Well, not so much reading anymore. He was sprawled against one arm of the chair and was snoring softly. Strands of his hair were feathered across his face. The book that he was reading was face down and on the floor. Jasmine bent down to pick it up and glanced at the worn leather spine.” King’s Requiem.”

“Snooping much?” he asked, his voice still groggy with sleep.

Slightly startled, she responded, “I am allowed to snoop. I’m a princess, remember? Also, how did you get inside the library?” she was whispering now.

After blinking a few times and clearing his thoughts, he responded. “I walked through the huge doors.”

She gave him a curious stare. “The guards didn’t try to stop you?”

“No, they did. I just told them I had your permission and said you would be mad if I were late to meet up with you,” he said, now reaching to grab the book out of Jasmine’s hands, but before he could grab it, she moved backward. Then, while dangling the book in front of his face, she asked, “Do you like the book?”

Still holding a hand out for the book, Matt responded, “What part?”

“Any or all of it. The characters, storyline, lore, or just the general plot,” Jasmine answered.

As he narrowed his eyes on her, he asked, “Are you one of those rich snobby literature enthusiasts that like to preen themselves on their considerable knowledge?” he asked in a mocking tone.

“No, I’m far from it. I just enjoy reading and happened to have read this book as well,” Jasmine said, trying to maintain her composure. He glanced at her eyes and then stared for a bit as if he could see her through her.

“Were you crying? Is that why you look like you’re allergic to everything in the library?” He asked, turning around to hide his laughter. Before Jasmine could come up with a rebuttal, her stomach growled. She hadn’t eaten since that small meal that she stole from the kitchens in the afternoon. The moon was shining through the massive paned windows that lined the sides of the library, so it must be late.

Matt stood up and stretched his legs while yawning, and almost like he could read her mind, he asked, “So, want to go grab some food?”

Answering yes to that was one of the worst mistakes of her life. Instead of going to the kitchens Jasmine and matt snuck out of the castle disguised as commoners and went to a pub in the town near the castle. The pub was packed. Some people in the back were singing along to a musician’s jolly tune, swaying from side to side not just because of the spirit of the music but the spirits they were drinking as well. The bartender, most likely the owner, was frantically trying to hand out drinks to every customer. Buckets of ale were handed out with however many glasses you needed instead of individually pouring. Jasmine followed Matt towards the back part of the main room on the other side of the singers. They sat at a small table that still had remnants of the previous customer’s meals.

Swiping the dishes aside, Matt stated, “I bet you’ve never been to a place like this, much less even outside of that big castle of yours.” He was grinning broadly. Jasmine gave him a glare in response. He put a hand in the air to get a server’s attention. Shortly after, an older woman with brown hair and wrinkles on her face suggested that she often grimaced came over to take our orders. The tavern was serving a lamb stew and only had ale to drink. After confirming Matt and Jasmine’s orders, the woman walked away towards another table of drunkards. Jasmine was looking around the tavern soaking up the warm atmosphere. Compared to the feasts at the castle, this was so much more inviting. No one was reminding her to be on her best behaviour or forcing her to wear those giddy little gowns that she couldn’t breathe in. Instead, everyone was focused on their drinks and didn’t give a second thought about her. She hated being treated like a child that couldn’t do anything.

She finally looked back at the table to see Matt staring at her, “Why are you staring at me?” She almost had to yell to be heard over the crowd.

“Your eyes. They have streaks of blue marbled through them. It’s strange.”

She had been told how strange she looked her whole life, how it made her different from everyone else. “Is it so bad to be strange?” Before he could answer, the server dropped their food in front of them.

The stew was nothing special, just large chunks of meat, roughly chopped vegetables, and a thick broth. It didn’t stop Jasmine from digging in. She wolfed down the food so fast that she scalded the top of her mouth. She reached for a glass to fill with ale, but before she could grab the handle, Matt stopped her hand by grabbing her wrist. “How old are you?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.

“20 as of one month ago.” She lied.

It took him a couple of seconds as he struggled to discern whether it was the truth or not, but he released her arm. She sloshed the cup into the lukewarm ale and knocked it back, nearly coughing at the taste. They both went back to eating and drinking until she looked at his bowl. He was moving all the pieces of lamb to the side of his bowl and only eating the vegetables. Now drunk on the ale, her typical filters on her thoughts had disappeared. “Are you a vegetarian?” she asked, slightly slurring her words.

He scoffed before answering. “No, I just prefer not to eat meat when I can.” Finally seeming to realize that she was alone outside the castle with a stranger, she demanded answers. First, she asked about his past, which he dismissed with simple vague answers. Next, she asked where he was from, and he responded with more vague answers like far away from here and more nonsense. At last, she asked about his name, which he paused at, debating whether it was worth answering.

“You know what, I’ll make you a deal. A truth for a truth. We each ask each other a question with no boundaries, and we have to reply with the truth.” His eyes now had a gleam of hunger in them. He leaned forward, rolling up the sleeves of his black tunic and placing his arms on the table. From his hands to his elbows, he was covered in scars. There were also tattoos in some foreign language tattooed on his knuckles.

“What do tour tattoos say?” she asked.

“They’re a token of remembrance for all of my friends that I’ve seen die,” he replied, seeming to stare off into space to another place, another time. “How old are you, truthfully?” Matt asked her in return.

She sighed before answering, “Truthfully, I’m 17, as of last month.” Either he guessed as much, or he had already known because he didn’t bat an eye at the truth. “What about you? How old are you?” She asked Matt.

Before answering, he sat back, tilting his chair, and ran one hand through his hair. “I don’t know. My mom died when I was little, and I never met my dad. The only thing I remember from my childhood is what she looked like and my name.” Then, before she could so much as look sad or offer her condolences, he asked another question. “Why are you here?”

She frowned before answering, “You brought us here?” she said, obviously, confused.

“That’s not what I mean. You came to a random bar with a random man you met yesterday and are not even frightened in the slightest. You knocked back that piss-water this place calls ale, and yet you’re a princess who’s most likely never even been outside the castle grounds without a full entourage of guards and protection. So, why are you here?” he finished emphasizing the last bit.

She looked down at her feet, trying to devise a lie like she always did her whole life. ‘Why am I here?’ she questioned herself. She always enjoyed sneaking out and going to the forest, but she had never done anything like this before. Finally, she answered while still looking down at her feet, “I guess it’s because you’re the first person who hasn’t treated me like I’m some prized possession that needs to be protected at all times. I’ve been put on a pedestal my whole life, and my decisions were never mine to make. I just wanted to have some freedom or fun in my life.” She had never opened up like this to anyone, not even to her mother.

Dismissing her attempt to open up completely, Matt yawned loudly, “Wow, now that’s some serious stuff. Speaking of serious stuff, I really do need to get my beauty sleep.” He ended with a wink. He stood up, stretched his legs, and then tossed a couple of iron pieces for the meal. They walked out of the tavern, walking past staggering drunks and tables filled with people just enjoying the night.

The door opened to reveal the first light creeping over the edge of town. Jasmine and Matt must have been out longer than she had thought. The streets were mostly empty, save for some of the townsfolk and merchants preparing for the day. The trip back felt tremendously longer whether, from exhaustion or the fact that she had knocked back a couple of pints of ale, she didn’t know. Slightly staggering, she walked back towards the castle with Matt straight in front of her.

After what seemed like ages, they came upon the castle, standing ever so proudly sucking in the bright rays of the morning sun. Then, not wishing to go through the hassle of explaining where she had been to the servants that were sure to be awake, she and Matt snuck in through the same door that she had used to sneak out the night before. They crept through the door together and made their way over towards the eastern wing of the castle where Jasmine’s rooms were and subsequently, Matt’s.

Servants were preparing for the day, and as they crept past the kitchen, Jasmine picked up the smell of whatever fresh breakfast Luxaro was whipping up. Ignoring the urge to barge in and steal some food, they continued creeping along the hallway back towards her rooms. They walked up a winding staircase mainly used by the staff, and now nearing the top of the stairs, Jasmine saw that one of the windows was left open to let in an excellent draft. A tall willow tree near the edge of the grounds was billowing in the wind, and the branches were slapping against each other. Perched on one of the higher and sturdier branches was a Large white bird. It was staring through one eye, sideways, at Jasmine. Its big black eye seemed to look through her. Someone, a servant most likely, dropped something loudly in the courtyard below, and the bird took off, soaring towards the skies.

As they finally rounded the last leg of the stairs, she, once again, opened the door open just slightly to peer into the hallway. Nothing. She swung open the door producing a piercing squeak from the old metal hinges. They both braced, waiting for someone to come and find the source of the quaking, but no one came. After deeming that they were alone, they tiptoed back to their rooms. Jasmine entered her room first, and as she was closing the door, she heard Matt call out from down the hall, “Goodnight, Jas.” “

She walked across the room, stripping off her dirty clothes while she moved and plopped into bed, too exhausted to do much else.