#4 – Brella: Asking them how your name their surname would sound like (or/and vice versa)

"What do you think, Sky?" Stella asked, popping a grape into her mouth. The princess didn't wait for him to answer. Instead, she laid down, tossing her long blond hair over her shoulder.

She was bold, he'd give her that. It was a first, unofficial date, and she'd asked whether, if they got married, he'd taker her name or she'd take his. The only problem was, she didn't know his. At least, not the real him. He wasn't Prince Sky like she thought he was. He was just Brandon, Sky's body guard and, right now, body double.

Brandon hated lying to her. Deceiving Stella hadn't been intentional. In fact, going on a date with Stella hadn't been his idea. They'd met at Alfea/Red Fountain mixer and hit it off. Stella, determined to get what she wanted, got his number from a classmate. And he, like the complete dumbass he was, had responded to her text because… well, he was a simple man and she was pretty. She was more than pretty. She was beautiful, gorgeous, exquisite, mesmerizing. And then he'd discovered that she was even better than that. Stella was funny, honest, optimistic, creative and nice. And he liked her. He really, really liked her. But she didn't like him. She liked Prince Sky.

Completely unaware that he was feeling like a jackass, Stella continued to ramble on. She'd moved off the topic of their names and onto some issue in her suite. He understood not liking your suitemates well. He had to deal with Riven, who was prickly with people in general, but because the boy had a bone to pick with royalty, was extra prickly towards Brandon, aka Prince Sky.

"Stella, there's something I need to tell you."

Stella stopped speaking and sat up. Her shimmering amber eyes fixed his own dark brown ones curiously. Her painted pink lips parted in question. "Sure" she smiled. Her smile was tight and awkward; he would bet good money that she thought he was going to say they shouldn't see each other again. Little did she know, she'd be saying that in a few minutes.

"I need you to not freak out. Just let me explain everything and then, if you still want to flip at me, you're more than welcome to do so."

Because he understood. He would freak out if he were her.

Brandon took a deep, anxious breath. Sky would kill him if he knew what Brandon was doing. King Erendor – Sky's father – would have Brandon sentenced to the gallows for treason. Brandon's mother, though, would be proud that he hadn't led Stella on. And that was more important. He would never do anything to make him mom ashamed of him.

"I, uh…" Stella tilted her head and put her hand over his. He turned his hand so his palm was against hers and squeezed gently. This would likely be the only time he got the opportunity to hold her hand, so he would take it. Before he spoke again, he let go of her hand. "I'm not Sky. My name is Brandon Cavaliere. I'm his body guard."

Stella looked like she'd been slapped, but, to her credit and his relief, she didn't freak out. He continued, explaining that Sky's life had been under threat since he was born and he'd never been seen by the general public, or even anyone that wasn't an Eraklian ally. Stella knew all this already; she had asked him about it. He'd told her the truth: that it was hard. But not for him, for Sky whose only friend had been Brandon, the son of a high ranking palace guard.

He explained that, at 12, he'd joined the Eraklian army reserves like his father and grandfather before him. Only, instead of being general guard, he'd been requested by the young prince. It had been a huge honour for his family to have the prince request him personally.

When they were 15, Sky was offered a place at the Red Fountain academy. Erendor refused to let him go out of fear for his only son's life, so they devised this plan. No one had seen Sky, and Brandon wasn't important enough for anyone to care about him, so they'd switch.

"That explains so much…" she whispered excitedly when he'd finished.

"What?"

"I thought you were way too social and suave for someone who'd been locked away their entire life. And Brandon… well Brandon-" she raised her hands and made air quotes around the name "- was charming and polite, but kind of awkward at times. I let it slide cause maybe that's just your personalities but now it makes so much more sense."

Brandon blinked away the surprise at her reaction. He had expected outrage or disappointment. He could have lived with those – not happily, but he could have lived. Stella's reaction threw him for a loop.

"Uh… Anyways, I hope you're not too mad. I understand if you'd like to head home. I just needed to tell you the truth. And, obviously please don't tell anyone."

Stella's eyes stayed focused on him. She furrowed her brows and bit her lower lip. Her hand came up to fiddle with the necklace she'd worn. The ring of Solaria – a tiny, ornate reminder of her status – stared at him. Brandon felt like his heart would beat out of his chest as he waited and waited for her to say something. A few days from now when someone wandered into this part of the forest, they'd find his body with a hole in its chest.

"I do have two questions."

"Of course, yeah, ask me anything."

"Was any of what you said to me a lie?"

"No. Everything I've told you was as honest as I could be. If you asked something specific to Sky, I answered that honestly. If you asked me something personal – anything: my favourite snack, my opinion on a show or an outfit or some political whatever-" she had not once brought up that last bit "- I answered the way Brandon – the way I would."

Stella nodded slowly. Then, much to Brandon's surprise, scooted a bit closer to him. "Okay, second question," she rested her hand on his thigh. Brandon felt the blood rush split in two: half below the belt, half to his cheeks. Why was he blushing at a mere innocent touch? Stella wasn't the first girl to lay a hand on him. She was just the most amazing. "Do you think Stella Cavaliere or Brandon Saule sounds better?"

"Wha…" he mumbled stupidly. "You're…"

"Still willing to give you a chance?" she guessed with a laugh. "Sure. It's just a name. And you're sweet. Doesn't hurt that you're nice to look at too."

Stella turned around and leaned her back against his chest. She asked about his life – his real life and at the end of the night, she kissed him. It may as well have been the best moment of his life. Brandon would have to go back to school and tell Sky about his moment of honesty, but he didn't seem quite as worried to as he'd been earlier. Sky may want to kill him - Erendor might actually kill him – but it didn't matter because Princess Stella of Solaria didn't.