AUTHORS NOTE: Hey! Sorry this chapter took so long to write, I stuggled with characters again. If you recognize some of the diaolgue this chapter, I promise you aren't going crazy, I re-wrote one of the scenes from someone else's POV. Also I have a twitter now! @RandoWriter   As always, I hope you enjoy the chapter! <3

Sana spreads her arms and arches her back in a lazy stretch. Straightening her legs after having them in a cross-legged position on her office chair for so long. She’s probably been at this paperwork for a few hours now, trying to get through all of the requests and letters from her subjects. Well they weren’t hers yet, but they were why she had to do all this paperwork. She was also reading over and signing 0the treaties and such of other kingdoms’ governments as well. Her dad was definitely making sure she was ready to rule, she hoped he would give her a break this afternoon. She was starting to go a little stir-crazy, and she needed to get out of the castle to relax.

As much as she loves the book smell of this room, with various papers scattered on the desk surfaces and sturdy bookcases lining the walls, it could get a little intense after too long. Cracking open the window didn’t always help after spending such a long time in the room, she should really invest in scented candles or something if she was going to be spending more time stuck in here, writing and signing away.

She rubs her eyes as she puts the papers she had been working on in two stacks. Ones that were ready to be checked by her father and ones that still needed to be finished. She hums to the music playing from her bluetooth speaker as she fixes up the rest of the desk before standing. She walks over to the bookshelf and pulls a book with a purple cover and white accents. 

The bookshelf seems to be into the wall before sliding away. Sana walks into the open passage, turning off her phone’s bluetooth and turning on the flash light. The bookshelf moves back into place as she walks forward in the semi-clean, but clearly older, passage. Glad that she’s wearing jeans because, although she doesn't see any bugs, she does see dirt. After walking for a little bit, following a curve, she spots some children’s drawings and smiles at the memory of drawing on the walls with her two best friends. She sees a box of chalk still on the ground by the drawings, and decides to reminisce. 

She picks up a random piece of chalk and draws a coffee cup with steam coming out of it, taking a picture and sending it to the groupchat the three of them have. They’ll probably laugh at the memory of them running down these passageways and getting into all sorts of trouble, sketching out maps when they got lost and arguing over which way they’d already been. Drawing little markers for the different types of room, mixing up which symbol went to what room and ending up in the weirdest places. 

She was almost to her bedroom when her phone buzzed in her hand with a message notification. 

Minari sent a message to “The Cool Royals”: You still use those old passages? How very princess-like of you. 

She giggles and is thinking up a reply when her phone buzzes again. 

Moguri: We should all go explore them again the next time we stay over! I wanna check out the creepy ones again, maybe we’ll find a ghost (≧∇≦)

Minari: Ooh, and then we can document it and become famous (^o^)

Sana frowned and typed out a message before she pulled the rope by the end of the tunnel. Tapping her finger against the back of her phone as she waited.

You: ＼(°ロ＼) NO GHOSTS!!! (／ロ°)／

Sana shined her phone’s flashlight behind her, swearing she just heard something, and subconsciously moved her back to face a wall as she waited for the, very slowly sliding open, portion of wall to let her out of the suddenly terrifying tunnel. Once the wall had slid open enough for her to fit through, Sana booked it out of there and grabbed the nearest object, pointing it towards the dark passageway. 

It’s only after the passageway is closed that Sana realizes a pink hairbrush probably isn’t that intimidating to a ghost, but nothing attacked her so if it's not broken, don’t fix it. But she really should invest in putting some sort of weapon in her room to ward off ghosts from using the secret passages to get her. Do baseball bats scare ghosts? Maybe. 

She sighs and falls onto her bed, happy that it's right next to the passage opening so she doesn’t have to walk too far. Her exhaustion is back full force now that she’s not scared or joking around with her friends. She rolls around until she's in the center and spreads out like a starfish, closing her eyes to rest and relax. 

But she’s apparently not allowed to relax because a not-so familiar face pops into her head. Sana would like to think she can’t get the pale girl out of her head just because she looked flawless in that suit, but it’s not true. A stray thought leads to her imagining the girl without a vest and with her sleeves rolled up, she didn’t think the girl could get hotter but now she needs to see her in that. Preferably without the tie and a button or two undone. Coffee girl would be the talk of every party if that happened, whether she was a noble or not.

She’d like to think she’s only interested in the girl for the physical, but what really haunts her is the girl’s dark eyes. They’ve been stuck in her head since she opened them that first time in the bathroom, something about them was so familiar and mesmerizing. Sana feels like she’s missing something, a puzzle piece that will unlock the mystery in them. 

She grabbed the nearest pillow and screamed into it before throwing it across the room. And then sitting up and throwing the rest of the pillows across the room. She sat there, grumpily, for a moment before wrapping herself up in the purple comforter and walking to her couch, leaning over the edge until she fell onto the cushions. She groans loudly, staring at the black tv screen, and hides herself further into the comforter. 

“Sana Minatozaki, you are Not having feelings for a girl you met once. That only happens in fairy tales. She clearly isn’t a knight and you don’t need to be rescued.” She rolls around so she's looking at the back of the couch. “Besides, it’s not like you’ll ever see her again anyways.” Her voice trails off for a few moments.

“Wait-” 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Sana found herself feeling a little out of place while she walked down the busy street full of shops, people staring as she passed. She was used to people looking at her, they had been looking all her life, but for some reason she didn’t want anyone looking at her right now. The eyes on her just made her feel nervous in a way she hadn’t been in years. 

What would these people say if they knew she was going to a pastry shop a decent way away from the castle specifically because of one blonde girl she just couldn’t get out of her head? She didn’t want to know. 

She pulled her cap down a little bit more and shoved her hands in her jean pockets. Godamnit. The sun was shining and it was only partially cloudy, but why did it seem like it was going to be such a bad day for Sana. Maybe it was nerves, but why would she be nervous? She shouldn’t be nervous, she’s Sana Minatozaki. She’s the princess. Next in line for the throne. She isn’t going to get nervous over a girl she met once no matter how much said girl won’t get out of her head. 

Sana finally stopped walking, and looked at the building across the street. It has the type of design you would expect of a cafe/pastry shop. There's a sign above it that says ‘Sunset Pastries’ in some sort of fancy font, the building is accented with dark wood, there's a patio where people are enjoying sweets and coffee, large windows to bring in more light, and even one of those signs propped out front with some of the menu items and prices. It looks very calming and cute, for some reason it’s exactly the kind of place Sana would expect coffee girl to work. Let’s just hope she’s in there. 

Sana had to wipe her palms against her jeans as she crossed the street, feeling her heartbeat speed up. Would the girl even remember her? Was Sana stuck in her head too? What if coffee girl didn’t want to talk to her? Oh god, what