The stables were very close to Alaniana's old room. I wondered If there was a secret passage between them. I stopped short of the stables. What if the ghost rumored to haunt her room haunted the stables too? I vowed never to go to the stables after dark. No matter how much I loved the Princess, I hated ghosts. The stable itself was cozied up against the forest, perfect to steal a horse and run away. I walked in the great doors, smelling the horses and the hay."Hey, Leyna." A boy's voice floated over the sound of the horses. I remember the maid had mentioned a boy's name. Freddy? no Fontaine? no Fredrich? yes! That was what she had called him.

"Hello, Fredrich! Why did you call me Leyna?"

"You used to insist we call you Leyna." He appeared around a corner. His perfectly tousled black hair fell around his face and his brown eyes seemed to peer into my soul, making my knees weak. For once, I wished I was just plain old me and could run away with the stable boy.

"I forgot," I said, attempting to think about something other than him. "You don't really think about nicknames in the forest." He snorted in laughter. I giggled at his guffaws. He finally stopped laughing and peered into my eyes.

"Is it true? Have you changed?" His face seemed to be anxious as I realized he liked the Princess, not a peasant girl like me. I struggled to find something he could laugh about again.

"People say I have forgotten a lot." His laugh sounded again. I felt like I could live off of his laugh. It made me feel adventurous and homely all at once.

It made giggles explode out of me, even when I was trying to keep acting like the princess.

"Did you end up in a finishing school?"

"No, I guess I was just 'tamed by the wild" His laughs were contagious.

We were lost in laughter, stable boy and imposter, lost in love