Brandon lay in his bed, thinking. It had been two days. He had left countless texts and voice messages on her answering machine. He'd stolen other people's phones to call from an unknown number. He had begged Codatorta – on his hands and knees – to lift his punishment for an afternoon so he could see her in person.

But he was still on probation. Apparently posing as your prince for a year and a half wasn't something to be taken lightly, and didn't go unpunished, much to his dismay. Sky was already fast asleep, despite it being a whole hour until lights out. Timmy was in the library, and god knows what Riven was up to these days. Probably with Darcy. Huh, even Riven can keep a steady relationship… even if it was with a witch.

Brandon picked up his phone once again, eagerly scanning his inbox for a message that he could have easily missed. There wasn't, so instead he connected his earphones to his phone, and watched the conversations he had had with the blonde over the short time they'd been dating.

The first thing he heard when he clicked on the oldest conversation was his own voice. "Hey Stella, it's Prince Sky,"

"Oh hey Sky," Stella smiled sweetly at the screen. I'm not Sky…

"Did you guys make it back to Alfea safely?"

Stella nodded, then giggled when her attention was drawn to something Brandon couldn't see. "More or less, but it took me and the girls a couple of showers to get rid of the smell," Brandon could hear himself chuckle in the background, and could make out the noise of someone shouting to Stella.

"Hey Sky!" Musa came into view in a pair of dark pink pyjamas, momentarily blocking Stella from his view. "Oh sorry, did I interrupt a tender moment between the royal couple?"

"Stop it Musa," The next minute a pillow came flying from the right of the screen and hit Musa in the face, causing her to fall. Both girls laughed, then Stella remembered she was on the phone. "Are you still there?"

"I'm here," Brandon could hear the cheesy grin on his face. He loved watching Stella laugh, especially when it was he who caused such a noise to escape from those soft, pink lips…

Stella's cheeks turned an adorable shade of pink. "Sorry about that,"

"No problem, I just wish I was there to join in the pillow fight," Stella gave him a sly wink in reply, then adjusted the phone so she could cross her legs. "But I can understand if you don't want me to, you're probably exhausted from luring in that troll, and still overwhelmed after I saved your life and everything-"

"When, exactly, did you save my life?"

"When I caught you, before you fell in that swamp," Brandon's eyes started to water at the memory. He'd tried his best to stay close to Stella the entire time whilst in Black Mud Swamp, hoping for a disaster to strike so he could save her.

"Oh, how could I forget? You were so brave, and strong…"

"And handsome," Brandon heard himself add, which earned him another smile from Stella. "Don't worry, it's my job to save beautiful princesses in distress,"

"And how many have you saved so far?" Stella asked in a serious tone, arching her eyebrow suspiciously as she did so.

"Just the one," the voice – his voice – told her matter-of-factly. "And I want to make sure that I always protect her,"

"She's one lucky girl," Stella blushed, but she dipped her head making it harder for Brandon to see. He could tell she was holding back a grin.

"Nah," Brandon disagreed, "I'm the lucky one," Yes you were, you stupid bastard. "I'm always gonna be there to protect her,"

"Is that so?"

"Yup, I would never let her get hurt," Nice going with that jackass, you're the one who hurt her.

"Oh how romantic!" Musa sang in the background.

"I think it's sweet," Flora added, sitting next to Stella on her round bed. "Hi Sky!"

"Hey Flora! Hi Musa! Who else is there?"

"All of us!" Bloom replied, joining Flora and Stella on the bed. Tecna and Musa did the same, waving frantically around an embarrassed Stella.

"Well I hate to be a party pooper but I better go, it sounds like Codatorta the Terrible's coming for lights out – I'll see you girls soon!"

"Bye Sky!" the girls sang in unison, and the conversation ended with the projected image disappearing with a faint beep.

Brandon felt his stomach constrict painfully. That conversation had taken place just a few weeks ago. Who knew one day could ruin all of that? If Diaspro hadn't shown up, maybe things would be fine. If Bloom and the girls had stayed at Alfea for the day, maybe they never would have discovered his secret. If he hadn't lied in the first place, maybe he'd still be with Stella. Wouldn't he?

"I have to find out," Brandon said to himself. He strode to the opposite side of the room to grab his Red Fountain jacket. He pulled it on and fished out the keys for his levibike, whilst a plan started to form in his mind.

He knew he wasn't permitted to leave the grounds of Red Fountain at this time, especially when he was on probation, but Brandon couldn't take it anymore. Silently, he snuck out of the main castle of Red Fountain and edged his way towards the equipment shed on the other side of the quad, directly behind the dragon pens. He'd have to be especially careful around those things, they had heightened senses at night time to listen out for any predators. He made it to the shed without much trouble, and unfastened the chain to his levibike. Brandon was about to guide his bike out of the shed when a light came on outside and he heard muffled voices.

"…hit the blonde right out of the sky! It was unbelievable!"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah bro! Apparently these two sophomores swapped identities last year, and one of their girlfriend's thought her boyfriend was someone else, and it turns out he was cheating on her with the Princess of Quartz!"

The two figures stopped moving. "Get out! Princess Diaspro?"

"Yup, turns out Prince Sky of Eraklyon swapped places with his squire for 'his own protection',"

"Hah!" the other guy scoffed. "More like getting some action on the side without worrying about either girl finding out – what a guy! I would have done the same!"

"Not bad is it? A princess and a fiery redhead, that's one hell of a deal!"

"Didn't you say the squire had a girlfriend too?"

"Yeah, Princess Stella of Solaria. Poor girl thought he was a prince,"

"Harsh, how's she taking it?"

"Not well," there was a brief pause. "Shania has advanced potion classes with her roommate Tecna, who said that she hasn't been sleeping or eating since it happened. Hasn't shown up to classes either. She just locks herself in her room and cries,"

"Poor thing…" The pair started walking again, this time towards the dragon pens. "Hey, Bruce?" Bruce? As in Bruce Track the senior?

"Yeah?"

"Stella's officially single, right?"

"As far as I know, why?"

"Single, vulnerable and a princess… easy prey,"

"Hah! Like you have a chance! Come on, get back on guard or Codatorta's gonna kick our asses!"

If Brandon wasn't trying to escape, and wasn't two years below the senior, he'd kick that sorry guy's ass himself. Right after he'd managed to kick his own. Stella had been crying? For two days? Brandon, being the remarkable flirt he was, had left a pretty long trail of broken hearts, ones he wasn't prepared to mend. He'd never felt that any of the girls he'd dated were right for him.

But Stella was something else. The minute he lay eyes on her in freshman year, he knew he'd get her or die trying. At first he'd convinced himself that it was a challenge – a beautiful princess was way out of his league, then add the fact that she didn't know of his existence and he had next to no chance. But he was persistent. He hardly saw her at the Alfea/Red Fountain mixers, never saw her on missions, but that blonde had an effect on him he couldn't describe. He'd been planning to ask her to prom at the end of the year, but her expulsion meant she left before he even had the chance to ask.

Then, after months of trying, Brandon had Stella. And he didn't get bored of her. He wanted to be with her, no one else, and that's when he realised that there was more to it than her being out of his league, for he had never felt this way about anyone else.

He loved her.

"Excuse me," Brandon stopped a senior fairy on her way across the quad to the dorms. She didn't look like she was in any rush, and there was no one else around.

"Can I help you?" she asked curiously. What was a Red Fountain sophomore doing on the grounds of Alfea at this time of night?

"Could you show me Princess Stella's room?"

The fairy shook her head. "Sorry, but I'm not permitted to do that. Don't take it personally, it's just rules,"

"Could you maybe send her down?" The fairy gave him a baffled look. "Please?"

"Who should I say asked?"

"Uh…" Brandon was at a loss for words. He couldn't give away his identity, or Stella would never leave her room. "Couldn't you tell her that someone wants to see her?" The fairy gave him another look. "Please?"

"I take it you're Prince Sky/Brandon," the fairy sighed. Brandon gave a small nod. "I can see why you'd want to see her, but I'm not sure-"

"Please, I'm begging you," Brandon choked. "I made a huge mistake, and I have to apologise. She won't answer my calls, and the only way I got here in the first place was by sneaking out. She has to hear my side of the story, I never meant to hurt her…"

The fairy thought for a second. "Okay," she agreed reluctantly. "But I don't know who you are, alright?"

"I thought everyone heard about what happened on the Day of the Royals?"

"They have, but I don't want to be the one to blame if this apology goes pear-shaped,"

"Understood," Brandon nodded, following the fairy to the shadows of the long alcove close to Alfea's dorm rooms. The fairy told Brandon to wait there, while she went up the staircase to fetch Stella. Brandon did as he was told and sat at the bottom of the staircase, running his hand nervously through his long, brown bangs. He didn't have to wait long.

"You?" A small, quiet voice snapped him out of a daydream he was having about shrinking to the size of a pixie and riding rats around the castle. He stood upright to talk to Stella properly, but his voice got caught in his throat when he took in her appearance.

Her cheeks were round and a faint pink colour, her honey eyes were glazed and free of any make-up, which would have been smudged anyway. But what surprised him most was what she was wearing – an oversized sports jersey, which was red with baby blue shoulder patches and what he knew was a number 11 on the back in the same colour. The Red Fountain emblem was stitched onto the left breast, and there was a large 'B' on the front, which was the team Brandon was on for field activities as well as it being the first letter of his forename. He gave it to Stella to hold on to while he washed off after the race on the Day of the Rose. He came back from the showers of Red Fountain to find her wearing the shirt over her dress, and he had to admit it looked good on her, so he let her keep it.

"Stella," Brandon breathed taking a step towards the blonde, who only took a step back to avoid him.

"What are you doing here?"

"I had to see you, I had to explain-"

"There's nothing to explain." Stella cut him off. She combed her fingers through her long, blonde hair and sat on the fourth step of the staircase, ensuring her eyes didn't meet with his. "I got your messages Sky - I mean, Brandon,"

"Then why didn't you call back?" Brandon seated himself also, leaning close to Stella.

"I didn't want to speak to you, I still don't,"

"Then why are you still here?"

"Because I want to hear what you have to say,"

Brandon let out a breath he wasn't sure he was holding in. "Well, I'll admit, I've been a bit of a flirt in the past, and haven't been the most trustworthy, but even I can see this one went a little too far," he grinned, hoping the joke would ease some of the tension. By Stella's stony expression, it only made things worse. "Never mind. Look, Sky was in danger of being assassinated by this Yoshinowa guy, back in Eraklyon, so King Erendor sent him to Red Fountain to train how to defend himself, and sent me along to keep an eye on him. My parents could never afford to send me here, so of course I took the opportunity! Sky asked me on the bus here that he wanted to swap identities, to see what it would be like to be treated like a regular guy, and I wasn't exactly going to turn down being a prince! And that's basically where the lie started…"

"So why didn't you end it?"

"I couldn't, Sky depended on me. No one knew we'd swapped identities except the two of us, and we didn't want to over-complicate things by letting other people in on it. Sky and I definitely didn't want you and Bloom harbouring a secret like that, what if Yoshinowa targeted you?" Brandon looked at Stella, hoping she'd see reason, but the blonde kept her gaze fixed on the stony steps.

"I never wanted to hurt you Stella," Brandon told her sincerely. "You're not like anyone I've ever met. You're brave and beautiful and funny and kind and sweet. And a princess. What chance does a squire have with someone like that? You're perfect, and I'm just me,"

"You thought by pretending to be a prince you'd get to go out with me?"

"Well…" Brandon scratched the nape of his neck awkwardly, "yeah, I guess,"

Stella moved down a step and edged her way closer towards him. "Brandon, you being a prince didn't make me fall for you! You did! You look out for me, you're loyal, you always manage to make me laugh, you come with me on shopping sprees, you're one of the nicest guys I've ever met, and…"

"And what, Stell?" Brandon asked her gently when she failed to finish the sentence. He cupped her face with his left hand and brushed away a tear sliding down her cheek using his thumb. Slowly, he bowed his head towards hers, puckering his lips ready to catch her mouth with his. Stella jerked her head away from him when their lips were mere centimetres from meeting.

"I can't Brandon," Stella wailed, pushing herself off the staircase, ready to make her way back to her dorm to cry in peace. "I just can't,"

"Can't what?"

"I can't be with you!"

"Is this because I'm a squire? Am I not royal enough for you?" Brandon yelled, only realising a second later that he could have woken Griselda. No one wanted that.

"No you idiot, it's because you lied!" Stella snapped. "You lied to me, Brandon! Use any excuse you can think of, but you lied to me! Do you not think I got enough of that from my parents? 'Everything's fine, sweetie', 'No, mommy and I weren't arguing' then the next minute 'We're getting a divorce'! How shit do you think that makes me feel?"

"If I make you feel so shit, then why are you wearing my Red Fountain jersey?" Brandon barked back.

"Why, do you want it back?"

"Maybe I do!"

"Well tough, I'm not giving you the satisfaction of seeing me walk naked back to my dorm room!"

"You're not wearing anything under that?" Brandon lowered his voice seductively, grinning from ear to ear.

"Stop being such a guy,"

"Well you know what Stella?" Brandon bounded up the rest of the steps so he was on the same one as Stella, "I am a guy, and proud of it. I had the balls to come here an apologise face-to-face, whilst on probation! Do you have any idea how screwed I'd be if Codatorta or Saladin found out I was here?" He backed Stella up against the wall, towering over her small body. "I had the balls to admit I was wrong, to admit that I'd hurt you, and you know I'd never want to do that Stella because I love you!"

Stella backed further into the wall, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she tried to contain her sobs. "You what?" she whispered, unsure whether she'd heard him correctly.

"I love you! I love you, Stella! I love you more than you could ever imagine," Brandon's knees buckled underneath him with the shocking revelation, but he carried on. "Whenever I see the sun shining on a clear day, I think how the brightness could never compare to your smile. Whenever I see the stars, I think how they'd never compare to the twinkling in your eyes. And I haven't been able to look at another girl since meeting you because all I can think is that she's nowhere near as beautiful as you! I love you, Stella!" Brandon's voice had risen considerably as he went through his speech, and the tears were now falling freely from his deep brown eyes. "I love you," he whispered into her stomach as he hugged her tightly, still on his knees. He noticed that the jersey's homey smell of Red Fountain's washing powder had been replaced by the sweet scent of vanilla that Stella carried with her. He inhaled deeply, not caring how weird it may look.

"Brandon," Stella gasped. She ran her fingers through his soft hair, tempted to use it to pull him upwards and draw him into a passionate kiss. But she was too hurt, so instead she pushed him away and ran up the remaining stairs to her dorm, leaving Brandon behind, feeling crushed.

Stella shoved the door to her dorm open with such force that it knocked off a few of the Teen Fairy magazines that were piled on top of a small table behind it. Tecna looked up from her computer in the far corner of the dorm, but before she could ask who the mystery visitor was or what they wanted, Stella ran into her room, bolting the door behind her. She collapsed onto her round bed in the centre, sending used tissues flying around the room. She didn't bother to chase after them and pick them up. Instead, she curled up into a ball, tucking her knees beneath her chin, and allowed the sobs in the back of her throat to break free.

She rubbed the thick material of Brandon's jersey between her thumb and forefinger for comfort, and used her other hand to bring the collar up to her nose so she could inhale the sweet scent of him. It was all she had left. When her throat was raw from crying, memories of the conversation on the stairs bombarded her mind, and she instantly regretted leaving that sentence unfinished, being too coward to tell him what she'd felt for a long time.

She loved him too.