A few weeks later, after Hugo had left (much to everyone's relief), the palace was quiet and peaceful. It was growing colder as the seasons moved from late summer to early autumn and the Harvest Festival was this afternoon. I watched from my window as carts and wagons from all over came to the village for the festival.

I was so excited. I had a new dress from Madam Colette that she had just finished this morning to wear to the festival. Sofia and I planned to meet with a few other princesses, including Vivian, Clio and much to my dismay, Hildegard. As soon as Sofia mentioned that she would be there, I felt my heart sink. I knew that she would hog the attention of James all afternoon. But I didn't let it. Zandar said that he would be happy to accompany Sofia and me to the festival.

As I dressed in my beautiful gown, Sofia burst in, bubbly as usual. She spun around in a deep red gown, layered with a brighter red lace. She stopped mid twirl to gaze at my dress in awe.

"Oh Jade your gown is so beautiful! All those colours!" she said, admiring the oranges and red in my gown. I blushed as she made me twirl and even moreso as she dragged Amber and Violet into my room as well, showing me and my gown off.

"It is a beautiful gown," Amber said, a hint of impress in her voice. I smiled and thanked her politely. Amber hurried out of the room and I looked to Sofia, who shrugged.

Soon enough though, Amber was back, hiding something behind her back. She withdrew, to my amazement, a beautiful gold tiara set with bright, dazzling rubies. At a loss for words, I embraced her tightly, much to her surprise.

"Alright, alright," she laughed, gently pushing me off of her. I leaned down and she slid the tiara into my hair, where it sat perfectly. I touched it ever so gently and smiled.

"Oh Amber, I can't thank you enough. It's beautiful," I smiled. Amber grinned delicately and folded her hands on her dress in front of her.

"No, Jade. You look beautiful," she said. Sofia gaped at her stepsister. Never before had she ever heard Amber compliment another girl other than herself. I blushed and glided over to her mirror where I posed like a princess this way and that.

"Alright, time to go ladies!" Amber said, clapping, and thus breaking the spell of the moment. Sofia and I looked at each other and looped our arms, heading down to the foyer.

We met Roland, Miranda and James there and I blushed seeing him there. He was wearing a suit of dark oranges and greens, which made his eyes pop and gleam more than usual. His hair was tied back with a dark green ribbon and he was standing next to his stepmother with his hands behind his back.

"Hello James!" Sofia exclaimed. He smirked and strode over to us, hugging his sisters both in turn. But to me, he turned and bowed low, took my hand and kissed it lightly, making me blush crimson. I turned away and smiled, something both Amber and Sofia caught immediately.

Once we were all together, we headed out to the carriages. Amber, Sofia and I rode in one, and Roland, Miranda and James rode in the other. The entire ride there, Sofia and Amber eyed me with amused suspicion, and I simply stared out the window.

We reached the festival and clamoured out, excited to get to the stalls and vendors. Vivian greeted Sofia and I excitedly, and I saw, out of the corner of my eye, Hildegard glaring at me as she air-kissed with Amber and Clio.

Vivian swept Sofia and I away instantly, swept away by the enchanting smells. I caught sight of something and, desiring it immediately, we rushed over to the caramel apples stall first, where we each got one.

"Arabella apples too, the rarest kind," the woman said, winking at us as we each took a bite. I smiled in delight at the sweetness of the crisp autumn apple. I looked at Sofia and Vivian and we all smiled and laughed before heading off to the vendors' alley.

There was so much to look at. Wools and beautiful yarns of every colour imaginable, hats, everything one could imagine at a Harvest Festival. But nothing was better than the rides. A carousel, a Ferris wheel, a large slide, and unicorn rides.

"Come on!" Vivian exclaimed, waving her apple and running off towards the Ferris wheel. We all squeezed into a cart and giggled madly as the wheel lifted us up high in the skies, above the trees.

"Look! I can see the palace from here!" Sofia exclaimed excitedly. We all giggled and enjoyed more of our apples as we came back down. We hopped off and headed to the carousel next where I climbed aboard a pegasus and Sofia boarded a unicorn and Vivian a dragon.

Afterwards, we enjoyed a little of the village musicians' concert and then met up with the king and queen for dinner.

"Are you girl shaving fun?" Miranda asked the three of us.

"Yes!" we exclaimed in unison. Roland and Miranda chuckled, grinning at us as a waitress brought over five turkey legs.

"Yum," I exclaimed hungrily, starting to gnaw on the leg. The others shrugged and followed suit. Hildegard, Clio, and Amber did not meet up with us until later, when they made the announcement for the fireworks that night. Up until then, James was no where to be found, but after they made the announcement, we all saw him wandering back with Zandar. Amber blushed and turned away and Sofia and I grinned.

"Hello ladies," Zandar said, bowing low in front of Sofia, Vivian and I. We all chuckled and embraced the prince while James stood back.

"We should head to the pavilion now," Roland announced over our party. I looked at Sofia with confusion.

"Pavilion?" I asked. She smiled and nodded.

"The royal family has a pavilion at the top of the hill by the lake for the best viewing spot for the fireworks. Mom and Dad and Amber usually sit in there, and James and I and our friends sit out on blankets in front of it. It's a lot of fun!" Sofia explained.

I grinned and followed her as the others made their way through the trees to the pavilion.

And quite the pavilion it was. A large red tent was set up with couches and pillows and a table loaded with desserts and other sweets. I piled a plate full of eclairs and cream puffs and small pumpkin pies and headed to the blanket where Sofia and Vivian were sitting.

But instead, I was dragged to a blanket on the side of the pavilion where James was sitting, by himself.

"I thought you might prefer a change in company," he grinned. I smiled and blushed, lucky that the dusk concealed my glowing cheeks.

"Jade! There you are...with James?" Sofia asked with confusion as she rounded the side of the tent. I stood abruptly, my plate of sweets on the blanket next to James, who decided to help himself to my desserts.

I was worried she'd be upset with me for ditching her, but I had no choice. He had grabbed me before I could make my way over to her. But her reaction was completely different that what I had expected.

"Ooh! Jade! You little sneak! I knew there was something up with you and James!" Sofia exclaimed quietly, grinning broadly. I let out a sigh of relief as she embraced me tightly.

"I want detailed details tonight! And so does Vivian!" she said before flouncing off to tattle gaily on me to Vivian. I blushed and smirked at her, returning to the blanket with James. I sat back down elegantly, propping myself up with my left arm. I looked at James who was lying down on his side, smirking at me.

"What?" I asked playfully.

"What were you giggling about with my sister?" he asked, grinning wickedly. My heart hitched for a second, and I smiled.

"Oh nothing," I said, my tone passe. He glared playfully at me and stole another eclair from my plate. I snatched it away from him, and put it back on my plate, putting the plate in my lap, smiling at him.

"If you want a sweet, get one yourself," I scolded gently.

"I don't need another one, love," he smirked, his lips pulling up in an irresistible half smile. I froze. Did I hear him right? Another one? Love?

"James what are you playing at?" I asked suspiciously. He sat up and folded his legs in front of him, facing me.

"I already have a sweet, sweet," he said, smiling. He seemed as though he was mocking me, but at the same time, he seemed to be genuine.

"I don't understand," I said nervously. James reached over and took the plate from my hands and set it down next to my skirts. He leaned in closer and looked my my lips to my eyes and back again in a constant pattern.

"James what are you..."

"Shh...just let me..." His lips were so close I could feel his breath on mine. His lips were almost on mine when a huge explosion lit the sky and made us both jump apart. Red and pink sparkles glittered across the sky as another rocket exploded into a chandelier of golden sparkles, followed by two more green ones and a blue one.

I turned to the sky and gazed at it, enchanted by the sparkling lights that I had only seen from the banks of the lake below.

She looked so beautiful, watching the sky illuminate with colours. Her face would light with the same colours as the sky and her eyes sparkled like the fireworks themselves.

"Jade," I said, and she turned. As soon as her focus was on me, I pressed my lips to hers briefly. Much to my surprise and relief, she didn't flinch, she didn't draw back. Instead, she kissed me back.

I pulled away and she smiled at me, her eyes sparkling, but not from the rockets, her cheeks pink, but not from the colours.

I kissed her once more and pulled her close to me, my heart skipping a beat as she rested her head on my shoulder. The fireworks show seemed to go on forever and we finally headed back sometime around what must've been midnight.

Jade rode with Sofia, Vivian and Amber and I rode with my mother and father, both of us agreeing that tonight was going to be our secret. I knew that she would end up telling Sofia and Vivian, but that was only fair. They were, after all, her best friends. Just like Zandar was mine.

I smiled to myself as I stared out the window, planning to sweep her off her feet tomorrow for a romantic, secluded picnic.

"You KISSED?"

"Uh-huh"

"And sat TOGETHER?"

"Yup."

The three of us tried to hold serious faces, but we all ended up squealing and hugging, bouncing up and down on my bed.

"Oh Jade! That's so wonderful!" Sofia exclaimed, sitting up. Vivian sat up as well and folded her legs in front of her while I pulled mine up to my chest, leaning back against my pillows.

We were all sleeping in my room tonight, as we agreed that we would two weeks ago when we planned for the Harvest Festival.

The next morning I woke before Sofia and Vivian, as I had been disturbed by a knock on my door. I slid out of bed and walked to my bedroom door and pulled it open. On the doorhandle was a rolled up piece of parchment tied with an olive green ribbon. I smiled to myself and pulled the paper off of the handle. Holding it close to my chest, I headed to my window and untied it. I felt my face grow hot as I read James' scripted handwriting. It was an invitation to a picnic. I bit my lip and blushed again. He said at eleven thirty that morning he would start to leave a trail of inconspicuous green and blue feathers for me to follow.

Holding the paper close once more, I looked at my clock. I only had an hour and a half to wait.

Immediately, I jumped up and ran for my closet. I had one dress in mind that I knew he would love. It was a dress handpicked by Amber from Madam Colette's collection, and it was one of the prettiest plain dresses I owned.

Once I was dressed, I braided my hair back and wrapped it around the back of my head, finally pinning it with a tortoise shell comb adorned with three opals. I checked the time again and beamed. It was eleven thirty. I headed out of my room towards the gardens.

I stopped short when I saw the first feather. I beamed and picked it up, then headed to the next one about ten feet away.

Soon enough, I had found all of them and came to a stop at a bush with a yellow ribbon tied on it. I looked at it curiously, as this was the entrance to Sofia's secret garden. The bush opened and James stepped out, beaming at me.

He offered me his hand and pulled me inside, wrapping his arms around my waist. The bush-door closed and we were officially alone.

"Good morning," he whispered, pressing his lips to mine gently. I blushed and wrapped my arms around his neck, grinning.

"This is quite unexpected, your majesty," I smirked. He closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh.

"You do something to me, you know that?" James asked, holding me close. I tucked my head under his chin and smiled, closing my eyes.

"As do you," I replied. He let go of me and laced his hand with mine, leading me through the garden.

We came to the lake and I saw a beautiful picnic spread out on a large red gingham blanket. There were sandwiches and cookies and all sorts of amazing picnic foods that I had only dreamt of eating in the past.

"Oh James," I whispered, my hands over my mouth in awe. He stood in front of me and wrapped his hands around my wrists and pulled my hands gently away from my mouth and pressed his lips to mine in replacement. He snaked his arms around my waist, bending me backwards slightly. He stood me back up and let go of me, leading me over to the picnic.

I sat down and folded my hands in my lap as James made a plate for me. He handed me my plate and poured us both glasses of fresh lemonade.

"To the beautiful lady I love," he smiled, raising his glass to me. I blushed and toasted him.

"To the handsome man I love," I echoed. He leaned across the spread and kissed me sweetly.

"We can't tell my sister or my parents, you know," he said seriously. "Or anyone else, except Sofia, Vivian and Zandar."

I nodded. "Of course I know, my love. I can keep a secret," I smiled. I kissed his cheek and started on my sandwich.

After lunch, we took a walk around the garden, getting lost purposely. No one came looking for us, and no one wondered where we had gone that evening at lunch. Or if they did, they had the courtesy not to ask.

James was silent through dinner, but he kept casting glances at me every now and then. I smiled at him and turned back to Sofia who was planning to go back to the Harvest Festival tomorrow afternoon for the Golding of the Autumn Leaves celebration.

"Sounds like a lot of fun!" I smiled. I had a golden dress that I was planning to wear tomorrow that I had been excited to wear since I found it.

Tomorrow was the Golding of the Autumn leaves. He had to make sure he made Sofia's acquaintance. At least, Prince Revis had to.

He grabbed the potion and muttered the spell, before backing the potion. The taste made him gag, but he thought of her beautiful smile, and nothing seemed bad anymore.

A cloud of grey smoke rose around him and he felt himself changing. His nose shrunk, he was slightly more muscular, and his hair wasn't greying. He walked to his mirror and felt his breath catch in his throat. He was, much to his surprise, extremely handsome. His almond eyes were sharp yet gentle and kind, and his lips well, he imagined hers against them. He bristled with excitement at that thought.

He conjured up her image in the mirror and bowed low to it, offering her his hand. "Princess Sofia," he said. But it wasn't his normal voice that came out. It was a deep, husky voice that fit his new persona. He smirked at himself, tugged at his suitcoat and posed.

"Princess Sofia, prepare to fall madly in love," he chuckled darkly.