge your fantasies, Lacie. Why can't you just accept that already?"

She flinched back from the brutality of his words. Now that stung.

His scathing glare did little to lessen the blow. "I…I just thought it-"

"Let me guess, you just assumed I could drop everything?" he scoffed, "Unbelievable. Maybe you should apply for a position of court jester since everything appears to be a joke to you. Every castle has either a jester or a fool- pick whichever one feels appropriate."

This was not how she thought things would transpire. In her mind, she saw the prince jump for joy to venture outside his self-made prison. Reality was a cruel fiend.

Perhaps the prince was speaking the truth. Here she was creating all these elaborate plans because SHE thought he would appreciate the efforts of a friend trying to liberate him. Not once had he mentioned needing rescuing, she just decided this on a whim.

Looks like she found which position fit her- the fool.

Bunching her dress under her fingers, she resisted the urge to break down in tears. This was beyond mortifying. Lacie failed to mask her disappointment, shrugging numbly, "Well, I thought it was a good plan. Maybe I overstepped my boundaries in thinking you would like to sneak out with me to attend the festival. You're always looking down lately, I just wanted to give you an opportunity to catch a break." She was absolutely humiliated. She refused to make eye contact with him.

Mustering up any pride she had left, she picked up the cloaks and hat to head towards the door. While she walked away, Lacie said dully, "I'll make it a priority to spend less time in my fantasy world. Night Jack."

Just as she reached the door to open it, a hand shot out to keep it shut. The hairs on her neck stood up as she felt Jack breathing hard behind her. "Lacie, wait."

Her spine went taut at the breathlessness in his voice. It sounded like the man had just sprinted through a rainstorm.

Her throat felt parched suddenly. She tried to swallow a difficult lump in her throat. Pressing the cloak against her chest snuggly, she failed to mask her trembling fingers. In a voice she hadn't heard him use before he stated gently, "Turn around, please."

Closing her eyes, she tried to resist the urge to break down. It was getting harder to keep the mistiness out of her eyes.

Slowly, she turned around. She kept her face turned down, still feeling embarrassed. Partially out of shyness, too. If the prince saw her red eyes, she wouldn't hesitate jumping in a casket.

Focus your attention elsewhere Lacie commanded herself. With her head hanging down she noticed his boots looked scuffed. This meant he probably went out riding again. The prince's close proximity gave her a chance to smell that strange mixture of forest blended with an unnamed musk. Maybe this was his natural scent? She never saw him leave the castle so how could he smell like Oaktree sap and pine needles?

She could feel his eyes blazing on her. Shamefully, she realized she couldn't dawdle forever. "Don't cry, whatever you do, don't cry," she instructed herself nonverbally.

Lifting her eyes, she was surprised to find a look of remorse in those catlike green eyes. His eyes reminded her of emerald necklaces the opulent women wore back in the village. Not that it mattered.

His face was slightly flushed- apparently, he had dashed over- and his breathing was erratic. He opened then closed his mouth seemingly at a loss for words.

Her cheeks warmed.

She kept quiet while he stewed over what to say. Just as she reconsidered leaving, he lifted the hand dangling by his side to rest it on the other side of her head. She pressed her back fully against the door trying to put some distance between them. Seemed like a lifetime ago when they were in this exact same position. Apparently, they both had a need to test the other's boundaries whenever they wanted to get a point across in an argument.

The last time they had gotten into a "physical altercation" she was too incensed to appreciate his masculinity. Although she wasn't exactly in the mood to admire his physique, she was entranced by his Adam's apple bobbing up and down while he panted. This fascination was probably linked to her desire to focus on anything but his face.

And her shaky nerves.

"Don't cry," she repeated internally. Lacie returned to her stance on keeping her gaze below his eye level. A feeling in Lacie's gut told her if she looked up at him again, she was going to lose the limited grip she had on her emotions.

A movement towards her side caught her attention, she looked over to see the muscles in his arm contracting from the tiny slip of wrist shown under his jacket's sleeve. Jack appeared to be flexing and unflexing his arm muscles.

Even though he was slender in built, the man had some muscle definition to him.

After spending time with him she knew he wasn't trying to intimidate her, this was his own awkward method of trying to keep her from running off when he had something to say. She remembered Jack keeping a firm grip during their "apology rant" but he backed off when he realized he was hurting her. This time, he kept his hands away from her petite body to restrain himself from causing a similar mishap.

Quite an endearing fellow even with his awkwardness.

The prince hung his head, taking deep breathes in through his nose. Gathering his courage, he released a long exhale, and finally lifted his head just high enough to be eye level with her. The position did not appear comfortable but she appreciated his good will- they were meant to be equals in this conversation.

She latched on to this feeling of power. Instead of a prince reprimanding his vassal, they were just a man and a woman having a discussion.

Despite his shoulders hunched, to make him appear shorter, he still managed to dwarf her. Strange, she never paid attention to Jack's height in previous interactions.

There were a lot of things Lacie hadn't noticed before; because she thought they were inconsequential.

Here they were, staring into each other's eyes, like nothing else in the world mattered. She shivered at the intensity in his gaze. She couldn't put a finger on whether it was linked to fear or something else.

Lacie was so transfixed by the prince's eyes, she never noticed one of Jack's hands reaching over to brush against her cheek. She stiffened when he reached out to brush a thumb under her eye tenderly. Her poor heart nearly stopped when she recognized the small droplets on his fingertip. No, no, no, no, no, no. This wasn't happening. She could not display signs of weakness in front of him.

"Harden your heart and his words can't hurt you. You're made of steel," she protested in her mind. Too bad her mind was being uncooperative in supporting her claim.

She brushed under her eyes and felt her pulse race when each of her fingertips came back wet. She giggled to mask her voice croaking, "Guess my allergies are acting up. I'll go ask Sharon for medication to treat it. I should get goin~"

"Shh," Jack spoke gently, her voice kept breaking. Lacie cried harder when he continued wiping the tears away from her eyes. Could this get any more mortifying? The worst part? Lacie almost leaned into his touch. The display of gentleness was calming down the whirlwind in her head.

Old habits die hard was the pinnacle idiom ringing true. Back then, when she was quite young, she would often cry whenever her toys broke or she got injured roughhousing with the older kids. The worst crying fits happened due to her frustration of feeling humiliated. And look at her now- crying over a few mean words.

Guess she wasn't as thick-skinned as she thought.

"Please don't cry, Lacie" he whispered soothingly. "I was being an asshole; I didn't mean to take my anger out on you. I'm sorry, please don't cry."

Lacie hiccupped pathetically while using her knuckles to wipe the wetness off her face. Her nose felt warm, she prayed it wasn't dripping snot. She was such a baby.

"I didn't mean what I said, okay," he leaned his head down to look up at her, "there isn't any excuse for my harsh words. I was already in a foul mood and the worst side of myself came out, I'm sorry."

Nodding her head, she wiped some tears off her face. Once Lacie felt that she would be able to speak without losing her composure she looked up to meet his eyes. Jack looked at her uncertainly, but his gaze was attentive.

Jack looked up towards the ceiling, stewing over something. Dropping his head, he gave her a crooked smile. "How about this, I'll grant you permission to order me around until the end of the night. You can request anything from me except," he held up two fingers and dropped them after making his terms, "anything that could put us in jeopardy or stir up conflict with the villagers."

Lacie chuckled through the tears, he wiped the remainder off her face. Mischievously, she asked, "You should have added more specifications. At this rate, I could ask you to walk through the castle clucking like a chicken, arms flapping and everything."

He smirked. "Okay, I'll add one more term: don't order me to perform any action that could have me wind up in an insane asylum."

"Take the fun out of everything why don't you?"

Jack shrugged. "Think of it this way, you're one of the few people given the privilege of ordering a member of the royal family around for half a day. Fun enough for you yet?"

She processed this information. Wasn't this a risky action on his part? If she held more depraved intentions, she could order him to eat soup secretly laced with poison or worst. He had made the suggestion of not involving physical damage in his offer but she didn't have to follow his rules. Apparently, he held some trust in her to not abuse his person.

For a brief period, she had power over him, the thought made her feel…something unidentified.

"What to do, what to do, what should I do to you," she sang in a creepy voice. Jack winced painfully. He dropped his head defeatedly, "I'm going to regret this aren't I?"

"Oh yes!" she chirped. Snaking under his arm, she turned to listen through the door. When she couldn't hear anything, she pressed herself closer. "Can you hear anything?"

Jack dropped his arms and assumed a similar position. The two of them listened intently. Stepping away from the door, Jack raised his hands up in a manner like- what do I know- and walked over to sit on his desk. "Any particular sound we're listening for?"

The voices down the hall were different than the ones speaking earlier. Wasn't this just peachy, the new knights had taken their position.

Lacie dropped her hand, leaning her forehead against the door she groaned. "The knights had a changeover. Sneaking out is going to be a pain now."

When her mind started hurdling through negative thoughts, she pinched her elbow to ground herself. Surely, they could come up with a solution. Between the two of them surely they had enough of a braincell to formulate a plan?

Of course, Jack's wide-eyed expression did not relieve her doubts.

She kicked at an imaginary object on the ground, contemplating ideas out-loud. "Perhaps I could sidetrack them by trying to manhandle my way into your tower? I mean it's public knowledge your room is off-limits."

Turning to look at Jack, she was shocked to find the prince reclined against the desk, his elbows resting on the surface to support his weight. The nonchalant posture caught her off guard and his snarky grin made her head reel.

Maybe she should manhandle her employer first?

Narrowing her eyes, she inquired, "What are you smirking about?" Great, just great, here they were trapped in this room and the prince was nonchalant regarding another wrench thrown in her plans. Her mind raced with possible options on trying to escape without them drawing attention. Still the prince stared at her with that damnable look of someone holding a secret. The man shrugged a shoulder in response to her question.

Lacie paced the floor in a circle, puffing her cheeks inward.

Different scenarios popped into her head, she listed each idea off out-loud, "Perhaps we should toss something down the hallway and hope they chase after it?" She did a sharp turn, placing a hand on her cheek, she shook her head, "No, too juvenile."

In response to Lacie's plan, the prince smirked. Guess that option was out the window.

She looked at the window behind the prince. In desperation she almost considered throwing the globe on the prince's desk out the window. However, all that would result in was a broken window. From this location they were a good six stories above ground.

Quite a way to end the night, the two of them spending the rest of their days paralyzed. Even her kind brother would visit her periodically in this scenario just to call her an idiot and leave without another word.

She refused to die in an idiotic way.

Lacie pinched the bridge of her nose irritably. Jack looked over his shoulder at her, she swore his smirk widened.

His gaze pretty much read- Keep the ideas coming they're highly entertaining.

She tried another angle, "Do you know how to forge signatures? Maybe we can pretend someone sent you a death threat to have the knights inspect?"

The prince smirked. He held his hands up, "Not one of my talents unfortunately. You could ask Miranda; she forged my tutors' signatures to get the knights to let me out of the tower whenever I was grounded. Her notes claimed 'I was being fetched for extra lessons as a form of punishment'. They fell for it initially."

He dropped his hands. "They won't fall for that trick anymore since we used and abused this tactic in youthful mischief. After we were caught for the tenth time playing hide and seek in the armory the knights refused messages from any vassals unless they were direct orders from my parents."

She snapped her fingers in discouragement. Darn, due to desperation she had almost considered enlisting Miranda's help.

She walked over to plop down beside him with a huff, her feet dangling above the ground. The prince still bore that damnable expression, Lacie furrowed her brows in confusion, "Is there something funny about this?"

Jack's smirk finally turned into a cheeky smile, speaking in his most cheerful voice, with a beaming expression she wanted to smack off, he announced, "Not at all!"

Lacie growled, gripping her head in aggravation she threw her arms out childishly like she was tossing the troublesome thoughts away. Not the most mature display of frustration but it helped.

She kicked her feet up and down. "Maybe I can beat them over the head with a book," she made a clobbering gesture. Lacie looked over at the perfectly arranged book tower located near her hand, "Knocking them out for a few hours wouldn't hurt anybody right?"

For once, Lacie appreciated his obsession for stacking things. The habit reminded her of a bored, precocious child. The woman turned to look up at her friend and all those feelings of appreciation died instantly.

. . !

She drew a knee up and rested her cheek against it. Wrapping her arms around her bent leg, the woman tried to give the prince her most intimidating look and the man just grinned back. Fine then, if he was having such a blast listening to her rant then he could have fun coming up with a plan.

Hmm, Jack was the one granting her the gift of commanding him for a night.

Her first command brought a smile to her face. "Your royal highness mentioned earlier for me to appreciate being one of the few people this evening who can order you around. And I have my first command- come up with a plan to get us out of here."

Why didn't she think of this sooner? The prince had vast knowledge of his castle and lands, one of his instructors must have taught him some tricks on sleuthing or something! Instead of beating her head on a rock trying to come up with a plan why not let the smug bastard figure it out for himself? Let's see how fast that smug look wore off!

"The prick will probably order his knights to stand guard and pretend they haven't seen us sneaking off," she thought snottily. Guess it was time to find out if there was anything but hot air in that pretty blonde head.

The prince sat up. Lifting his own knee up, Jack let his arms drape down the side of the desk and placed his chin against his knee. A mocking attempt of mimicking her. "As my lady commands, but," he held a finger up, "you should be warned there are several complications in this plan."

She groaned, rolling her face to rest her forehead against her kneecap. "Fine. What are they?"

Leave it to the prince to turn this into a puzzle. Couldn't things just be done in a few simple steps?

The prince jumped up and walked over to the far-left wall. The walls were made of large, chunky stones. The wall he stood before was bare except for two shields hung in the center bearing his family crest. "First, my lady should come stand by me."

Lacie blinked in confusion.

What?

Jack looked over his shoulder and motioned for her to come over. Jumping off the desk, she walked over tentatively. If he was pulling a prank on her Lacie was aggravated enough to beat him with one of the shields. Once she reached his side, Lacie looked at the wall before her, "Now what?"

The prince gave no response for a lengthy period. Just as she was about to repeat her question, he interrupted her. Jack's voice took a note of severity. "Lacie."

The sternness in his voice made her jump. She noticed his eyes had reverted to that lifeless, cold look he had when they first met. She couldn't help squeaking, "Yes?"

Pure panic pulsed through her veins. Did she overstep her boundaries? Maybe the 'commanding' portion was just theoretical? Was she going to wind up another body in his closet?

Stop while you're ahead, imagination!

"Promise me here and now you won't betray me in the future," his eyes softened along with his voice, "please."

The woman paused in her efforts of slowly inching away from him, caught off guard. Out of everything she imagined this wasn't one of them.

When Jack turned his head to look at her, her mind scrambled for an answer. Surely, this wasn't a trick question?

There was still a slight tinge of coldness in his gaze making her heart flutter in nervousness.

"Yes, I promise to never do you wrong, just please," she held up her hands and cowered away from him, "don't stuff me away in one of your closets. Go back to being Jack, not the scowling prince persona."

"Closet? Scowling Prince?" he looked confused. "Pardon?"

There he was! The awkward, easily confused man she considered a friend had returned.

She chuckled awkwardly, her heart was racing like a galloping horse, "Just kidding about the closet."

Relief overcame her damaged nerves. "The old version of you, "the scowling prince", would always bare this expression like you were done with the world and wanted nothing more to do with it." Lacie tried to mimic his cynical looks in the past to demonstrate, Jack responded by tilting his head in confusion. Lacie made a motion between them indicating she was representing him. "You lived in reality but showed no motivation of wanting to be here. It was like watching a corpse go through the motions of living."

A pensive gleam crossed his eyes, he nodded for her to continue.

"This version of you," Lacie gestured towards his figure, "while flawed is undeniably human. You no longer look like a dead man walking."

She made a walking gesture with her fingers and slumped her shoulders trying to represent his past self's defeated postures.

"When you dropped the whole 'scowling prince' façade," she laughed when the man scowled in response. Lacie bumped her shoulder into his in good humor. "When you stopped giving everyone the cold shoulder," she clarified, "some of your suppressed vulnerabilities and eccentricates slipped out. Sometimes they're annoying to deal with; but in the end, they're endearing because it's your peculiarities."

Lacie started listing them off with her fingers. "You're obsessive when it comes to tidiness and have a weird quirk about arranging things." Glancing down, she motioned towards his bruised fingers, "You prefer to work with your hands based on your skills in carving."

Why she was vomiting out words to describe him she had no clue. The prince appeared stunned by her depiction, hopefully her explanations were helping to get the point across- the current Jack was the one she preferred and considered a friend.

During her talk, Lacie failed to notice she was twiddling her thumbs. Once it dawned on her Jack was silently observing her relentless twiddling motions, Lacie interlocked her hands behind her back to mask her nervousness.

Unfortunately, her blubbering mouth was revealing her internal thoughts like an open book.

"Visitors from other countries, and your kingdom's vassals, are always treated with respect and you show utmost courtesy when interacting with strangers. However, underneath all the decorum, you have the driest sense of humor and can be quite smart-alecky. Intermittently, you're one of the cheekiest bastards I know and can be quite smug if you think you're winning an argument."

When Lacie turned her head the prince's eyes were glued onto her own. Let the staring contest commence. Lacie took a moment to gather her thoughts to prepare for the end of her rant.

"I prefer," she gestured towards him, "this version of you. When I first met you, Jack, you looked like a man who wished he was dead. In the past people only saw your back, now you face forward to greet them." Lacie turned to give him a bashful smile, "Not sure what happened to cause these changes but nonetheless the you who looks forward to experiencing life is breathtaking."

All throughout her speech Lacie remembered the first time she saw Jack smile. The man was a breath of fresh air whenever he showed small signs of humanity. Hopefully, she would eventually meet the Jack whose smile lit up the castle.

Or so she had been told.

Suddenly, reality crashed on her.

Lacie gasped, planting her hands over her mouth in horror. Oh no, she was being too forward with these assertions. Might as well hold her hands out to receive the figurative handcuffs for the charge of insulting a royal. Off to jail she goes!

Wouldn't it be ironic, she arrives to rescue Oswald from a cell to wind up in a cell herself? People kept forewarning her about holding her tongue and yet she never listened.

The horrified woman looked over to find the prince…appeared speechless.

Judging by his astonished expression, she sensed her words hadn't offended him. She offered a nervous grin. Without understanding why, she reached over and gripped his sleeve in a friendly gesture. "Whether you're the scowling prince, lord of the castle, high wizard, or Jack, you will never have to concern yourself with thoughts on whether I will betray you or not."

Each of her words were spoken truthfully. Two months ago, she would have stood on the opposite end of the spectrum. Funny how things could change given enough time. Village girl Lacie would choke head servant Lacie for succumbing to the influence of the castle.

Lacie found her past interpretations were in conflict with the present version of her. Teeth-clenching and biting the hands that wounded her were old habits of the woman shunned in the village with only her brother and one friend there to comfort her. In that life, her red eyes were seen as an unacceptable oddity and the cruel deaths of her parents stroked superstition that she was a devil woman. Every day she grew thinner and watched as sickness slowly corroded her body.

She shot a brief glance at her stomach and was once again relieved to find her bones weren't protruding. No longer could she run a hand over the bones in her ribs. Lacie's ribs couldn't be seen nowadays.

She couldn't deny there was a new pep in her step since relocating here. People embraced oddballs here, Lacie's eyes were just a common reoccurrence. In fact, she was considered one of the ordinary ones here! And it took two hands to count the number of close friendships she had formed. And that didn't include the other friendly faces she had become acquainted with in the kitchens and cleanup duty. Head servant Lacie didn't go to bed starving and dreading to wake up to face another day of people slamming doors in her face. She had a job!

Tightening her grip, she smiled warmly. "My answer is no, I will never betray you, cross my heart." Laughing she made an "X" sign over her chest.

"And hope to die," finished Jack with a frown. "Can we change the wording on that negative ending? How about- cross my heart and never break into people's rooms again with that creepy laugh?"

Lacie threw her head back and laughed, "Fair enough. Don't judge my acting abilities too harshly, I never had lessons."

"Go figure," Jack responded. She released his sleeve when he lifted a hand and made a motion for her to follow suit. "Okay, follow my lead."

He took a step forward; she did the same. When he pushed his palm forward to rest against the wall, she replicated his moves. "Lacie, here's the most important part. Listen closely to what I'm about to tell you and repeat after me: Open Sesame."

Lacie repeated the words like they left a strange flavor in her mouth, "Open Sesame?"

A feeling of dread pooled in her belly at the mischievous glint in those catlike eyes after she spoke the phrase.

"Now, push forward."

She scoffed, "What? And I going to find a trap door or-"

Her sentence was cut off abruptly when the door suddenly cranked open, with a heavy thud, causing her to faceplant on the dusty floor. Lacie spluttered as the dust sprang up around her. Shaking her head to remove the dust clinging to her face and stuffing up her nostrils, she sat up to find a dimly lit corridor before her. The woman stared in openmouthed disbelief. "What in the-"

Lacie's face remained the same even when Jack grabbed her arm to yank her off the ground.

"Does this fulfill my lady's request?" he asked dryly.

She was too stunned to come up with a witty reply.

Upon realizing the woman was shell-shocked, Jack took a few steps in the corridor and waved her forward over his shoulder. Tentatively, Lacie tapped the cool granite flooring, when she was certain no traps would be activated, she slowly stepped into the corridor and followed the prince. Once she crossed the threshold, she paused to inquire, "Now what?"

Jack was tapping at the wall with his knuckles in an odd pattern. Three taps to the right, two to the top, four to the left. She screamed when the door speedily slid shut behind her with a few creaks. Lacie's adrenaline was pumping; placing a hand over her chest she took deep breaths to steady her shaky nerves.

Behind her, Jack snickered. "Should have mentioned the door has some issues, apologies."

"Yes, it would have saved me from having a heart attack."

The corridor barely had lighting she noticed taking a quick inspection. A few lanterns were hung along the walls and the candles were down to the stumps. "Mind if I ask how are we going to find our way in the dark?"

Jack reached up to snatch a lantern off the wall. He blew on his fingers as the metal nicked him. "Foolish me, I forgot how hot these older lanterns can get when they're left burning for extensive periods of time." He shook his hand out, raising the lantern handle he held it out to the hallway heading right. Lacie walked up to peer over into the bleakly lit hallway.

Wasn't this the type of environment inviting a turncoat to make an appearance?

The atmosphere was chilly despite the glow from the lanterns. Lacie bounced in place, rubbing her hands against her arms for warmth. "Please say you know the path? I would prefer to avoid getting trapped down here."

Jack gave her a crooked smile. "The diabolical Lacie is terrified of enclosed places? Who would have thought? Luckily, if we're unable to find an exit you have the pleasure of my company to keep you from dying alone."

Rolling her eyes, Lacie mumbled, "I would prefer dying in solitude if you have that type of attitude."

Jack laughed.

Lacie was lost in thought when Jack began walking off. Over his shoulder, he announced, "Don't fret, I know these halls like the back of my hand. There's a few turns ahead that lead to better lit areas." He stopped to speak in a ghastly tone, "And less bugs."

In the span of seconds, Lacie catapulted herself to the prince's side, clasping his empty hand, she squeaked, "There are bugs down here?"

"Oh, there an army of bugs down here," he looked down at her with a look of horror, his eyes bulged like a bug's, "some get to the size of my head. And those are considered the small ones! Can you imagine the leader of these things? They're probably the length of my arm!"

Was it always this hard to swallow? Lacie felt her body tremor at the thought of encountering these bugs.

Her mind began playing tricks on her as she swore hearing the sounds of scurrying within the thick walls…

She jumped a foot in the air when Jack released a bellowing laugh. His laughter reached new heights when he turned to find Lacie plastered against the wall with a chalky glow to her face.

Jack pinched his nose to keep from snorting. Ever the gentleman, "I'm sorry, the temptation was too hard to resist. Your brother was sharing stories about life back in the village and mentioned you have an irrational fear of bugs. I had to see if it was true."

Lacie pursed her lips and huffed. She held a shaking fist up, silently sending hexes her brother's way.

"Oswald, that traitor," Lacie thought as her cheeks turned bright red, she turned her head fuming. "I'm going to hide his work schedule in the future to give him an anxiety attack. Let's see how he likes that!"

Oswald was such a workaholic that the thought of arriving a minute late to the start of his shift sent him into a tizzy.

Leave it to her brother to reveal one of her most closely guarded secrets. Out of an irrational fear people would shove bugs in her face- no logical, mature adult would do this she already knew- she did everything possible to steer clear of places infested with bugs.

A thumping sound nearly sent Lacie packing. The prince scratched his head, wearing a look of confusion. Jack admitted, "Guess I was wrong? I thought for certain these halls had been cleaned out ten years ago?"

"Ten years!" she screeched. "Jack, you absolute imbecile, they came back with a vengeance then!"

She almost booked it back to the door to pry the thing open. How to pry something open that looked like it weighed 200lbs was an issue for another day!

Adrenaline would get that door open so help her!

Before Lacie could make it very far, her fellow prison mate shot his hand out to prevent her from leaving. The bastard gave the woman another beaming smile and lifted his knuckles to knock against the wall. The thumps coming from his knuckles sounded eerily similar.

Her gaze sharpened. Growling under her breath, she whispered through clenched teeth, "Bastard."

Jack closed his eyes and widened his smile just to irritate her further.

"Not to worry little lady, those pesky bugs won't do you no harm since light repels them," Jack changed his accent to a boyish, country charm. If it weren't for his rich, cultural accent slipping out in the vowels he might have been pulled it off. Jack started walking again. Lacie scratched her head thoughtfully; if he wanted to avoid drawing attention he would have to use that crappy accent. Better to blend in with the crowd than behave in a manner screeching outsider.

He spoke too eloquently to pass for a common villager. Lacie interlocked her fingers below her waist and dipped her head side-to-side contemplating things. Finally, Lacie made up her mind.

"Say Jack, think you can do that accent without losing your voice for the rest of the night?"

He looked over his shoulder, still using that country-laced tone, "If it pleases my lady, then just say the word and it shall be done. Does my accent appeal to my lady's personal tastes?"

Jack's tone took on a seductive edge sending shivers down her spine. A blush broke out across Lacie's face earning a smug look from the prince. "Uh…what?" she stammered. Moderately, her response was related to feeling dumbfounded on how to respond.

Was this simply teasing or something else?

Doubtful he had any ulterior motives she almost dismissed his provocativeness if it wasn't for this strange glint in his eye. She trudged on ahead deciding he was just teasing her.

Jack's gaze turned wicked. He waited until she was right beside him, minding her own business, to lean over and huskily whisper into her ear, "Based on our previous conversation you're free to give me an array of commands tonight. My interest is piqued on how my lady will use them." His lips moved closer until he was practically nudging her sensitive lobe, "Hopefully, you won't command me to do anything too wanton besides speak like a commoner."

His breath brushed along her earlobe making her heart skip a beat. The hair on the back of her nape stood up.

What was this? Wait, who was this person?

Lacie blinked unknowingly, her blush returned with a renewed energy.

Flirtation was not in the prince's demographics; where was this carnal energy he was radiating stemming from? Wait, why did the walls feel like they were closing in? Why was the air starting to feel stuffy?

Questions, questions, and more questions popped up.

Claustrophobia was about to settle in, she was starting to yank at her neckline fiendishly, Lacie prayed she wasn't about to faint.

This whole situation was turning both bizarre and uncomfortable. They were trapped in an unknown tunnel- without anyone aware of their location- and the prince was behaving in a way she was unaccustomed on dealing with. Right now, she preferred his sully nature in comparison to this individual.

A voice in her mind whispered treacherously, "Liar."

Internally, she told the voice to mind its own business.

Were the prince's eyelids starting to look hooded? A quiet guffaw halted these thoughts in their track. No, she squinted, he was trying to choke back laughter. The hooded look was all in her imagination.

Visible sweat drops collected in her palms from where she kept gripping her skirts. Her nerves were on end.

Cool sweat was building along the nape of her neck, also.

Nausea was slowly building, to get so worked up over a prank was quite shameful.

Tonight, seemed to be turning into a comedy with her emotions flipflopping between feelings of humiliation and… She turned her head to place fingers over her mouth discreetly.

Great, for a brief moment, she had felt excitement and something else she couldn't place her finger on. Whatever this feeling was it was making her flush white-hot.

Wasn't this just hysterical? A man's teasing was getting her all stirred up.

At this precise moment, Lacie could have opened her head, yanked her brain out, and proceeded to punch the thing repeatedly until it calmed down.

There were other areas, Lacie glanced down at her traitorous heart, she placed a hand over its racing tempo, that needed a scolding, also.

The mind was a fickle thing.

Looking back, she couldn't recall the last time she had gotten intimate with someone. Well, if kissing someone counted as intimate at her age. Rather hard to connect with someone emotionally and physically if they spent a majority of the time frowning at her red eyes or wanting to spend 'alone' time simply to have a story of that one fling with the town outcast.

Maybe she wanted some interaction of the romantic sort with someone not completely repulsed by her. Darn-it, she was a young woman and she had needs! And look at her now, gushing like a lovestruck schoolgirl over her first crush showing intrigue in her.

She needed to unwind tonight. Preferably, away from the male population before she made a fool of herself.

The brain was shouting at her to avoid this man in particular. Nope, she wasn't pursuing this route. A treacherous portion of Lacie's brain coaxed her into teasing him again just to even the odds.

Two could play at this game. Last time she left him speechless, this time he countered with a few techniques of his own to get a similar result. What type of mind game should she toy with now?

"Yes, and if you pursue this route then you'll wind up with a noose over your head for tempting the prince," Lacie rolled her eyes exasperatedly.

There would be no clear winner in this game.

Swallowing awkwardly, she concluded tonight would be a good evening to get drunk. Maybe she could get drunk enough to forget this entire ordeal.

Feeling humiliated, she scowled and pushed past him.

However aggravating the man was, she had to admit at least he sounded adorable. Like a little boy trying out for a play that just couldn't get the accent just right.

Cure her inability to overlook cute things.

Footsteps sounded behind her along with a smug energy radiating from him. When she turned to give him a look the prince was staring back with a look that was downright roguish. Lacie felt herself bristling again earning an amused look from her companion. To sidetrack him, she changed the subject back to innocent topics, perhaps a cowardly move; but she didn't know how to respond to his flirtatious aura. Lacie tipped her head back groaning, "I'm going to regret saying this but just keep doing that, it'll keep people from noticing you have a distinct drawl of a rich boy." She snorted at her last comment.

Reverting back to his regular accent with a disgruntled look, "Alrighty then, have it your way."

They rounded a corner and Jack released a relieved sigh. "We're almost near the entrance, you should keep those cloaks available because we're going to need them soon. Although," he paused and patted his tousled hair, "besides my delightful, and wholly believable, accent do you think my hair will draw attention? Admittingly, I don't know many fellows willingly spending time braiding their hair with such dedication as yours truly, do you?"

The self-critical joke caught her off-guard, it didn't help he was wiggling his eyebrows with crinkled eyes. She chuckled in response. Plus, the way he kept patting his head resembled someone beating a lump down.

Although he was stating a valid point, there weren't many men in this epoch willing to grow their hair to the same length as the prince. Due to hygiene and safety precautions, able-bodied men tended to work in the fields back home, long hair was difficult to manage and got in the way of work. Only royalty tended to have hair past mid-chest.

Women had found ways to deal with long hair by typically keeping it pulled back when doing physical labor. The women working exclusively in fields or other laborious positions tended to keep their hair chopped.

Jack's braid swished side-to-side as he played with his golden locks. Never thought she would live to see the day where a man grew his hair down to his torso that had an angelic sheen to it. Lacie looked down at her split ends and frowned.

Royals had it too easy.

"Not an issue, your magnificence, I've planned ahead so don't you worry your pretty little head about those pesky, golden locks," she walked over and plopped the hat on his head. It was slightly too big for his head; earning a chuckle from Lacie when he pushed the hat back to reveal his emerald eyes. Nodding her head towards the lantern, "Here, give me the lantern. You direct me on which way to lead and focus your attention on getting that braid stuffed under the lid."

Jack pointed down the hallway. Lacie began leading the progression, adding on, "Besides your accent the braid is a dead giveaway so remove those traits and voila you're another blonde country bumpkin in the crowd."

He frowned, pretending to be insulted, "Are you insinuating those are my only distinguishable traits? Lacie, I'm offended."

Upon seeing the harsh glare shot in his direction, the prince held his hands up and worked on wrapping the braid into a pile on his head. He put the lid of the hat in his mouth and bit down. For the first time in forever, he managed to look like a commoner in this getup.

"We need to get a move on, someone is bound to come check on you tonight. There's a limited window of opportunity for us to attend the festival without catching someone's attention. Let's make the best of a tricky situation."

For an unexplainable reason, Lacie suddenly recalled some lines from fairytales her mom used to read. The lines felt appropriate for their situation. Using her most sagely sounding voice, she quoted the novelist's words loosely, "By the stroke of midnight, the spell will be broken. You have until then to have fun, princeling."

For a moment there was silence until she felt him roll his eyes in the background, "Yes, oh mighty one." Jack took long strides to catch up to her, he looked down at her, "Personally, I think you should consider reading stories aloud instead of singing them. Would save some of us from suffering burst eardrums."

"I'm going to belt out every lyric next time how does that sound?"

"Splendid."

Lacie glanced up and couldn't decipher whether he was being sarcastic based on the vacantness in his gaze. There was a strange hint of gratitude in his aura though. Odd?

Maybe he secretly enjoyed masochism?

Who knew what this strange man enjoyed; he was quite the oddball. But she sincerely doubted the man found pleasure in listening to her sing.

The duo began walking side-by-side, the prince looked up reflecting, "Not to sound negative but are you certain we'll be able to ward off suspicion with a few superficial changes? If, for some unknown reason, we're separated then won't it be twice as difficult to get back to the castle without alerting anyone?"

He sounded slightly nervous about being left stranded. She smiled charmingly to soothe his nerves.

Oh, how thankful she was for planning ahead.

"Luckily, since we're using this hidden passage, it won't be required of us to rely on the cloaks for shrouding our appearances. Prince Jack can't walk around without stirring everyone up. But an average servant would just be another face in the masses." Lacie placed a hand on his upper arm, "Once the lot of us manage to get outside we'll just keep the cloaks in the saddlebags in case of chilly weather."

Jack repeated her. "The lot of us?"

Still annoyed by his earlier teasing, Lacie plastered on her most devious look, in a taunting manner she asked sweetly, "Who said we were going by ourselves?"

Jack stopped instantly to blanch. "Lacie, are you trying to tell me there's others involved in this plan?"

Lacie wrapped a strand of hair around her finger, nonchalantly stating, "Why yes, aren't you aware festivals are better experienced with friends?"

The way she rolled the vowels in the word- friends- was making Jack nervous. She detected the man's nerves through his body language alone.

"And who are these friends?" he asked uncertainly. Sweat drops were starting to glisten on his forehead.

Please don't let the prince have an anxiety attack. She already had one male in the group that was a drama king, she didn't need another one.

"Oh, you know," she brushed the strand of hair against her cheek, "I might have asked Reim and Lottie if they wanted to join."

The prince's head swiveled an angle of 360 degrees on his shoulders.

"Lottie and Reim? Lottie is a well-known prankster and Reim is prone to nervous breakdowns by simply breathing." Jack practically screeched the last portion in a high-pitch voice making Lacie suck in her lips to resist burst out laughing. "Lacie, we're not going to have a moment's peace with those two around. Through their reputation alone, they draw attention just by walking into a room!"

Lacie closed her eyes when he bellowed dramatically in her face. Once the sounds of panting could be heard Lacie opened her eyes to smirk at the crazed looking prince. "Are you finished?"

Jack scoffed. In a tired voice he conceded, "For now."

Internally, she was clapping her hands in approval. Just the reaction Lacie hoped for; it was hilarious watching Jack have his own mental breakdown. Jack could give Reim a run for his money in the theatrics department.

Should anyone attempt regicide tonight the resident drama kings would cause their would-be killer to suffer a migraine and reconsider their trade. Nobody could tolerate the prince and ex-messenger's bouts of hysteria without losing their sanity themselves.

Jack was such a worrywart for unnecessary reasons. Between the three servants, the prince would be the safest man in the domain.

"There's nothing to worry about since we're going to exercise the utmost caution when sneaking around. Stop overthinking things and just have fun for once, okay," she announced cheekily. "Life is too short to stress over the irrelevant details."

Lacie continued gliding down the hallway leaving her friend behind.

Jack held up a finger, opening his mouth then closing it. He was about to argue how those 'details' were necessary but decided against it. Finally, he dropped his hand and shook his head. Words and logic weren't going to help him at this point. "I'm a dead man walking," Jack said gloomily as he trailed along pouting.

The lantern started moving down the wrong hallway causing the prince to run after his companion. "You're going the wrong way!" He stopped at the crossroads and pointed to the hall in the opposite direction. "Go down this hallway if you plan on exiting anytime soon."

Lacie stopped and looked between the routes. Tiny windows were built into the walls down this corridor. He was thankful for the windows since it was a hint to travelers the entrance was located down this path. Windowless corridors lead to areas used for sanctuary. Glorious moonlight filtered in through a window behind the prince. Without quarrel, the woman turned around and proceeded down the hall. "Chop chop your highness; we have places to go!"

Next to his head Jack noticed a tiny pebble bulged out between the rock layers. For one brief blissful moment Jack considered chucking it at the back of her head but decided against it.

Life was too short to spend it listening to someone bellyaching about a tiny bruise. At least he could partially agree with Lacie to that extent.

Author's Rant: Next chapter will be the festival! I was going to incorporate the entire arc in this chapter but decided it was getting too lengthy and readers would need a break. I decided to add a festival to the story after attending an Octoberfest a few years back. All the food stalls and liquor and shows were a blast! In this chapter I loosely put some other Disney quotes in the story just for fun. Anyone manage to find them? Please leave comments or messages I enjoy reading them. Also, thanks for all the new favorites and follows, they make my cold, dead heart feel warm, haha. Hope you all had summer fun now that fall is here (although I'm happy for this season).