Back at the palace, Seraphina paced her chamber like a caged bird. Thalia lounged on the bed, lazily tossing grapes into her mouth. It had been four days since Princess Seraphina collided with Finn. Four long days—and she hadn't stopped thinking about him. She tried. Truly.
There was etiquette training, embroidery practice (where she stabbed the fabric like it had personally offended her), and endless tea sessions with Prince Kaelen—whose idea of "romance" was asking whether she preferred blue or gold curtains in the throne room.
She preferred setting the curtains on fire. But mostly, her thoughts drifted back to Finn Callan. A baker with storm-gray eyes, a laugh that warmed her bones, and a goat named Myrtle who caused more chaos than half the royal council.
He wasn't just unforgettable. He was dangerous. Because when he looked at her, he didn't see a princess. He saw a girl. And she liked it too much.
"You're going to wear a hole in the floor," Thalia drawled.
"I don't care." Seraphina threw up her hands in the air. "I can't stop thinking about him. About Finn."
"Goat boy?" Thalia grinned, wicked as ever.
"Don't call him that," Seraphina snapped, then softened, her voice dropping. "He's…different. He makes me feel alive. Like I'm not just the crown."
Thalia arched a brow. "So, you want to sneak out at night, see him again, risk your life, your throne, your neck—all for a baker with a stubborn goat?"
"Yes," Seraphina said instantly, eyes blazing. "Exactly that."
Thalia burst out laughing. "Gods help me, I'm in. Tonight, then. When everyone's asleep—we move."
So, on a fog-kissed evening when the castle bustled with preparations for a royal banquet, Seraphina did what any rebellious princess with a reckless heart would do. She ran away. Again.
"Distract the guards," she whispered to Thalia, tugging off her tiara and stuffing it into a satchel.
"You're going to see Goat Boy, sorry Finn, aren't you?" Thalia whispered back, brandishing a tray of pastries like weapons.
Seraphina smirked. "You're the best."
"I know."
And just like that, chaos was set. That night, the palace was quiet. Everyone snored like thunder. Seraphina pulled on a dark cloak and tied her hair back, her heart pounding like a drum.
Thalia appeared at the door, holding a loaf of bread. "For bribing guards. Or goats. Both work."
"You're insane."
"Birds of a feather," Thalia shot back. They slipped into the night.
<<<<<
In the Valley. Finn Callan was having a terrible morning. He had burned a loaf of bread, dropped an entire basket of apples into the mud, and Myrtle—the goat—had escaped again and eaten half the cabbage patch.
He blamed her. That princess. Seraphina. She haunted him. Her laugh. Her fire. The way she had looked at him like he was more than a valley nobody. He was sure she had forgotten him. Royals didn't think twice about poor bakers who smelled of flour and goats. But then—
"Hi."
Finn froze. The basket of apples slipped from his hands. He turned. There she was. Cloaked. Windblown. Radiant.
"You again," he breathed.
"Me again."
"You can't just keep popping into my life like this," Finn said, running a hand through his hair. "You'll give me heart failure. Or worse—a very confusing crush."
Her eyes sparkled. "You think I'm confusing?"
"I think you're trouble."
"Good."
She stepped into his bakery as if she belonged there. The smell of bread and woodsmoke filled the room, and Myrtle bleated from the corner, chewing on Finn's bootlace.
"You're really a princess," he said slowly, watching her perch on a flour-dusted stool.
"I'm really a prisoner with shinier jewelry," she murmured.
"I'm just a baker."
She tilted her head, smiling softly. "You gave me something no one else has. You made me laugh. That counts for more than you think."
He chuckled, but his chest ached.
"I can't stay long," she said, her voice low. "But I had to see you."
"Why?"
"I… don't know." Her eyes shimmered. "You make me forget the palace. Forget the crown. Forget the cage they keep building around me."
Finn stepped closer, his heart pounding. "Seraphina—"
"I'm betrothed," she blurted out, "to a man who stares at walls like they owe him money."
Finn blinked. "Oh."
"I'm not supposed to be here. I'm not supposed to want this. But I do." Her voice trembled. "Tell me I'm crazy."
"You're crazy," Finn whispered.
And then he kissed her. It was reckless. Sweet. Forbidden. It tasted of bread and starlight, rebellion and freedom. His hands curled against her back, hers tangled in his hair, and for a moment, the world outside didn't exist.
When she finally pulled away, breathless, Seraphina whispered, "I'm definitely sneaking out again."
<<<<<
Prince Kaelen sat in the royal garden, sipping tea he didn't want, staring at flowers he didn't like. His advisor droned on about floral arrangements, but Kaelen wasn't listening.
The princess was changing. She hummed. She smiled. Once, she had even laughed.
Not at him. Never at him.
He clenched his jaw. "She's hiding something."
The advisor blinked. "Hiding… what, my lord?"
Kaelen rose to his feet, eyes hard. "Bring me the Royal Tracker."
"The… what?"
"If Seraphina's heart belongs to someone else," Kaelen said coldly, "I'll find him. And when I do—he will regret it."
<<<<<
She wanted to forget who she was. Not when his eyes saw her as someone, not something.
They sat beneath the old sycamore tree—her gown grass-stained, his shirt torn—talking about everything and nothing. He teased her. She teased him back. They laughed until tears filled their eyes.
"Who are you, really?" he asked, brushing a leaf from her hair.
"No one," she whispered softly. "Just someone looking for the edge of the world."
Finn smiled. "Well, you found the edge. But falling off it comes with consequences."
Her chest ached. "Does that change everything?"
He looked at her, storm in his eyes. "It changes nothing—and everything. I should walk away… but gods help me, I don't want to."
Before either could speak again, Thalia burst through the trees, breathless. "Guards are sweeping the streets! We need to move!"
Seraphina jumped to her feet. Finn grabbed her hand without thinking.
For a heartbeat, they just stared at each other—two people from different worlds, bound by something neither of them understood.
Thalia groaned. "Oh, you two are perfect. Sickeningly perfect. Now MOVE!"
They ran into the foggy night, laughter and fear mixing in the air. Myrtle bleated loudly as she waddled after them, hooves clattering on the cobblestones. Behind them, hidden in the mist, a man in dark livery watched. Silent. Waiting. The hunt had already begun.