The palace quieted after nightfall in a way it never did during the day.
By daylight, Ivanova's halls were filled with footsteps, voices, the rustle of silk gowns, and the endless watchful eyes of servants and guards. A princess was never truly alone under the sun.
But at night… things softened.
The torches burned lower. Footsteps grew fewer. Even the marble corridors seemed to breathe more slowly.
Ariana moved silently through one of the lesser-used hallways, her cloak pulled lightly around her shoulders. The fabric was dark enough to hide the pale shimmer of the gown beneath it.
Her fiery red hair, however, was impossible to completely conceal.
Serena walked beside her, glancing down the corridor with the alertness of someone who had performed this quiet escape many times before.
"Slow down," Serena whispered.
Ariana glanced over her shoulder with a small smile.
"I am walking slowly."
"You are walking like someone who is eager."
"I am not eager."
Serena raised a brow.
"You have been checking the moon since supper."
Ariana exhaled softly, trying — unsuccessfully — to suppress a small laugh.
"I was not checking the moon."
"You were."
Serena paused near a narrow archway and listened carefully before gesturing toward the open garden doors beyond.
The night air drifted inside, cool and fragrant.
"We have time," Serena murmured. "But if the Queen's attendants notice you missing—"
"They will assume I am reading."
Serena gave her a look.
Ariana lifted her chin slightly.
"It is not impossible for me to read, Serena."
"Yes," Serena said dryly. "But you do not usually read while wearing a cloak."
Ariana rolled her eyes, though her smile lingered.
The doors opened quietly, and the two stepped out into the palace gardens.
Moonlight washed over the hedges and marble paths, turning everything silver.
This part of the gardens was older than the rest. The hedges were taller, the paths narrower, and the lanterns fewer. Most of the court preferred the grand terraces near the fountains and statues.
This corner was quieter.
Hidden.
Their place.
Serena stopped beside a thick cluster of roses.
"I will wait here."
Ariana nodded.
Serena had long ago learned the boundaries of this arrangement. She knew enough to protect the secret, but she never intruded beyond what Ariana allowed.
Still, her voice softened slightly.
"Do not stay too long."
"I never do."
Serena gave her a look that suggested she did not entirely believe that.
Then Ariana slipped deeper into the garden.
The familiar path curved gently between tall hedges until it opened into a small clearing.
An old stone fountain sat at the center, long dry now, its marble worn smooth by time.
Ariana slowed as she approached.
Someone was already there.
Sebastian leaned against the fountain's edge, one boot resting casually against the stone.
He straightened the moment he saw her.
Even in the dim moonlight, Ariana could see the smile that immediately appeared on his face.
"Ari."
His voice carried warmth that no courtly greeting ever held.
Ariana pushed back her hood.
"Seb."
The simple exchange felt strangely comforting.
Sebastian stepped closer, studying her with a quiet ease that came only from long familiarity.
He was tall — though not as tall as some of the older knights — with broad shoulders that spoke of years of training. His dark hair fell loosely across his forehead, and the moonlight caught the green of his eyes as he looked at her.
"You almost didn't come tonight," he said.
"I always come."
"Not always."
Ariana folded her arms.
"I am a princess. I have duties."
Sebastian chuckled softly.
"Yes," he said. "But you still came."
He reached out without hesitation and brushed a loose strand of her red hair back from her shoulder.
It was such a casual gesture that Ariana barely reacted to it.
Anyone watching them would have thought they had known each other forever.
Which, in truth, they almost had.
"You're late," Sebastian added.
"I am not late."
"You are."
Ariana narrowed her eyes.
"Careful, Seb."
He grinned.
"What will you do? Have me arrested?"
"I might."
"You would miss me."
Ariana tried to appear unimpressed, but the corners of her lips betrayed her.
Sebastian noticed, of course.
He always did.
They moved to sit along the edge of the old fountain, close enough that their shoulders nearly touched.
For a moment, neither spoke.
The garden was quiet except for the distant rustling of leaves.
Sebastian glanced sideways at her.
"You look tired."
"I spent the afternoon listening to Lady Verena explain the importance of posture during diplomatic introductions."
Sebastian winced.
"That sounds painful."
"It was."
He studied her for another moment before asking quietly,
"Your mother again?"
Ariana exhaled slowly.
"My mother believes a princess should be perfect."
"And you are."
She gave him a look.
"I am serious."
"Seb," she said, shaking her head.
But his expression remained sincere.
"You are."
Ariana looked away toward the moonlit hedges.
For a long moment she said nothing.
Then she spoke softly.
"Sometimes I think the palace walls are getting smaller."
Sebastian didn't laugh this time.
"I know."
She glanced at him.
"No you don't."
"I do."
"How?"
He leaned back slightly, resting his hands on the stone behind him.
"Because every time you come here," he said, "you breathe like someone who has been underwater too long."
Ariana blinked.
Then she looked away again.
She hated how easily he noticed things.
Sebastian nudged her shoulder lightly.
"Hey."
She turned back toward him.
"You are thinking too much again."
"I always think too much."
"That is true."
She shoved him lightly, and he laughed.
The sound felt easy. Familiar.
Comfortable.
Ariana studied him quietly for a moment.
With Sebastian, everything felt… simple.
He didn't look at her like the court did.
He didn't measure her words or weigh her beauty like a jewel to be admired.
To him, she had always just been Ari.
The girl who once climbed garden walls.
The girl who complained about court lessons.
The girl who sometimes wished she could run beyond the palace gates and never come back.
"You remember when we first found this place?" Sebastian asked suddenly.
Ariana raised a brow.
"You mean when you fell into the fountain?"
"I slipped."
"You tripped over your own sword."
"I was twelve."
"You were clumsy."
Sebastian laughed.
"And you pushed me."
"I did not."
"You absolutely did."
Ariana shook her head, though her smile returned.
They fell into another quiet moment.
Then Sebastian reached for her hand.
Not hesitantly.
Not nervously.
Just naturally.
His fingers closed around hers like it was the most ordinary thing in the world.
Ariana didn't pull away.
She rarely did.
The warmth of his hand felt familiar.
Steady.
Safe.
For years now, these stolen meetings had felt like this — small pieces of time that belonged only to them.
Time where Ariana could forget the crown waiting for her inside the palace.
Where she could forget her mother's expectations.
Where she could simply be… herself.
Sebastian squeezed her hand gently.
"You're thinking again."
"Maybe."
"Dangerous habit."
She looked at him.
"Seb?"
"Yes, Ari?"
"Do you ever wonder what life would be like outside the palace?"
He smiled faintly.
"Every day."
Ariana looked toward the distant towers of the palace rising beyond the hedges.
For a moment, the crown felt very far away.
And for that small, borrowed moment…
She was just Ariana.