“So, please do explain how you came to be wandering around outside with a boy wearing a dress.”

“Ah, yes, that.”

They were sitting in Alexis’ room, Thomas on his bed, Alexis on a chair by the window. As soon as his lessons for the day finished, his brother had sailed into the room, drawn aside the dividing curtain separating his bed from the rest of the room, plonked himself down, and begun questioning him.

“Soooo?”

“Where should I start? When I met him? When I realised he was not in fact a young lady? When we were outside?”

“You definitely can’t skip the moment of shocking discovery.” The second prince snorted at his brother’s grandiose terms. “Please start from the start, but get to the interesting parts quickly.”

“Alright… Mother wanted me to talk to people, and dance with them as well. She- He-” He paused, wondering how to phrase it. “I saw a girl by herself, and thought I’d talk to her. She was quite nice, and I suppose a little blunt, and she had absolutely no idea who I was. So I didn’t tell her, and I asked her to dance with me, and I do believe it’s the first time I’ve ever been rejected.”

“Good, I wouldn’t want you getting a big head, you wouldn’t be half as sweet!”

“I’ll be so sweet your teeth will rot, if you want.” His tone was annoyed, but he was too accustomed to his brother’s silly remarks to be actually bothered by them.

“Tempting, but I’d rather you go on with your story.”

He related how she had left him for her sister, then how he talked to the two of them, and finally got her agreement to dance. He laughed, and continued, “She was rather bad at it. So bad that she tripped over, and her wig fell off, and I realised she was a he.”

“You let him fall? Lucas will have you doing extra lessons for a year if he knows.”

“I’m sure he knows. I don’t know how, but he’ll know… And then, he ran out of the ballroom and I went after him.”

“You ran out too? I know you don’t like social occasions, but I never thought you’d actually run away from one.”

He shot him a glare, then continued as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “I convinced him to talk with me for a while, and we walked around the grounds. I told him it was okay, I wasn’t angry at him and I wouldn’t make him leave, but since he liked the gardens we wandered around for a while.”

“And?”

“And nothing. We came back into the hall at the end, and you saw me then.” He didn’t feel the need to bring up his proposition. After all, it seemed rather unlikely that Markus would actually come to work at the palace. He had been very reluctant about the idea.

“I thought it would be a little more exciting than that.” He sounded disappointed, as if berating Alexis for getting his hopes up.

“It was still rather unusual, don’t you think? Perhaps it was more interesting to actually be there. But still, what did you expect? Don’t tell me, a runaway thief, or a foreign prince in hiding from the kidnappers whose clutches he had escaped?” He spoke mockingly, but the Crown Prince answered with enthusiasm.

“How about a poor young maiden who was desperately in love with you, but some evildoer wanted to make her miserable, so turned her into a boy. Only a kiss from her beloved would restore her to her proper self. Ooh, or a traveller from far over the sea, where men wear dresses and women wear suits.”

Thomas was very much a dreamer. Although Alexis acted in a much more serious and sensible fashion, he also quite liked these fairy-tale imaginings. Perhaps it was in his blood, or perhaps it was merely his brother’s influence. Still, Thomas could go on for hours, so it was better not to indulge him.

“I think your education is sorely lacking.”

“Do you think our parents would let me have a dress? I think red would look lovely on me.” It was clear by his sincere expression that this was not mere joking; the Crown Prince was truly curious. Still, whether he wanted one or not, neither their parents nor their tailors were going to allow him to wear one.

Shaking his head despairingly, Alexis left Thomas to his daydreams and turned to look out of the window, at the gardens now painted in so many colours by the warm sunshine.