The pale light of dawn filtered through the gauzy curtains of Eleanora's bedchamber as her dy's maid, Beatrice, gently roused her from sleep.

  "My dy, it's time to prepare for your ride with His Highness."

  Eleanora blinked awake, momentarily disoriented by the dual memories that still occasionally tangled in her mind. As Sarah Chen, she had never ridden a horse beyond the occasional guided trail ride. As Eleanora, she was an accomplished equestrienne who often used riding as an excuse to escape the confines of propriety.

  "Thank you, Beatrice," she murmured, watching as the maid id out her riding habit—a deep emerald ensemble with gold trim that the old Eleanora had commissioned specifically to complement the royal colors.

  How calcuting I was, she thought with a wince. Everything a performance designed to advance my ambitions.

  "The simpler navy riding dress, please," Eleanora requested, gesturing to her wardrobe. "And my hair in a practical braid rather than those eborate curls."

  Beatrice paused, confusion evident on her face. "But my dy, you always said the emerald brings out the gold in your eyes, and that His Highness—"

  "I know what I used to say," Eleanora interrupted gently. "But I find I prefer comfort for actual riding these days. The accident has... changed my priorities."

  As Beatrice helped her dress, Eleanora found herself grateful for the muscle memory that remained despite her mental transformation. Her body remembered how to move in these restrictive clothes, how to maintain perfect posture even while corseted. Such knowledge would serve her well as she navigated this new path.

  The morning air was crisp with the first hints of autumn as Eleanora approached the royal stables. Her stomach fluttered with nerves that the old Eleanora would have ruthlessly suppressed. She allowed herself to feel them now, acknowledging the strange reality of meeting a man she had maniputed into an engagement, yet somehow barely knew.

  Prince Aldric awaited her, his tall figure silhouetted against the rising sun. Unlike his usual ornate court attire, he wore a simple but finely tailored riding jacket and breeches. The absence of his formal regalia made him appear younger, more approachable.

  He turned at the sound of her footsteps, and Eleanora caught a fsh of surprise in his ice-blue eyes as they swept over her practical attire.

  "Lady Eleanora," he greeted with a formal bow. "I trust you are well enough for our excursion?"

  "Quite well, Your Highness," she replied with a curtsy that was properly respectful rather than the coquettish dip she once would have employed. "I appreciate your concern and your invitation."

  A stable hand led forward two horses—a magnificent bck stallion for the prince and a delicate white mare that Eleanora recognized as the one she typically rode during pace events.

  "I took the liberty of requesting Snowdrop for you," Aldric said, watching her carefully. "I recall you once mentioned she was your preferred mount for gentler rides."

  Eleanora hadn't realized he'd noted such a detail. The old Eleanora would have been triumphant at this evidence of his attention. Instead, she felt a pang of guilt.

  "That was thoughtful, Your Highness. Though I confess, she was chosen more for her appearance than her temperament." She approached the mare, stroking her neck with genuine affection. "She is beautiful, but rather spirited. Perfect for someone who wished to appear delicate while actually enjoying a challenge."

  The prince's eyebrow quirked upward. "You speak as though you are describing someone else entirely."

  "In some ways, I am," she admitted, meeting his gaze directly. "The fall... it changed me more than I can easily expin."

  After they mounted, Prince Aldric led them through a private gate in the pace walls and onto a wooded trail. For several minutes, they rode in silence, the soft thudding of hooves on packed earth the only sound between them.

  "Where are your attending guards, Your Highness?" Eleanora finally asked, noticing their solitude.

  "I dismissed them for the morning," he replied. "Sometimes, even a crown prince requires privacy."

  "And you trust me with that privacy?" The question slipped out before she could consider its implications.

  Aldric's smile was thin but not unkind. "Should I not?"

  Eleanora considered this as they guided their horses around a bend in the trail. "The woman I was before my accident... I'm not certain she deserved such trust."

  This earned her a sidelong gnce from the prince. "You speak with remarkable frankness, Lady Eleanora. It's... unexpected."

  "I imagine it must be," she agreed. "For what it's worth, I find many things unexpected these days."

  They emerged from the trees into a small meadow carpeted with te wildflowers. Without discussion, they both slowed their mounts to a walk.

  "You mentioned yesterday that you wished to know me," Aldric said finally. "Yet we have been engaged for nearly three months, and this is the first such request you've made."

  Eleanora felt the heat of shame color her cheeks. "I know. And I cannot offer excuses for my prior behavior, only acknowledgment that it was wrong." She hesitated before adding, "May I ask you something directly, Your Highness?"

  He nodded, his expression guarded but curious.

  "Did you ever want this engagement? Truly?"

  The question hung in the air between them, heavier than she'd intended. For a moment, Eleanora feared she had overstepped.

  Prince Aldric's ugh was short and without humor. "As if a crown prince has the luxury of what he truly wants." He sighed, his shoulders dropping a fraction. "But if you seek honesty—no. Our engagement was politically expedient. Your father's shipping empire gives the crown access to trade routes we desperately need. Your mother's lineage connects to three neighboring kingdoms, strengthening diplomatic ties."

  "And I," Eleanora added quietly, "was accomplished, beautiful, and determined enough to secure your attention by any means necessary."

  "You were," he agreed, surprising her with his candor. "Though I confess, I find your current self-awareness far more compelling than any of your previous... efforts."

  They had reached the center of the meadow, and the prince dismounted. After a moment's hesitation, Eleanora did the same, accepting his outstretched hand as she stepped down from her saddle. His touch was warm and steady, lingering a moment longer than strictly necessary.

  "There's a stream just beyond those trees," he said, gesturing with his free hand. "Would you care to walk there while the horses rest?"

  Eleanora nodded, gathering Snowdrop's reins and following him across the meadow. The silence between them had shifted from awkward to contemptive.

  "You know," Aldric said as they reached the tree line, "you're not the only one who wears a mask at court."

  "Oh?" Eleanora gnced at him, noting how the dappled sunlight through the leaves cast patterns across his face, softening the severe lines she was accustomed to seeing.

  "The cold, perfect crown prince is as much a performance as..." he paused, offering her a knowing look, "as the seductive, ambitious dy who pursued him."

  Eleanora couldn't help but ugh—a genuine sound that surprised both of them. "That's a polite way of describing what I was."

  "And what are you now?" he asked as they reached the stream, a clear ribbon of water tumbling over smooth stones.

  She considered the question, watching the py of light on the water. "I'm not entirely certain yet. Someone trying to be better, I suppose. Someone who wants connections that are real, not just advantageous."

  Aldric was quiet for so long that Eleanora feared she had said too much. When she finally looked up at him, the expression in his eyes was unlike any she'd seen before—a mixture of wonder and wariness.

  "I've been surrounded by people seeking advantage my entire life," he said softly. "I'm not sure I would recognize a genuine connection if it were offered."

  The vulnerability in his admission touched something deep within her. In that moment, she saw not the crown prince, but simply a man who had learned to expect manipution from everyone around him.

  "Perhaps," Eleanora suggested, "we could learn to recognize it together."

  He studied her face, searching for deception and finding none. For the first time since she'd known him, Prince Aldric smiled—not the practiced royal smile he dispyed at court, but something small and real that transformed his features.

  "I would like that, Lady Eleanora."

  As they stood beside the stream, with autumn sunlight filtering through the golden leaves above them, Eleanora felt something shift between them—fragile as a new sprout, but with the potential to grow into something neither of them had anticipated.

  She had pursued this man for all the wrong reasons before her fall. Now, as she began to discover who he truly was beneath his royal facade, she found herself drawn to him for entirely different reasons—and that, she realized, made all the difference.