Finally, I updated this story. I know it's been a few months, but I was so bust with track and school. There just wasn't any time for writing. But don't worry, summer is coming, and though I have extra classes during the summer, I will be updating more frequently. This story will be finished and I'll be working on my other story, Mission of Love too. I will also be working on some one-shots occasionally based off songs. If there's a song you want me to write about PM me. One-shots will be based on requests.

Again, I apologize for the very late update. I hope you don't lose faith in this story. So, please enjoy this chapter.

Rin's POV

I urged Josephine to run faster and faster. Miku and I needed to return to the village immediately. My greatest fear now was that we would be exposed. What would happen to our precious village, the place that is now my home? The prince has already ruined my life once before, and I will not let him do it again.

The ride back to village seemed to be double the time it took to get there. The sun had now almost disappeared, and the faint outline of the moon could be seen in the sky. After what seemed like hours, we had finally arrived in the village. It seemed empty, because everyone was probably getting ready for bed. I jumped off of Josephine, and pulled Miku along with me. The two of us sprinted to Kaito's house as fast as we could.

When we arrived, I knocked on his door loudly. There was no response. I started to get nervous. What if the guards had already come when we were gone? What if they had taken everyone to prison? I knocked on the door even louder and began to shout.

"Kaito! Kaito!" I yelled. Miku began to start pounding on the door too. She was just as nervous as me. When we were about to give up hope, a tired looking Kaito answered the door. His hair was a mess, and it looked like we had woken him up from a deep sleep.

"What the heck are you girls doing?" Kaito complained. "I was trying to get some extra sleep. Training Len isn't that easy you know. That kid really sucks at fighting…" Kaito trailed off, grumbling about how unsuccessful the day had been.

"The prince is gone!" I cried, interrupting Kaito's story. His face suddenly was full of alarm. His tired look had disappeared and his full attention was focused on me.

"What do you mean?" he asked with concern.

"I mean he's disappeared," I explained. "There are dozens of wanted posters in the next town. Rebels and palace guards are out looking for him. It could ruin the entire plan or worse. We could all get caught and the guards will arrest us!"

"Calm down," Kaito said trying to calm me. He turned to Miku, who was still keeping a cool head at this time. "Is this all true?" he asked. Miku nodded, with a sad frown on her face. Kaito pursed his lips and gave a sigh.

"This throws everything for a loop," he said, biting his lip. "I guess we'll have to postpone everything until the prince is recovered. We can't risk getting caught now." My heart sank. Though waiting the situation out was safer, I wasn't content with waiting any longer. I had been waiting long enough already. I wanted the prince gone, and more importantly I wanted my brother back.

"Why don't you to go home and sleep?" Kaito suggested. "We can talk about this in the morning with everyone. I'm sure they'll have some ideas of what we can do." Miku and I agreed, since we were both feeling a bit tired. Kaito offered to let Miku sleep at his house, but she sadly declined, knowing that Mikuo would bite her head off if she did.

I walked back home, my eyelids droopy. It had been a rather long and stressful day, and I didn't even get to practice much. I opened the door to my small home, and was surprised to see Len there, sitting like an obedient dog. That's strange. I had expected that he would be getting ready for bed by now. From what Kaito described, it had been a long day for the both of them.

"Um, hello?" I said to Len, as I closed the door. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for bed?" Len said nothing. He continued to sit there, and I could tell he was deep in thought. I wonder what he could be thinking about. Though I was tired, I felt bad just going to sleep. I'm sure Len must have a bit lonely today, considering he spent all his time with Kaito.

"How was practicing?" I asked. I grabbed myself a slice of bread, along with my orange from earlier and sat next to Len. That seemed to get his attention. His face turned a bit red.

"It's none of your business," he said, defensively. I giggled at his embarrassment. How bad could he be? Wouldn't nobles like him have some sort of training for these kinds of things? Or maybe he was one of those nobles who sat around and did nothing all day? The latter did seem to fit Len's personality better.

"You should get some sleep," I reminded him. "You get to do it all again in the morning, plus everyone is getting together to discuss some…err… important matters." I wasn't sure whether or not I should tell Len about what I saw today. It could make him uneasy, especially with all the stress he has been under lately.

"What kind of matters?" he asked. "Not that I care though," he added immediately. I sighed at his response. I understand that he's been had a tough week, but his attitude hasn't gotten any better. I hope that soon he becomes comfortable enough around me where he afraid to say what he's really thinking. He's too caught up in appearances.

"I'll tell you in the morning," I yawned. "But I'm not kidding," I added sternly, just like a mother would. "You need to get to sleep." Len rolled his eyes, but stood up to head to bed. As he walked past, he tried to look annoyed, but his face had a faint smile. Maybe he was warming up to me more than I thought. When Len disappeared upstairs, I decided to go to sleep too. I was nervous about what would happen in the morning.

THE NEXT MORNING

Someone was tapping me on my head. It wasn't a soft tap either. It was more of a hard poke. Someone was trying to wake me up. "Rin!" a voice yelled loudly into my year. I jumped up and fell out of the small chair that I had fallen asleep in.

Len was standing there with a satisfied smile. "It took you a while to wake up," he said sadistically. "Kaito is calling everyone outside. He wants to talk about that thing you mentioned before." Len walked outside, leaving me alone. Though I was a bit annoyed, I was happy that Len was comfortable enough to joke with me. The thought of that made my cheeks redden.

Knowing that Kaito's announcement was important, I decided not to change clothes. I just walked outside to the town's center. Everyone was gathered there. Luka and Gakupo stood near each other, looking concerned. Meiko was grabbing tightly to Kiyoteru. It was obvious she had a bit too much to drink last night. Miku was holding Oliver and Yuki close to her. Gumi even skipped working in the fields this morning to hear Kaito's announcement.

Kaito stood in the center of it all with a nervous expression. He cleared his throat loudly, and all nervous chatter instantly stopped. Kaito looked at everyone, and began to speak. "I have important news for you all…"

Len's POV

Kaito's face was very serious. It reminded me of Dell's when he had me flee the castle. I knew that something terrible must have happened. I knew that he was going to be talking about what Rin had hinted on last night.

"I have important news for you all…" Kaito started. Well, of course. Why else would we all be here if it wasn't? "It's some news about the prince," Kaito resumed.

My entire body tensed up. They were talking about me. What about me? Where they planning on killing me? Did they find out my identity? A new sense of fear coursed through my body. It was worse than on the night I had to run away. Here, there was no chance of escaping. Though this people were nice, they claimed that I had ruined their lives and they were hungry for revenge.

"The prince has been reported missing," Kaito said. "That means the guards are searching the country, looking for him. Our village is in danger. If we are found out, we could all be arrested. No one is safe, so we have to take extra precautions from now on."

I breathed a sigh of relief. So they didn't know about me, but there was a bigger problem. What would happen if the guards found me? Though I was cursed to be emotionless, I felt like I had started to grow attached to these people, especially Rin. I think that even a great prince like me would feel guilty if she was locked up.

But why were the guards searching for me? Was it safe to return home? Was this how Dell planned on contacting me? I thought he would come for me personally, but maybe he won't. I'm not sure that I want to leave. I've only been here for a week, but I feel better here than at the palace.

The nervous chatter started again. Everyone was in a panic over what to do. Everything they had worked for over the past few years was in jeopardy. They could lose their friends, family, and the life that they had all come together to create.

There was a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach. I couldn't identify it, but it fell terrible. I wanted to throw up. Did I eat something funny? I found Rin in the crowd, hoping she could maybe help me feel better.

When I found her, her face was buried in worry. She was looking up towards the sky, almost praying for help. The feeling in my stomach got ten times worse. I couldn't handle it. My head started to hurt, and I fell down onto my knees. What was this?

Rin turned to me, and shouted out, "Len!" She threw her arms around me to prevent me from falling over completely. I gave a groan. Rin called out to Luka to grab some medicine and come back immediately. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Luka run off.

Everyone had gathered around me now. The news about my disappearance had become less important to them. They fact that I was in pain was a greater dilemma. Everyone looked at me nervously and tried to find things to help. My stomach hurt more, and I became dizzy. I didn't think I could stay conscious any longer.

"Len, stay with me," Rin whispered, as she held me up. She tried to remain clam for my sake. Though I was in severe pain, I noticed that her face was really beautiful. Why had I never noticed it before? I tried to nod in response to her, but I couldn't keep myself awake any longer.

I felt my body go limp, and my eyes closed. I passed out, and all I heard where the shouts of everyone around me. One scream in particular stood out among the rest. Rin had yelled the loudest of everyone. Her shout was full of terror and concern.

Why, I wondered before even my mind switched off for a while. Why do you care so much? Don't you know that it will only hurt you in the end? And with those final thoughts, I lost all consciousness and found myself asleep in darkness.

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