One day, Jason stepped out of the house as quickly as he could. The excuse he gave was that he intended on baking a pie after making dinner and, not surprisingly for him, the response from everyone in the house was similar to “Typical for you to want to make a pie; save it for the rest of us!”, but Jason just closed the door without responding. He found himself unable to cry after many years of putting up with the insults. As he walked into the woods contemplating what fruits to pick for the pie, his mind wandered to thoughts of his father, Terrence. He remembered Terrence talking about how taste and texture were giveaways of which pastries were made with love and which pastries were made because they were made from solely obligation. Jason thought about the times where he would make baked goods for the house and, rather than any form of feedback, all everyone in the house gave him were insults and remarks of him inhaling the entire creation in 30 seconds. Jason thought about the idea of earning enough money to buy back the bakery and running it like his father had. However, a voice in his head reminded him that Daeva would just take the money for herself and that he probably wouldn’t make baked goods like his father did. However, there was another voice in his head that spoke like his father that told him he would be proud of Jason no matter what.

The thought made a smile slowly grow on Jason’s face and distracted him enough for him to fall into a bush full of boysenberries. Jason looked over them and thought that he hadn’t used boysenberries in a treat in a long time and proceeded to carefully pick them. After a few moments of picking them, he felt a tap on his shoulder and leapt further into the bush out of shock. When he regained his focus, he saw a man that looked to be his age stick out his hand towards the clumsy fella.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. Do you need some help out of there?”

Jason was skeptical until he realized he couldn’t get out of the bush on his own. He grabbed the man’s hand and looked into his eyes. The eye contact reminded Jason of when he was younger and Terrence described how he knew he loved his mother; like he saw her as a best friend with something much more special.

“Um, thank you. Sorry, I’m not used to such a gesture,” he excused after he noticed he was staring for too long.

“Don’t worry about it. I was just wondering what berries were safe to eat around here,” the man explained.

Jason brought the man to the various berries around the woods as if venturing through his second home. He was surprised that the man seemed fascinated in their surroundings.

“You’re not from here, are you?” Jason finally asked.

“Well, yes, I am, but I just don’t get out much. Even when I do, I don’t go very far on my own often,” the man explained.

“Well, how did you get out now?”

“To be frank, I snuck out for some fresh air. You know that feeling where you feel more in your element when you’re away from others?”

Jason felt tempted to pinch himself or splash himself with water with the belief that he’d wake up from dream of such a beautiful man who understood his mindset.

“Actually, yes I do,” he responded.

“So, what about you? What brings you out here?” the man asked him.

“Well, you know, I’m just out here picking berries for a pie.”

“Didn’t there used to be a popular bakery here? I wonder what happened to it.”

“It was sold and abandoned after my father died. I want to bring it back somehow.”

The man was surprised to hear that it was Jason’s father that owned the bakery. As much as he noticed Jason’s size, he didn’t think it would be right to jump to conclusions.

“Well, why don’t you? I’m sure he would’ve loved it.”

“Long story short, as long as I’m under the roof of my remaining family, it’s not my money.”

Jason didn’t expect to reveal a lot to the stranger, but he somehow found it easier to trust him than just about anybody. He didn’t know if it was the beauty or the kindness, but he wasn’t really in a hurry to get away from the man. They continued wandering around to check out the berries and other parts of the woods. After so much time passed, though, Jason’s basket was filled with his boysenberries and the man had to leave.

“I think there’s going to be a get-together for the Menaginary denizens to attend. Maybe I’ll see you there,” the man said hopefully.

“Well, to be honest, large crowds suffocate me, but I hope we can see each other again,” Jason stated.

As Jason headed home with his basket full of boysenberries and a stomach full of butterflies, he was unable to see as the man snuck his was out of the woods back to the castle he called his home. As he snuck through a hedge surrounding the garden, he brushed the leaves off himself and placed himself on one of the stone benches by some flowers. A few minutes of thinking of the man he met later, the Royal Advisor approaches him.

“Ah, Prince Ryder, there you are. Was your head stuck in the clouds again?” the Royal Advisor asked.

“Can’t a guy get some fresh air without being accused of having his head stuck in the clouds, Lawrence?” Ryder asked while annoyed of their differing views of his time spent outside of his Royal duties.

Lawrence rolled his eyes and led Ryder back inside and rejoined the King and Queen to continue with making decisions for the Royal Ball that evening that had the intention of finding Ryder a partner. As they continued with their decisions, Ryder had an objective of his own for the Ball: finding the stranger he met in the woods.