We soon arrived at a vast expanse of greenery. The twins set the mat a few feet from a cliff. At first, I was horrified and afraid that we might fall. But when Ren and Dan started to drag me toward the edge, that's when I calmed down. Despite the danger of being near that cliff, the view was to die for. Literally.

It was beautiful. I can see a large expanse of trees lining at the bottom. And just ahead of that is a town buzzing with life. I can also see the mountains just ahead of it, looking blue from a distance. The breeze here was calm and cold to the skin. But not too cold to make you shiver.

"Wow." I exhaled as I took it all in.

"Neat, huh? Dan and I found this place during one of our runs at night." Ren stood beside me. His head looked back, and he smiled at me. "The place is set now. Come on, and let's eat."

I let Ren pull me back, seeing as the view has hypnotized me. We both sat and joined Dan on the blanket as he cheerfully brought out what was in the basket.

My eyes nearly bulged out of their socket when I saw what they had packed: A slice of whole meat, some bread, jam, water, mashed potatoes, salad, and different varieties of fruits.

"Are we running away or something? You guys packed a lot!" I said.

"Well, would you rather let us not pack at all?" Questioned Dan. When I shook my head no, he smiled and said, "See? It's better to be prepared. You will never know when you're hungry."

With that, I stopped arguing and sat down to eat as much as I could while smiling and joking with the twins. Then we got to talking about the ball that night.

"Did you see me last night?" Dan started to brag. "The ladies could not resist my charm." He started to brag.

Ren and I exchanged glances, and we both held a look before we turned to Dan and threw a grape at him.

"Hey!! You guys are wasting food." He told us. "I know you guys envy me, but you don't have to be a hater for it. Sheesh!!"

"Yeah. Thank you for taking my cape last night." Ren said.

"And for leaving us to deal with all those girls," I added.

Dan jerked up and looked at both of us suspiciously and pointed an accusing finger at us. "Hey. Rose, being Ren's twin is not your job. It's mine. You have other roles to play." He said. And before I could ask what he meant. He added. "And we're even. Your admirers crowded me last night, and I have to crawl my way out of them."

With that, Ren and I laughed at the memory of Dan becoming lost in a wave of girls. I never heard anything of him or saw him after that. "Where did you go after that?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Somewhere where I can't be seen." He said.

"Let me guess...behind the giant curtains." Ren guessed, and Dan feigned a gasp.

"Brother, you know me too well!" He said. "And you were supposed to keep an eye on Rose the whole night as her escort, but you let Nate drag her around the room and run. Shame on you for that, brother. Heck, I am even ashamed to call you my brother!! What kind of prince are you?"

"Certainly not that PRINCE." Ren jokes. And just the way he said it doesn't need an explanation as a certain prince crossed our mind making us laugh.

"By the way," Dan said as he was the first one to recover from our fits of laughter. "Has anyone seen PRINCE Ace this morning?" He asked.

"Or Prince Fred?" Added Ren. "I haven't seen those two since the ball."

"Maybe they overslept?" I suggested.

Dan nodded as he considered my suggestion. "Maybe PRINCE Ace is in the library. Reading and studying again."

"And Prince Fred is in the office and doing the queen's work again."

"Dang!! Any one of those two will make a fine King and ruler of us all." Said Dan.

"I know." Agreed Ren.

"How about you two?" I inquired. I was trying to get out of the debate because I still don't know much about foreign politics. "What will happen to you both if you don't get the throne in Thalia?"

Ren shrugged. "We go back to our own Kingdom." He said as Dan added. "Well, Ren is gonna rule our Kingdom while I stay a prince."

"What?" I gasped. "But don't you have an older sibling or something?"

Ren and Dan exchanged glances before looking at me. "Nope." They both said at the same time.

"Hang on." I gestured to a time-out. "Aren't you guys supposed to be the youngest son in order to be a candidate for a King?"

"Well, supposedly, Dan was the only one who should be here," Ren said. "But the queen decided to take both of us to give us a fair shot." Added Dan. "And I must say that I am glad that Ren came along with me, though." Dan had a wicked smile on his face as he looked at me.

"And our parents decided that if ever one of us will get the throne in Thalia, then the other will inherit the throne to our own Kingdom." Said Ren.

"Wow," I said, absorbing it all in. "What is your Kingdom like?"

Ren and Dan both had a look on their faces as they smiled. They probably remembered their home. "Our castle isn't as big as Thalia, that's for sure."

"But it was home for us. Unlike Thalia, ours is surrounded by trees."

"We usually take our run there. And just ahead of them, you can see mountains and rocks."

Ren looked at his brother. "Hey, remember our secret place? The one just behind the rocks where a cave is located?"

Dan grinned. "Yeah. And ahead of that is a garden and a waterfall."

"That sounds beautiful," I said and imagined the place. Ren nodded at me.

"Dan and I used to go there with Liliana."

At the mention of the name, Dan seemed to stiffen and look away, making me curious all of a sudden. "Who's Liliana?"

"She's the daughter of a close duchess to our family. She can turn into a Lynx. Very rare in the werecat family."

"She's our childhood friend, that's all," Dan said in a low voice. All the energy in him seemed to have lost. "Anyway, Rose." Dan started to speak and broke the awkward silence. "Do you have any siblings back home?"

I smiled as I remembered her. "I do. Her name is Stella Antoinette Stan. She's seven years old now but pretty smart for her age."

"What is she like?" Ren asked, suddenly paying attention.

"Well, if you're asking if she looks like me, then no. Her hair is lighter, and she's paler than mine. She's also quite stubborn and curious. Tell her not to go wander off by herself, and you can be sure that she'll do just that."

"Hmm.....sounds to me like you guys are not so different after all."

I glared at them. "Excuse me?" Dan immediately gave me a sheepish smile.

The whole day, the twins and I just sat and played. We took a short nap, but once we woke up, the twins started to wrestle to prove who was the strongest. They even attempted to take off their shirt to flex their abs and make me the judge to see who has the largest muscle.

But for some reason, I felt like we were being watched. The feeling always comes and goes. But maybe it was just my imagination since the twins said nothing.

"Guys, look. It's time." Ren said. My hands froze in mid-air as I was about to throw the fruit, and Dan's hand was covering his face.

I looked towards where Ren was pointing, and I gasped. The sun was setting, and it was beautiful. The color of the clouds gave an incredible burst of colors of ombre. The sun lightened up half the sky with yellow, orange, and red that the pictures you saw of a setting sun does no justice to this at all.

"There she goes. Beautiful, isn't it?" Dan whispered, and I could do nothing but nod.

"But beautiful isn't enough to describe it," I mumbled. My eyes still strained at the sight.

"It's funny, though, that the sun never changes. Even when it sets, it is still the same one. The only sun we ever see. The same one that our ancestors have seen connecting us to the past. I wonder how many faces have seen. How many have seen it rise and fall every day." Ren wondered out loud.

I looked at him. "What about the moon? I mean, isn't it the same one we see every day?"

Ren nodded. "Yes, but unlike the sun, the moon changes its shape and form. Whereas the sun is stable and unchanging." I smiled and looked back at the sun and got what Ren meant. "No matter how many times we've seen it, it doesn't fail to make me smile and feel the way that I'm feeling."

"Yeah." Dan agreed. "This will be our secret place now."

My heart felt light with happiness. It gave me some sort of feeling that I can't explain. It gave off calmness and made me glue my eyes onto it until we could no longer see the sun.

Once the sun finally set, the twins started to pack our stuff, and I helped them as I neatly folded the blanket. They began to load the things onto their horses while I kept looking back towards the spot where we had sat.

I don't think I'll ever forget this place. Who knew that there were so many beautiful places one could imagine?

"Rose, come on. We're leaving!" Ren called out and snapped me from my thoughts.

"Oh...coming!" Giving it one last look, I headed towards Ren and Garius. Once I got there, Ren helped me up and hopped on himself, but before he could take the reins, I stopped him. Ren paused and gave me a questioning glance. "Can I try riding him again?" I asked.

Ren seemed startled, but then he smiled and nodded his head. "Sure. Just remember what I've told you before."

I grinned. "Thanks!" Then I started to look forward. I took a deep breath and urged the horse to move. Unexpectedly, Garius started to walk forward, making me smile. "Looks like I succeeded this time." I laughed.

"Well, congratulations, princess." Ren commented. "You've passed your first lesson. Why don't you give me the reins to make the horse run to get home? It's getting pretty dark now."

I heard a horse sigh beside us and saw Dan. "Now now, brother. Don't be rude to a lady. If she wants to learn how to ride a horse, then teach her, you imbecile."

"That's okay," I said and handed Ren the reigns. "Maybe some other time. I'm getting tired after all and I want to go back quickly." It was true. I wanted to sleep. My eyelids are feeling heavy, and I keep rubbing my eyes and yawning.

Dan studied me for a moment before he nodded. "Alright then. Let's go." Then we were off. The horse sped up as we made our way through the forest.

***

Once we got back, two stable boys arrived. Ren helped me down, and they both handed Wyren and Garius to the two stable boys.

"Oh, please tell Mana that I'm sorry about the pan," Dan told one of the stable boys, who only nodded as they took the horses back at the stable. Ren, Dan, and I then made our way back to the palace. Once we got in, Ren stretched his muscles.

"Man, I'm tired!! I think I'm going to go to bed."

"Me too." Said Dan.

"I will, too, after I get something to eat," I said, making both the twins look at me.

"Where the hell are you putting all that food?" Ren commented, and I just waved him away as we made our way inside. Once we arrived, we saw the King, Queen, PRINCE Ace, and Nate gathered by the stairs. Prince Ace was holding a piece of paper in his hands as he handed it to the King and Queen, who seemed to have a sad look in their eyes as they read it.

I exchanged glances with the twins before we made our way to them.

"What's wrong?" Dan asked, making them all look at us. The King looked away while the Queen pursed her lips. Ace didn't speak, and Nate was doing the same.

Then I noticed that the only person missing in the group was Fred.

"Where's Fred?" I asked, and they all seemed to cringe at the mention of his name. Finally, the queen started to approach me, and she put a hand on my cheek. I suddenly felt nervous when I saw the look in her eyes. A look that told me that I wasn't going to like what she’d say next.

"My dear, Prince Fred left."

I think my ears are deceiving me. He left? He couldn't.

I moved back to look at the Queen. "This is a joke, right?" I looked back at the King, Ace, and Nate. Hoping that one of them would at least say it was a joke. Then something in me snapped, and I moved away when the queen tried to reach me again.

I argued. "He's still in the castle, right?"

"Rose-" Nate started to say, but I cut him off.

"You can't just say that he left, Nate," I told him gently. "Not without proof."

Just then, Ace decided to come down and approach me. He stood in front of me and handed me the piece of paper that they were staring at a while ago. "Here, I saw this in the library a few minutes ago." I looked up at Ace to see that his eyes held no expression in them.

My hands shook as they took the paper from him. Tearing my eyes off of his, I opened the letter.

To Prince Ace,

I know that you will find this letter in the library by the afternoon. I'm sorry for the trouble by making you hand this note to everyone.

I'm leaving and would like to renounce my spot for being the future King of Thalia candidate. Tell the King and Queen that I am sorry that I couldn't complete my stay. I am grateful to them for having me and making my stay so welcoming. Tell them that they would be so lucky to have a son or daughter if they ever have a son or daughter. I am nothing but a mere stranger, and yet they made me feel like I'm their child. For that, I am forever grateful.

To the remaining competitors, I give you my best wishes. Nate, please be nice to the ladies and lay off flirting with the ladies, especially Rose. It's good enough that the maids have already fallen for your tricks. Also, stop messing around with the twins. The same goes for them.

Ren and Dan, I know what you've been doing. Playing pranks on everyone in the castle will one day kill them. Remember that one of you might become the King someday, so respect them. Don't go around putting snakes and bugs in their rooms, especially the kitchen. It's unsanitary.

For PRINCE Ace, I hope you'll go around and talk to the others from time to time. Don't go pissing off Rose too, so you two wouldn't fight. I'll admit that it's hilarious sometimes, but I am also afraid that you both might hurt each other one day. You two are worse than the twins and Nate.

As for Rose, I'm sorry. I know I should have told you about my plans. I was going to tell you at the ball, but I just can't find the right words to say. I can't tell you goodbye in hopes that I will get to see you again someday. It is not my wish to part, but there are just things that I have to take care of. I enjoy our time together, and you can't imagine how proud I was to see you yesterday at the ball. You danced beautifully. It came out naturally to you. I'm pleased that you were my last dance for the night. I will never forget it. Take care, and always know that I am always here when you need help.

I, Prince Frederick Star from the Kingdom of Hazel, shall no longer be a part of the candidacy for King. I shall leave with nothing but myself, my belongings, and the memory of my stay. I shall speak of nothing regarding the matters of this Kingdom as I swore my secrecy upon signing the contract. As soon as I step foot out of the castle, I shall not turn back and re-acknowledge myself as a candidate.

This I vow on my name.

Prince Frederick Star