Skylar stepped back and wiped away her tears. Then they were running, hand in hand, the maze growing smaller behind them.
The boy was incredibly light on his feet. Skylar directed him, pointing where to go, and he kept them in the shadows. They wove between columns and ducked into blind spots. It felt like they were dancing. The boy's wooden sword never left his hand, and sometimes, he'd swing it back and forth through the night air. It was an adventure. A stealthy journey back to her garden. And it was the most fun Skylar had had in weeks.
They reached the garden wall together. Skylar led the charge against the ivy, and the boy helped without question. When opening revealed itself, welcoming Skylar back, the boy grinned, his eyes wide at her secret. It was then that Skylar remembered where she had seen him before.
There had been a banquet at the castle that evening, and many of her father's noble allies had attended, including House Sunborne. She remembered a boy in a red cloak, fastened with a brooch engraved with a golden sun. She remembered how he'd frowned when the Jester attempted to make him laugh. How he had three servings of the rose apple tart. How he'd smiled only once, and it was while dancing with his mother. But what Skylar could not remember was his name.
The pair walked through the garden, past the orchard trees and the fountain. She waited for him to introduce himself. But he said nothing. He just walked behind her, his eyes focused, and his sword ready, as if something might leap out from the darkness.
At her door, he let go of her hand and they stood there, in silence, surrounded by the flowers swaying in the wind.
Skylar shifted on her feet. The boy had seen her attempt to enter the maze. She suddenly remembered her manners. She curtsied as gracefully as she could, or tried to, at least.
"Thank you, for your help. My name is Skylar Velcourt, I am pleased to make your acq..acqua..." The word was lost to her. It crumbled on her tongue. She could hear her mother scolding her, and her Governess sighing in the back of her mind.
"Nice to meet you!" Skylar said instead, loud and brightly, forgoing the proper greeting with something easier. And then, because there was no time and she desperately needed to bring the boy to her side:
"Please don't tell anyone! If my parents find out I entered the maze all by myself, they'll tear it down and I'll never be able to explore it again." Her pleas tumbled out, getting faster and faster with each word. "I want to get to the centre but I keep getting lost. And then Father made this impossible rule, and the guards keep giving up, and so I tried to do it all by myself. Then I got scared and you were there and... and... well, what if I can never do it, what if it takes until I'm a hundred years old—
"I'll help you."
Skylar closed her mouth. Her words stopped. Desperation turned to surprise, then relief and excitement. She rushed closer and held the boy's hand in hers.
"You will? Will you really help me?!"
The boy looked away. His gaze drifted across the garden, looking anywhere but at her. Skylar wondered if she had offended him and parted her lips to apologise.
"I'm—
"My father says we are to stay in Astros a few more days," he revealed with a shrug. "It's been quite boring. This will give me something to do."
Skylar gasped, feeling insulted! Astros was not boring!
She shook the boy's hand. Up and down, up and down. He tried to pull it back, but she did not let go. She held on tight!
The boy looked slightly scared when she pulled him closer.
"Astros is not boring! If you help me, I'll make sure you have the best time ever. I know so many secret places, and where the Headcook hides her treats. We can go to the market. Oh, and Vera told me that Uncle Llyod has returned from the Gold Coast. He sells the best toys and the best books. I wonder if there'll be any books about exploration, oh, I do hope so–
"Alright! Alright."
The boy paused a moment, and then spoke. His voice sounded different, heroic and just wonderful. "That makes us allies," he said.
Something changed in the air. The world was different somehow, Skylar was sure of it.
Allies.
Skylar buzzed, absolutely thrilled. She was awed by the boy and the situation she found herself in. They were just like their fathers, strategising with secret plans and noble purposes. But there was something missing.
Skylar rushed to the wild cherry tree. The trunk was thick and twisted, and curved low to the ground. She'd climbed it so many times that her hands and feet had created their own paths in the bark. And up she went, winding along the branches, and swinging like she was weightless. She plucked a handful of cherries, and noticed the boy was watching her, curious.
It wasn't long before he joined her. His hands ran along the rough bark and found the grooves she'd made. Skylar watched him rise towards her, and rejoiced; she climbed better than him. They met in the middle. She took the boy's hand and shared out the cherries between them.
"To becoming allies." Skylar cheered and raised her cherries like her father raised his cup during feasts.
The boy didn't say anything at first, but he looked just as inspired as Skylar felt.
"…To victory," the young Lord answered.
They sealed their secret partnership with a cherry. Then another. They ate and laughed with stained lips, and threw the pits into the air with stained hands. They tried to see who could throw farther, but it was too dark to tell.
When Skylar yawned, the boy led the way down. She followed without a word.
"Let's meet here after breakfast," he said, then walked away. He rested his wooden sword along his shoulder. Skylar watched him make his way towards the hidden opening. It was a secret that now belonged to the both of them; Skylar had kept it to herself for so long that it felt nice to now share it with someone else.
She opened the door to return to her chambers, hoping there was still time to get a good night's rest before their adventure tomorrow. And then she stopped. She realised she still did not know the boy's name.
She turned to see where he was. He had reached the opening. The darkness had swallowed him and so she ran forward. He was pulling on the ivy when she found him again.
"My name is Skylar!" she repeated, her voice hopeful, and too loud.
The boy turned his head ever so slightly. She could see the moonlight in his eyes, and the curve of his smile.
"Lucian," he answered. "I'm pleased to make your acquaintance."