In the first few moments of his morning haze, his head replays the memories of the night before as if it were a picture film. He was well aware that at the time, he wasn't in the right headspace to take everything in properly. The essence of it, the party that is, reminded him of home. Back in Cinder dinner parties happened regularly. His father and mother always invited war majors to dinners to discuss the nitty-gritty details of upcoming battles and then promptly after, they'd get wasted as if it were their last drinks on Earth.

The party last night was nothing like that- it held a happy crowd, a crowd that wanted to be there. Everyone was so cheery and delightful, and yet, Soul couldn't enjoy any of it. He was never good at processing things when he was in a state like that- a state where he was stuck between thoughts and the past- a state where he felt so tired he could just curl on the floor and cry.

He didn't, thankfully, but God was he close when Maka had pulled him to the floor of her bedroom. He wanted so desperately to fall into the Princess's arms- to fulfill his desires and stay, but he knew better than that. He knew better than to take advantage of a situation like that.

Was Maka just too drunk to realize what she was asking? Did she really want Soul to stay the night? Did she even understand the implications that came with that?

These questions haunted him as he got up, got dressed, and left the guard's quarters without another word. They haunted him with every step he took back up to the castle, haunted him as he ran his hands up and down his exposed face, and haunted him right up to the moment he arrived back in front of Maka's bedroom door.

He didn't even have to knock for Maka to open the bedroom door, already dressed and ready for the day. The Princess gave him a quick once over before looking right up at him with gleaming eyes.

"Good morning, Soul!"

With a scorff, Soul stepped into the bedroom. "I'm surprised you're even awake and not dying from a nasty hangover," He commented, eyes trailing to the always open balcony doors.

"I don't usually get hangovers when I drink," Maka huffed, her nose scrunched like a bunny. Now with a clear head, Soul thought that was just downright adorable. "I didn't drink that much last night anyway. A few drinks while I'm tired always knocks me out."

"As if you'd remember last night."

He says it as a joke. He doesn't expect Maka to actually answer.

"Of course I remember last night," The blonde huffed, taking a confident step toward the balcony doors, her arms wrapped up around herself. "You said you'd think about taking me out there tonight, right?" She points out of the balcony doors to the swooping mountains and Soul's heart drops.

She remembered.

She remembered him turning down her offer to stay the night-

"I didn't think you actually meant it, going out so soon. You were drunk- your birthday is literally tomorrow," Soul finds himself saying, faltering over his words a bit. Maka just laughs at him, tipping her head back as she did, as if she were mocking him.

"I know, I know I was drunk. Drunk me is just a little more courageous, I think," She answers pointedly before turning on the ball of her foot, the most serious expression played on her face. "You should take me out there, as an early birthday present."

A little more courageous?

"Wait Maka-" He's so tempted to ask about what she meant when she asked him to stay, tempted to ask if she felt the same way about him as he did for her, but he stops himself. He bites his bottom lip, completely forgetting the question.

A guard shouldn't feel that way for his Princess. Things would only get messy from there.

"I'm not answering whatever you're about to ask me until you tell me for sure you'll take me outside of the kingdom tonight." The way she speaks isn't harsh, but nevertheless, it has Soul dropping his jaw, his lips parting in a smile.

"Wow, you're so eager to spend an entire night somewhere random," Soul comments, feeling its the safest thing to say. 'Do you even know where you want to go once we get past the gates?"

"Does this mean you'll take me out tonight?"

"Depends. Where do you want to go?"

The Princess breaks out into a grin as she begins to shut the balcony doors, turning her back to him. She hums, allowing the doors to lock as she hangs on their handles.

"You said there are villages close by, right?"

"Right," he parrots back, thinking back to when he ran to Eibon on foot. He'd passed two villages close by, one that was right on the water and one that was deeper in the forest.

"Let's go visit a random village, for the fun of it." The Princess turns, her eyes now crinkled with a full-blown smile. "We can visit their bakery, their market, and then a tavern. Just the two of us- you know, Soul and Maka."

"Wouldn't it have just been the two of us, anyway?" He finds himself asking, a bit confused by the Princess's wording.

"Well, yes, but I mean… You know, instead of the whole 'Princess Maka and her royal guard, Soul' thing, it'll just be us- the real us. We can pretend to be normal for one night."

Normal, for one night. He liked the sound of that more than he wanted to admit it.

Instead of admitting it, he prods at the Princess in a joking manner. "What, do you think we're not normal?"

"I don't know," Maka responds, her smile falling the slightest. "I just think that when we're in the castle we act differently than we want to. Does that make sense?"

Soul understands perfectly. If it were not for the walls of the castle (and the kingdom for that matter) that beckoned him to be a proper person, that beckoned him to keep up his persona, then he'd probably be a different person, he'd probably be a jokester, someone that could easily roll with the punches with a smile. He'd probably be way more of a risk-taker, too; be a little bolder, let himself actually be seen rather than question whether or not his actions were correct.

There were a lot of things he'd want to do if he were not a guard- if he were not a runaway Prince.

He'd travel the world, go as far as the horizon took him. He'd never hide his identity again, he would just proudly be who he was wherever he went with a smile. He'd climb the highest mountains- swim the largest oceans- do whatever the hell his body could take. He'd shout from the cliff tops with glee, swim in streams without any shame. He'd enjoy life, live a life that was worth living. Most of all, he'd want to fall in love. Shamelessly and hopelessly fall in love.

Maybe in another life, he could carelessly and hopelessly fall for Maka once again. Maybe in that life, he'd be able to love her the way she deserved. Maybe in that life, they'd be normal. Maybe in that life, he'd never have to wonder what being normal truly meant- but until then, he was stuck in this lifetime, living through a persona, pretending to be the shell of someone he was not, pretending that those feelings of attraction couldn't be much more than just attraction.

With an awkward chuckle, he just shook his head, pretending to not understand what Maka meant, despite the fact that he did.

"Not really. Care to explain?"

The Princess turns her eyes to him. "I thought you were smarter than this."

"Forgive me, I'm tired. Explain, please."

With a huff, Maka averts her eyes. "I just think, once we're outside of this castle- outside of this kingdom- we can just be whoever we want to be, without having to act for a role. Is that a better explanation?"

"Are you suggesting we go wild, Princess?"

"If that's how you want to put it, then yes," Maka admits, hastily taking her bottom lip in under her teeth. "I'd love to go wild with you, Soul."