When I wake up in the morning, Spencer isn't lying next to me, and even though I have no idea where we stand at the moment, I'm still freaked out enough by her absence that I hop out of bed and dash into the kitchen, looking around for any signs of human life.

The whole house is empty.

I step outside and take my first look around in broad daylight, hoping Spencer is just somewhere nearby. It'd be just like her to want to help Chelsea out with gardening or something.

People are milling about on the streets, and I join them hesitantly, feeling extremely out of place as I walk the streets of this city. Upon further inspection, I notice little signs all over the place and realize that I'm in the city of Corinth. I've heard of it before. Chelsea was right; it's about a four or five day trip back to Farwell from here, and I have six or seven days to get Spencer back to Carmen. If I'm still even doing that.

Last night complicated things, obviously.

Ever since I was young, I can remember my mom talking about how she wanted a better life for herself, and for Kyla and me. She was thrilled to find out Aiden and I were friends, and when she found out I was gay, it was the ultimate disappointment. The way she saw it, I had been our only chance at a decent life, at royalty. I was practically treated like dirt after that, and Kyla slowly learned that if she stood up for me, she got the same treatment.

Then she started hanging out with Aiden. He fell for her; she fell for him. My mom was thrilled, of course. For most of my childhood, Aiden had been my best friend, and I'd unknowingly gotten her hopes up, only to dash them at the last second. Then Kyla came in and made my mom's dreams come true.

So yeah, I understand. I understand why my mom hates me so much. I understand why Kyla was willing to have her sister risk her life. She's in love with Aiden, and she's been raised to dislike me. And I understand why I have to do this. I can't disappoint my best childhood friend, my sister, and my mom all in one go.

But I think I might be in love with Spencer.

A group of women talking just outside of a nearby store catch my eye when I hear one of them clearly whisper the words, "Princess Spencer".

I'm next to them in a second, asking politely, "Um...what about Princess Spencer?"

"Oh, sweetie, you haven't heard?" the lady that whispered originally asks me. I remain clueless. "Why, Princess Spencer has finally returned! Rumor has it Sir Clay and his wife Chelsea found her by the woods last night. They brought her up to the castle in the middle of the night to King Alfred and Queen Patricia, her aunt and uncle. Now Clay and Chelsea get to collect the five-hundred thousand shilling reward for finding her."

"Why would there be a reward for finding her?" I ask incredulously. "Weren't they the ones who locked her up in a tower in the first place?"

Okay, clearly, we aren't near Spencer's home city. We stumbled right into it. Great.

"Well, they couldn't very well check up on her all that often, could they?" the lady asks rhetorically. "So they decided to wait for her true love to show up and kiss her, and then hoped that if Spencer ever found her way back to the city, someone would notice and take her to them so that she could ascend to the throne when the time comes."

The ladies let out a collective squeal, making me wince, and one of the others gushes, "Oh, I can't wait to see who our future king's going to be. I bet he's handsome…it's a shame Prince Glen isn't here to take the throne instead, though. He died along with the original king and queen."

"Right…" I reply slowly, turning and hurrying away.

Alright. So… Corinth is Spencer's home city, Glen is actually her brother and a prince, I've been screwed over by Clay and Chelsea so they could collect the reward, and Spencer is currently in a castle with a lot of security, so there's no way for me to contact her.

Great. What to do first?

"May I see the princess?"

The guard in front of the castle takes one look at me and starts laughing. "Yeah, sure, go right inside. She's only just gotten back after three years of being asleep in a tower, but that's okay, we'll let you in to see her."

I don't miss the sarcasm. "Well…when can I see her?"

"The day after tomorrow," he says matter-of-factly. "Technically, she's not supposed to take the throne until she's eighteen, but she's more entitled to the crown than the current king and queen are, as the daughter of King Arthur and Queen Paula. Her coronation is in two days. You can come and watch, along with the rest of the city."

"Okay, but that doesn't work for me," I reply, annoyed. "I need to talk to her now, and in person, and preferably alone."

"I doubt you even know her," he responds delicately.

"Oh, yeah? Do you really think she came here alone? I brought her here from the tower."

He raises an eyebrow, a question clearly on the tip of his tongue. I put my hands on my hips.

"Yeah, that's right. I'm her true love. Go ahead, ask her."

For a moment he looks like he might laugh or throw me in the castle dungeon, but after a moment, his eye twitches, and he turns to open the castle doors. "Very well, then. You realize if your story is false, you could be put to death if the princess were to request it."

"She won't," I say confidently, and he goes to talk to another guard, who raises an eyebrow at me, then leaves for another room.

We wait for what feels like forever, and then a whole brigade of people come out of the room, following the guard and lining up. They all have trumpets in their hands, and I raise an eyebrow, unable to remember things being this formal back when I spent a lot of time at the castle with Aiden and his parents.

"Announcing…King Alfred, Queen Patricia, and their niece, the future queen…Princess Spencer!" one them declares, and the rest immediately begin playing their trumpets. Show-offs.

Spencer comes out first, probably wondering what the heck they've been summoned here for. There's a small crown on her head, and she's wearing a skirt and cleaner shirt, but otherwise she looks the same. The second she spots me, her eyes light up and she runs over to me, exclaiming my name. If I wasn't already busy being smothered in a hug, I'd stick my tongue out at that guard.

She pulls away when she realizes I'm not hugging her back, giving me a quizzical look while my eyes dart from her to the king and queen, who are now watching us. I swallow heavily, then whisper, "Spencer, we need to talk."

I'm not sure whether she hears me or not, and a second later, she drags me over to her aunt and uncle by the hand. I consider bowing or curtseying, but eventually decide against it.

"Spencer, who is this?" her uncle says, and she squeezes my hand, grinning.

"This is Ashley, from Farwell. You know how I never really answered any questions you asked about my true love?" Oh, God. She has to shut up. Now. Please. "Well, Ashley's my true love and I want to marry her. We can rule Corinth together."

Well, way to drop the whole bomb all at once…wait, what?

The king and queen and even the guards are basically gaping at her, and her aunt finally says, "Excuse me?"

"Yeah," Spencer repeats, more firmly this time. "She found me at the tower and kissed me and everything."

"Spencerrrrrr…" I singsong into her ear through gritted teeth, and she finally looks over at me while her aunt and uncle fume in front of us. "I really don't think this is a good idea right now…"

"You're not marrying her, Spencer," Alfred replies, seemingly more level-headed than his wife. "She's…a girl."

"I don't care. I love her."

My eyes practically bug out at that, and then, just when I thought things couldn't get any crazier, the castle doors fly open and Glen tucks-and-rolls right on in, Mojo at his side.

"Mojo!" Spencer exclaims, right at the same time I question, "Glen?"

"Glen?" Alfred and Patricia echo incredulously, looking over at me for confirmation, and Glen whips his mask off and unsheathes his sword simultaneously, eyes darting around the room, moving from face to face.

"Ashley, Spencer, c'mon. We're leaving."

My mind catches up with what's going on, and I swallow heavily. He's ready to take Spencer back to Carmen's, whether she and I like it or not.

"Prince Glen has returned!" one of the guards announces incredulously, drawing Glen's attention.

"What're you talking about?" he retorts, and Spencer looks confused for a moment, until I hold out my hands and shout for them all to just shut up for a second. I'm still breathing heavily as I start to put the pieces of this puzzle together, thinking aloud.

"Spencer, you said your parents died when you were little. Glen, so did you. And…and I heard someone say you were a prince, Glen, so…you two must've been separated somehow after your parents died. And Glen's older, which means he should get the throne anyway. Not Spencer. Right?" Spencer actually looks a little relieved at this, and I turn towards Glen again, trying to silently convey what I want to do next. "And Glen…" I sigh, shaking my head. "I'm sorry. I can't do it."

He straightens up a little, looking between Spencer and I's joined hands while Spencer shoots me a confused look, and then swallows a lot like I just did. "Well, that's what I'm here for, right?"

My heart starts pounding even more frantically than it already was, and my eyes widen. "She's your sister!"

"Ash, what's going on?" Spencer asks quietly, squeezing my hand, and I close my eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath.

Glen speaks before I can. "We went over this, Ashley. Just because I know Spencer's my sister, doesn't mean things have changed. I've spent my whole life an only child." He shakes his head. "I'm not a prince. I don't even feel like a Carlin. But I do know that I've been paid already. She's going to Carmen's, whether she likes it or not."

"Okay, I never said I had a problem with going to Carmen's," Spencer cuts in pointedly, looking back and forth between us. "I'll just probably need an escort now. It's no big deal. We'll go, I'll give her a lock of my hair, and then-"

"She doesn't want your fucking hair, Spencer," I snap at her. "She wants your soul."

Her mouth falls open in surprise, and I immediately regret what I've just said. "Wh-what?"

I run a hand through my hair, thinking for a moment, then sighing gently. "She never wanted your hair. I…I lied so you'd come with us. To turn Aiden back into human, she needs the pure soul of a princess. Apparently, you were the only one that fit the bill."

"So…this whole time…you've just been leading me to my death?" she asks quietly, and I can tell she's holding back tears as she drops my hand.

"At first," I say hastily, keeping my voice quiet. "That's why…why I didn't want you to like me. It would've made things easier. But, Glen said…I mean, Carmen predicted…that I'd fall in love with you and I wouldn't want to do this. That's why Glen was hired, partially to keep us safe, but partially to get the job done. And she was right." I take a step towards her, biting my lip. "I can't do it. I'm in love with you."

Spencer steps away from me as soon as the words are out of my mouth, looking me up and down like I'm a whole new person. I can already tell she probably hates me.

"Look, as much as I hate to interrupt, we've got about a four day trip ahead of us, and the wedding's in six," Glen cuts in, brandishing his sword at the guards. "We're leaving, whether you all like it or not."

We all stand here for a moment: Glen, me, Spencer, the king and queen, and two guards. Oh, and Mojo.

Then the room erupts into chaos.

The two guards rush at Glen, Alfred grabs Spencer and Patricia and pulls them out of harm's way, I shoot Spencer a pleading look, trying to get her to understand how confused I've been these past few days, and Mojo screeches loudly and flaps over to Spencer, latching onto her arm. That makes Patricia squeal and run for the exits, then Alfred runs after her, and I take advantage of the distraction, grabbing Spencer and pulling her from the room, into a nearby closet where we can hide. Mojo flaps away, presumably to go help Glen, who he's apparently taken a liking to over the past few days.

"Get off of me. Don't even touch me," Spencer spits out, trying to push me away from her, but I grab onto her arms even tighter, holding her in front of me.

"Spencer, you have to believe me. The last thing I want to do is hurt you."

"Yeah, right. Just like you didn't want to hurt me while you were busy leading me to my death?"

"That was a mistake. I was confused. My family's been poor my whole life and I just…" She starts struggling against me again, and I grip her tighter, wrestling with her until I've forced her into the wall. "I just wanted to help them!"

We're both silent after that, breathing heavily, and she finally whispers, "But you wanted me dead."

"I didn't know you."

"And now that you do?" she questions in a whisper.

"I…I wanted you dead," I confirm. "Now I just want you."

I let my eyes fall to her lips as she asks, "What about your family?"

"I don't know," I answer honestly, stepping away to give her some space now that it at least seems like she'll listen to me. "Aiden and Kyla's wedding can't happen unless you're dead. But I don't want to let you die, so…I guess they can't get married."

"And what about Glen?"

I'm suddenly aware of the sound of metal clashing one room over, where Glen is apparently still fighting the guards. "He's had like over ten years of martial arts training," I inform her. "We don't stand a chance." My voice comes out choked on the last word, to my own surprise, and Spencer lifts a hand to my cheek, running her thumb over my bottom lip in a way that makes my breath hitch.

"Is this going to be a Romeo and Juliet kind of thing? Where we both die together?"

I shake my head. "He needs you back at Carmen's alive."

"What about you?"

"I don't know." I lower my eyes. "I can try to protect you from him."

"He'll kill you."

"…I know."

She places a finger under my chin, tilting my head up until my eyes are even with hers. "I don't want you to do that. Just…agree to take me to her, and we can figure something out on the way there. A way to escape. And when I'm Queen, everyone in this castle will have to protect us."

"What if we can't figure out a way to escape?" I point out quietly, and that hangs in the air for a moment until Spencer gulps.

"Then…this is the last time we'll be alone before I…" She trails off, unable to finish the word, and our eyes meet briefly while my ears tune in to the fighting still going on outside. Apparently even more guards have shown up, and it's taking a while for Glen to fight them all off.

"Yeah," I finally agree, and then Spencer's lips are on mine and her hands are in my hair, tugging me closer frantically while my arms slip around her and I kiss her back just as enthusiastically.

We move around so much that everything else in the closet is crashing to the floor, and the thumping sounds that echo throughout the closet every time our backs hit a wall are definitely loud enough for people outside to hear, but they're all too busy fighting to care.

Spencer's hands fumble with my pants while I'm already pushing her skirt down, and she groans when I slip a hand up her shirt and grope at her chest, my lips finding hers again as she takes my underwear down with my pants. I put more pressure into our kiss and force her against the wall, reaching around to place both of my hands on her thighs and lift one over my own, opening her up a little more. Her breath is hot against my cheek as she warns, "I'm a virgin", and I nod, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"I know."

I adjust her underwear slightly so it's out of the way and slip two fingers between her legs, closing my eyes shut and trying to imprint this moment into my memory so that I have it no matter what happens afterward. My fingers explore for a moment, and Spencer moans into my ear when I find her clit and circle it a couple of times, before sliding my fingers down a little and pushing one inside of her.

Her grip on my shoulders tightens noticeably, and she clenches down on my finger tightly until I press a bruising kiss to her lips, letting her wrap her arms around my neck and lose herself in it while I withdraw my finger and then slowly slide it back in. Her thigh tenses over mine and she bites down on my lip just enough to draw blood, but I ignore it and add another finger, loosening things up a bit before I start pushing in and pulling out again. My thumb finds her clit and strokes around it in quick circles while I speed up my fingers, and Spencer's hips rock towards me instinctively with every thrust, meeting my palm at just the right moment every time.

"I love you," she breathes out between pants and moans, and I'm surprised when I start to feel tears building up in my eyes.

"I'm sorry," I whisper to her, squeezing my eyes shut. "I'm so sorry things had to turn out this way."

She shakes her head, then leans back to rest it against the wall, moaning softly. "No, I'm glad that you were the one that kissed me."

I can't help chuckling a little bitterly. "Yeah, you can say that now…"

She opens her eyes and leans forward to press her lips to mine, smiling into the kiss, but then her lips quickly part and she groans into my mouth again, pulling my body to hers and begging for me to go faster. I curl my fingers inside of her instead, and she immediately presses her palms into my back, crushing me to her even further as she clenches down on my fingers and breathes out my name, rocking back and forth for another moment until she stiffens completely and buries her face in my shoulder.

A few more grunts and little ripples later, and it's over. I can tell Spencer's struggling to stay standing up, even though I'm helping her out by pinning her to the wall, but after a few more moments of heavy breathing, she regains her strength, then presses her lips to mine in a way that I can tell isn't just a "thank you" kiss for what just happened. Before her hands can get any lower than my hips, though, I grab them quickly, forcing her to stop and listening carefully for noise outside our closet. There's silence. The fighting's over.

I pull away from her and reach for my underwear and pants, already starting to pull them on, and she lets out a whimper of protest, trying to pull me to her again. I give her a resigned look. "Spencer, we're out of time." I get my clothes on and force her to start putting hers on, too. She looks like she's going to cry, but we don't have time to dwell on it, because just a few seconds after we've both gotten completely dressed, the door to the closet flies open, and there's Glen, beckoning to us calmly. When neither of us budges, he sighs.

"Look, we can do this one of two ways."

There's a long pause, and I don't know what possesses me to do it, or what I think it'll accomplish, but I'm out of the closet in a second, barreling into him so hard that he falls to the floor with me on top of him. Spencer cries out in surprise, and Glen rolls us over quickly, glaring down at me as he fumbles for his sword and lifts it up just a little. I try to push him off, Spencer screams again, and then everything goes black.