The ball was a bust yet the king commanded that Thomas endure the mind numbing dances and the same inane conversations over and over again. He'd hoped that maybe, just maybe, the strange boy that he ran into in the woods would manage to show up to keep him company. Anything that would entertain him from his current boredom would be a welcome relief at this point. Thomas twirled the girl he was dancing with and bowed slightly as the song ended. He excused himself from the dance floor and made his way to the row of tables set out with refreshments.

"Having a nice time, your highness?" a light voice asked from the other end of his cup.

"Marvelous time," he quipped. Thomas plastered his usual fake smile on his face as he looked up at the speaker. His mouth dropped as he saw the familiar blonde hair and large brown eyes of his mysterious friend. "You made it!"

"I can't stay for long, but I wanted to see you again. I had a really nice time the last couple times I got to see you and wanted to continue our talks," the boy replied. "I've never been to anything this extravagant before."

"It gets very dull, very fast, trust me. Come outside with me and we can talk without intrusion." Thomas led them out a side door, luckily unnoticed and unfollowed out to the immaculate gardens. Thomas relaxed visibly and began to talk without a care in the world. His companion hummed in his responses, happily allowing the Prince to ramble on to his heart's content.

"You know, friend, I still don't know your name. Are you trying to hide it from me?" Thomas asked, a humorous glint in his eye.

"Not at all, your highness. I was more than happy to listen to you talk that I couldn't bring myself to interrupt you," the blonde said.

"Interrupt me now. And my name is Thomas by the way, I would like someone to use it."

"Thomas," the word flowed like water from his mouth that Thomas wanted no one else to ever say it again, save for him. The clock above their hands began to chime the hour that forced Thomas' companion face to fall. "I'm sorry, I have to go!" In an instant he took off and was gone before Thomas had a chance to grab at him. He called out after the boy but it went unheard and Thomas nearly tripped over a shoe that his companion had managed to step out of in his haste.

Maybe Thomas just had a chance to find him yet again, if he could just find the owner of the rather magnificent shoe.