The festival began before sunrise.
Lanterns hung from every rooftop. Musicians filled the streets. Vendors shouted over each other, trying to sell sweets, ribbons, flowers, anything bright enough to compete with the excitement in the air.
The prince had returned.
And the kingdom wanted to be seen celebrating.
Lina wanted the opposite.
She kept her head down as she moved through the crowded market, clutching the basket of bread against her chest like a shield.
Crowds made her nervous.
Too many eyes. Too many strangers. Too many chances to be noticed.
"Move along! Make way!"
Royal guards shouted as they pushed through the streets, clearing a path for the festival parade.
Lina's heart skipped.
She stepped back quickly, trying to melt into the crowd.
Royal guards meant nobles.
Nobles meant danger.
But the street behind her surged with people, trapping her between the bakery stall and the advancing parade route.
Her breathing quickened.
She needed to leave.
Now.
Trumpets exploded through the air.
The crowd erupted into cheers.
"The prince! The prince has arrived!"
Lina squeezed her eyes shut.
Please don't let him come this way.
Please—
The crowd surged forward, bodies pressing together like waves.
Someone shoved her from behind.
The basket slipped from her hands.
Bread scattered across the ground.
Lina gasped and dropped to her knees instinctively, scrambling to gather the loaves before they were crushed beneath boots.
"I'm sorry—please—wait—"
A heavy horse snorted nearby.
The ground trembled.
The crowd gasped in sudden alarm.
Lina looked up.
Too late.
A royal horse reared, startled by the chaos. Its hooves struck the air violently, the rider struggling to control it as people screamed and stumbled backward.
Lina froze.
She was directly in its path.
The world narrowed into sound and motion.
The pounding of hooves.
The scream of the crowd.
The rush of fear turning her body to stone.
She couldn't move.
She couldn't breathe.
She could only stare as the horse lunged forward.
A hand grabbed her arm.
Hard.
Strong.
The world spun as she was yanked sideways, pulled against a solid chest just as the horse's hooves slammed into the ground where she had been.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Lina's breath came back in a rush.
She realized she was pressed tightly against someone.
Someone tall.
Someone warm.
Someone who smelled faintly of leather and cold air.
Her heart hammered wildly as she looked up.
And everything stopped.
Dark eyes met hers.
Sharp. Intense. Focused entirely on her like the world had vanished.
The man holding her wore black.
Not ordinary black.
Royal black.
The crest on his coat glinted in the sunlight.
The crown prince's crest.
Lina's heart forgot how to beat.
Oh no.
Oh no oh no—
"I— I'm sorry!" she blurted, trying to pull away immediately. "I didn't mean to— I wasn't looking—"
His grip tightened slightly, stopping her.
"Are you hurt?"
His voice was deep. Calm. Controlled.
Not angry.
Which somehow terrified her more.
"I'm fine," she whispered quickly, eyes dropping. "Thank you, Your Highness."
The words tasted unfamiliar in her mouth.
Prince Adrian studied her face.
Really studied it.
As if committing every detail to memory.
Lina shifted nervously under the intensity of his gaze.
"I should go," she murmured. "I've caused enough trouble."
She stepped back.
But he didn't move.
Didn't look away.
Didn't say anything.
The crowd began whispering.
"Who is she?"
"Why is the prince staring?"
"She looks… familiar."
Lina felt heat rush to her cheeks.
Attention.
Too much attention.
She grabbed the remaining bread from the ground and hurried away before fear could freeze her again.
She didn't dare look back.
But Adrian did.
He watched her disappear into the crowd like smoke slipping through fingers.
Something unfamiliar stirred in his chest.
A feeling he had not allowed himself in years.
Curiosity.
The guard beside him cleared his throat nervously.
"Your Highness, we must continue the route."
Adrian didn't answer immediately.
His gaze remained fixed on the place where the girl had vanished.
Lina did not stop running until the noise of the parade faded behind her.
She slipped into a narrow alley between two shops, pressing her back against the cold stone wall as her chest rose and fell rapidly.
Her hands trembled.
Her heart refused to slow.
The prince.
The crown prince had touched her.
Saved her.
Looked at her.
The memory replayed over and over until her cheeks burned.
"Get yourself together," she whispered, pressing her palms against her face.
Girls like her did not meet princes.
Girls like her did not exist in royal stories.
And yet his voice echoed in her ears.
Are you hurt?
Not harsh. Not distant. Not cold.
Concerned.
Why had he sounded concerned?
Lina shook her head quickly as if she could shake the thought loose.
It meant nothing.
A prince would save any citizen in danger. That was his duty. His kindness meant nothing beyond that moment.
It had to mean nothing.
Because if it meant something… her life would become dangerous.
And Lina had spent her entire life learning how to stay invisible.
Meanwhile, the parade moved forward like a river of celebration.
Adrian rode silently at its center, acknowledging cheers with distant nods. Flowers rained from balconies. Children shouted his name. Nobles bowed deeply as he passed.
He noticed none of it.
His thoughts remained in the marketplace.
Grey eyes. Freckles. Fear mixed with stubborn courage.
She had not looked at him like a prince.
She had looked at him like a man standing between her and danger.
And for some reason, that unsettled him more than any battlefield.
"You should smile, Your Highness," one of the nobles whispered nervously as they walked beside his horse. "The people adore you today."
Adrian glanced down at the man.
The noble immediately paled and looked away.
Adrian faced forward again.
Smiling felt dishonest.
He had no reason to smile.
Until today.
"Your Highness."
The captain of the guard rode closer.
"We will have her name by nightfall."
Adrian's gaze sharpened slightly.
"Good."
"Shall we bring her to the palace?"
Adrian hesitated.
Images flashed through his mind—her panic, her quick apology, the way she had fled the moment attention found her.
"No," he said finally. "Not yet."
The captain nodded.
"As you wish."
Adrian's eyes drifted back toward the crowded streets.
For the first time in years, anticipation stirred beneath the armor around his heart.
Back in the bakery, Lina worked faster than usual.
Flour dusted her hair and cheeks, but she barely noticed.
Every time the door chimed, her heart jumped.
Every tall silhouette made her breath hitch.
Every dark coat made her pulse race.
She hated herself for it.
"Why are you smiling?" the baker muttered suspiciously.
"I'm not," Lina said quickly.
"You are," he insisted.
Lina turned away before he could see the truth.
Because she was smiling.
And she didn't know why.
As night fell, the festival lights filled the sky like fallen stars.
Across the city, two girls who shared the same face prepared for sleep beneath the same moon.
One in silk sheets.
One beneath a thin blanket in a cold attic.
Neither knew that the prince had already stepped into both of their futures.
And fate had made its first mistake.
"Find her," he said quietly.
The guard blinked. "Your Highness?"
"The girl," Adrian repeated. "The one from the market."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The parade resumed.
But Adrian barely noticed the cheers, the music, or the celebration around him.
For the first time in years, something had caught his attention.
A girl who had looked at him not with admiration…
Not with fear…
But with pure, honest panic.
And somehow, he wanted to see that expression again.
Across the city, in a carriage lined with silk and gold, Elara adjusted her gloves as the festival music drifted through the open window.
"The prince should arrive soon," her mother said.
Elara nodded politely.
But an uneasy feeling stirred in her chest.
A strange sense that something important had already happened.
Something she had missed.
Somewhere in the city, the prince stood beneath the same sky.
And fate had just mistaken the wrong twin for the right one.