Days passed, and Princess Isadora couldn't get the mysterious stranger out of her head. Every night, she lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling and imagining what could have been if he had stayed or if they had talked more. She was desperate to know more about him, and her curiosity only grew more intense.
So one night, she decided to leave the palace again, this time determined to find the stranger. As she walked deeper into the forest, she felt an unfamiliar shiver of excitement pass through her. She knew she was taking a grave risk but the pull of the stranger's gaze was too strong to resist.
Isadora's trek was long and arduous, and just as she was about to give up, she saw a flicker of light amidst the trees. She approached the source of the light and found herself standing in the middle of a small clearing. There, sitting around a campfire, was the stranger she'd been searching for.
He looked up and met her gaze with a familiar intensity that sent shivers down her spine. She approached, her heart beating erratically. "I found you," she managed to say finally.
The stranger stood up, towering over Isadora. "You shouldn't have come here," he muttered.
"Why not?" Isadora asked, defiance seeping into her voice. "I have a right to be here, to see you."
"That's not the issue," the stranger argued. "This is a dangerous time for us. As a wanderer, I am cast out and rejected by society."
"And what are you doing here?" Isadora pressed.
"Just passing by," the stranger replied nonchalantly. But his eyes betrayed a deeper intensity that Isadora couldn't quite understand.
They sat down by the fire, and for a while there was silence as they both gazed into the flames. For Isadora, the heat of the fire was nothing compared to the heat she felt spread through her insides. Without warning, she leaned in and placed her lips on the stranger's.
He pulled back, looking at her with apprehension. "Princess, we can't," he murmured, his voice laced with a deep emotion that Isadora couldn't place.
"Why not?" she half-begged, half-demanded. "This feels right. I feel like I've known you for a long time. I quite understand why."
"That's because you're feeling our magic," the stranger said, his voice dropping to a whisper. "We're both sorcerers, Princess Isadora."
"Sorcerers?"
"Yes."
The words were devastating to her. She felt a sudden isolation that she had never felt before in her life. She was the daughter of the king, and he had always been proud of her. How would he feel if he knew that his beloved daughter had magic flowing through her veins?
The stranger took her hand and pulled her close. "I know what you're feeling," he said. "I feel it too. But there's nothing good that can come out of this. Let us enjoy this moment for what it is before we have to part ways."
Isadora nodded, tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. They sat around the fire, their fingers entwined, until the embers died out. Once again, he disappeared into the night, leaving Isadora with memories that would keep her warm for the rest of her life.