Our luncheon was going surprisingly well until things took a sharp turn.

Camellia turned out to be a fan of horse riding, and was talking about her favorite mounts. I had taken several bites of my sandwich when she suddenly stopped talking and stared at me.

I pulled my handkerchief out and dabbed at my face. Usually nobles ate with silverware. Did she think it uncouth that I had picked up the sandwich with my hands, like a commoner?

"You took bites out of the corners first…" Her voice sounded faraway, like she was having a reverie. 

"Excuse me?" I glanced down at my sandwich. It's true, there were neat bites out of the corners of my two sandwich halves. I always ate sandwiches like that- it wasn't that I hated the rough edges of the corners, but I tended to save the best parts, the soft inner area, for last.

"And you had two sugar cubes in your coffee…" Her voice still had that absent misty quality, like she was a fortune teller regaling me with stories from a crystal ball.

"Yes, I did." I peered at her, wondering if she had perhaps hit her head climbing out her bedroom window on her makeshift rope.

"That's…that's what Prince Vel always did."

I felt the fingers knotted in my handkerchief freeze. Although we had eaten together at school the other day, the last time I could recall dining with her was the rigid tea parties held for our adolescent betrothal meetings.

There was no way she could remember back that far.

Who would remember such inconsequential details? 

There was no way I was going to get discovered through the trivialities of the way I ate a sandwich and drank coffee.

"Oh really? Maybe I picked up the habits from him, since we always eat together."

I expected her to wince. It was no secret that Asa and I often ate together, and though we often had company, that company usually excluded her.

However, she just looked more contemplative. I was horrified.

What was I going to do if she guessed who I really was? By all accounts I had been treating her obnoxiously in my new form. What if she did not want to marry me even if Asa and I found a way to swap bodies?

Everything I had done to train for becoming king was done with a sense of duty in mind. Though many had bestowed gifts and favors upon me throughout my lifetime, I assumed these came with strings attached. At times I refused, and other times I accepted with grace. But there was never a time I sought something for myself, something I wanted beyond my carefully constructed web of logic and honor. Something I just couldn't do without.

What if the gift I wanted most had been offered to me all this time? And what if it was too late to accept? 

Camellia's affection had become something I was not sure I could do without.

I pushed aside my plate and stood with a clatter, feeling strangely out of sorts.

"Excuse me for a moment, Lady Camellia." I waded through the throng surrounding the cafe, looking for an empty space to gather myself. 

When I had distanced myself from the crowds, I drew in some calming breaths, trying to quiet my heart, which was beating rapidly.

For the first time in a long time, I felt something akin to fear.

My distraction cost me, because a hand grabbed me from behind, stuffing a wet handkerchief in my face.

Before I could draw my sword, my body collapsed into darkness.