His voice....his voice sounded so foreign in my ears. It was hard and threatening and I could not understand the feeling that I am having right now; fear or relief?

When the man didn't make a move in releasing me, Fred's face hardened and, using his other hand, placed it on top of the man's wrist. I heard him mumble a few words and a second later, the man was screaming in pain and I was freed from his grip.

I saw smoke coming from the area where Fred had touched him. My eyes widened when I saw the burned mark on his wrist. The skin on his wrist was red and I could see a few areas spotted in black. It was a sickening sight.

Fred must have seen the look of horror on my face because he immediately drew me towards him and shielding me from the sight. He started rubbing my back to calm me down as I gripped his shirt tightly.

"Prince Frederick, is everything alright?" I heard another voice in the scene and I tilted my head to see a guard standing before the screaming man.

"Yes." Fred said.

Another guard appeared. "Your highness, we found the missing people and have now arrested the kidnappers."

"Good." Said Fred gestured towards the man on the ground. "Take this man with you and escort the victims. Make sure they return home safely."

While one of the guards dragged the man with him to who knows where the other looked at me with a curious gaze. "Prince Frederick, would you like us to escort her as well?"

I felt Fred's hold on me tightened and moved me farther beside him to hide me from the guard's view. "No. I'll take care of her. You may leave now."

The guard made a respectful bow at Fred before he left leaving me and Fred alone in the deserted area.
There was an awkward silence in the air before I heard Fred sighing. "Are you alright?" He asked.

I nodded.

"Were you afraid?"

I paused for a second before I replied by giving him a single nod. Fred released me from his hold to look at me. I saw his eyes softened making me recognize the Fred that I used to know back at Thalia. I don't know who or where that side of him went but for now I was happy seeing the old Fred that I started tearing up.

"Hey, hey it's alright, Rose." His thumb wiped away the single tear running on my cheek. "I'm here now. It's all right."

"You liar." I muttered.

Fred looked slightly taken aback by my words. "What?"

"Nothing."

Fred studied me for a moment before taking my hand. "Come. I will take you to the palace. The others are worried about you."

At the mention of the others, I looked up at him.

Crap, with the sudden turn of events I almost forgot about them and the upcoming wrath of PRINCE Ace.

"Where are they? Are they alright?" I asked.

Fred chuckled. "They are." He said and started leading the way while holding my hand. "I was really shocked when I found them at the doorstep of the palace a few minutes ago. They looked frantic and started asking where you were."

I tried not to focus on the fact that I was holding hands with Fred so I looked up and stared at the back of his head. "They were all there?"

Fred nodded. "Yeah. Well, at least Nate, Ren, and Dan were there. They said that PRINCE Ace stayed behind to look for you a bit longer."

I flinched and ran a hand through my face and groaned. "He is?" I couldn't hide the nervousness in my voice when I said it.

Fred turned to look at me with an amused look on his face as he nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, I guess I'm lucky that you found me first then."

Fred laughed, sending sweet melodies in the air. I really miss that joyful and carefree laugh of his.

Fred stopped laughing and grinned. "Don't tell me you two still don't get along?"

"It's not my fault that he's always on his period."

"You should try to approach him. He's not so bad."

I cringed and stared at Fred. "Why are you defending him? Don't tell me you two have a thing going on?" I suddenly imagined Fred and PRINCE Ace. I quickly shook my head at the thought.

Fred didn't get what I was saying because he tilted his head to the side in confusion. "What thing?" He asked.

"Never mind."

We finally came to a stop and I saw Fred's horse waiting for just a few meters from us. I looked at Fred and wondered why we suddenly came to a stop. "Fred?"

"Rose, I have a favor to ask you before we go." He said and the lack of humor in his voice worried me.

"W-What is it?"

Fred slowly turned to me with an unreadable expression. His eyes met mine for a split second before he looked up ahead. "Nate told me the reason you guys came for me and I am sorry to say but I did not wish to meet with all of you."

I shrugged. "Maybe the nymphs made a mistake, but I do hope that you come back-"

"If you still plan on taking me back to Thalia then I would suggest that you give up."

My lips suddenly felt dry. I licked my lips and opened my mouth to speak but Fred cut me off. "The kingdom of Hazel is not doing well. Our reputation is slowly deteriorating. You saw and experienced what happened a while ago. There are a few warlocks and witches who are practicing dark magic. They kidnap fellow warlocks and witches, and even other visiting species to harvest their organs to use as their ingredients for magic." Then his eyes suddenly met mine. There was a look of sorrow in them before it was covered with that unreadable look of his again. The look that the foreign Fred poses. "You were almost a victim of such...practice and I hate the thought of what might happen if I didn't make it in time."

I lowered my head and averted my gaze. "I'm-I'm sorry." That was all that I could think that is right to say at that moment.

"Rose, look at me." He said and I did. "Tomorrow morning. I want you to leave Hazel."

"What?! But-" For some reason, I felt like I do not wish to leave just yet. I wanted to talk to him some more.

"Just do as I say, Rose."

I bit my lips and stared hard at Fred's eyes. No, they weren't exactly the soft and gentle eyes of the Fred I know. They were different. Taking a deep breath, I held his hand in mine. "I read your letter, Fred, and I could feel the feelings that were put into it."

Fred sighed and started looking away. "Rose-"

"Let me finish." I cut him off. "I felt that the time you spent back in Thalia was one that you treasure. The people you met and the friends you gained, all are important to you. That place was special to you and I have a feeling that if you were to choose, you'd want to stay there a bit longer."

This foreign Fred frowned. "It's a stupid letter, Rose."

"A stupid letter that you wrote your whole feelings into."

"Let's drop this conversation please." He said. Frustration is clearly evident in his voice. "I don't want to talk about it. Forget everything and leave tomorrow morning. I'll have everything prepared for your journey."

This side of Fred is pretty stubborn, but I'm more stubborn than him. "Fine," I said. "We'll leave only if you look me in the eyes and tell me that you don't want to go back to Thalia anymore."

I felt his hand clench as he drew them back. He turned his back to me and let out a frustrated sigh and fist his hair and drew in a deep breath before facing me. "You don't know what you are talking about, Rose! You talk as if you know me while you barely know me at all. The time you and I spend together was not enough for you to know me wholly." He gestured to himself. "You see me, don't you? This whole new side of me? You are surprised. It means that you don't know me all that well for you to make such a conclusion all by yourself. Wanting to stay in Thalia? Don't make me laugh. The emotions that you read in that stupid letter? It could even be fake! I could even be faking that whole demeanor the whole time, so don't be such an ignorant human and make assumptions on what I want and how I feel! Ace was right. You should know your place, foreigner."

Fred has never raised his voice at me, ever. But he was right. I shouldn't have made such assumptions by myself. I feel like such a fool. So this is what he really feels huh? That whole demeanor of his was fake the whole time. I'm such an idiot for not realizing it. I am such an embarrassment.

My whole body was trembling and I kept my gaze down because I didn't want to look at this stranger standing in front of me.

"I-I understand. I'm sorry, your highness." I bit my lips as I tried to distract myself from the pain. Don't cry in front of him, Rose. Don't cry in front of this stranger.

I saw Fred's gaze softened. He extended his hand to pull me close, but I moved away. "Rose I-"

"I-I wanna get some air. Excuse me, your highness." I closed my eyes and ran away blindly. "I'll be back!" I called him and started running.

I know it's stupid for me to run considering what just happened to me a while ago, but I also don't want to stand anywhere near that stranger any longer. I sniffed and shut my eyes tightly to stop the tears.

I won't be crying for him. No, I won't. It's not worth it. It's not worth it.

I stopped running and stared up at the sky. Human. I never would have thought that that word would sound as an insult coming from Fred. It really stung. The person who hurts you the most is usually the one that is close to you.

Suddenly I heard the sound of a galloping hoof to my left and a very familiar voice. "Woah, Midnight."

I turned to my left and saw a very furious Ace climbing down from his horse as he marched towards me. At that moment, even the thought of Ace killing me and throwing me off a cliff didn't seem scary at all. "Where the #$%^ have you been?! We've been looking all over for you, you idiot!! Stop running around, you fake princess, or else I will personally chain your neck and tie you to your horse!"

Strange. For some reason, his insults don't seem to bother me. I guess I am used to Ace insulting me but not Fred.

Ace's furious look faltered when my tears started falling. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

I shook my head as my reply and before I knew it, I ran towards him and buried my face in his chest. A second later, I felt him brushing my hair gently in a comforting gesture. But it might just be my imagination.

I'll worry about the consequences later for ruining the prince of darkness's coat. For now, I just want to hide and I cry my heart out.