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“I love rose gardens,” said Audrey with a smile. “And I love the ones with topiaries shaped like adorable creatures.” She giggled in delight at the thought, and the dove on her shoulder chirped back agreeably.
“They said I was rude,” he lamented. “And I was.”
“The elephants are my favorite. With those cute little trunks.”
“But I didn’t have a choice—they weren’t listening to me. They also said I lost my temper.” He hung his head, ashamed of the scene he had caused.
“But also the hippos. Such lovely teeth. It’s such a talent, really, to prune a bush into the shape of a hippo. Don’t you think?”
“Yes, but about the meeting…”
Audrey laughed again, and it was a tinkle of fairy bells chiming in the wind. Ben realized then that she hadn’t heard a word he was saying.
Maybe it’s better this way. She doesn’t understand what I’m going through, and I don’t think she ever will.
Audrey must have seen the frown on his face, because she paused to take Ben’s hand in her tiny, perfectly manicured fingers. “Don’t worry about it, Ben—everything will work out. It always does. You’re a prince, and I’m a princess. This is the land of Happy Endings, remember? You deserve nothing less than everything your heart desires. You were born to it, Ben. We all were.”
Ben stopped in his tracks. He had never thought about it like that. It was implied, certainly, in everything they did and everything that was done for them. But to hear the words themselves, from such beautifully shaped, perfectly pink lips…
Why us? How did we luck into this life? How is that fair? To be born into a life without a choice in the matter, without the freedom to be anyone else?
She laughed. “Don’t stop now, silly. I have something to show you. Something perfectly perfect, just like today.” He allowed himself to be pulled—like any good prince in the hands of a maiden princess—but his mind was still far away.
Is this all there is?
Is this even what I want for my life?
They had circled the garden, and now Audrey led him into a secluded patch of wildflowers. A beautiful picnic was laid out on the grass amid the blossoms, in a woodland vale filled with all manner of happy forest animals nuzzling, chirping, and hopping all about. “Isn’t it amazing? I had half the groundsmen and three cooks working on it all morning.” She leaned in to nuzzle Ben’s cheek. “Just for us.”
She pulled him down to the embroidered silken blanket. Her initials, intertwined with those of her royal parents, were stitched into the fabric beneath them. The gold silken thread sparkled like sunshine in the grass.
Ben smoothed a loose curl away from the blush of her rosy cheek. “It’s lovely. And I thank you for it. But—”
“I know,” she sighed. “I didn’t bring any cream cakes. It was all I could think about when you mentioned them. I do apologize. But we can sample a good seventeen sorts of other pastries.” She held up one shaped like a swan, with chocolate wings. “This one is sweet, don’t you think?”
She all but cooed at the pastry. Ben pulled away.
He shook his head. “But don’t you ever wonder if there’s more to life than this?”
“What could be more than this?” asked Audrey with an uncharacteristic frown. She put down the swan. “What else is there?”
“I don’t know, but wouldn’t you like to find out? Explore a little. Get out on our own and see the world? At least, see our own kingdom?”
She sucked chocolate off her finger, and even that was distractingly cute. Ben wondered if she knew it. He suspected that she did.
Then she sighed. “You’re not talking about that awful island, are you?”
He shrugged. “Maybe. Don’t you ever think about it? How weird it would be to live trapped in one place? Under a dome?”
It was, in fact, the first time Ben could ever remember seeing his princess’s princessy feathers ruffled. She wasn’t even pouting now. She was practically almost nearly slightly irritated.
“Perhaps, darling, they should have considered that before undertaking a life of evil and villainy—which could only lead to an eternity of punishment.”
Now Ben was intrigued. He had never seen her like this, and wondered for a moment if he didn’t prefer it. At the very least, they were finally having a real conversation.
“You have to admit, an eternity is a rather long time.” He shook his head. “They’re captives, Audrey. At least here in Auradon, we can travel anywhere and everywhere we please. They can’t.”
Audrey smiled brightly. “Yes, which reminds me. I told Aziz and Lonnie we would be visiting them today. Carriage picks us up in an hour.” She leaned forward, touching his chin with her fingertip. “Time for a new topic. Almost a whole new world, you could say.”
