The morning sun poked through the cracks in Noah's wooden cabin, lighting up magical dust motes dancing in the air.
Vanka woke up on a rock-hard wooden cot, a far cry from her goose-feather mattress back in Aradelle. Her body ached all over, but the first thing she did was reach up to feel her face.
Smooth. Bouncy.
She scrambled to find a mirror and spotted one on a dusty wooden table an antique silver mirror with a slightly cracked surface.
Vanka exhaled in pure relief. The gray hair was gone. The fine lines at the corners of her eyes had vanished. She was back to being nineteen-year-old Vanka with her lethal beauty.
Outside the cabin, she heard the sound of wood being chopped. Vanka threw on her brown cloak and stepped out, chin tilted high.
Noah was there. He'd ditched his formal robes, wearing only a black linen shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
A light sheen of sweat glistened on his temples as he swung a silver axe into a block of oak. Every muscle in his arms moved with deadly precision.
Vanka froze for a second. Up until now, she'd only seen Noah as a 'disgusting man' because of his collapsed royal status. But now, in the honest morning light, she realized something.
Noah's facial structure... his high cheekbones, that sharp, straight nose, and a jawline that looked like it was carved by a god.
'He's actually hot,' Vanka thought. 'Dammit, he's an exiled prince, but he has more aura than Prince Eros and all his gold put together.'
Noah stopped swinging the axe. He turned his head without losing that cold expression.
"Stop staring at me like you want to eat me, Princess. It makes you look hungry, and you aren't pretty when you look hungry."
Vanka flinched, her face flushing crimson at being caught red-handed. She quickly crossed her arms, flipping back into her arrogant mode.
"Don't flatter yourself, Noah. I was just judging how ragged your clothes are. You look like a miserable peasant."
Noah let out a short, low, raspy laugh. "Honestly? You're lying. You were just admiring how much better I look than that preening suitor of yours, weren't you?"
"In your dreams!" Vanka snapped. She marched toward Noah, standing right in front of him even though she had to look up.
"Listen, Noah. I've made it here. I've given you the satisfaction of seeing me suffer in the forest. Now, break this ridiculous curse. Immediately."
Noah slammed his axe into the log and crossed his arms. "Break it? Just like that? After you called me trash in front of every noble in Aradelle?"
"I can pay you!" Vanka fumbled for the gold pouch at her waist. "Anything you want. Gold, land, or I can ask my Father to restore your exiled status. You don't have to live in this rotting shack forever."
Noah stepped forward, forcing Vanka back until her spine hit a massive tree. He braced his hands against the trunk, pinning her in.
"You think I care about Aradelle's land? Or your fishy-smelling gold?" Noah whispered right against Vanka's lips.
"This exiled prince status was my choice, Vanka. I'd rather be king of this forest than a puppet in your palace of lies."
"Then what?" Vanka's voice shook slightly, Noah's breath warm against her skin. "What do you want? You want me to bow? You want me to be your servant?"
Noah went quiet for a moment, his eyes scanning Vanka's face with an intensity that made her feel naked.
"I want you to learn one thing, Princess. I want you to learn that this beauty of yours isn't yours to keep. It's a loan from the honesty of the men around you."
"That's bull!" Vanka retorted. "I was born beautiful!"
"And you'll die a grandmother in a week if you go back to the palace now," Noah cut her off cruelly. "Honestly, Vanka, you wouldn't last an hour without me. The second you pass the city gates, every man will praise you because they want your throne, and every compliment will snatch a day of your life away."
Vanka bit her lip, her eyes welling up with tears of rage. "Why are you being so mean to me? Why don't you just kill me and get it over with?"
Noah reached out, his fingers brushing a strand of Vanka's soft black hair.
"Because killing you is too easy. I want to see you survive. I want to see if behind all this arrogance, there's a woman worth healing for good."
Vanka swiped Noah's hand away. "I don't need your judgment! I am the Princess of Aradelle! I command you to lift this magic!"
Noah went back to his log, picking up his axe as if Vanka wasn't interesting anymore. "Your commands don't work here, lady. Here, I am the law. If you want this curse gone, you stay here. No servants, no silk gowns, and no fake compliments."
Vanka gasped. "Stay here? In this shack? You're insane!"
"Feel free to leave then," Noah pointed to the dark path leading into the woods. "Find your own way home. Maybe on the way, you'll run into bandits who'll compliment you before they rob your gold. Let's see how old you look by the time you reach the palace gates."
Vanka stared at the terrifying forest path, then back at Noah's cabin, which at least felt safe. She felt cornered. Her ego was screaming, but her logic was shouting louder.
"How long?" Vanka asked quietly.
Noah glanced back, an eyebrow arched. "Until you stop being a coward hiding behind powder and sweet talk."
"I am not a coward!"
"Honestly? You're a coward," Noah approached again, this time grabbing a bucket of cold water and handing it to Vanka.
"Now, wash your face. Get rid of the remains of that expensive makeup. Go cook something inside. And remember... don't ever praise me or expect a compliment from me. Here, there's only the bitter truth."
Vanka took the bucket with trembling hands. She stared at the clear water inside, then at Noah, who had gone back to work.
"You really are the worst prince to ever exist," Vanka muttered.
"And you're the most arrogant Princess to ever set foot in my cabin," Noah replied without looking back. "But honestly? You look a bit more interesting when you're angry than when you're flirting."
Throb.
Vanka felt that warm sensation in her cheeks again.
Crap,
she thought. 'He just insulted me, but my face feels even fresher.'
Vanka stomped into the cabin, hiding the fact that she'd just realized how much more powerful and commanding Noah was compared to every man she'd ever known.
"Just you wait, Noah," Vanka whispered to herself while staring at the blue fireplace. "I'll make you lift this curse, and when that happens, I'll make sure you're the one kneeling at my feet."
But deep down, she knew the game had just started, and Noah was an opponent she couldn't defeat with just a pretty face.