Alexis generally had a good sense of time, so even without a clock he could predict it fairly accurately. When he judged it to be fifteen minutes or so before the time the ball would end, he took the lead again – he had let Markus go where he wished for the last few minutes – and chose paths back to the palace.

“I suppose you can have your wig back now,” he granted, holding it out.

The young man took it back, but merely stared at it.

“What is it?”

“Oh… I was just thinking about what Madeleine said – my fairy god-sister, that is. She told me that if I wore the wig no one would know I wasn’t a girl, but will it still work now it’s fallen off once?” He laughed sheepishly. “Not that I’m convinced there was any actual magic to it.”

“Hmm. Maybe it’s just power of suggestion? People see you as a girl at first glance, and don’t expect you to be anything else, so they aren’t looking for it.”

Markus arranged the wig on his head and attempted to tuck his own hair underneath it. The lack of a mirror made this a difficult task, and he agreed to let the prince help him, although he looked a little embarrassed.

“Well? How do I look?”

“Pretty as a picture!” he teased, before replying seriously in response to the boy’s unimpressed expression. “You still look the same to me. But I think that’s because I know how you really look, and I can’t see you any other way now.”

The gardener sighed. “It’ll do. The ball will be done soon anyway.”

“Are you glad you came, despite some… unexpected events?”

He gazed out into the darkness and smiled to himself. “Yes. I’m very glad I came.”

“I’m glad you came too. It made my evening a lot more interesting.”

They both laughed, and then entered the palace. Stopping at the entrance to the ballroom, they exchanged polite greetings and wishes to talk again sometime, and then the second prince and the gardener parted ways.

While he was watching Markus winding his way through the crowd towards his sister, his own sibling came up behind him.

“Sooo?” He nudged him with his elbow and gave a grin. “Who was that? Will we be announcing your engagement as well?”

He looked at his brother and considered what to say. Thomas could be relied upon to, but if he wanted to keep it to himself, he wouldn’t push him for answers. “Don’t mention this to anyone, alright?”

“I promise, I promise!”

He leaned in closer and said, in a low voice, “‘That’ was the young man I’ve been showing around the gardens for the last hour.”

“Oh?” Thomas sounded both surprised and intrigued.

“I’ll tell you the details tomorrow. It’s too good a story to rush through, besides, I’m sure father’s going to call for silence soon.”

“Aw, but you’ve stirred my curiosity now!”

The younger prince refused to give even a hint, and they made their way over to the raised platform, where the king stood beckoning them. An announcer asked for quiet, and the king thanked everyone for attending before handing over to Thomas, who spoke briefly.

“I met many fine ladies tonight, and danced with far fewer than I’d have liked. However, it was enough that I could come to a decision.”

The king and queen leaned forwards in anticipation. It was clear he still hadn’t told them.

“The girl I wish to marry is Daisy, who I have spoken to today and told of my wishes.” He addressed the whole room, then looked down at just one person. “Would you please come forwards and give me your answer?”

The girl who stepped forwards was very familiar to Alexis, who had seen her on many an occasion and spoken to her a few times. However, now her entire focus was on Thomas, without a glance to spare for anyone else.

“Will you marry me?” He doubted that anyone but himself and the girl addressed noticed how the Crown Prince’s voice shook.

“Yes, I’ll marry you.” The whole room could probably see her blushing.

Now that that was settled, everything wrapped up with admirable speed for a royal occasion, and he watched all the commoners and nobles making their way out of the room, keeping an eye on two commoners in particular.

“You’d better tell me tomorrow,” Thomas reminded from beside him, following his gaze.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be worth the wait.”