The palace doors opened slowly, the heavy stone slabs gliding smoothly on their hinges and the countless inlaid gems catching the sun, shimmering brightly. Sadie raised a hand to her face, protecting her eyes from the fluorescent flashes of light until the doors ceased their movement, giving way to the sight of a red velvet carpet leading into the castle and up the central spiral staircase. A massive, golden chandelier hung from the ceiling, every candle lit and standing tall, as if they had just been replaced. The entrance hall itself was immaculate, each tile polished, with golden decorations and detailed portraits and murals all around. Standing just inside the hall was a rather pudgy man, wearing a tuxedo with a bowtie, his bushy moustache groomed and styled with a curl at either end. He looked up and down at Sadie, silently scrutinizing her simple linen shirt and pants. 

“Are you so daft to believe the Prince deserves any less than your best attire, Miss Rivers?” He said in a rather thick, posh accent. 

“That’s no way to speak to my lady, Nelson.” Sadie looked up to the banisters to find the Prince slowly walking down, dressed in a pristine white dress shirt and black pants. “She may dress how she wishes.” 

Nelson turned around and bowed deeply to the Prince. “Of course. My apologies, Master Reece.” 

Sadie gave Reece a toothless smile, gritting her teeth behind it. Reece returned the smile, reaching the bottom of the staircase. “Be off, Nelson.” 

“As you wish.” 

Both of them watched as Nelson left the entrance hall, his footsteps on the tiled floor echoing off the walls. He stepped through a door at the end of the hallway and closed it gently behind him. Sadie dropped her smile, letting out an exaggerated sigh. 

“Why do we always need to do this when your parents aren’t home?” 

Reece raised an eyebrow. “Imagine the fuss they’d make if they saw you walk in here dressed like that.” 

Sadie rolled her eyes, shoving past him with her shoulder. “What a disaster, the Prince and a disgusting commoner, huh?” 

“Hey, you know that’s not what it’s like.” 

“Do I?” He turned to see her walking up the stairs, a smirk on her face. “Come on, they aren’t here. You can say what you really think.” 

He gave her a wry smile. “Fine, they’re peasant-hating conceited asses whose only redeeming qualities are their money.” 

“Much better,” she chuckled, skipping up a few steps. “When can we stop sneaking around like this?” 

“Probably never,” Reece grumbled, making his way up the steps towards her until they were side by side. “Unless you ran away.” 

“Then what would you do?” 

“Eh, my parents will just find me another unfortunate commoner to marry. Maybe the next one will actually like me.” 

“Will you like them?” 

“Probably not.” 

She smacked him over the head, scoffing. “Because you’d rather a distinguished lady to court?” Her last few words dripped with a little bit of a fake accent and a lot of very real sarcasm. He rubbed the back of his head and shrugged, making an apologetic face. 

“What can I say, I’ve only been dreaming of marrying the most beautiful of princesses.” 

“So what, I’m not pretty enough?” 

“You’re better looking than most common women, I suppose.” 

“Oh, you bastard!” 

Both of them laughed the rest of the way up the staircase, making jests towards each other, until they reached Reece’s quarters. 

“Is he here yet?” Sadie asked, using her fingers as a comb to tidy her hair. 

“See for yourself,” Reece said, pushing the door open. The room beyond was vast, filled with shelves of books from wall to wall, and in the centre, sat a very large bed, one that could likely fill the entirety of Sadie’s room at home. A desk sat below the single window on the far wall, and sitting on the bed was another man, much scruffier than Reece. He wore simple linens, like Sadie, but unlike Sadie, they were covered in stains and marks, as was his filthy face. His face lit up in a massive grin when he saw her standing in the doorway, and she ran towards him, tackling him onto the bed with a hug. 

“I missed you,” he said, pulling her in for a kiss. “But I hate doing this all the time, can’t you just come to see me at the leatherworker’s?” 

Sadie wrenched herself away from him, a look of shock on her face. “They’d kill you if they saw you with me, Charles!” 

“At least you’d be the last thing I saw before I died, then.” 

“No I wouldn’t. It would be the gallows!” 

“It— no, I was trying to… Ah, forget it.” 

Reece stood at the door, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed, waiting for them to finish. After a few minutes, they finally separated themselves, sitting on the bed next to each other and making eyes between themselves the entire time. “So, in exactly thirty-one days, we’ll be married, and then it’s unfortunately over for you two.” 

“Can’t we just keep doing this? What changes?” Charles asked, gripping Sadie’s hand tightly. 

“When we marry, every little thing Sadie and I do will be scrutinized. If anyone, and I mean anyone, sees you anywhere near her, you’ll be in a lot of danger.” 

“I’m already in danger doing this.” 

“More danger. All the eyes are on my parents right now, but when Sadie and I wed, there’ll be a lot more focus on me, even when my parents are going on their little excursions.” 

Charles grumbled, but Sadie’s eyes burned with passion. “So we take your advice, then. We run.” 

Reece hesitated for a moment. “That was uh, mostly a joke.” 

“But it’s the best chance we have, isn’t it?” 

He thought about it, furrowing his brow and looking down. “I suppose, but where would you go?” 

“Anywhere,” Sadie blurted, gripping Charles’ hand even tighter. “We could make a log cabin in the woods, far away from everyone else, for all I care. Your parents can find another puppet to parade around to pretend they care about us ‘peasants,’ right?” 

Reece shrugged, a smile on his face. “They can, but I really wish they wouldn’t.”