The night passed slowly as I awaited word from the king.

How could it be taking so long? I wondered frantically. Adrian needs us!

We should be leaving.

The black bird perched upon my window sill, peering at me curiously as I paced the room. Sometime after midnight there was a knock on my door; Tamsin let herself in. She was not smiling.

"What is it?" I asked eagerly.

She was holding a folded letter. "It's for you," she said.

"For me?" I echoed in surprise.

Tamsin held it out for me to take. "Yes, from Stefan. Lance delivered it- he was just out here in the hall a moment ago-"

I took the letter and examined it, opening it carefully. Tamsin stood there in silence, waiting.

My eyes scanned the messy scrawl of words written on the paper. My hands began to tremble as I read it.

Dear Mary,

I'm sorry I didn't have the courage to tell you goodbye. In spite of everything what I fear the most is hurting you.

And in spite of everything, I swear we will meet again one day.

It will be an accident, yeah? A perfect accident.

Yours forever,

Stefan

I folded the letter and put it into my dress pocket.

So this is what it feels like to have you heart break, I realized painfully.

"Are you okay?" Tamsin asked gently. I had quite forgotten that she was there.

"The- the prince is-"

Tamsin pulled me into a tight hug. "I know," she said. "I know about my cousin. I'm so sorry."

She remained composed but her cheeks were suddenly wet against mine.

"The king has been looking for him all night," Tamsin explained. "But there's been no word besides this letter. I don't think he wants to be found."

First I lost Adrian, and then I lost Stefan, I thought bitterly. Why couldn't I just lose myself?

"Get some sleep," said Tamsin. "I'm going to try to get some too. There will surely be news in the morning."

I waited until she was gone for some time before slipping silently out of my bedroom and making my way down to the garden in the early morning hours.

The necklace could still be where I dropped it, I thought with a glimmer of hope.

I went to the place where Adrian had found me in the garden and got on my hands and knees, desperately feeling through the grass for it. The grass was moist with dew and it chilled my fingers numb as I searched. Of course- there was no trace of it.

"What are you looking for?" said a voice from the darkness.

I wiped my hands down my dress and stood, squinting at the figure coming towards me. It was Marius.

"Something I need," I said.

Marius sat down on the bench beside the hedge and sighed. "I want to apologize for my anger towards you," he said. "It was misplaced."

I gave up my search and took the seat next to him. "It's fine," I said. "It doesn't matter anymore, as now I can remember what I had forgotten. And now I know for sure it's my fault Stefan is gone."

"You remember?"

"Yes," I said. "With the king's help."

"So why did you do it? Why did you go after the Beast that day in the wood instead of coming back with us?"

"It wasn't the Beast I went after," I said. "It was a boy named Adrian. He's Stefan's brother."

"He's- he's the Beast?"

"He's cursed," I said. "By an evil fairy named Severa. It's a long story..."

We fell into a strange silence.

"Did you really love him?" Marius finally asked.

I raised my eyebrows. "Who?"

"Stefan."

I exhaled shakily. "I told you I did."

"But you love another," said Marius.

"How would you know?" I asked testily.

"Because I saw it that day in the wild forest. You chose him. That's what love is."

"And you chose Stefan," I countered.

"Yes," Marius said simply.

"Then what are you doing here?"

"What do you mean?"

I looked at Marius incredulously. "You love Stefan and you're just going to let him go? Just like that?"

Marius stared at me. "You do understand where he's going, don't you?"

"If you love him then you should follow him to the end. I know I wouldn't want to be alone."

Marius looked away as if he were embarrassed.

The sky was beginning to lighten in the early morning twilight.

"And so the Hunt begins," he remarked as we looked into the sky.

I stood. "Go to Stefan," I said. "I'm going to find the king and we're going to save Adrian."

It seemed like he wanted to smile but it was repressed in the hanging uncertainty of fate.

"Good luck, Mary," he said.

We parted ways, and after failing at finding the necklace, I knew the next logical step was to find the king and urge him to act immediately; every passing hour Adrian fell deeper into certain danger with the Hunt having begun.

The Enchantress and the Necromancer observed the kingdom from the clock tower's balcony in the heart of the city. The royal castle loomed over them in the rising sun.

Facing the king's wood, the city gates were wide open as men rode out on their horses prepared for the hunt.

"It's time," Severa declared, watching them go with furiously narrowed eyes. "You will go after my nephew," she directed the Necromancer. "Let no one lay a hand on him, and then subdue him yourself and deliver him here. You know where and how to find him."

"And what will you do?" The Necromancer shot back.

Severa nodded towards the castle. "I'm claiming my throne."

The Necromancer raised a dubious eyebrow. "I thought the throne belonged to your nephew."

She stared daggers at him. "My nephew has gone off the deep end! Now get to work!"

King Peter returned to the castle just before sunrise. Stefan had disappeared from everyone's sight, and he was adamant on not being found. The king was forced to give up his chase.

For now, he thought. But deep inside Peter wasn't so sure. He was feeling weaker with each passing hour- helpless in a way he had never felt before, or at least, could remember feeling.

He entered his private quarters, locked the door behind him and promptly attacked his breakfast table, covered in clean dishes and glassware, showering the floor with shattered glass and china. He screamed out loud, straining his vocal cords until he could feel his hot blood rushing through the veins in his face.

"It's all fallen apart," he whispered despairingly, believing that he was alone.

But his fairy godmother watched him from the shadows; Pandora had not seen Peter since he was much younger since Severa had imprisoned her for years.

"Peter," she said gently.

The king turned in shock and regarded the fairy he once knew with disbelief.

"Yes," she said reassuringly, allowing her inner light to glow around her as she stepped forward, "it is me."

"Pandora," he said. "Have you come to save my son?"

"The Beast hunt has begun," she said. "The hour is late. Severa is on her way here now."

Peter's eyes widened. "How long do I have?"

Pandora looked at him sadly. "She is there." She pointed out the window.

With no hesitance he followed her gaze to the window and looked out. From where he was Peter could see into the courtyard below where the Enchantress stood alone.

Where are my guards? Peter thought frantically.

"I cannot stop her from doing what she is about to do," said Pandora. 'But there is someone else who can. I will lead him here."

"Adrian," Peter said. "My son has magical blood?"

Pandora nodded. "Your son is the true heir to the two kingdoms of the world: the land of magic and land of men. He alone can defeat Severa."

Down in the courtyard Severa watched the fear pass over Peter's face with a satisfied smile.

"You refused my deal," the Enchantress said aloud; her voice rang up into the air and the king himself could hear it clearly. "And so I have come to fulfill my promise, and your kingdom will be cast into an impenetrable shadow."

He watched as she drew a short staff out of her robes and held it aloft into the sky. Attached to the top was a rounded crystal that glimmered in the morning sun. He watched as her lips moved and she uttered words he could not hear, though he could imagine what they would invoke. Behind him, Pandora lowered her head sadly and vanished from the castle and into the unknown. Severa smiled a wicked smile as a sharp breeze flooded into the courtyard, whipping her robes around, her dark hair flailing beneath her crown. The sun's light faded and darkness stretched over the castle like a blanket. And with the darkness came a feeling he could not resist; the king was suddenly quite tired.

When I returned to my room the sun was rising in the sky and the black bird waited for me upon the windowsill. It paced nervously, its wings twitching.

"Attack! Attack!" It said harshly.

"What?"

I moved over to the window and allowed the bird to climb onto my arm. "Attack!" it shrieked again.

As it said this the sky outside began to suddenly darken.

This is unnatural, I thought as I peered into the sky. Suddenly, the bird took off through the window and I watched in horror as its wings flailed and faltered, and instead of alighting into the sky, the bird seemed to suddenly lose consciousness and it began to fall.

The bird landed upon the steps of the garden terrace below; it appeared to be dead.

I screamed.

And then I thought- am I dying?

The world is darkening, and I feel so... so tired.

I could feel my feet stumbling away from the window, carrying me desperately over to the bed where I knew I would succumb to whatever was befalling me.

The bed was soft, like no other thing. My body positively sunk into it. I reached into my pocket and brought out Stefan's letter.

I'm not dreaming, I confirmed. At least not yet...

The room was dark again, darker than the night had ever been. It didn't matter whether or not I closed my eyes.

It consumed me and I knew no more.