thank you to everyone who's been reviewing since the beginning of this story, and anyone who's picked up along the way. I'm so very excited because now we're really getting into the Gwevin, which is what everyone's here for. yay! it made this chapter a hell of a lot easier to write. I'm really excited for everyone to read this, and for what comes next. :)

this is a longer and more dialogue heavy chapter than the past few. so buckle up!

also - I'm very happy with how this turned out. so if you wouldn't mind taking a little time out of your day to review, that'd really be awesome.

enjoy!


Chapter 8


"No way in all the galaxies is that gonna happen."

"You've got so little faith in me, Princess."

"Remember who won last time?" she retorted, clenching her fists. "Lemme give you a hint; not you."

He cracked his knuckles. "Grandpa had the assist on that one. And I don't see him around here."

Gwen raised her chin, averting answering his statement. She didn't want to admit it was true, although they both knew it. "How'd you get out of the Null Void?"

"The guards were so charmed by how handsome I am, they let me walk right out the front doors."

"I'm sure."

Helen's abrupt entrance stole whatever response Kevin nearly expressed. At the sound of her voice, both their attentions turned. "Princess?" Helen questioned, striding through the open doorway. Gwen's eyes widened. Damn her timing. "Find the journal?"

Kevin pounced, faster than Gwen could cry out a warning. He wrapped an arm around the width of her torso, cupping a hand over her mouth.

Instantly, she started to struggle, but he gripped tighter.

Gwen held up a palm, her face stretching into a mask of panic. So quickly, he managed to switch between cocky and playful to evil. "Kevin," her heartbeat quickened, "let her go."

Scoffing, he cocked his head. "Caring about people shows weakness, Princess. You'll see, that's exactly how I'm gonna take down Max."

"That's not true, Kevin. Caring about people only makes you stronger," she argued. "And you'll never be able to defeat my Grandfather."

In a way, caring about people is how Grandfather won the war, isn't it?

"If only you knew how wrong you are."

Cautiously, Gwen stepped closer. "Kevin. Let her go. This is between you and me, okay? Helen had nothing to do with this."

"Technically, it's between me and your grandfather."

"Okay," she repressed an irked eye roll, "fine. But that still doesn't include Helen."

Kevin stared back at Gwen. Her gaze was stronger, because it flickered with tense anger. Though his charming, malicious, mysterious eyes made his more dangerous.

Still looking at the princess, he removed his hand from her servant's mouth. "Helen. Lemme ask you a question."

She snarled. "Rot in hell, you monster."

Kevin smirked. "Well, I think that comment brings her in the loop a little, don't you, Gwen?"

"Kevin. Let. Her. Go."

He flashed his free hand, like he was motionlessly waving her order off. "Patience, Princess." Kevin flexed his fingers against her dress. "Helen, did you know about everything Max kept from his dear granddaughter?"

Gwen further closed the distance between them, answering first. "I already know. If you're trying to make me mad at her, there's not much of a point."

"Yeah," he raised his brows, "but do you know we were supposed to get married?"

Helen froze, going still in Kevin's hold, eyes going wide.

Gwen's knees nearly buckle. "What?"

"Ah." Kevin grinned. "Didn't think so."

Helen swallowed. "I-"

"I'm gonna take my fiancé back to my ship. But, I need you to do one favor for me first."

Heading clearing, Gwen narrowed her eyes. "One, you're not taking me anywhere. And two, I am not your fiancé."

"Guards!" Helen shrieked.

Kevin's composure melted. He growled. "You little bitch."

He hurled her body across the room. She slammed into the furthest wall, crumpling against the floor.

"No!"

Gwen launched before she could even contemplate it.

"I don't wanna hurt you, Princess."

When they collided, an insane amount of pain across her torso stole the breath from her lungs. The injury he'd caused earlier forced out a sound resembling a whimper. "I," she ground out, "want to hurt you."

For the second time they met, in a straddling position, she forced all her weight onto his chest.

"No you don't," he simply replied.

"You don't know anything about me."

He leaned his face closer. "I know more about you than you know about yourself."

Several guards, with their armor clinking and clanking, burst into the space. "Let go of the princess!"

Kevin thrust his weight forward, pushing an unexpecting Gwen under him. She yelped. While on top, he slid her out from under, and lifted her over his shoulder. Kevin proceeded to whip her forward so she landed on her feet. She stumbled, knees weak, but she fell into his chest. He held on tight.

"Freeze!" One of the guards shouted.

Reaching his hand out to the closest wall, Kevin absorbed the material, like he did when they originally fought. His body became shielded in the stone's dark gray. He morphed his hand into a long, pointed sword, pressing it against her neck.

"Now," Kevin said, "if you don't want me to kill the princess, you're gonna do me a favor."

Gwen, grunting, wiggled. His grasp was unfortunately too strong. Her attempt to break free made him hold tighter.

Pressing his lips against her ear, he calmly whispered, "Don't fight."

His hot breath sent prickled goosebumps up and down her spine. She listened.

Kevin raised her chin with his blade. "None of you are who I want to talk with. So gentlemen, go grab the king. Do it now. If he doesn't show up in five minutes, the princess is only gonna have four left fingers." He pointed behind him at Helen. "Oh, and take her with you."


In those five minutes, Gwen decided it was best not to fight. For one, she needed to find out exactly what he wanted. And, she didn't desire to lose a battle with him again. Besides, it made time for conversation. She could get information from him no one else would tell her.

She turned her head towards his, creating less distance between their faces. The space was close enough for her to inspect his pores and peach fuzz. Effortlessly on his part, all his features caught her line of vision. Defined jaw, pointed nose, soft skin. Though dirt besmirched the entirety of his skin and grease inundated every visible lock of hair. It compelled her to stop and think, when was the last time he bathed?

His weaponized hand drooped, still hanging at her collarbone, but not threateningly anymore.

"How did you know we were supposed to be married?"

The dark, rounded eyes that resembled a starless night sky previously so intent on staring at the door, focused in on her. For once in the past few days, somebody just granted her the answer to her question. "I was a few years old at the time. Four or somethin'." His jaw muscles twitched. "There's uh, there's not much about the war I forget."

She couldn't have stopped herself even if she wanted to.

His response popped the bottle off her bottled up curiosity and confusion. "Tell me about it."

"Huh?" His brows knitted.

Looking into his eyes, she didn't feel angry. Oddly enough...it relaxed her indignation. The answer of why reached beyond her. He was different while it was just the two of them. Almost...almost softer.

In a way, they were both victims of the war. And she felt no urge to raise her voice to anything above a coaxing calm when speaking. "I don't really know a lot about the war. But clearly, you do. So, tell me about it."

To her surprise, he didn't even argue. After everything she'd gone through just to get the slightest bit of information, now some was simply shared with her. He just...obliged. "Whataya wanna know?"

"How did my parents die?"

His lids narrowed. Simultaneously nodding and exhaling, he said, "Alright. But you gotta remember somethin', okay?"

She gestured her head in agreement.

"We didn't start the war. Both your planet and mine couldn't take the feud anymore. It was just kind of a mutual thing."

Certainly not the way Grandfather made it sound. "Okay."

"The Osmosians, my people, planned an attack. It had to do with us. ...You and me, I mean. At first, the engagement was legit. We wanted peace. But the king...he couldn't go through with it. After all the lives lost in the battles, he wanted to do what was right for his people."

"That's what my grandfather always says."

"I'm not surprised." Kevin scoffed. "But, anyway, he decided to invite your parents, to discuss the terms of our engagement."

"Hold on," she interrupted, "so that means-"

"Yeah. The king was my dad. I was the only heir. And like me, you were an only child. So it seemed like a good idea to stop the constant violence. They agreed to remain peaceful until we got old enough to get hitched. But my dad...he had other ideas."

"Did he attack?"

"Killed your parents the minute they landed."

Her stomach knotted. If his arm wasn't her legs would've given out. "Oh my galaxies…"

"That's how the worst of the war happened," Kevin continued. "After that, your grandpa made sure every last one of us was dead. But he never find me."

"What about my aunt and uncle?" How didn't he find you?

"My dad sent a soldier into your castle to slaughter them while they were sleepin'. He planned to kill you and your cousin, too, but he didn't really have the heart. Max...Max was gonna go last. Clearly that didn't fall through."

Their eye contact hadn't yet broken. Gwen felt it pulling them closer together, despite their bodies not moving at all. He stared at her with an expression that met somewhere between angry and remorseful. To her, Kevin didn't look like someone on a bloodthirsty revenge spree. Just a victim. A lonely victim of war, who lost his father and everyone he'd ever known.

Gwen struggled to imagine what that felt like. She'd never known her parents, but at least she had Grandfather and Ben. And all her people.

What had Kevin gone through all alone?

It clearly made him the person he was now. From what she could tell, he didn't deserve blame.

She opened her mouth, numerous words flashing across her vision. But none made the jump from her throat to her parted lips.

Gwen stuttered.

She had plenty more questions, just not enough of an urge to express them.

Whether he meant to or not, his eyes gave her plenty of information themselves.

"Get your hands off my granddaughter."

Simultaneously, both of their heads jerked towards the doorway, ripping to shreds their longstanding held gaze.

The bladed hand returned to the skin on her neck.

"Long time no see, Max."

King Maximus growled. "What do you want?"

"Oh, that's easy. To make you suffer." His tone didn't seem as heavy as their first fight. Lighter, less threatening. She wasn't sure if he caused it intentionally, or if Grandfather even noticed. "I'm taking her."

He gritted his teeth, fingertips at the sword on his hip. "You really think I'm gonna let you walk out of here with my granddaughter?"

"No. I know you will. Because if you don't, I'll slit her throat right now."

Grandfather glared. "You wouldn't."

Kevin pushed harder with his blade, duplicating Grandfather's expression. "You know I would."

He raised his chin. "So I either let you kidnap my granddaughter, or let you kill her right in front of me, huh?"

"I don't want to kill her," Kevin answered. "But if you don't go with the first option, I gotta."

"How about option number three?" Max unsheathed the sword. "We can end this right now. Once and for all."

"Raincheck?" Kevin proposed. "That's not really in the cards right now, Max."

Max lowered his eyes. "Well, surprise, Kev. It was the one card I hid up my sleeve."

As the king charged at the Osmosian, the latter was forced to throw his captive aside. She didn't receive the chance to protect her body before impact, instead rolling painfully across the floor.

Kevin used the hand previously acting as a weapon against Gwen for blocking whilst Max took a swing. They held that position, each pushing their weight into the middle of the blade. Both with gritted teeth, they radiated raw and blatant hatred. It burned in their eyes, in the force they used against one another. Even if she hadn't known better, it clearly wasn't a fight just about her now.

Much deeper history scorched every tie between them.

I'm not just going to sit off to the side again. Not when I can do something.

Gwen was tired of being a helpless princess. She was tired of being kept in the dark. She was tired of a lot of things going on in the castle.

At least Kevin didn't treat her like she was fragile. He acknowledged she wasn't any more delicate than anyone else. Grandfather acted as though she was merely a piece of glass, and he exposed her to anything, in the past few days especially, she'd break.

Maybe this plan was stupid.

What choice did she have?

Fury with Grandfather didn't justify letting him get hurt. She couldn't watch and allow something to happen to him, no matter how angry she might've been.

Okay. Kevin's desire for revenge had gotten Ben, Grandpa, Helen, countless soldiers, and herself injured. But when she talked to him alone, he didn't convince her he possessed that much evil. True, it could've merely a facade he presented.

She just...she knew more resided below the surface.

Hell, she easily might've been wrong.

Her gut instinct told her otherwise, though.

"Kevin!" She rose to her feet, maintaining her gaze on them. Holy galaxies. "I have a proposal for you."

Kevin swiftly extended his heel outward to kick her grandfather in the gut.

Maximus instantly collapsed to his knees. Pushing him further, Kevin proceeded to plant the same heel on Max's stomach.

"I'm listening."

Her eyes shifted between the two of them. Yeah, the idea seemed a lot better in her head, and trying to articulate it heavily deepened her breathing, but she didn't see an alternative. "If you leave him alone…" she started, "if you leave my family, and the entire kingdom alone, and I mean every last one of our people-I'll go with you."

His expression lightened. "Seriously?"

She nodded.

"Gwen!" Grandfather hissed. "What are you doing?"

"For how long?" Kevin asked, ignoring the king.

She straightened. No going back. "Forever."

"Gwendolyn!"

"And you won't try to escape?"

"I...I won't try to escape." She nodded.

With one look at Max's face, the corners of Kevin's mouth stretched to his earlobes. "It's a done deal."

"Kevin!" Max's shoulder jerked vigorously. He thrusted his entire torso, worming and wiggling. Kevin fixated an enormous amount of pressure to prevent Max from slipping out. "You are not taking my granddaughter anywhere! Do you understand me?" he barked through his teeth.

Kevin continued to smile, giving a shrug-like movement. "Oh I understand you. But a deal's a deal, Max."

Gwen attempted to keep her voice as calm as possible. "You have to let him go, Kevin. That's part of the deal, too."

Kevin sighed. The instant he lifted his foot, Max jumped up and tackled him. "You son of a bitch!" he snarled, reaching for the Osmosian's neck.

Shifting his head, Kevin failed to become fazed underneath the king's trembling body. "Princess?"

"Grandfather, let him go." She stepped closer.

With another growl, Max reluctantly peeled away. "Gwendolyn." He turned to her. Well, turned on her. "You can't actually believe you're going with him."

"I have to. Like he said, a deal's a deal. I made a promise."

"Gwendolyn-"

No more of this. No more damsel treatment.

If everyone else around her could do something, she absolutely could, too.

She was so much more than a helpless princess. And this would save her family. She didn't hesitate.

The calm from seconds ago disintegrated. "Besides," she countered, "he can give me the information you won't."

Max faltered.

Smirking, Kevin replied, "You so should've killed me when you had the chance, Max."