I follow the prince into the courtyard, my mind focused on three different things at the same time: keeping up my fake persona, my mission to convince the new king  to stop this war, and the possibility that the humans know I'm Avian royalty and are trying to ambush me like they did with Cynthia.

"It's much quieter out here, isn't it?" he asks.

"Yes, it is," I respond cautiously.  "But why are we out here?"

"I told you, it's quieter.  I could barely hear you inside with the music and the conversation."

"No, I mean truly.  Why did you bring me out here?"

"You mean why you instead of someone else?" he asks and I answer with a nod.  "Well, I know everyone else in there.  I've met every lady in the kingdom and most of the ones in adjacent kingdoms.  I've met every princess and noble who would be in attendance.  I've never met you."

"So you wish to speak with me because you don't know me?"

"No, I want to speak with you because I know every lady in there already and if I haven't felt anything for them in the past, I doubt I will start now."

"So I am... something of a last resort?" I joke.

"Well, I guess that would be an accurate assessment."

"Then you're in luck!  I'm perfect marriage material.  Didn't you hear my conversation with Lady Nightmare?"

"Fitting name," he laughs.  "But I don't think anything about that conversation would convince me that you're perfect for marriage.  You said a friend already proposed to you."

"Exactly! I'm in such high demand.  That means there must be something about me that appeals to married life."  I'm starting to have some fun with this conversation, but I keep my eyes open as we venture out of the courtyard and toward the gardens.  I'm still unsure of whether or not this is some type of ambush.

"That's true." He nods in agreement.  "Well, in that case I guess I should really sell myself.  I don't want you leaving here tonight and immediately going to accept your friend's proposal."

"And how do you plan on ensuring that I don't?"

"You said your name is Zinnia, right?" he asks.

"Yes..."

"Have you ever seen one?"

"A zinnia?  Yes, but not in a while.  They don't grow naturally where I'm from and my father hasn't kept them in the... house since my mother died."

"Do you want to see one?"

I pause for a moment, really considering the question.  It was too much for my father to see them, but I don't feel the same way.  I do enjoy the flower.  It's beautiful and it reminds me of my mother in a good way, not to mention I share a name with it.

"Yes, I guess I would," I respond with a slight smile, a slight genuine smile.

"You guess?"

"I would," I sigh.  "Why must you be so technical?"

"I don't have to be, but you smile whenever I am."

"It's an annoyed smile."

"Still a smile.  Now close your eyes."

"Oh... I'd... rather not," I almost stammer.

"Come on," he encourages.  "I like surprises and besides, it will be much more awe inspiring if you see all of it at once."

"I don't... really like surprises."

"What if I told you that the part of the garden with the flowers also has the best view of the moon?  The sky is nice and clear and there's nothing blocking the view there.  It's right in the center of the garden, so there are no walls and the trees are all surrounding the garden, but there are none in the center."

I sigh.  I do love looking at the moon and I want to get to somewhere where I'll be able to have the most privacy with the prince so no one will hear our conversation.  Right now, we're still too close to the castle and curious ears could still be a problem.  I might have to just close my eyes and bear with it.  I don't quite feel safe with him, but I have a dagger in my sleeve that I'll pull out if the need arrives.  There's no way I'll be able to pull out my wings to fly away, but that wouldn't matter anyway since my wing has been so badly injured.

I close my eyes, focusing on my other senses to keep me safe.  "Well, I'm ready then."

"You won't regret it, I promise," he says after my eyes are closed.  He grabs my right hand and puts his other hand on my back, leading me towards what I hope will be a enough zinnia flowers to fill a small room instead of my death.  After several turns, he stops and tells me to open my eyes.

It's not an exaggeration to say that what I see when I open my eyes blows me away.  I truly feel as if I may lose my balance.  I can't tell where the zinnias end or even if they do.  No, I know they do because I saw none when I first entered the garden.  But now, I see that they expand so far out that it's difficult to imagine if they ever end.

Immediately surrounding us are several rows of magenta zinnias which slowly transition into several rows of orange zinnias which slowly transition into several rows of yellow zinnias.  I imagine that it may eventually transition into several rows of white zinnias, but I can't see that far.  It seems as if the flowers go on forever and it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, especially in the moonlight.  I've not seen it in the morning, but I can't imagine it looks any more beautiful than this.

"Wh-- why do you have so many in the garden?" I ask, trying to control my voice.

"We have a lot of roses and lilacs as well, just in a different part of the garden," he answers with a satisfied smile.  I look away because he's getting too much satisfaction out of my reaction.  "My mother says these three flowers are the most picturesque for a garden.  She doesn't like any of them, but she wanted them in the garden because she likes how they look in large quantities like this."

"She's right," I sigh.

"You like it, then?"

"Of course I do! I love it!"  I look around at all the flowers once more, this time realizing that we are finally alone.  I calm down a bit and smile.

"Oh, and I promised you a perfect view of the moon," he observes.  "Here, sit down right here on the edge of the fountain.  If you look up from here, you get a nice clear view from a relatively comfortable position."

I look over at him, for the first time noticing the fountain and how the moonlight reflects off of it in an almost magical way.  I don't like to use the word magical for several reasons, one of which being that I feel as if it can sometimes be used too often, so when I say it, you can believe it.  I sit down next to him, though I can honestly say I'm not completely sure why.  I guess I just really want to see it at least.

I look up at the moon and it's absolutely stunning.  It's as if it's outshining the stars, which if you know anything about the moon and stars, you know that's not possible.  It seems to glow more than usual and somehow the stars are dimmer because of it.  I don't care much for stars, however, so this doesn't bother me as much as it would some others.

"Disappointed?" he asks after several moments of silence.

"Not at all," I respond, enchanted.  Too much is happening.  I need to focus, to ask him questions and get answers.  He seems kind enough, though it's true that the kindness he's showing me may be there because he believes I'm human and that if he knew I was Avian that might change.  However, I can't believe someone like this would truly hate us.  Even if he isn't on our side now, I feel I could at least convince him to change his mind.

"Does that mean I've gained your favor enough for you to hold off on your response to your friend's marriage proposal?" he asks.

"Your Highness, I have a confession to make.  I don't have a friend who has proposed marriage to me at home."

"You don't?" He feigns surprise.  "You'd lie to Lady Nightmare?"

I smile.  "So that name will follow her?"

"It will as long as we're together.  And please, don't call me 'Your Highness.' Call me by my name."

"I don't know your name."

"You don't?" This time, the surprise he shows is not fake.  "It's Casimir."

"Prince Casimir..."

"Does my name not make it to your part of the kingdom?"

"No, it doesn't.  However your father's name is heard often."

"I imagine it would be," he says thoughtfully with a nod.  "Well, maybe we should go back to the party.  If I'm gone for too long, my parents will notice and I don't enjoy speaking with them when they're angry about me skipping parties."

"You say that as if it's happened before."

"Many times."  He laughs and holds out his hand to help me up.  I accept and we make our way toward the castle.  I can feel my opportunity slipping away, but now I don't want to just bring up the topic.  I want it to be natural so he's not suspicious.

It seems as if he likes me enough, so maybe I will have chances in the future to talk to him and it may be possible to convince him to bring about peace between our two kingdoms even if he's not already willing to do so.  I can suffer through a few more days of extreme pain as I push two parts of my body so close together that they are almost being fused together even though they are both healing.  I just have to make sure they choose me tonight.

I've suddenly begun thinking about all of the pain I'm in once again.  Thankfully, the sword through my stomach didn't actually go through the organ, just through the area.  It was close, but had it gone through the organ, it would apparently mean more time in bed as I would need to be monitored while eating and would only be able to eat mush and drink liquids for a while.  That didn't mean the pain wasn't edging on unbearable, especially when paired with my injured wing.  I refuse to even acknowledge my leg or side at the moment.

"Do you know how to dance?" Casimir asks, pulling me out of my own mind.

"Dance?  Yes, I know how."

"Then may I have this dance?"  I can barely hear the music from where we are in the courtyard.  Barely anyone else is here and they all seem to be preoccupied with their own conversations.  I place my hand in his, accepting his offer.

He pulls me close and begins leading me in a waltz, swinging me around the relatively empty courtyard.

"Can I ask you a question?" he asks as he spins me.

"Only if I can ask you one," I respond.

He lifts me, turning as I'm in the air and then gently setting me down on the ground.  "Would you be willing to stay here for the next two weeks?"

"To help you prepare for another ball."

He smiles, clearly just one step away from laughter. "No, not to prepare for another ball. Actually, for the next two weeks we're hosting 12 possible future queens. Then, after the two weeks end one of the ladies will be chosen as my future queen."

"What if I'm not interested in becoming your queen?"

"Well..." He looks nervous, so much so that I almost feel bad for playing with him in this way.

"I'd love to stay," I respond, "if you tell me why you want me to stay."

He laughs, though it sounds a bit awkward.  "You're interesting.  You're funny.  You speak your mind.  You don't let anyone make you feel as if you're less than you are, but you do it so diplomatically.  Your eyes light up for the little things, like a garden full of flowers or the moon."

"That wasn't little," I interrupt.

"That's the thing, it seemed so small to me.  I didn't have to plant those flowers or put the moon there.  It was dark and you couldn't even see the flowers well and the moon is only a quarter moon, but you reacted as if I'd done something large."

"It was large to me."

He smiles.  "That's another thing I like about you.  You carry yourself in a room full of nobles as if you belong there.  You dance, talk, and look like an angel."

"Without the wings," I joke, mainly because I know that I do indeed have wings.

"Yes, just without the wings," he laughs.

"Very well.  I'll stay and I'll think about whether I want to become queen, but I'm not sure others will agree with your choice."

"If you don't care, then neither do I."

The song stops, but another song follows it almost immediately.  "One more dance?" I ask. "I still have to ask my question and I can only ask and answer questions while dancing now."

"I would never deny you a dance."  He twirls me and then we begin to waltz once more.

"I will definitely remember that," I say as I smile at him.

"Well, what would you like to ask."

"Why did you throw this party if you didn't expect to want to marry anyone who would be in attendance? Why not just a normal Coronation Ball instead of a ball to find the future queen?"  This isn't the question I originally planned on asking, but honestly I'm hoping his answer will open the door for me to ask about the Avians.  If I'm correct about his parents' reason for the ball, then my question should come up naturally.

He smiles, the look in his eyes thoughtful as his eyes focus on something in the distance even as he continues to dance.  "This was my parents' idea and it was eagerly supported by the nobility.  They want me to marry as soon as possible and produce an heir since there's an impending war."

"Impending war?" I ask, though I know exactly what he's referring to.

"With the Avians.  It hasn't quite broken out yet, but it's all but inevitable at this point.  Lives have already been lost.  My parent are afraid the Avians may try something drastic to end the war before it truly starts, but there wouldn't even be an impending war if they'd have simply let me go through with the peace agreement as plan--"  He smiles at me bashfully.  "Sorry, I got a little sidetracked there.  You're very easy to talk to, though.  I might have to watch out for you more than I originally planned."

"Before you accidentally tell me all of the kingdom's secrets," I agree.

"Exactly!" he laughs.  "In truth, though, this ball would have never happened if it were up to me.  I didn't even want a normal Coronation Ball, let alone one like this."

"Then we should be happy it wasn't up to you."

"Trust me, I'm very happy it wasn't up to me."