It wasn't anything particularly heinous, just an attempt at a little privacy from the kingdom, just an attempt to be merely Zen and Shirayuki, not whatever pressure might be put on them if all of Clarines knew or the jealousy of other kingdoms, if they found out. Perhaps, that's why, they stood carefully outside of a ballroom that neither wanted to be in, for just a breather.
Or for Zen to look at the woman that he fell in love with in her best attire and feel as if all of the air in the world just vanished, so very easily. Shirayuki wore a gold and silver dress that Zen was half-sure that Izana had custom ordered for her, as "one of our prized herbalists, she should be dressed well for Clarines' sake," or something along those lines. Really, it felt almost like a ploy to test just how long it would take Zen to completely lose all thought and just stare at her.
Or make too many noblemen glance over at her and ask her to dance. Honestly, Shirayuki had looked exhausted when she and Zen stepped outside to get a breath of fresh air, and Zen was half-positive that she had almost never stepped off the dancefloor tonight. He'd stolen her away for one dance, though stolen was probably too generous a term, when Prince Raji looked over, seen Zen watching them, and suggested that Zen and Shirayuki should dance the next song.
Honestly, that Idiot Prince had his moments of actually being a good guy. Zen was surprised. But then again, Shirayuki with all of her willingness to forgive and the way that she pushed forth the good in people, changed people. In a lot of ways, Zen felt as if she had changed him too. She'd given him the confidence to know that he could trust someone, more specifically her, when she told him that she was in love with him.
It was pretty hard to discredit tears, and besides, just the vulnerability she shown could make truth apparent in her words. But most of all, he knew it, because she said it. Shirayuki wasn't the sort to lie in any capacity or setting; she's honest with her words, and Zen knew that he could trust whatever she told him. And she doesn't care too much for titles either, as they never dictated how she should live her life and expensive gifts weren't much for her tastes anyway.
He'd have trusted her, if she'd told him she hated him instead.
Zen is grateful for however Shirayuki lets him know that she loves him, and every day feels like a sort of new beginning, the gentle ruffle of the wind, a sweet reminder of the joys of life. They may be hiding their relationship from the kingdom, at large, but even so, Zen loved her and knew that one day he and Shirayuki would proclaim their relationship to the world.
It would be clear with her hand in his or spoken with a white dress and a tuxedo. And the secret of the prince falling in love with the herbalist would be a secret no longer.
Zen couldn't wait for that day; it filled him to the brim with warmth and joy, a feeling that overflowed, but he'd wait for her. He never wanted to rush her, and as she turned to him, with moonlight glimmering across her green eyes, he couldn't imagine a sweeter moment despite the hectic nature of the ball that they'd slipped away from for a moment.
And even though, others might be decently close by, Zen leaned down and pressed a delicate kiss on Shirayuki's cheek, a brief sign of affection before duty pulled them back inside, to dance with other people, and somehow make politics sound interesting. A little reminder that through all of the business that spoke to them both, he loved her and was willing to be by her side, even if just for a moment.