I don't remember what happened the last time I was conscious, but my mouth tasted like I ate some fur.

What happened?

I woke up, and the first thing that I noticed was the pain in my cheek and neck. Then I saw that I was lying on a bed. I slowly rubbed the sleep from my eyes and was blinded by the rays of the sun coming from the window.

As soon as I was fully awake and conscious, I took a good look around me. It only confirmed my suspicion that I am once again back in the castle.

Damn.

I heard a light breath to my right, and I turned my head to the side and saw someone sitting on a chair just beside my bed. His red hair is framing his eyes like flames when the sunlight hits it. He was holding a paper and was drawing something on it with charcoal.

What is he doing?

I stared at him for a few seconds before I focused on the paper he was holding, trying to see what he was doing. Nate must have noticed me moving because he stopped and switched his attention back to me afterward.

When he caught my eye, he smiled - but it was more like a beam. His dimples showed as he did so. "Hey, you. You're awake." He said and turned his chair so that it was facing my bed. He set down his paper and charcoal on the side table and wiped his hand with his handkerchief.

"Hey," I groggily said as I sat up in my bed. Nate stood up and walked over to the table. He poured some water into a glass from the pitcher. Nate returned and offered me the glass, which I gratefully accepted and drank. He took the glass and set it on the side table with his paper when I was finished.

"Thanks. I forgot how thirsty I was.”

"How are you feeling?" He asked me once he was seated back on his chair.

"Aside from feeling like a princess because a prince just served me water? I'm feeling great." I joked, earning a light laugh from Nate.

"I would gladly serve you water any time." He winked. I made a disgusted look.

"No."

Nate threw his head back and laughed. "Ouch," he said. Then he noticed me making a face. "What? What's wrong?" He asked me earnestly.

"I feel like I was hit by a truck. My whole body hurts."

"What about your cheek?"

"My cheek? What about it?" As soon as I asked the question, Nate poked my cheek, and I felt a twinge of pain. "Ow!!" I quickly slapped Nate's hand away and glared at him. "What's the big idea?"

Nate's expression turned dark. "Rose, what do you remember in the woods before Ren and Dan found you?"

"Huh?"

"How did you get that bruise on your cheek?" He continued to push. "Ren and Dan wouldn't tell us a thing."

"Ren and Dan?" I held out a hand to stop him once I noticed that he was about to ask me another question. "All I remember is finding a lake. After that, these two huge muscled men were acting strange once they heard I was a royal and were forced to escort me. When I turned them down, they got really pissed and slapped me. I think that's where I got the bruise." I touched my cheek while still trying to recall the events that had happened. "I tried to fight them but only managed to piss them off. After that...well.....things got crazy because they suddenly turned into.....into.......OH MY GOSH!!!" I suddenly turned to Nate, who was surprised when I grabbed his shoulder and shook him back and forth.

"They turned into...into...cats! I mean the large predator ones: A Lion and a cougar. And then...and then...they started to attack me, but a wolf came out of nowhere and attacked the lion...after that, another wolf came."

"Uh-huh. Go on." Nate just gave me a look as he nodded. He probably thinks I'm going crazy here, and I shook him back and forth.

"And then the wolf totally kicked the cat's butts....and then....and then.....the wolves started talking and...I think that's it. The next thing I know, I'm in this room. No Ren or Dan spotted."

Nate sighed and gently took my hands from his arms. "Rose, those wolves who 'kicked the cat's butts' are Ren and Dan."

I stared at Nate for a long time before I flicked his forehead.

"Hey. What was that for?" He rubbed the part where I had hit him.

"Stop joking around, Nate. People don't turn into wolves, okay?" I patted his head.

"Oh really? Then how do you explain the guys who turned into cats?" He challenged me.

"How can they not?" I was clearly in denial. But I am not going to admit it out loud.

"You are seriously making this conversation more complicated." He facepalmed before looking at me. "I'm just going to let them explain this by themselves later. For now, I'm just glad that you're safe and still yourself."

"Wooo to the hoooo." I cheered unenthusiastically.

Nate's expression suddenly turned serious. "Rose, can I ask you something?"

"Nope."

"Why did you leave?" He asked even though I just told him no.

"I said no."

"Please, Rose. Tell me."

I pursed my lips when I saw that Nate's eyes had softened into a pleading one. He looked so sorry at that moment that I couldn't help but answer him. "It's not that I hate you guys or anything. I just wanted to go home. When I found out that there might be an alternative way for me to go back.....I just have to grab it. The only problem was that it was in the Kingdom of Tereau and- "

"Wait, what did you just say? The Kingdom of Tereau?" Nate had a shocked expression on his face that I couldn't help but wonder.

"Yeah. What about it?"

Nate suddenly grabbed me by the shoulder and looked me in the eye. "Rose, don't you ever attempt to go there again. Do you understand?"

I gave him a puzzled look. "Why, Nate? What about it?"

"It's a dangerous place. It's the kingdom where most of the rogues gather. If they saw you, they wouldn't hesitate to kill you on the spot. They are an enemy to the Kingdom, Rose. Promise me you won't go there."

"But what about-"

"Promise me." He said again. His eyes turned severe and stern, and his hold on my shoulder tightened. I looked down as I thought about my decision. When I finally decided, I turned to Nate once again.

"Okay. I promise." I said. "Sorry about running away. I didn't know."

Nate started to relax after that. He smiled and then pulled me into a quick embrace, kissed my forehead, and patted my head. "That's my girl." He said before he settled back in his seat.

I wiped the kiss off of my forehead furiously. I glared at him.

That earned a light chuckle from Nate. While I was busy glaring at him, I heard the door open, and the other princes came in.

Fred came in first, followed by Ren, Dan, and lastly Ace.

"Hey, Prince Nate. Is our Princess awake?" Dan asked. Nate only nodded at him and moved a little so they could see me. When I was in full view, Dan and Ren whooped in glee.

"Welcome home, Princess." Fred smiled at me.

Home.

I gave him a weak smile. Fred took a few more steps closer to me after staring at my face for a few moments longer. When he got to my side, he tucked some of my hair behind my ears before holding my chin and turning it to the side. He then gently ran his thumb over my bruise. I shivered. Not because of his touch, but because of the pain on the sensitive area.

"Beast men can really hit it hard." He mumbled. "Rose, does it still hurt?" He asked. I gave him a look as I slowly nodded.

Beside Fred, Nate let out an annoyed grumble.

"If you're gonna heal her, then do it already."

Fred only gave him a grin before he returned his gaze to me. "This'll be quick. Trust me." He said and placed a hand on my bruised cheek.

"Fred, what are you-"

"Shhhh." He shushed me and started to close his eyes in concentration for who knows what. I felt a cooling sensation where his hand touched my skin. It lasted for only a few seconds before it was gone.

Fred then took his hand from my face and opened his eyes. He looked at my cheek before a smile made its way to his lips. He met my gaze. "How's that?"

I gave him a questioning look before I touched my cheek. The pain was gone. I tried pressing it, but I couldn't feel a thing. "It's....gone. The pain is gone." I looked at Fred for an answer, but he just smiled at me and straightened his posture. "How is it gone?"

"Tch!" Ace let out an annoyed tone making us all look at him at the same time. He was giving me a look. Once our eyes met, he wrinkled his nose at me in disgust. In return, I glared at him.

"What are you looking at?" I said to him,

"Nothing. I just can't believe that an idiot like you actually exists. It's actually quite fascinating." He said in a bored tone as he continued to stare at me.

Honestly, I am so amazed at how Ace's words can quickly change my mood.

"Keep staring at me like that, and I will honestly rip your eyeballs out of their sockets you-" And that's when I notice the difference in his appearance. His ears, which were smooth and human-looking before, are now replaced by pointed ones. "Y-your ears..." I said and pointed at them.

Ace's eyes suddenly narrowed. "What about them?"

I was still staring at his ears that I had to gulp before I could speak. "You look like an elf," I said dumbly, earning an eye roll from Ace.

"That's because I am one." He reminded me. He let out a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. Usually, it would hide his ears, but now it made his ears stick out more. "Haven't you been listening to the things he had said to you before your little 'run away' spree?" He let out an annoyed sigh as I mumbled, "Blockhead."

"Well, I'm sorry if my brain wouldn't register that kind of information. I mean, where I'm from, it's not normal!"

Ace, leaning on the wall, fixed his posture until he was standing straight. "I think you've already seen enough for your brain to register that what you call not normal is, in fact, possible. You're just in a state of denial."

"Well, I'm sorry if I don't live in your world that it is so hard for me to believe!" I finally snapped at him. "You know what? I don't even get why you're in here. Did you come here to mock me? Whatever the reason you're here, I'm pretty sure that 'worrying about me' is off your list. So why don't you just go back to your library and read a book like the little royal loner you are?"

There was an awkward silence in the room as all the princes turned their attention from me to Ace.

Ace's eyebrow twitched a little before he snorted. "As if I wanted to be here anyway."

"Same here," I answered.

He straightened his shirt down before he made his way to the door and disappeared. As soon as the door closed behind him, silence once again filled the room.

I snorted, breaking the awkward silence in the room. "I wonder why he even came here in the first place." At my words, the princes looked at each other. It was like they were communicating with their eyes or something.

Finally, Ren spoke. "Hey, Rose? Do you know how Dan and I found you in the forest?"

"What are you talking about?" I tiled my head to the side.

"The wolves, Rose. We're the wolves that you saw," said Ren and pointed at Dan and himself. I looked from Ren to Dan. Then I averted my eyes.

I'm going to be honest here. As hard as it is for me to say it, Ace is right. Part of me believes all the crap that they are talking about. The other half is...well...afraid. I have already seen it with my very own eyes. A man turned into a cat right in front of me.

Tell me, what more proof do I need?

But the idea of a world where supernaturals exist sounds so wrong on so many different levels that my brain doesn't want to accept it.

I felt a slight movement to my right, and I turned to see that Fred had invaded my space and sat at the side of my bed. He held my hand in his and gave me a look. "You believe us, don't you?" The way that his eyes captivated mine felt like he was sucking the truth out of me that I began to shiver.

Instead of answering him, I bit my lips and nodded. I felt the tears starting to burst from my eyes that I had to shut them tight. Fred must have sensed this, for he pulled me in an embrace and placed a hand on my back in a soothing way. I didn't say anything as I sobbed quietly. "Shh. It's alright, Rose. Everything is alright. We're here."

"I already know the truth," I admitted. "But accepting it would mean that I really can't be with my family for a while. I never ask to be here. I didn't want to be here!" I sobbed.