Edward watched his lady take in their surroundings. He couldn't help the proud grin that spread across his face. His palace was truly magnificent, even this small niche where the portal between their worlds was tucked away was pristine.

Her gaze swept across the courtyard, then back to him. She let out a small "oh!" and lifted a hand, examining it as if she wasn't quite convinced it belonged to her. Then she was studying Edward's face once again, brow furrowed.

Edward was not an insecure man. He was well aware that he was handsome and charming, but found himself feeling a most unfamiliar pressure in his chest at his lady's perplexed look. He still had one arm wrapped around her waist, her face mere inches away from his.

"Nancy?" he asked gently, "Is everything all right?"

Nancy blinked rapidly. "I-yes. I'm fine. It's fine, it's just everything looks so...different. I can't explain it exactly."

Relief washed through the prince. He had been so intent on his search for Giselle the first time he passed through the portal that the strange changes had hardly seemed important. Coming back to his world he had known what to expect, so the change was nowhere near as jarring.

"You look different," Nancy added.

"You look beautiful," he replied, because she really did. It seemed that she was made for this world.

Nancy reached a tentative hand to Edward's face, tracing a cheekbone up and sweeping a lock of hair back from his eyes with her thumb. She smiled.

"You're not so bad, yourself."