The garden wall was higher than you remembered, but freedom was only a few cautious steps away. This was not an opportunity you could afford to miss.

"Hello, my princess. Are you in need of assistance of some kind?" Mattheo says.

You flinch, nearly slipping, and glance down to see a boy standing beneath the wall. Tall. Dark curls. Calm eyes.

"Uh, I am quite fine, thank you. You can go back inside and wait with all the other gawkers," you say, trying to sound indifferent.

"I will. But first… you're doing something," Mattheo says.

"I am not," you reply quickly.

"You are," he says again, amused.

"I am not," you repeat, firmer.

"You are," he says, with certainty now.

You sigh and hop down from the wall, brushing off your dress. "If you must know, I'm trying to ascertain the best way to climb over the garden wall," you say.

"Climb… whatever for?" Mattheo asks, eyebrows raising.

"I think he may be a beast," you say.

"A beast?" he echoes.

"Or a troll," you add.

"And who are we discussing?" he asks, eyes narrowing slightly.

"None of your business… okay... Mattheo. No one will speak of him. No one. He is clearly a beast or a troll," you say, frustrated.

"Understood," Mattheo says with a nod.

"You know… you could assist me by lifting me up," you say, glancing at the wall again.

"One question. You do not like beasts or trolls? What he looks like matters?" he asks.

"I do not care what he looks like. What I do not like is not knowing," you say.

"So… you want me to lift you over the wall so you may escape?" he asks.

"Yes," you answer, a little too hopefully.

"I have absolutely no intention of helping you," Mattheo says.

"You refuse to help a lady in distress?" you say.

"I refuse when that lady in distress is trying to go over a wall so that she does not have to marry me," he says.

You freeze. Everything in you stills.

That’s not possible.

"Hello, my lady," he says, voice softer now. "I am Mattheo. Your future husband."