All of us looked at Ren who only smiled sheepishly from our stares. "Sorry. Just got used to it." In my irritation, I slapped Ren at the back of his head. "Ow!"

And to think that I felt relieved because I thought that it was Ace! Stupid Ren.

"Yes." Eltur confirmed. "Ace is the third one who possesses such a gift. Imagine our surprise when mother, Darem, and I found him in the garden bringing dead flowers back to life." Eltur grinned at the memory. "At first we didn't have a clue what his gift was, but after a few trips to the library we finally figured it out. Ace was only 5 when his gift manifested."

"That is so unreal." I muttered.

"Yeah. Imagine our cute little baby brother obtaining such a rare gift coming from previous kings. Great kings if I may add."

"Er...that too, but I was kind of talking about Ace reviving dead plants," I said.

"Ohh."

"I don't get it. If Ace's gift is this powerful and ancient why would he wish to be rid of it?" Wondered Dan.

"Oh, it's actually not his gift that Ace hates." Darem said for the very first time. "It's the restrictions that he hates."

"Restrictions?"

"As a prince and as the one who possesses such a gift Ace is prone to different sorts of danger especially when he's only a child. Our father didn't know of Ace's gift because his father has a weak heart and his mother doesn't want him to worry. Ace was always being kept inside and wasn't allowed to leave unless he was escorted by one of our palace guards. Eltur and I would often sneak him out to play with us when we were young. Looking at him back then, I could see the happiness in his eyes as he chased us. Only during those moments that Ace felt like he really was a kid."

"But it didn't last long." Eltur patted Darem's shoulder as he continued. "Mother found out that we had been sneaking Ace out of the castle. She was so furious that she slapped my brother and I in front of Ace. And, I guess, Ace did care for us because he started crying and begged our mother to stop. He promised her that he would never leave the palace unguarded again. Ever since then, Ace would not come with us whenever we ask him to sneak out again. He dedicated all his time into training and studying. Every morning he would be in the library to study and every afternoon he and the palace guards would go out and practice his skills in either sword fighting or archery." There was a pause before Darem said in a very low voice that resembles a whisper, "As you can tell, Ace wanted to get rid of his powers to be rid of these restrictions....these fences that our mother had to build for him. All because of his gift."

There was silence as we let all the information sink in.

No wonder Ace is such a bitter prince and a bookworm. Ren spoke in my mind, making me slap him behind the head again. "Hey!"

Insensitive mutt!

We all fell into silence as we waited outside for who knows how long. The silence was deafening and suffocating that it gave me time to think about how we all misjudged Ace. Sure he's a grumpy pant, but there was a reason for all of his actions. People always misjudge others without even knowing them that well.

As I was busy pondering over my thoughts, Queen Siera finally came out of the greenhouse and we all stood up and watched her in anticipation as we waited for news about Ace.

"Mother, is Ace..-?"

"He's fine, Eltur." Queen Siera reassured him. "Your brother is fine. He's just resting. Although whether he will wake up soon is up to him. I've already done my part on calming down the flow of energy from his body." The moment she said it made me that dark circles were forming under Queen Siera's eyes. Also, her eyes were a bit puffy, which I assume was that she cried while trying to help Ace.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief at the news, but not fully because there is still the matter of when Ace will wake up.
Queen Siera let out a tired sigh. "We need to get back and explain things to your father. I think now is the time for us to explain some....matters to him. I'm afraid it is going to take some time." She looked at her two sons then.

"But, mother. Who will stay here with Ace?" Darem asked.

"I'll stay and watch." Nate suddenly said and we all turned our attention to him. Nate gave us a look as he nodded. "You three go ahead and get some rest."

Ren and Dan nodded. "Alright. We'll be back to take your place later." Said Ren.

"Thank you." Queen Siera said to Nate who only bowed his head respectfully at the king. As he started walking towards the greenhouse I followed him.

"I'm staying too." I said. I wanted to see how Ace is doing and I also want to have a word with Nate about his behavior.

At this, Nate turned back with wide eyes. "What? No!" He protested making me frown at him. He and I really need to talk.

"Are you sure, Rose?" Dan asked. I nodded. "Well then. Ren will stay too!" He suddenly declared.

"What?!" Ren. "Why?!"

"Because." Dan answered, which makes no sense at all.

"No. You guys need rest for you to take over watch duty. Nate and I will stay." I said.

Ren suddenly has a weird look on his face that I couldn't point out. "I don't like leaving you here alone."

"What are you talking about, Ren? I'm not alone. Nate will be here and so is an unconscious Ace."

"It's just...." Ren paused and looked away. "Sorry. I don't understand why I said that."

"Ren, if you want to stay, then stay!" Dan insisted.

"Actually," Darem spoke. "We need you two to come with us and help explain things to our father."

"Oh...sure." Said Ren. At this, Dan glared at Darem, who looked away and blinked his eyes innocently.

"Well then. You two take care and keep an eye on our brother."Eltur said and he, Darem, and Queen Siera gave us their thanks before leaving with Ren and Dan.

As soon as they were gone I heard Nate letting out a frustrated sigh as he marched into the greenhouse hurriedly. I was about to follow him when I remember his cape lying on the ground. I went to pick it up before following him in.

I saw him standing by the edge of the pond as he looked at Ace. I walked and joined him. Ace was still laying down on the platform. Vines wrapped around his arms and legs loosely as if the vines themselves were protecting Ace from outside danger.

His skin was starting to return it's color. He was becoming tan from being exposed to so much sun during our travels. His hair has also grown a bit longer and has become messy. His ears now sharper and his face somehow becoming more defined in shape. He looks like a real elf now. Beautiful and elegant.

"So Ace didn't have a proper childhood. No wonder he's so stingy and strict." I commented as I looked at Ace and willed him to wake up soon.

"Yeah." Came Nate's reply as he moved back and walked to sit on the stairs.

I followed and sat beside him. "You know, you are never getting his cape back." I grinned and showed him his cape. "I kinda like it."

"Sure. You can keep it."

"Are you mad at me?"

This time Nate looked at me in surprise. "What?"

"You seem to have been keeping your distance lately and it makes me wonder if I angered you or something."

"Oh sorry." Nate looked away and stared at the ground. "It's just that something has been bothering me."

"What is it? You can tell me anything. We're buddies after all."

Nate gave me a side glance and I couldn't help but notice that he was looking at my lips. He quickly looked away. "I'm not sure if I should tell you."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Why not?"

He shrugged. "Because it's embarrassing and silly."

"If you're worried that I will laugh, then I promise that I won't."

Nate studied me. An unsure look appeared on his face. "Yeah.....No."

"Fine. Suit yourself. Then you won't get awesome advice from me."

That made Nate chuckle. "Whatever you say, Rose."

And that ended our conversation seeing as how Nate seemed to block any of my attempts to start one. I don't know how long we sat there but I was pretty sure that it was long enough that my back started hurting that I had to lay down Nate's cape on the floor and sit on it. From time to time we check up on Ace for any signs of him gaining consciousness. Nothing. All we have in assurance that he's alive is his even breathing.

I got so impatient that I unconsciously reached out to shake him awake. The vines around him started to react and wrap around my hand and pulled me to the water. I almost drowned if Nate wasn't there to pull me back. Because of that, I sat farther away from the pond as possible. I almost drowned yesterday in a lake and now a pond? What's next? The bathtub?

I was starving. It was starting to get late and the sky was already dark when the twins returned holding out a basket that they handed to me and Nate. "Dinner."

"Yes! Thank you." I said and grabbed the basket from Dan and ran back to Nate as we split the sandwiches evenly among us.

"How's Ace?" Ren asked.

"Sleeping. It doesn't seem like he'll be waking up soon."

"What if he doesn't wake up? What then? Are we going to-"

"No, Dan." I said. "If you think that we're going to leave him then you are wrong. Ace is going to wake up soon and we will all return to Thalia. Together."

Dan looked down at me and smiled. He reached out and ruffled my hair. "Yeah, you're right, Rose. Sorry for doubting his recovery. Why don't you and Nate finish your food so you can go back and get some rest?"

"Okay."

Nate and I finished our food. Once we were done, we bid the twins goodnight before walking out of the greenhouse and headed for the castle. It was dark but the moon gave us enough light to guide us through. On our way to the castle, Nate and I didn't speak to each other and kept our distance.

I was so lost in my thought that when I turned in Nate's direction he was gone. I stopped and started looking around for the idiot vampire. "Nate?" I called out to Nate.

No one answered.

"Nate? Hey! Where are you?" I turned 360 degrees in search for him. "Nate? NAAATE-!"

"Shh!" Nate suddenly appeared behind me and clasped my mouth. Stupid vampire stealth.

I turned around to face him and let out a sigh of relief. I removed his hand from my mouth and glared at him. "Where did you go?"

Despite my unpleasant mood, Nate grinned and extended a closed fist to me. "Look." He then opened his hand and two fireflies flew out into the night.

"Wow. Nate, where did you-"

"Come on. This way." Nate grabbed my hand and pulled me to the side and past the forest into another clearing. "See?"

I gasped when I saw the scenery in front of us. The clearing was covered in night flowers and they bloom only at night. The flowers themselves are already beautiful, but what made it more magical are the swarms of fireflies dancing. Casting a glow to my left then to my right. One perched on my nose and Nate laughed and waved the firefly away. "Beautiful isn't it? Good thing I was able to see it before we passed it completely."

"Yeah." I agreed and tried to catch a firefly with my hands. I missed it. I tried again jumping and reaching up when they flew higher. Behind me, I heard Nate chuckle.

"Wow, you suck at this." He said. I ignored him as I continued to catch some fireflies. I felt myself smiling as I did. You can't blame me. It was rare to see fireflies at home. I could only see a few of them at night and they were only about five or four fireflies. This was something new. I have never seen this many fireflies before. Sure I have seen them on television, but not in real life. Somehow it actually makes me feel light as I twirled around and danced with the fireflies – no longer interested in catching them. "Hey, slow down. You're going to-" My foot caught on something and I fell back. There was a whooshing sound behind me and suddenly Nate was there. "-fall."

"Sorry." I said and he turned around to make me face him. Once he did we he froze. Nate and I were only inches apart. His eyes then lowered and trained to my lips.

"Um...." He pushed himself away and cleared his throat. "We should go." He said and walked away without even waiting for me. Just before he walked away I heard him mutter, "Stupid Mermaid."

I stared at his back for a while as I thought about his words. Mermaid? What does the mermaid have to do with his mood?

"Stupid vampire." I said as I followed him back.

As we walked, my mind drifted somewhere in the greenhouse and I suddenly thought of Ace. I sure hope that he wakes up soon. Fred already left and I just can't imagine losing another face again when we go back to Thalia. Even though he and I don't get along I would still miss his presence. Especially in the library. Somehow, seeing him in the library seemed comforting and natural. I couldn't imagine entering it and finding him missing.

"You good for nothing PRINCE." I whispered in the night as I gazed up at the stars. "Wake up soon or I'll burn every book of 79 clues and P*rcy J*cks*n back at the palace. And I'll make sure you'll never get a copy again. Ever."