The two young and defenseless children ventured steadily towards the princess's dream destination. Despite his actions towards the princess, Demetri had unintentionally become rather protective of her, whenever they had to cross a crowded alley, he would grab her wrist helping her through the crowd.
She also liked his company and felt comfortable under his supervision. After getting out of the castle's security areas, he allowed them both to take a breather. Then he broke the peaceful silence:
"There are several towns that light the skies with fireworks in honor of their beloved princess's birthday, we will go to the nearest one, where the festival is held, and please do pick up your pace as the fireworks festival starts at 10 pm and it's already 9 pm."
The princess obeyed excitedly. Out of pure curiosity, Demetri questioned:
"Why are you so determined to see the fireworks princess Maribelle?"
A blush stained her cheeks and she hesitantly replied:
" You see I am never allowed to leave my tower without any guards or handmaidens, so eventually I grew tired of watching the fireworks from my balcony, so when I asked my mother to let me see them from a closer area, she refused, saying that she would never allow endangering her daughter's life just for her naive dreams."
Hearing this made Demetri declare:
"Fear not my noble lady, tonight you will at all costs see the fireworks with your radiant hazel eyes."
The princess expressed her happiness and delight by saying:
"I will grant you my hand in marriage as a reward along with as many pictures of me as you like."
These words made Demetri's heart slid down in his chest, he yelled:
"Why would you do that!? Just a picture is sufficient foolish princess."
The girl looked perplexed as he had refused her hand in marriage as well as a potential alliance, her mother always told her that her hand in marriage is the greatest reward a man could have but this boy wasn't greedy like other suitors.
By 10 pm, the children had successfully arrived at their destination, near a lake. People were boarding small boats on the lake, to enjoy the fireworks better, but the princess wanted to view her fireworks from a rooftop and so they climbed one.
Demetri had bought cotton candy for the occasion. He silently offered some to the princess and she stared at it with wonder.
She replied: "Why would you eat cotton silly boy?"
Demetri laughed then stuffed some in her mouth saying:
"You're the silly one! It's not actual cotton, it's sweet and it vanishes in your mouth quickly."
Indeed the princess enjoyed the new treat very much along with her guide's company. She merrily and impatiently waited for her dream to come true while Demetri had set up his canvas and paints to paint her beauty on his canvas with artful strokes of various colors.
As the clock struck 10 the night sky was embellished with tiny sparks of mesmerizing colors that combined and waltzed together. The princess was savoring their beauty while Demetri's eyes were fixed on her and he marveled at her beauty as the reflection of colorful lights multiplied her feature's perfection by ten.
Unaware that Demetri was painting her, the girl made adorable faces, as she was awe-struck at her dream coming true. Although it was unbelievable that a boy Demetri's age could actually paint so well he had inherited his mother's passion and talent, hence when the fireworks came to an end, Demetri had finished the princess's portrait of herself and requested:
"Can I please keep that?"
Demetri's jaw dropped and he exclaimed:
"Of course not, this is my demand, and I'll take it with me at all costs."
Demetri chuckled softly then said:
"You won't forget me if I continue to paint your portrait on your every birthday, now would you?"
An eager smile curved the girl's lips and she threw her arms around her new friend, cuddling with him. Surprisingly, this time Demetri actually patted her head instead of showing his cold behavior. He admired the girl for her innocence, naive courage, and her polite words.
Just as the clock struck 12, a wave of panic passed through the girl's body, and tears shone in her hazel eyes, seeing this Demetri questioned politely:
"What's wrong?"
She said: "I have to reach my tower otherwise they will execute you."
Demetri was perplexed and asked why.
The Princess replied: "My maid usually comes to check on me and by now the guards will be searching for me, if they see you they'll kill you for kidnapping the Imperial Princess."
Demetri's heart hammered against his ribcage and he crossly yelled:
"Why didn't you think of that when you were dead set on escaping with me?"
She gave him a weak smile and nervously muttered: "I was too excited to warn you!"
Demetri instantly packed his supplied and grabbed her hand saying:
"Then we must hurry back to your tower."
At this, the princess retaliated: "No the guards are on high alert and they'll see you helping me up the tower so it's better to leave me here and run away."
Demetri was utterly unconvinced about leaving a gem alone in the den of thieves, as everyone would try to hold the princess hostage in exchange for a heavy ransom for her father, the emperor. Now the reckless boy understood why she was kept up high in a tower, out of the reach of danger.
He refused to say: "No way! If I do that you'll end up in some bad company, so speed up.!"
And so the two children raced back to the castle, as fast as they could, struggling through the crowd of people but Demetri instantly hid the princess in a dark alley as he spotted guards patrolling, searching for princess Maribelle.
Then when Demetri was out of ideas to avoid the guards, he confessed: "I am sorry, but we can't outrun the guards anymore."
Just when he was finally going to hand over himself and the princess to the guards, a figure in red came to their rescue and said:
"Stop right there, Demetri!"
Demetri whirled around only to see a red hooded figure staring at him. Then finally the mysterious figure took off her hood, revealing a head of shiny blond hair, and emerald eyes that shone with mischief.