Queen Heart patted the pauldrons on her son's uniform. Blake tried to stand still for it, but remained shaking, feeling the puffs on his black costume flutter all around. Even on a cool day in their fair Opal Kingdom, he was sweating.

Princess Jade grinned softly. "C'mon. Just like we practiced. You'll talk about your hobbies - your treasure collection, your library of old legends, every time you skipped a hunting trip - and see if she loves you."

The earnest Prince Blake clenched his royal fists, eyeing their ornate door. His expensive (and very tight) shoes shuffled on the rug. "B-but what if I flub it up? I-I-I was never trained in romance, like with literature or swordplay..."

His mother pressed pressed on his cheeks affectionately. "The kingdom needs a strong union to go forward - and the prince needs to have love in his heart. If this date doesn't work... There'll be another."

"And another, and another, aaaaand another..." Jade paced around him, making him sink with every word.

He just wanted out.

As the door swung open, he saw a tall woman with a full procession of servants. Dark robes. A bewitching glimmer in her eyes, behind a ceremonial fan with her kingdom's coat of arms. Even the black bird on the coat of arms seemed to glare him down.

He wanted out.

Blake took a step forward, twenty lumps in his throat swelling up. The carpet separating them felt like it stretched for miles and miles. And yet, every movement made it feel like his date on the other end was getting closer to his space, domineering it...

He wanted out.

"Greetings. Prince Blake of Opal..." The woman's voice echoed through him, tickling at his bones. "I am Raven Dusk, and I do hope that this evening can be the most..."

HE WANTED OUT.

Blake tossed his ceremonial cape aside, and jumped out of one of the high windows, running off into the post-supper distance. A collective sigh echoed through the chamber behind him.

Jade looked at their old telescope. "If he keeps that pace up, he'll be in the next kingdom by this evening."

The queen fell to her knees, shaking her head in apology to the visiting Raven. "I will make this right. This is my responsibility, to teach him."

Raven lowered the fan, a small, knowing smirk on her face. Her gloved hand was moving in subtle gestures, twinkles emerging from it. "I'm sure he'll have learned his lesson about courage and love... Within only a few moments."

As Blake kept running, he felt like he was slowing to a slog. The shoes were getting ever-so-slightly looser. He was sinking less into the mud, but the grass around him was starting to get higher. Maybe it was a trick of the shadows, with Opal Kingdom's trees towering above...

Higher, and higher - much taller than he remembered...

It would be dark soon. Blake gathered his courage, and turned back - but a fence he'd easily passed moments ago was now taller than him. His legs were trudging through the grass that grew around him at high speeds. When he made it to the window, which was level with his knees before, he couldn't reach it, or see in, even if he jumped up and down.

The Prince of Opal was now puny, barely the size of a finger... He'd read about this before in his study. Shrinking spells. They were supposed to only be a legend, but he was living it now.