She hadn't been able to find him. Jeremy bolted quicker than she had, leaving her no chance to explain. Possible answers ran through her mind, all in response to the potential thoughts that were going through his head. Any nefarious ones she would put to bed. Kai was a suitor, they were being utterly respectable towards each other.

A suitor.

It hurt even more to think that Jeremy's look of utter betrayal may even have been over lingering feelings and she felt guiltier for not reciprocating. Did it still count if she wanted to feel the same way? All in all, by the time she finally returned to her rooms to relieve Elena of her pretend, under the covers of her bed, Bonnie was well and truly in a pit of her own making. There was no doubt Jeremy would keep her secret, she trusted him with her life. But her sadness was more at the pain she was causing towards someone she loved. The next morning she couldn't muster the courage to move from the bed. It helped sell the story that she really had been ill anyway.

When her father surprised her with a visit, she managed to look past the indignity of him checking the validity of her sickness, to feel some affection arise. When he spotted her in bed and his face immediately softened. And then she remembered what Grams told her, and did her best to hold up to smile while she felt nauseated. Here was the man capable of locking up a pregnant woman, separating her from her mother, and causing her death.

The worst part was realising he really was her only family now Grams was gone- another arrangement of his own making.

'Did the cook send you up some soup?' He asked, sitting carefully on the edge of her bed.

'Yeah, Elena tried to force feed it to me.' Bonnie mumbled, sitting up.

He nodded, playing with his hands in his lap. If there was something he wanted to say, and there obviously was, then he would have to come out with it himself. She wasn't going to force a conversation she didn't even want. A few more rounds of quiet and he found the courage.

'Bonnie I just want you to know that I love you.'

His sudden declaration threw her and she blinked in surprise, trying to guess the angle until he stumbled onto it himself.

'I know marrying the Prince is a lot to ask but you've taken to it with such grace. I'm bowled away by how mature you are sometimes.'

'...Thanks dad…' She muttered, unsure of what else she could say. This was the most affection she'd received from the man since she could remember and the cause was for something she didn't even know she was going to go through with. It was twisted that she was the one to feel guilty right now.

'Your welcome sweetie. I'm proud of you Bonnie. This marriage means a lot to the whole Kingdom.' He finished with another smile that never quite reached his eyes whenever he looked at her face. You look like your mother. Could he see that? Was he reminded of everything he did whenever he looked into his daughter's face?

'Bonnie… It's not always easy to do what's necessary. Remember that. I know that we've never been close- and I know the fault lies with me- but you are the dearest thing to me in the world.' The was he spoke, slowly with sincere eyes made pushed through her suspicion that he was manipulating her. This was real. Real, and terribly heartbreaking.

With that he stood up and left.

His kind words left Bonnie to huff, sighing the only word she could think of at the ever growing shame. 'Shit.' The worst part was that it wasn't even guilt she was meant to feel. He was the one who locked her mother up. He was the reason she wasn't with her loving coven right now. It was getting easier and easier to blame him for all these reasons and be angry. But the man who was just in her room was the never the one Grams had in her mind.

He was her father, her loving father. And the king, reasserting himself as the ultimate authority. Masterfully playing both sides. Kai was wrong. She had no choice in this.

The tiniest whoosh sounding from the bottom of the door took her out of her wallowing and she spotted a white envelope slip through. In messy handwriting, that of someone who hadn't spent years under tutelage like her, was her name.

Jeremy was in the stables again. This time he'd been careful to check they were empty before beginning his work. No matter how much he wanted Tyler to switch out with him, he didn't want to risk yet another person knowing about Bonnie and the Prince's bastard brother. It could have been innocent. But the look on the dark haired man's face was one that screamed otherwise.

It wasn't jealousy. That's what he told himself. No matter how much it stung to see that look on her face, a look that he'd never seen before. He'd recognised the lighter version in the way she smiled at him, but when she looked at the Prince...she looked utterly consumed, and there was no saner way to describe to it to his dismay.

As usual he took stock of the horses, noticing one of the newer residents already out for a ride. Part of the white mare's rehabilitation was to take it out on a daily trot and the job was left to him. Under normal circumstances it would have been put down, there was no way it would be as strong as before. But Bonnie wanted it healthy again and he obliged. So with a fitted muzzle he tugged the horse out and headed for the woods. That was what he decided irked him the most. Just days ago he'd been ready to drop everything and start a new life for the sake of her happiness, she was a duty he took up with no regret. Yet she hadn't deigned to tell him about this new development and he'd been feeling so sad on her behalf. She was keeping secrets from him and he didn't like it.

His thoughts occupied him as he walked longer than necessary, using the health of the horse as an excuse and not his need to for quiet musings.

But he also thought about the situation she was in from her perspective. She was acting out with the Prince's brother, she had to be. It was her way of showing how unhappy she was with her situation. If he could truly call her his friend then he needed to be there for her. To pull her out of the mistake she was making. On his way back he'd slip her a note to meet him in their usual spot to talk it out.

He turned the horse around on the path to canter back home but a rustling to the right of them stopped him. The sudden yell for help had him tugging the horse with urgency towards to sound until not a few feet away he spotted a black horse sitting hazardly on the floor. With no owner in sight he tied his own mare to a tree and set about seeing if the colt was injured, noticing the small scratch in it's skin.

'Oh hey you heard me.'

He looked up behind him and then shot up at the new arrival.

'You!'

'You can call me Kai.' He stalked forward, ignoring how unconvinced Jeremy looked. 'Gosh it's the darndest thing, the horse just won't move.' He gave Jeremy his most disarming smile, brushing away how much it grated on him that the stable boy was still eyeing him with suspicion. But the boy deemed him less of a threat and turned around to focus on moving the beast.

'I think it's because she's frightened.'Jeremy said, trying his best to coax the stubborn mare.

'No that can't be it.' The rock he'd chosen was perfect. Jagged in all the right places. Turning it over in his palm he moved closer.

'Why not?' Jeremy asked, taking on board the worrying assurity with which Kai spoke.

'Because I haven't done anything frightening yet.' Before he could open his mouth to release another irritating sentence he brought the rock up across Jeremy's face, splicing it open from his temple to check and causing him to stumble to the floor.

'Jeremy the stable boy. People seem to love you around here. I asked a simple question and the maid got all chatty. You know I think she's got a crush on you which is sad really- or is it ironic? She's got a crush on you, but you've got one on the Princess. Sad, I'm going with sad given how this will end.' The wound left Jeremy dizzy, bleeding dreadfully on the floor. But wasn't unconscious, not yet. This was his favourite part. The realisation that some sort of social boundary had been broken and there was no going back. Worse still, no going forward because Kai had the upper hand. But this one was trying to get to his feet.

'Oh you're scrappy. It's cute. I see why Bonnie dug you. Stable boy and the Princess. But the cliche of it all is so boring.' He crouched on his heels. 'I have to say, I expected better from her.' A pause for thoughtful reflection before he tutted, 'but who am I to judge?'

'P-please!' Jeremy scrambled backwards, hands out in front of him as Kai advanced like that was going to help anything. He tried not to roll his eyes, really he did. But if the boy was going to die there was no point in sending him to the grave with anything hidden, including his disdain for how poorly he tried to save himself. 'You're not a killer! B-Bonnie wouldn't want this!' He was smart, going backwards until there was enough space to retreat fully. Kai was smarter. He stood almost leisurely, and aimed a good kick square to his chest and knocked the wind out of him while he was down. Shoving him flat on his back.

'Oh Jer. Can I call you Jer? What makes you think this is my first time?' He stepped a booted foot on his hand until it he felt fingers crunch coupled with a guttural scream. Music to his ears. 'Besides, what Bon Bon doesn't know won't hurt her. I'm doing this for her. She's mine Jeremy. She always will be. There isn't room for two loves in her life. Especially when one is as pathetic as you.'

'Please stop! I'll le-leave! You don't have to kill me.'

Kai drew back. Thinking over what the boy said as if he wasnt going to turn in this particular direction himself two minutes later. Oh this would make things so much easier. But he did his best to look as if he was mulling over the option to let him go.

'Tell you what Jer'.' From inside his jacket Kai pulled out a crisp piece of parchment and pencil that's he'd brought along especially for the occasion. 'If you left it would make everything a lot smoother rather than killing you. So here, write a message for Bonnie, saying a heartfelt goodbye.' Jeremy gathered onto his knees the moment Kai's boot left his palm and took a moment to take in the change of pace- staring in disbelief as Kai dropped the pencil and paper to the floor. 'And try not to get any blood on it.'

'S-so you're just going to let me go?'

'I'm not just doing anything. I'm still getting rid of you, but this is in my better interest. Now get to writing. And don't try any funny business because I'll be watching and I could change my mind at any minute.' Jeremy took the pencil gladly. There was a very strong chance this would be the final thing Bonnie read from as he left. But he knew the moment he got out of this situation he was going to expose this bastard Prince to her. So he penned away a message of cute hope.

Touching really.

If it wasn't so thoroughly idiotic. Kai would have at least dropped some clues in the letter, written in a code here or there. Something other than the drivel he was watching Jeremy scrawl over his shoulder. It didn't matter. 'Tell you what,' Kai continued, 'I'll even throw in some gold to get your new life started. But I'm going to have to actually make sure you leave, no offence. There's a ship leaving for the Indias in the morning…'

Through his monologue the boy had found a miraculous strength as expected, the moment Jeremy signed at the bottom of the page he turned, using the pencil as a weapon and aiming it for Kai's eye. Kai let out a grimace, using very little energy to hold Jeremy's wrist at bay. 'Poor move Jer. This isn't going to be a fair fight. See I'm a Prince,' Jeremy launched at him swinging his free fist. Kai stepped out of the impact zone and with a fingers curled around the cold handle if his dagger, he pulled it deftly from behind his back. 'But I'm not Prince Charming.' Jeremy stepped backwards, breathing heavily as he stared down at the dagger between his ribs. Stupidly he pulled it out. Probably believing he could have used it himself. But the minute he did he had only a few seconds left before his lungs began filling up with blood. And he wasted them with words.

'She's never going to forgive this.' He rasped, flecks of blood already staining his lips before he unceremoniously keeled over.

Kai kneeled beside the shuddering body.

'I'm not looking for forgiveness,' he placed a hand on the wound, 'Were you beginning to think,' jamming a finger into the spliced skin 'that I was the hero of this story?' The fingers in his dagger went limp after a few painfilled chokes but Jeremy was still there, if only for his final moments. 'Besides, there'll be nothing to forgive Jer. Take solace in the fact that she'll never even notice you're gone.'

Dear Bonnie

Your happiness is the only the thing I've ever wanted. And I see now you can never been happy with me lingering in your life. I may not be happy about what I saw, but I know that if you are, that's all that matters to me. I will miss you I love you, I always will. But this letter is my final goodbye to you. I'm leaving for the New world, by the time you read this I will already be gone. Don't fret, there's a whole new life waiting for me there. A better one. I've gotten a job aboard a merchant ship.

All my love

Jeremy

P.S. Tell Tyler he can have my things.

She read once more, committing to heart. It was his writing, scratchy like it always was on the notes he sent her. But usually they only had times on them, she'd never had a note so long before. Nor one so heartbreaking from him.

On the other side of the door Kai stood dangerously still. Slip the note and then leave

But he couldn't bring his feet to move just yet. Placing a hand on the door he listened to her sobs. His stomach beginning to sink at how terribly sad she sounded. But there was still that slight anger that the tears were for the stable boy. The insignificant nothing had driven her to cry. No matter. She' get over it.

It was for her

All for her