Elena was sitting next to Mateo on a bench in the middle of the town square, her head resting on the young wizard's shoulder. She had not felt this free since being released from the amulet: no more secrecy; no more laws; and no more breaking the rules. To no longer worry about being caught was a relief that was indescribable – it made everything even seem more beautiful in Elena's eyes.
She felt Mateo press a kiss to the top of her head and she looked up, finding him gazing down at her with a loving smile. The princess leaned up and gently kissed him. The royal wizard responded with enthusiasm and Elena could not help but giggle against his lips.
"What?" Mateo asked, smiling softly.
"Nothing. I'm just so happy," Elena replied.
"It shows. Isabel would be relieved if she knew that your spirits are back up."
"You've spoken to her?"
"She came to see me this morning. She told me how you weren't speaking to anyone but her."
"I've made her worry, haven't I?"
"You could say that."
"Poor Isa… And she'll definitely worry even more now that I'm gone. I'll find a way to make it up to her."
"I'm sure she'll forgive you. She understands that the last week has been hard for you."
"Still… I should at least apologise."
A rattling sound could suddenly be heard coming from the distance. Mateo looked ahead and raised his eyebrows. "Well, you're about to have your chance to do so," he said. "Here she comes now."
Elena quickly followed his gaze and her jaw dropped at the sight of Isabel, Naomi, and Gabe speeding towards them in a carriage. She glanced up at the sky and found Luna, Migs, and Skylar flying after them. The princess looked back at Mateo, who appeared to be just as surprised and confused as she felt.
"Elena!" Isabel cried, jumping out of the carriage as it came to a halt and running towards her sister. Elena stood up and gave her sister a tight hug.
"Isabel! What are you doing here?" Elena asked.
"We saw you were gone and came to warn you!"
"Warn me? About what?"
"That we're not the only ones who have noticed you were missing from the ball thanks to Big Mouth over here," Naomi said as she stepped out of the carriage, jerking her thumb at Gabe.
"Hey! I was just doing my job," Gabe said indignantly as he followed. "Besides, I didn't know what was going on, did I?"
"You'll be in big trouble if they find you, Princess Elena," Migs said as he and the other jaquins landed by their side. "Especially when they'll learn why you left. You won't come out of this unscathed either, Mateo."
"Wait, do all of you know what's going on?" Mateo asked as he stood up, placing a hand on the small of Elena's back, which she found to be a comforting gesture.
"We needed help searching for you so we had to tell them," Isabel explained. "They had to understand how important it was to find you."
"Besides, that secret of yours isn't going to stay much of a secret for long," Skylar chimed in.
"What do you mean?" Elena asked.
"Because I can hear another carriage coming our way and it's coming fast."
They all looked ahead and saw a second royal carriage charging down the road. Elena felt the blood drain from her face while Mateo slipped a protective arm around her waist. She looked at him and he brushed a strand of hair away from her face.
"I've got you," Mateo whispered. "We'll face this together."
The princess squeezed his hand in response and watched the carriage come to an abrupt stop. The royal guards opened the door and Luisa, Francisco, and Esteban hurried out of the carriage. They paused and stared at the teenagers and Elena did not like the triumphant smirk on Esteban's face as his eyes fell on the arm Mateo had wrapped around her. The princess swallowed heavily and focused her gaze on her grandparents, who ran towards her.
"Elena! Are you all right?" Luisa asked frantically.
"Yes, abuela," Elena replied meekly.
"What happened to you? Why are you here? And where is your dress?" Francisco said.
"Um…" Elena looked at Mateo, who gave her a nod. She took a deep breath and looked back at her grandparents. "I ran away. I'm giving up my crown and will no longer be a princess."
"What? Why would you do such a thing?" Francisco exclaimed. "Is it all because you don't want to marry Prince Alonso?"
"It's part of the reason…"
"Then what is the other part of the reason?"
"Um… Well…"
As Elena struggled to reveal the truth, she noticed that her grandmother was watching her and Mateo closely. Luisa appeared to be examining their body language and it was not long until a look of dawning comprehension came across her face.
"Oh, Elena…" Luisa said softly. "For how long?"
"A while, abuela," Elena replied, hanging her head.
"And I've never noticed until now. You hid it well."
"It wasn't easy…"
"Can someone please tell me what is going on?" Francisco demanded impatiently.
"I can provide that explanation, abuelo," Esteban said, stepping forward. "Princess Elena has been breaking the law. Not only that, the law she has chosen to break resulted in an act of treason towards the kingdom: she has been dating the royal wizard."
Francisco rounded on Elena. "Is this true, Elena?" he asked incredulously.
The princess slowly nodded. "Yes, abuelo," she replied, feeling Mateo pull her closer.
"Of course, Mr. de Alma is not innocent either. He was aware of the law and yet he disregarded it completely. Maybe he wishes to have the throne?" Esteban added.
"I do not! That's a lie!" Mateo replied hotly, glaring at the chancellor.
"Mateo would never try to take over Avalor!" Elena cried. "His feelings for me are genuine!"
"And how do you know that, Elena? How do you know that you haven't been under some sort of spell this whole time that makes you think he has feelings for you?" Esteban asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You're just showing that you don't know Mateo, Esteban. Forget evil; Mateo doesn't even know how to be mean," Naomi stated.
"Miss Turner, I do not recall asking for your opinion."
"I'm on the Grand Council so you get to hear my opinion whether you like it or not. How did you guys even find us, anyway?"
"We followed you. I knew you would lead us directly to Elena."
"You are just incapable of minding your own business, aren't you? You're always where you're not wanted."
"That's enough, you two," Luisa snapped as Esteban angrily opened his mouth to reply. She turned to Elena. "Mija, why didn't you come to us about this?"
"Don't you think that's a bit obvious? She knew that she was breaking the law and so did Mateo. The boy will need to be arrested while the Grand Council – without Miss Turner, thank you very much – will decide what to do about Elena," Esteban said clinically.
"No!" Elena cried.
"You can't do this!" Isabel exclaimed.
"Esteban, don't you think you're acting a bit rash?" Luisa asked.
"No, I do not. The law is there to protect our kingdom and it must be upheld," Esteban declared. "I would have thought that after Shuriki's attack, you would have agreed." He turned to the royal guards. "Seize the royal wizard."
Gabe stepped in front of Mateo and pulled out his sword. "I don't think so. You'll have to get through me first," he threatened.
The guards looked uncertainly at Esteban. The chancellor glared at Gabe. "If you defend him, you are just as guilty," he said coolly.
"Esteban, let's talk this out –" Francisco began.
"We are past that. It is time for action."
"You'll have to arrest me, too," Naomi said fiercely.
"And me," Isabel chimed in, curling her hands into fists.
"Isabel!" Luisa exclaimed frantically.
Esteban watched them carefully before looking at Elena. "I'll make a deal with you, cousin. Marry Prince Alonso and the charges will be dropped," he said.
"Didn't you hear me? I'm not marrying Alonso!" Elena replied defiantly.
"Then you leave me with no choice. Guards, seize them!"
The royal guards hesitated before obeying the chancellor's orders and heading towards the teenagers. Their paths were suddenly blocked by Skylar and Luna.
"And where do you think you're going?" Skylar asked.
"If you think you're going to get past us, you can think again," Luna added.
Elena was watching the scene with wide eyes, not knowing what to do. She was relieved that most of those who were present were on her side but she did not want anyone to be in trouble. She then felt a light tug on her shirt and she looked down to see Migs staring up at her.
"Hop on my back, quick!" he whispered. "You, too, Mateo."
Neither Elena nor Mateo waited to be told twice; Migs's tone was enough to tell them that they were not to resist. They climbed onto the jaquin's back and they took off, ignoring the cries of surprise and indignation from below.
"What about the others?" Mateo asked, keeping a tight hold on Elena's waist.
"They'll be fine. The other jaquins and I devised a plan to get you out of there safely," Migs said.
"Where are you taking us?" Elena said.
"Back to the palace. Yes, princess, you need to go back there. The secret is out now so there's no point in hiding. You need to talk to your family and see if you can find a middle ground."
"But Mateo will be arrested if he goes anywhere near the palace!"
"Somehow, I think your grandparents will stop Esteban from doing that. For now, anyway."
The princess looked over her shoulder at Mateo. The young wizard appeared apprehensive but he gave her a nod. Elena turned back to Migs.
"Okay. Let's go," she said nervously.
"Good. Hold on tight," Migs replied. He flew them at top speed towards the palace, flapping his wings at an alarming rate. Elena's heart was racing inside her chest – she feared what would happen the next time she would face her family. How angry were they? They were certainly disappointed in her, the princess was sure of that. But she knew that Migs was right: she had to communicate with her family. Avoiding them would solve nothing.
They landed on Elena's balcony and the princess and Mateo slid off Migs's back.
"I need to go back and see if the others are okay," Migs said.
"Of course. How could we ever thank you?" Elena replied as Mateo nodded.
"Friends help each other, especially when they're receiving the short end of the deal. In other words, you don't need to do anything."
"We'll be forever grateful. You can count on that," Mateo said.
"Glad to hear it. Now I really must go. Good luck."
With those words, Migs flew off. Elena brought Mateo inside her bedroom and she sat on her bed with her head in her hands. The royal wizard sat next to her and pulled her into a hug. The princess tightly returned the embrace, burying her face in Mateo's shoulder as she trembled.
"This is awful," Elena said miserably. "I knew giving up the crown would bring problems but I didn't think it would lead to everyone being arrested!"
"No one's been arrested yet. There's still a chance to get out of this," Mateo said. Elena could not help but notice that the royal wizard did not sound very confident.
"I shouldn't have run away like that. Abuela was right: I should have talked to them first."
"Well, nothing can be done about that now; even I can't send you back in time. We'll just have to wait and see what happens next."
Elena bit her lip and nodded. Mateo kissed her temple and began to stroke her hair. The princess sighed and closed her eyes, slowly relaxing under the royal wizard's touch.
Mateo watched her for a moment. "Are you tired?" he whispered.
"Yes…" Elena replied, stifling a small yawn.
"It is quite late. You should sleep."
"Can you stay with me? I don't know if I'll ever be able to see you again after tonight."
"Of course. I'd be happy to stay."
The princess gave Mateo a faint smile before undoing her hair, letting it cascade down her back. Both she and the royal wizard lay on her bed and gazed at each other, drinking in the sight of one another.
"Goodnight, Elena," Mateo said softly, stroking the princess's cheek.
"Goodnight, Mateo," Elena whispered.
Mateo gave her a kiss before closing his eyes. Elena watched him, her mind racing. She dreaded the next morning; if she could stop time and remain forever in this moment, she would do it. The princess was quite certain that she would be separated from the royal wizard from the moment she woke up and she could not bear the idea. But she had to be strong and find a way to face her problems: it was the only way they were going to be resolved. And on that note, Elena closed her eyes and fell into an uneasy sleep.