Why could he never hold his pee? Of what he remembered from the last visit he had to pee around this marker too. A tap to the roof of the carriage and it halted, letting him out. Donovan poked his head out of his own transport to see the reason for the sudden stop, only to duck back in when he saw the King head into the trees.

They were making good time. Barely dusk and they'd nearly reached their destination. With any luck they could be at the Kingdom before midnight and he'd get to sleep in an actual bed. If he actually managed to remember the way back to the coach. He was so stuck in thought his feet moved on their own accord, with more familiarity of the terrain than he could boast.

But when he heard the murmuring he moved his feet consciously this time.

Edging closer to the noise, he felt a lump forming in his throat. Coupled with how dry his mouth had suddenly become, a shiver set his goosebump alight. All the symptoms of his senses warning him. Of what, he was unsure until he scoured his surroundings, attaching his gaze to the distance, onto an irregular shadow pressed against a tree. He maneuvered to see past the shrubbery blocking the view and saw the origin of the shadow, moonlight falling over her silhouette. She was facing her shadow while he was still in the darkness, hidden by trees. Under the silver light she looked so forlorn, deep in thoughts he'd feel bad to pull her out of, lest he overstep.

But it was more the thought ringing in his ears, a command really, leave her alone.

He could have reasoned with it- it was dark, she was alone and that couldn't be safe- but it was dark, he was alone and he was tired. In no mood to wrestle with his thoughts. So he moved backwards, quieter than before. He would have backtracked all the way to the carriage without interference and left her alone if it wasnt for the sudden second voice. A male voice. Potentially like a situation that might need his help. He certainly wasn't staying around just to snoop. That was unbecoming of a King. It's what he told himself when he ducked completely behind a tree, ready to spy.

'Running into the woods at night is supposed to prove what, love? That you can handle yourself?'

Well that sounded threatening. Reaching beneath his cloak he curled a hand around the hilt of his dagger.

'I'm not trying to prove anything to you, I'm upset.'

He knew that voice.

It resonated in him at a frequency he couldn't control.

Vibrating until his head began to spin a little.

In the dizziness, the pressure on his mind let slip a thought. A name. Her name he was allowed

to know.

Bonnie.

And it began sheathing the emotions the name brought out. Scrambling to catch them and trap them all before he could feel them. Kai came back to himself in time to hear the man speak again.

'I just meant, you're being silly.' The accent sounded completely strange to him and yet familiar. 'Out here, alone? Come back inside the castle. Cry in the warmth.'

'I wasn't crying.' She snapped, before he heard her sniff. 'I'm allowed to be upset, wherever I like. So please, just leave me alone.' Rustling grew closer as she moved deeper into the woods in an effort to get away.

'Wait, love, I can't leave you like this.' More rustling, he was following her. Kai allowed himself the smallest peak to see she was just meters away from him.

'And stop calling me that!'

'Calling you what?'

'Calling me 'love'.

'I call everyone that. It's a habit. Doesn't mean anything.'

'I don't care. Just stop. Stop being so nice. Stop trying to get close to me. You've been watching me my whole life, so what? It doesn't mean I know you. It doesn't mean I like you. So just back off Enzo.'

'I'm not too proud to admit that stung a bit.' His face reflected genuine hurt and she swallowed her little regret with righteous fury. It wasn't her job to make him feel better.

'You haven't even done a good job trying to protect me. Where were you the night I almost ran away?' If it hadn't been for Kai's dagger she would have been on a whole different path.

'I was there, I just…' He paused thinking better of what he was going to say.

'Just what?' She pushed.

'I decided to let you go.'

His sincerity turned her on her head and she was left with nothing to reply, drained from all the emotions hitting her tonight, until she focused on his words a second more to see the fracture.

'Why did you do that?' It was clearly against his orders. Orders he loved to hide behind. He must have known what a missing Princess would mean for his position. Meaning he had a hell of a reason for doing it. And with how he acted towards her, suddenly unencumbered by the burden of keeping his existence a secret, it started to make her wonder. He realised there was no lying to her now. She would only hate him more if he tried.

'Because I care about you. Bonnie I lo-'

Behind his tree Kai covered his mouth to stop from snickering at the drama he'd discovered.

'Stop!' And thankfully he did, never quite reaching the four letter word, 'I will never care back, so please quit trying.' She hadn't even let the words settle before rejecting him. Kai almost got whiplash from it and allowed himself a quiet, breathy snort.

'This gets better and better.' To his strained hearing it almost sounded like the man, Enzo, was growling.

'Look I'm sorry you-'

'Not you, love.' Enzo cut her off. 'We seem to have a third set of ears.'

Oh dear, he was caught. Should he come out with his hands up?

'You may as well come out.' Enzo ordered loudly.

It was enough of an invitation for him to join the scene.

But as soon as he walked out both parties were excessively shocked to see him.

'How very fortunate.' Enzo gawked at him with familiarity. But for the life of him, he couldn't place his face.

'Kai?'

Her voice pulled his eyes towards her.

Now she was familiar.

From a memory, from a dream.

He knew her.

'Bonnie,' He pointed towards her to jog his ability to speak. 'The Princess- sorry Queen. I was just on my way to the castle. Sorry you probably don't recognise me, the beard's new-' He put a hand out for her to shake and she looked at it. The way her eyebrows were furrowed and how her lips parted but she never spoke suggested to him that she didn't realise who he was. 'King Malachai. Lucas' brother.'

Bonnie stared at him, jaw hanging open and eyes aghast. He remembered that look, the same look she gave him when he said goodbye. She still wasn't shaking his hand. Odd given that he was here to potentially marry her and Monarchs didn't bow to each other, so if she was expecting a different greeting she was going to be disappointed.

'A-Are you really here?' She squeaked.

'Yes, he's bloody well here.' Enzo interrupted. Kai's presence was overshadowing it a bit but his resentful tone reminded everyone that the man was nursing a broken heart. 'And that's the problem. If he's not in your head, he's here physically. You made so much progress when he was gone.'

'Uh, hello- hi,' Kai indicated to the faces turned on him. 'Don't appreciate being referred to as if I'm not here. Also I have no idea what you're both talking about. But if I could leave, that would be great. See I'm kind of due at the castle tomorrow. To see- well you.' He waved at her silhouette before backing away. It was clearly none of his business and it made no sense to him whatsoever. The small pressure on his mind was throbbing away.

'Well Bonnie?' Enzo sighed, 'are you going to let him go? The man responsible for breaking your heart?'

'He didn't break my heart.' Her words were directed at Enzo but her eyes never left Kai's. Green, but under a night sky they darkened to brown and he wondered what colour she was seeing in his own. His mind was trying to edge him away from her but it was like his whole soul was straining closer.

Halfway between running to and running from he stayed still, caught and tugged towards her in one go.

'He killed Jeremy.' Enzo dropped. Kai closed his eyes, frowning.

Jeremy. Jeremy. Jeremy.

The name rang a bell- an albeit rusted one with a god awful toll.

Jeremy Gilbert.

Illegitimate brother of Lady Gilbert. He got a job in the stables and residence at the castle for keeping quiet. Then he did something- something to piss Kai off and then… Oh yes. There it was.

Broody boy Enzo was correct.

He had in fact killed Jeremy. All this he remembered in spite of missing large chunks. It did in fact, also mean that he'd need to get back to the coach and turn the whole convoy around. His gut had been right, warning him not to come. Otherwise there was no getting out of this unscathed.

He looked up, ready to start lying his way out of the situation. But when his eyes locked with muddy green ones again, he knew. He knew she knew. She'd witnessed the whole exchange on his face. Instead of breaking down and starting to scream at him like he thought she would, she asked only a breathy question.

'Why?'

'Because…' As he struggled to think Enzo swapped in again.

'Save your breath. He won't remember.' Bonnie opened her mouth to ignore his order but he cut her off, adding 'I compelled him not to.'

Kai was lost before and now he was officially missing in the crucial information this conversation required. Bonnie seemed to understand the weight of what Enzo confessed and the sound of her palm hitting the man's cheek reverberated through the air.

'How could you?' Anger shook through the trees. Any normal man would have been shaken by the strength of the slap but Enzo simply adjusted his jaw, and burrowed into her with angry eyes.

'I was following orders.'

'You're a coward. Hiding behind those words like it's meant to offer you some absolution. At least own up to the terrible thing you did.'

'What like him?' Enzo gestured to Kai, who stood unsure of whether he should reply. Honestly it seemed like the conversation was already moving swiftly without his input.

'Do bad, but at least if I'm honest, it's good? How does that make any sense?'

'I think you're overthinking this buddy.'

'Shut up.' Bonnie's sudden attention on Kai threw him back into silence.

Evidently she hadn't forgotten about the whole murdering Jeremy thing just yet. Looking back at him, after the short moment looking away, brought back a rush of emotion to her face. He could have been wrong. Kai wasn't the best at reading emotions, let alone in the dark.

But when she looked at him he felt the urge to check his chest.

To see if there was the giant red wound Bonnie seemed to be seeing in him.

Because she looked at him with the bittersweet longing that was reserved for the dying.

Like the dead, he felt nothing.

It still didn't stop him stepping a little closer.

'Undo it.'

Eyes on him and words at Enzo.

Undo it. Undo it. Undo it.

The words, swimming in his subconscious, pressed against the barrier of living thought.

'I can't.'

Only to drown.

'I can, however, do this.' The darkness could have easily concealed the fact that Enzo was moving towards him.

It was the only way to explain how he found himself shoved against the tree trunk with Enzo's hands wrapped around his neck at supernatural speed.

'Tomorrow morning when you wake up you will forget this entire encounter.'

'Enzo!' Bonnie's scream was punctuated by a rock thumping off Enzo's head. When both men looked at her, she armed herself with a broken branch. Kai wanted to scoff at the musely weapon but the vampire was wary.

Vampire

That's where he recognised him from.

He wanted to shout, to scream, to yell his realisation. This was the man that almost killed him. But-bu-but what was he doing here? Why was he with the Queen? Ho-

Enzo released him and stepped back in submission. Instead of rushing at him in retribution Kai felt compelled to stay away. No magic, meant he had no strength. He'd have to play this one smart.

'Trust me I did that for the best. Tomorrow morning, this one will be none the wiser.'

But Bonnie was having none of his glib. She lunged for him far too smooth to be amateur. Enzo was gone in a blink, leaning against the tree behind her.

Kai took advantage of his freedom and pulled his dagger out, holding it at his side, moving closer to Bonnie.

In case she needed help. He reasoned. Not because of the invisible string tugging him closer, calling him to stand barely two steps from her. From this angle he could see the curve of her neck decorated with loose wisps of dark thread from the hair she'd messily tied up.

'Would you really kill me, Bonnie? What would Sheila say?'

'She's the reason you're not lying dead right now. But one more step and this stake will be the last thing you see.' She held it up, daring him to move past her.

'You're so blinded by your feelings for him that you can't see he's the biggest danger of them all Bonnie.'

'Again, am I the him in question? Because I have some notes if I am-'

'He's not a danger to me.' She sounded resolute but Kai was left to wonder about the answer.

'Touch him.'

Kai blinked, frowning. Did he hear that right? Touch him? Creep much?

'Fine.' Bonnie turned around, realising how little space he'd left between them.

The leaves beneath her feet crunched, her breath tickling his neck, as she tiptoed up to him placing her palms on his cheeks. And he let her, watching the movements, mesmerised by how soft her hands were.

But with the sudden contact he could also feel how cold her fingertips were. When the sensation diffused through his jaw it cleared the rest of his senses enough to notice the effect she was having on him.

First, his mouth was drier than it had ever been. If he wanted to speak, he wasn't sure he could.

Second, she was cold but warming under his blush. Because of the blush, his heart was hammering. Or maybe it was the other way around.

And third, that feeling; the pull to her, it was gone.

An elastic that stretched over their distance, suddenly flaccid when the tension of separation dissolved.

Back in each other's orbit.

Instead of the pain from snapping back into place, he felt comfortably loose with this final contact with her. His free hand moved up to curl around her fingertips out of instinct and he finally understood the reason he was drawn to her

Magic.

She had magic.

Bubbling under the surface of her skin, a practical tsunami of the stuff. He could almost taste it, it was yanking at his gut, screaming out to him. Nothing like the magic he siphoned from the witch. Bonnie's had a refinement to it. It wasn't so volatile towards him, practically caressing his entire being. And it had been so long since he felt the buzz of magic warm his veins. The longer he went without it the more he found himself yearning for it. With the demanding nature of being King he could distract himself, but it didn't stop him itching at his skin for more. Here she was, his deliverance. So full of salvation, in his grasp, and all he had to do was take it.

There was a reason he shouldn't.

A reason gnawing at him. But he was too consumed in the awaiting euphoria to care. In the darkness, his palm glowed red against the back of her hand. She hissed at the contact and he would have pulled away. Except the moment her magic dripped into his craving, he couldn't have stopped himself even if he wanted to. No matter how much she was whimpering. It was bliss, he was practically salivating.

She said his name, whispered it.

With that familiarity he still didn't understand and it somehow made him pull harder at her magic. There was resistance, she pulled right back. Instead of leaving the magic splintered at the ends it only served to make it more intoxicating. Like the harsh burn that came after alcohol. The world was becoming a technicolour masterpiece and in the darkness he felt his borrowed magic extend around him, a missing sense put back in it's rightful place. When Bonnie collapsed against his chest he finally stopped. The only magic he left her with was enough to sustain her lifeforce. But for all intents and purposes, she was bone dry.

In her sudden exhaustion he ran his suddenly heated palms up the side of her arms in a vain effort to warm her up. Why wasn't she running away from him?

'Sorry.' He mumbled, not feeling a word of the apology. 'I didn't- I didn't mean to do that. It just sort of happens sometimes and your magic is-' His increase of dopamine, riding the high, was making him babble but he couldn't help it 'Your magic is exhilarating.'

She drew back, pushing him with weak arms. He held her lightly by the wrists until she went too far for him to hold and he let her go. There was only a split second where he saw the betrayal on her face lash out at him.

Then she was gone.

Kai stepped back, looking around for Enzo and readying himself to fight with the newly acquired magic ringing through him. But he was gone too. All that was left was for him to leave as well. There would be no looking for them.

There was no need.

'Goodbye then.' He said to the twilight, before heading back to the coach, already fabricating the reason for their retreat. There was no way Bonnie would welcome him with open arms now. The way back he mourned the waste of a trip with half a heart. Euphoria running through him certainly didn't feel like a waste. He was so preoccupied with it, he ignored the added weight to the pressure of his mind. Getting ready to lock up new memories.

'He didn't mean to.' Bonnie said, struggling to catch her breath as she forced Enzo to set her down. In seconds he managed to move them all the way to the stables.

'Listen to yourself. He drained you of your magic- he hurt you, nearly killed you- and you're making excuses for him.'

'I'm not making excuses. He's done terrible things and I-' She pressed a hand to her forehead, the feebleness the siphoning brought on had her emotions broiling. Chiefly sorrow. 'That's not him. That's not the Kai I love. He looked at me and.. There was no love in his eyes.'

'Because he doesn't love you.'

Enzo started to put his hands on her shoulders and she yanked backwards. 'You made him like that. You made him a monster.'

'He was already a monster. Loving you didn't change that.'

'But if he never forgot...' Suddenly she was mourning the loss of who he could have been, everything that was taken from her.

The pain was unbearable. She wanted to curl her fingers over her chest and rip the heart from between her ribs to stop feeling. Through watery eyes she stumbled back until she hit the wall and sunk down onto the grass. Blurry figure, she ignored Enzo as he stepped closer, crouching down in front of her.

'I'm sorry.'

Two words. He expected two words to cure the agony clawing at her. 'I don't forgive you.'

'I know.' Enzo reached out for her face, holding her chin and wiping the tears away. She tried to pull away but he held her still with gentless contrasting the force of it, clamping her. And then he spoke in that hypnotic way of his, eyes focused on her's.

'You will forget everything that happened tonight.'

Her back suddenly stilled as she felt his words penetrate her mind. It felt wrong. It felt like there was supposed to be a barrier between his command and her naked brain. The words sunk in and she remembered her barrier had been siphoned up. She was well and truly vulnerable now.

'You will forget ever loving that boy- Kai,' he said the name to ensure there would be no loophole in her forgetting. 'He was just the brother to your late betrothed, nothing more. Forget all the memories you have to do with loving him. Jeremy died in a tragic accident. Tomorrow morning, you're going to wake up and feel completely refreshed. Now, sleep.' Leaving no room for her to process the compulsion warping her, her eyes felt heavy and she drooped.

Enzo lifted her sleeping form into his arms, carrying her back to her room.

'See Bon' he set her slumped body into her bed and pulled the covers over her. 'I always protect you.' He looked down at her resting body and ran a gentle finger over her cheek, before leaving. He'd barely get any sleep tonight, deciding this time he'd tie up all loose ends. No one would remember Prince Kai.