The inside of the palace was grander that Asher could have imagined. His entire house could easily fit into the great hall. Everywhere he looked, there were golden statues or beautiful paintings and tapestries. The rugs under his feet were so plush it felt like walking on the clouds.

Asher was late getting to the ball; the hallways were already emptied of other guests. Every servant in the place seemed to stare at Asher though as he strode through the hallways, quickly trying to make his way to the ballroom. He hoped that he carried himself well and was thankful that no one stopped him.

At the entrance to the ballroom, he entered through double doors that footmen opened just for him. Inside the room, it was hard not to be overwhelmed. The room was enormous and full of golden chandeliers and silvery mirrors. It seemed every person in the kingdom had turned out, everywhere he looked there were people dressed in the finest clothes they owned, just hoping to catch a glimpse of the prince.

Standing at the top of the staircase all by himself Asher realized that he had drawn the attention of the entire room. Remembering the words of the Great Fairy, Asher stood firm on his own feet and descended the stairs. It was impossible to miss that people whispered to one another as they watched him come down, but no one looked away.

There was a landing halfway down the stairs, where one was opposite the royal booth that overlooked the ballroom. Asher, acting on instinct, took a moment to bow at the family in the box. He could not see them clearly, he was too nervous to look carefully more like, but he could vaguely tell that there were both the queens and their two sons.

Then he continued back down the stairs. When he reached the floor of the room, the crowd began murmuring and parted. Asher paused, not quite sure what to do with himself. Was he also supposed to step aside?

Nothing could have surprised him more than to see Finn coming toward him, people moving aside for him. Finn was dressed in a brilliant pale blue and Asher was almost knocked off his feet by the smile that Finn was showing him.

Finn stopped before Asher and bowed, Asher bowed back, and then Finn did what Asher had been hoping he would do, "Will you dance with me?" Finn asked.

Asher couldn't respond with words, but he nodded happily. Thankfully, years ago he had payed attention when his school had forced their students to learn dancing. It had been a long time, and he had likely forgotten the steps, but Asher suddenly was hoping that he could still remember something.

When Finn swept him up in his arms however, all coherent thoughts just about stopped. It was all Asher could do to keep breathing as Finn twirled them around the floor. He quickly forgot that there was anyone left in the room, which was lucky because last he noticed, they had all been staring as Finn and Asher danced alone.

"I had hoped you would come." Finn said, still smiling widely.

Asher's heart fluttered, "I have been thinking of dancing with you." He admitted.

The dance was wonderful, they moved together as if they had been dancing for years and Asher barely noticed anything else. The whole room, all of its noise and commotion disappeared and it felt as if he and Finn were the only people in the world. Finn guided Asher along in the dance so smoothly that every moment was a dream. It was over far too quickly, and much to Asher's embarrassment, everyone began clapping for them.

He blushed and felt immensely uncomfortable on display for everyone. Finn didn't seem bothered by the attention, but he did notice Asher's discomfort so he quickly left the dance floor, their hands still clasped tightly together.

It wasn't easy to escape the crowd, everywhere they went people pressed in to talk to them. However, Finn seemed very adept at knowing just how to duck away at the last moment, escaping conversation. He led Finn behind the grand staircase and out a servant door. The passageway was made for servants to carry trays back and forth without being seen, so it was the perfect way to escape the crowded ballroom.

"Where are we going?" Asher finally asked.

"To find a little privacy." Finn shot Asher a smile over his shoulder, "I have a feeling that the second I let go you would be whisked away by someone else to dance."

Asher gave him a wry look, Finn was the one they had been trying to talk to, in fact, Asher suddenly realized, they'd been calling him 'Your Highness.'

Servants entered the hallway and Finn was forced to lead them out into a portrait gallery.

"You're the prince." Asher said with astonishment as they stepped into the room. He let go of Finn's hand and tried to process this revelation. "So your name isn't Finn, but Phineas?"

Finn sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "I hate the name Phineas."

"But it is your name."

"Yes." He looked at Asher, there was something in his eyes, almost like he was longing for Asher to understand.

Asher paused, he wanted to understand, but it seemed so strange, "I suppose," He said at last, "It would have been strange to tell some random person in the woods your true identity."

Finn looked at the floor, "It wasn't like that. I just don't get many chances to be someone other than 'Your Highness', I wanted a chance to just be Finn."

In a way Asher understood, when they had met he had also used an alternate name, enjoying the feeling of being someone else, someone more true to himself, even just for a moment.

"Is Asher your real name?" Finn asked, interrupting Asher's musings.

"Yes. However, I had kind of forgotten until the day we met, usually people call me just Ash. But the name I like is Asher."

Finn nodded, he understood, "When I met you I thought you were a cute servant, I didn't know you were a noble, why haven't we met before?"

"I'm not-" Asher paused when he heard someone else coming into the room. Finn grabbed Asher by the hand again and they hurried away.

They were laughing as they started running through the palace. Finn led them into the gardens. Many people had overflowed from the ballroom into the garden, but Finn took Asher back to an out of the way place. Asher thought that the moon had never been so bright, it seemed to be extra-large tonight, and every star in the sky was shining just for the occasion.

They paused but this time Asher didn't let go of Finn's hand.

"So I suppose this is why you are so good at reading people. It is because you are a Prince." Asher said, recalling Finn's words from their first meeting.

"Yes." Finn, "I always would ruin my parent's attempts at matchmaking, which is why they had to have this ball."

"So when you read people what happens?"

"I can hear their true motives behind their words when they say something. You can probably understand why that makes like difficult sometimes."

To Asher it sounded very helpful; if he could read people like that then he might not be in the position that he was in now. On the other hand, he could guess that in Finn's positon he would learn things he didn't want to know. Asher thought about all the people trying to talk to them as they finished their dance, the dozens of faces eager for just a moment of the prince's time.

"However, there are times where it is helpful and good. For instance, I was attracted to you from the moment we met because I could tell that you are a truly good person."

The complement made Asher blush. As Asher contemplated everything, he heard the sound of glass tinkling when it hit the rock path.

"Is this yours?" Finn picked up the watch that had come unclasped again.

"Yes, thank you."

"What an amazing watch." He said taking a moment to admire it.

"It keeps excellent time." Asher said with a smile, remembering the Great Fairy's words.

"Allow me." Finn said, holding out the watch.

Asher extended his hand, and clasped the watch back on his slender wrist beside the bracelet. Asher's breath caught in his throat, there was something very intimate about the moment.

Finn's blue eyes sparkled in the starlight at he looked at Asher.

Asher glanced at his wrist, unable to hold the gaze, with alarm he saw the tiny silver hands of the watch were almost directly at midnight. His gut clenched, he had to leave immediately. Even if he didn't mind Finn seeing him as he truly was, and he wasn't very keen on that idea, he couldn't let his stepfamily find out that he had been here.

"Finn." Asher took his hand, "This evening has been wonderful, but I need to leave now. I'll come back when the time is right." He promised.

Finn looked at him in utter confusion; Asher squeezed his hand and then turn and began hurrying away. Finn must have recovered fairly quickly from the surprise, because Asher could hear him give chase.

Asher was quick on his feet, but Finn knew the territory, so it was a challenge to keep one-step ahead of him. Despite feeling the urgent need to run, Asher found himself enjoying the chase, never in his wildest fantasies had he thought the Crown Prince would chase him!

Whenever he came across people they tried to stop him, everyone had noticed him dancing with the Prince and they were curious about who he was. Asher smiled at them and tried to slink away, hoping he gave no offence, but he couldn't be stopped.

He was doing a pretty good job of hurrying past people, Finn was behind him still, but steadily gaining.

Sadly, he ran headlong into someone while looking over his shoulder at Finn.

"I do apologize." Asher said, the other man had been almost knocked off his feet.

"It's you." He said. His face was remarkably similar to Finn's, but his coloring was quite different. He had much dark hair than Finn and his blue eyes were so dark they were almost black. Asher realized this must be Finn's younger brother, Theodore, who was the same age as Asher.

"I am so sorry." Asher apologized again. Asher turned when he heard Finn call his name.

Prince Theodore's eyes narrowed as he saw Finn trying to make his way across the crowded room toward Asher. He put a hand on Asher's shoulder and began steering him away. "Come this way."

"I need to leave." Asher said, worried that Prince Theodore was trying to bring Asher back to his brother.

However, the younger prince smiled, "That is the second most interesting thing to happen tonight." He did not elaborate what the first most interesting thing was, "This way will get you out to the front gate in no time."

Theodore helped Asher move faster toward the exit, they could no longer hear Finn behind them.

Once outside Asher hurried down the front steps, "Thank you!" He called to Prince Theodore.

"If things don't work out with my brother feel free to come back and see me!" Theodore called with a wave.

Asher was surprised but didn't stop moving.

He could feel the darn watch fall off his wrist again, but he didn't stop. The pumpkin coach was ready for him and Percy was waving madly from the driver's seat. The clock began chiming the midnight hour as Asher heard Finn call out to him from the top of the staircase. He could see Finn biff the back of his brother's head before hurrying down the stairs after Asher.

Percy hurried the team forward, recklessly driving them back to the house. With alarm, Asher noticed that there was a group of riders following them. They moved quickly, trying to catch the coach. However, nothing could move quite as fast as the pumpkin carriage.

Sadly, though, the pumpkin carriage was becoming more and more like a pumpkin as midnight chimed away. The shoes of leather turned back to Asher's old shoes and the seats of the carriage became the meat of the pumpkin. The magic of the Great Fairy was unwinding quickly.

With a cocky cry of triumph, Percy darted down the darkened lanes, leaving the pursuers in the dust. Unfortunately, the triumph was short lived because the last of the magic ended with a blast of light. Asher was left in his torn suit, sitting on the dusty road with the animals and a smashed pumpkin. The animals looked up at Asher, happy that they hadn't crashed, Percy though was clearly spitting mad that he didn't get to make it all the way home.

Asher sat in the road and laughed until he cried. Wiping away his tears, he was surprised to see the glass bracelet still on his wrist. Unlike the rest of the magic from the Great Fairy, the bracelet remained.

"Thank you." He clutched the bracelet and thanked the Great Fairy for her help.