Alaric had a problem.
Actually, he had several.
His father thought he was becoming irresponsible. His cousin Lennox thought he was entertaining himself with an orphan girl. Geoffrey thought he had finally lost his mind.
And Aveline?
Aveline thought he was lying.
The annoying thing was that all of them were right.
Alaric sat at the edge of his bed, staring at his boots.
One of them still had a small piece of dried mud stuck to the side.
He had spent the last ten minutes staring at it.
Not because the mud was particularly interesting.
He simply didn't want to think.
Unfortunately, his mind had other plans.
Aveline.
He could still hear her laughing at him earlier that afternoon.
You really don't know how to do anything, do you?
She had said it after he had nearly dropped a basket of apples.
He had wanted to be offended.
Instead, he'd laughed.
That was the problem.
Everything she did seemed to affect him.
If she smiled, he smiled.
If she was angry, he became miserable.
If she ignored him, he found himself wondering what he'd done wrong.
And if she wasn't around…
Well, that was worse.
Alaric fell backward onto the bed.
"This is ridiculous."
A knock came at the door.
He didn't answer.
The door opened anyway.
Geoffrey stepped inside carrying a tray.
"I brought you dinner."
"I'm not hungry."
"I know."
"Then why bring it?"
"Because the last time you said that, you ate half a roast chicken twenty minutes later."
Alaric sat up.
"I wasn't hungry then either."
Geoffrey placed the tray on the table.
"Of course not."
He turned to leave.
"Geoffrey."
The older man stopped.
"What?"
Alaric hesitated.
"Have you ever…"
He frowned.
"Never mind."
Geoffrey waited.
Alaric sighed.
"Have you ever done something stupid and then realized you couldn't undo it?"
Geoffrey gave him a long look.
"Your Highness, I have served you since you were eight."
Alaric narrowed his eyes.
"That wasn't necessary."
"It was, however, accurate."
Despite himself, Alaric smiled.
Geoffrey smiled back.
Then his expression became serious.
"Whatever you've done, you should probably fix it before it becomes worse."
Alaric looked down.
"That's the problem."
"What problem?"
"I don't know how."
Geoffrey studied him.
"Is this about the girl?"
Alaric's head snapped up.
"What girl?"
"The one you've been visiting."
"I haven't been visiting anyone."
Geoffrey raised an eyebrow.
"You came home yesterday with grass stains on your trousers."
"I fell."
"Into grass?"
"Yes."
"Several times?"
Alaric said nothing.
Geoffrey nodded knowingly.
"I see."
"You see nothing."
"I see everything."
"That's irritating."
"It's my greatest talent."
Geoffrey reached the door.
"Whatever you're going to do, do it quickly."
"Why?"
"Because if I can tell something is wrong, your father probably can too."
The door closed.
Alaric stared at it.
That thought bothered him more than he wanted to admit.
⸻
The next morning, Alaric woke up with a decision.
He was going back to the village.
Not because he wanted to see Aveline.
At least, that was what he told himself.
He needed to make sure she wasn't angry.
Which was different.
Probably.
He dressed quickly and slipped out before anyone could stop him.
Unfortunately, someone was waiting beside the stable.
Duke Lennox.
Lennox leaned against the wall, arms folded.
"Going somewhere?"
Alaric stopped.
"No."
Lennox looked at the horse standing behind him.
"Of course not."
"I'm just checking the horses."
"With riding boots?"
"I like the horses."
"At sunrise?"
"They're lonely."
Lennox laughed.
"You're terrible at this."
"Move."
"No."
"Lennox."
"Alaric."
They stared at each other.
Finally Lennox grinned.
"So."
"So?"
"How's your little orphan?"
Alaric's expression hardened.
"Don't call her that."
Lennox's smile faded slightly.
"Interesting."
"What?"
"You're defensive."
"I'm not."
"You are."
"I'm simply telling you to show some respect."
Lennox laughed.
"This was supposed to be a joke, remember?"
Alaric looked away.
"I remember."
"You were supposed to charm her, collect your prize, and prove that you could make anyone fall for you."
Alaric's jaw tightened.
"I know what the bet was."
"Then why do you look miserable?"
"I don't."
"You do."
Lennox stepped closer.
"Don't tell me you've actually fallen for her."
Alaric said nothing.
Lennox's eyebrows rose.
"Oh."
"Don't."
"Alaric…"
"I said don't."
For once, Lennox didn't laugh.
He looked at his cousin carefully.
"You have."
Alaric mounted his horse.
"Get out of my way."
Lennox stepped aside.
But before Alaric rode away, Lennox called after him.
"You know she doesn't know about the bet, right?"
Alaric stopped.
His stomach tightened.
"I know."
"And when she finds out?"
Alaric looked over his shoulder.
"I'll deal with it."
Lennox shook his head.
"You've never been good at dealing with consequences."
Alaric rode away without answering.
⸻
Aveline was angry.
She had been angry since yesterday.
She was angry while sweeping the floor.
Angry while carrying water.
Angry while eating breakfast.
She was even angry at a goat that had nothing to do with the situation.
The goat chewed on a piece of cloth and stared at her.
"Don't look at me like that."
The goat continued chewing.
"I said don't."
It continued.
Aveline pointed at it.
"You know what? You're just like him."
The goat sneezed.
She sighed.
"Fine. You're forgiven."
She sat down outside the little house where she lived.
Her fingers found the silver locket around her neck.
She had owned it for as long as she could remember.
Her mother had given it to her when she was very young.
At least, that was what the old woman who raised her had told her.
Aveline had never known much about her parents.
Her mother had died.
Her father had disappeared.
And the only thing left behind was the locket.
She had tried opening it countless times.
It had never worked.
Until recently.
And even then, she hadn't managed to see what was inside properly.
She touched it again.
Then she heard footsteps.
Her heart gave an embarrassing little jump.
She knew who it was.
She hated that she knew.
Alaric appeared around the corner.
He smiled when he saw her.
She didn't smile back.
His smile disappeared.
"Good morning."
"Is it?"
He looked at the sky.
"It appears to be."
She stared at him.
He sighed.
"You're still angry."
"What gave it away?"
"The fact that you look like you want to throw that bucket at me."
She looked at the bucket.
Then at him.
"Maybe I do."
"I'd rather you didn't."
"Why?"
"It's heavy."
She almost laughed.
Almost.
Instead, she looked away.
Alaric came closer.
"Aveline, I wanted to explain."
"I don't want an explanation."
"You haven't even heard it."
"I don't need to."
"You do."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"You're being difficult."
She looked at him.
"You lied to me."
He went quiet.
That wiped the smile from his face.
"I know."
"You told me you were a traveler."
"I am a traveler."
She gave him a look.
"Fine. I'm a prince who travels."
"That's not funny."
"I wasn't trying to be funny."
She crossed her arms.
"Then tell me the truth."
Alaric hesitated.
And that hesitation told her more than his words could have.
Aveline shook her head.
"I knew it."
"Knew what?"
"That there was something wrong."
"Nothing is wrong."
"You disappear for hours. You have servants who somehow know where you are. You speak like a nobleman. You ride horses worth more than this entire village."
Alaric glanced at his horse.
"That horse isn't mine."
"Whose is it?"
He paused.
"Technically?"
She groaned.
"Forget it."
"Aveline…"
She turned away.
He reached for her arm.
She pulled back.
"Don't."
He immediately dropped his hand.
That hurt.
More than he expected.
"I didn't mean to lie to you."
"But you did."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Alaric looked down.
He couldn't tell her.
Not yet.
If he told her about the bet, everything would end.
And if he didn't tell her, he was still lying.
He had never realized how exhausting honesty could be until he had something terrible to confess.
"I was afraid."
Aveline looked at him.
"Of me?"
"No."
"Then what?"
"Of what you'd think of me."
She frowned.
"You are the strangest person I've ever met."
"I've been told."
"And I don't know whether I like you."
Alaric's heart sank.
"But you haven't sent me away."
"I've considered it."
"How many times?"
"Several."
"That's encouraging."
She finally smiled.
It was tiny.
But he noticed.
And that was enough to make his chest feel lighter.
Then she said, "There's something else."
"What?"
She touched her locket.
"This."
Alaric looked at it.
"What about it?"
"I think it opened."
His attention sharpened.
"What?"
She pulled the locket from beneath her dress.
"I found a little crack in it yesterday."
"Can I see?"
She hesitated.
Then handed it to him.
Alaric turned it over.
It was old.
Very old.
There was a symbol carved into the back.
He had seen it before.
But where?
He couldn't remember.
"Do you know what this means?" Aveline asked.
"No."
It was a lie.
He did recognize something about it.
Not the symbol itself.
The shape around it.
It looked strangely familiar.
Like something he'd seen on an old royal document.
He handed it back.
"Probably nothing."
Aveline studied him.
"You're lying again."
"I might be."
"At least you're becoming honest about your dishonesty."
He laughed.
She tried not to.
Neither succeeded.
For a moment, things felt normal again.
Then a voice came from behind them.
"Prince Alaric!"
Everything stopped.
Aveline turned.
A man in royal colors stood at the edge of the road.
Alaric's heart dropped.
The man bowed.
"Your Highness."
Aveline stared at Alaric.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
"You…"
Alaric closed his eyes.
There it was.
The moment he had been dreading.
The messenger continued.
"His Majesty requests your immediate return."
Aveline looked at him.
"Prince?"
Alaric turned toward her.
"Aveline…"
She took a step backward.
"You really are him."
He couldn't lie anymore.
"Yes."
She looked at the ground.
Then at him.
For several seconds she said nothing.
Finally, she whispered, "How long were you planning to keep this from me?"
"I don't know."
"Until after you were finished playing with me?"
His face changed.
"No."
"Then what was I?"
"Nothing like that."
"Then what was I?"
Alaric had no answer.
And that was when he realized the worst part.
The truth about his identity was going to hurt her.
But the truth about the bet would destroy her.
He had to tell her.
He knew that.
He also knew he was a coward.
"Aveline…"
She shook her head.
"Don't."
"I need to explain."
"Not now."
She walked away.
He watched her go.
The royal messenger cleared his throat.
"Your Highness?"
Alaric didn't move.
"Give me a moment."
The messenger sighed.
"You've had several moments."
Alaric looked at him.
"Then give me one more."
The messenger wisely said nothing.
⸻
That night, Alaric returned to the palace.
He went straight to his room.
Geoffrey was waiting.
He took one look at Alaric's face.
"Oh dear."
Alaric dropped into a chair.
"She knows."
Geoffrey sighed.
"I suppose we should be grateful she didn't stab you."
"That's your comfort?"
"I'm trying."
Alaric rubbed his face.
"She knows I'm the prince."
"And?"
"She knows I lied."
Geoffrey waited.
Alaric looked away.
"But she doesn't know about the bet."
Geoffrey's expression changed.
"Oh."
"Exactly."
"You need to tell her."
"I know."
"Before someone else does."
"I know."
"Preferably before Lennox opens his mouth."
Alaric stood.
"I'll kill him."
"No."
"I'll seriously injure him."
"Also no."
"I'll throw him into the river."
Geoffrey considered this.
"Which river?"
"The eastern one."
"That's quite far."
"Geoffrey."
"Sorry."
Alaric paced the room.
Then a knock came.
Neither of them spoke.
Another knock.
Geoffrey opened the door.
A royal guard stood outside.
"His Majesty wants the prince in the council chamber."
Alaric's stomach tightened.
"Now?"
"Immediately."
He followed the guard.
As he walked through the palace corridors, he noticed something strange.
People were whispering.
Servants stopped talking when he passed.
Nobles stared.
Something had happened.
He reached the council chamber.
The doors opened.
His father stood at the far end of the room.
Beside him stood Duke Lennox.
And beside Lennox was Lady Seraphina.
Alaric stopped.
His father looked furious.
Lennox looked nervous.
Seraphina looked amused.
King Edric spoke first.
"Alaric."
"Father."
"You have been spending time in the village."
Alaric said nothing.
"You have been deceiving the palace."
Still nothing.
"And you have been associating with a girl whose background we know almost nothing about."
Alaric's eyes narrowed.
"What does that mean?"
His father looked at him.
"It means you will stop seeing her."
Alaric felt anger rise inside him.
"No."
The room went silent.
King Edric stared at him.
"What did you say?"
Alaric stood straighter.
"I said no."
Lennox looked genuinely shocked.
Seraphina's smile disappeared.
King Edric stepped toward his son.
"You seem to have forgotten who you are."
"No, Father."
Alaric's voice was steady.
"For the first time, I think I'm beginning to remember."
His father stared at him.
Then he said something that made Alaric's blood run cold.
"Then perhaps you should know who Aveline really is."
Alaric froze.
"What?"
The king's expression hardened.
"That girl is not as ordinary as you believe."
Alaric stared at him.
His father continued.
"Twenty years ago, a family disappeared from Ravendale."
He paused.
"And the last surviving child was never found."
Alaric's heart began to pound.
He thought of the locket.
The strange symbol.
Aveline's mother.
Her missing past.
King Edric looked directly into his son's eyes.
"I believe we may have just found her."
Alaric couldn't speak.
Across the room, Lennox looked as though he had forgotten how to breathe.
And Lady Seraphina?
She was smiling again.
But this time, there was something cold behind it.
Something that made Alaric realize that whatever had begun between him and Aveline was no longer simply a foolish romance between a prince and an orphan.
There was a secret buried somewhere in Ravendale.
And somehow, Aveline was at the center of it.