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Hours later, and much too many ciders later, Noah and I were snorting at the off-key fae who had taken to singing his drunken heart out on a table in the corner of the bar.
“Lessth danccccce!” the fae shouted as he jumped from the table and grabbed the closest woman. An ogre stomped his foot to the beat, and the floors rattled at the aggressive thudding.
“So there’s all sorts of creatures in Faerie?” I asked, once again taking in the sights of many different-looking breeds of creatures similar to the ones I’d seen upon my arrival. I only knew what most of they were called because I’d read fantasy books, and these creatures were straight out of my reading.
Noah threw back the rest of his glass and wiped his mouth with the entire length of his sleeve. “Yes, of course. Fae, ogres, giants, vampires—though those you need to be careful of. I’ve read some human-world books glorifying those monsters and it’s not that way.”
His words slurred together and the image of Noah reading some vampire fantasy romance novel had me choking on my drink as I laughed.
He eyed me, a question in his gaze at my giddy humor, but I waved him off with my hand.
Suddenly, the door to the bar slammed open and three palace guards stood at the entryway. Noah lowered his head and swiftly came around to sit on the same side of the booth with me, pushing me down and out of sight of the guards.
The silence in the air was immediate, and I shivered at the quick way the entire atmosphere in the carefree bar had changed.
“A word with the barkeep,” one of the guards grunted. The man who had been serving drinks behind the mahogany counter walked toward them. As the guard spoke, a few patrons began moving about again and a few murmurs kept complete silence at bay.
“We need to go, now,” Noah said, taking my arm. “Follow me.”
We snaked through the crowded bar and Noah ducked into the doorway that led to the kitchen. “Pardon us,” he said in a voice that didn’t sound like him at all. He continued pulling on my arm until we left through an open door and saw the outside.
“Run!” he shouted.
I obeyed instantly, keeping up with him as we tore through the streets of Rosefeather and up toward the hill we’d crested hours before.
Once a safe distance away, back outside the secret hedge, Noah stopped and fell to the grass, laughing.
“What is so funny?” I said, gasping between breaths. “What was that all about?”
Noah rolled over into a seated position and picked a few blades of the grass at his feet. “Oh I’m sure my mother hasn’t heard word of me for a few hours and immediately thinks the worst. They’re scanning the village for signs of my whereabouts.”
“So we need to get back!” I exclaimed, running to the hedged wall and pushing at random sections.
My frantic thuds along the wall had Noah howling again.
“It's not funny, Your Majesty,” I sneered. “Your mother will think I lured you away and have me killed!”
Noah sobered enough to stop laughing and shook his head as he stood. “Cora, my mother will be fine.” He pushed through the secret entrance in one try and the mysterious door swung inward as I walked through, safely back inside the castle grounds.
My fear immediately lessened the moment we shut the door behind us. It was better knowing we’d be caught here and not galivanting around the village if the Royal Guard appeared. I chuckled in a relieved and awkward snort. “What a day.”
“Did you have a good time?” Noah bumped into my shoulder, and I looked at him as we made our way slowly through the garden paths.
I couldn’t help the smile that overtook me. “It was amazing.” It had been. It was the first time I’d done something different for my birthday. “Thank you so much for this.”
Noah beamed, clearly proud of himself. “I don’t get to do anything spontaneous anymore. It was as much a treat for me as it was for you.”
We walked back toward the entrance to the garden and up the stairs, into the castle. The guards acknowledged Prince Noah, and one took off down the corridor ahead of us as soon as we entered the palace.
“No doubt letting everyone know they’d simply forgotten I’d gone for a walk in the gardens.”
“Mmmm, a walk in the gardens, the audacity,” I joked.
Noah snorted and for a minute, he wasn’t a prince. He was the closest thing I had to a friend. And the feeling was incredible. Incredible but sobering. Could he truly be my friend?
We made our way slowly and in silence to my bedroom. I didn’t want to end our fun, but I’d taken up the prince’s entire day, and with the queen on the warpath looking for him, I couldn’t imagine taking any more time was wise.
