As Bracken finally put himself to bed, he hoped Kendra had liked the peace offering he sent for her. Once she had left the library he managed to track down a few Brownies and requested a sweet treat to be brought to her room. He didn't ask for anything specific—he trusted they would make something delicious, as always.

Once he woke, the prince decided that keeping his distance from his betrothed would be best. He figured the princess would find him if needed, and he didn't want to cause any more trouble, no matter how much he was drawn to her. Like a moth to a flame. Bracken didn't know how Kendra had such an effect on him.

But maybe he could make it up to her by discovering what caused the disease plaguing her kingdom, the prince thought while throwing his blankets aside. Yawning, he stood and padded towards his wardrobe, where he picked an outfit for the day. It consisted of a white shirt accented with a light blue, which brought out his eyes. The shirt also contained silver threading and buttons that complemented his hair, and it definitely wasn't nicer than what he usually wore. And it definitely wasn't because of a certain princess. After dressing, he tamed his hair and left for the library once more.

When Bracken arrived, he noticed the table Kendra had used last night sat untouched. His interest piqued, he went to take a look. Reaching the cluttered table, he found the books about the fairykind and shadowcharmers she mentioned, but he found no other legends as he searched. After concluding he saw nothing worth note, he turned to search the stacks when he saw pieces of paper with delicate handwriting in his peripheral. He picked one off the table, his curiosity stirring. One note said, "They can fly!" while another wrote, "A shadowcharmer named Soren?" Bracken wondered what Kendra meant when writing them and why she took note of it at all. He set the paper down on the polished, wooden table and was about to pick up another when a light gasp sounded behind him.

He spun around to see a gorgeous girl with luscious brown waves and vibrant green eyes, wearing a simple off-white dress with flower embroidery, her soft hands raised to her mouth in surprise… Kendra. Her name was Kendra, and she was the human princess of Fablehaven and nothing more. At least that was what the prince told himself. Like an idiot, Bracken stood there and stared at her until Kendra broke the silence.

"Funny to see you here again," she remarked, lowering her hands and putting on a smile he knew wasn't real. He knew because it wasn't nearly as bright, as warm as it was when they first stumbled upon each other. He knew because it wasn't the smile he promised himself he would never let fade. Gods, what had he gotten himself into? More like over. He was head over heels, despite everything he once believed about the princess.

Derailing his train of thought, he finally replied in what he hoped was a cheery voice, "I was just hoping to get a head start on our research!"

Kendra narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Then why were you looking through my notes?"

Bracken, now flustered, hurriedly replied, "Well I thought you might have found something worth looking into, I didn't mean any harm. But speaking of those notes, what did you me-"

"It's not important," she replied quickly, cutting him off.

He took a step towards her, his curiosity unwavering when he remembered he had already made a fool of himself the previous night, and he wasn't trying to do so again.

Changing his direction towards the shelves among the two, instead of prying, he offered, "Let's get started, then, shall we?" He held out his arm in a further attempt to bridge the chasm of distrust they had created. Kendra surprisingly took it, but the prince didn't miss the moment of hesitation, nor the look in her eyes. It seemed like they still had a ways to go in terms of friendship.

Kendra's POV

Kendra still didn't know how to feel about Bracken. He was charming and handsome, yet at times his manners were more like a peacock than a prince. The princess shifted her arm, feeling the soft material of his shirt. That was one of the few things she noticed when she found him rifling through her things. He dressed so lavishly for such a simple occasion, never mind that it complemented his soft blue eyes or his hair that glowed just right in the sunlight—she forced herself to focus on the task before her, as they had just reached the disease section.

The prince detached himself from Kendra, pulling out a volume that seemed to interest him, thumbing through the pages, when Bracken broke the silence. "I know we've disclosed our favorite pastimes to one another, but I'd like to get to know you better than that," he revealed, smiling softly while looking up from the pages before him.

The fairykind looked away from his alluring gaze, brushing the spines of books as she read the titles and answered timidly, "Like what?"

"Like, the deep stuff. We are betrothed, after all."

Kendra's face scrunched up, thinking of the 'deep stuff' that she wanted to hide. If she were to show anyone the more personal sides of her, it wouldn't be to the prince of Aldera. That was owed to her family, Gavin, and Alyssa.

She fixed her expression so she could turn to him and ask, "What kind of deep stuff?"

"Like.. what's your favorite color?" he replied in a playful tone, a slight smirk tugging at his lips.

"Oh well now you've stepped over the line," the princess teased back. (Ha. Get the reference?) He laughed at that, and something warm bubbled inside of her.

"Mine is green," he offered, "like y- like the forests of Aldera."

"I should like to see them, then, if they are as beautiful as you claim," Kendra expressed, shying away from him once more to pull a worn book with a leather binding from the shelf to their left. "Mine is pink, a light pink, like.. the laces on my dress," she lifted her hair aside and gestured over her shoulder to where the ribbon tightened her dress, mimicking the corsets she despises. A silence stretched between them, the prince's eyes not leaving her figure.

Kendra cleared her throat and fixed her hair, blushing before asking, "What's your favorite food?"

Coming out of his daze, Bracken's face reddened before responding. "Cream puffs," he said too quickly, "with strawberries," he added.

"That's a dessert, not a food!" she exclaimed, a laugh escaping her lips.

He looked at her incredulously, his embarrassment forgotten. "Well, you can eat it, can't you?"

"I guess so," she relented, a smile lighting her face.

"What's yours?" the prince inquired, gesturing to her with a book before shutting and replacing it.

"Cheesy potato soup, specifically my aunt Lena's recipe," she replied sadly, a frown replacing her smile.

Bracken noticed her change in demeanor and joked, "What is it, the soup of tragedy and despair?" It was clearly an attempt to cheer her up, and Kendra thought that he might not be so bad.

Shaking her head out of her thoughts, she answered, "Sorry, no, it's just that- she died from the plague."

The prince's smile vanished, and a look of sympathy took its place. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up-"

"No, it's okay, you couldn't have known," she reassured, burying herself into the book she held rather than looking at him.

Silence accompanied them once more while they looked for reports of plagues and dark magic. Most books were boring and had nothing to offer. So far, the pair had come across a lot of recipes for cures, or information on why plagues spread, but not much about specific types of plagues.

Kendra shut the book she was reading a little harder than she intended, frustrated. Bracken looked up momentarily at the sound, then went back to reading. The fairykind looked back at the shelf, looking for another to study. 'Dark Plagues' looked promising, so she picked it off the shelf and started flipping through the thick volume. The book detailed how Dark Fae would create plagues so light Fae could study them and create cures for all kinds of diseases. One was particularly nasty, making the infected's skin dry up and cough up blood—that sounded familiar. Her breathing quickened and her heart rate picked up speed as her eyes flew across the page, looking for answers. Bracken noticed the change in her, probably with his excellent hearing, and closed the gap between them to take a look. They looked up at each other when they realized. This is what befell Fablehaven.

Terror bubbled up from where warmth once filled her as she looked up and asked, "Do you know of any Dark Fae capable of this?"

Bracken's eyes widened. "There is one who would be powerful enough to accomplish such a feat. His name is Ronodin. My cousin." He ran a hand down his face. "I guess I'll have to pay a visit."

Curious at his reluctance, Kendra closed the book, leaving a finger to mark the page. "Are you and Ronodin not on good terms?"

"Oh, we are. But he's been known to cause mischief. Some call him an agent of chaos. Though I'm sure even if Ronodin made it he didn't mean harm, but that doesn't mean what he did was right," the prince reassured. It did bring some relief. Knowing the man—male would make it a lot easier to coax information from him.

Ronodin. She was familiar with the name- Oh! "Wait, Ronodin can be found in some of the shadier parts of Fablehaven's market. I think Seth's traded with him a couple of times. That's your cousin?"

Bracken toyed with his lip before responding. "That would make sense, as he is rarely found in Aldera." He didn't even question that he's known for being shady.

Then the fairykind girl committed the most abhorrent of crimes and dog-eared their desired page, wincing as she did so. "To Fablehaven, then?"

The prince nodded, "To Fablehaven."

Seth's POV

After Seth set up a glorious glitter bomb in what was to be Bracken's room, he went down to the market to see how his people were healing. He could already hear way less coughing, and people were out and about once again. He almost smiled until he remembered the price his family paid for it. The price his sister paid for it.

He watched as a town healer handed out pink vials. That must have been the cure. He approached the healer, hoping to help. He thought of the shadier parts of the market that rarely got any attention, and wanted to start dispersing the cure there. Once he'd gotten a basket full of them (Aldera seemed to have actually done something with their lives and made a shit ton of them) the young prince headed down to the unlit alleyways. He was about halfway through the basket when he suddenly heard raised voices.

"This is all your fault, Ronodin!" Seth frowned at the familiar voice and name.

Ronodin replied angrily, "This wasn't supposed to happen, you were never supposed to-"

The voice, whom he figured out was Kendra's friend Gavin, spat, "Whatever, the cure has already spread. But don't think I will forget this, you incompetent bastard." Gavin walked away from the alteration, approaching Seth instead. As he got closer to him the shadowcharmer slunked away into the darkness, willing it to cover him. Gavin's mouth was set in a hard line, anger radiating off of him. Seth had never seen him this way before, let alone the fact that he didn't stutter, and was about to ask what happened when Ronodin stepped into view.

There was anger in his eyes too, but disappointment and guilt were more prevalent than the other. Seth thought it strange enough that he should wait to confront either of them till later. But Ronodin didn't seem fooled by his hiding spot, and looked right at him. The shadowcharmer shot him a look of confusion, hoping he would answer it. He and Ronodin were on good terms; they traded contraband occasionally, and the Fae eventually noticed his dark gifts and had even taught him a few tricks. But Ronodin apparently wasn't in the talking mood and disappeared into another alley.

Seth had so many questions. What were they mad about? Gavin mentioned the cure, but that didn't automatically mean it was about the plague. If it wasn't the plague, was it still something serious? If so, who should he believe? His sister's friend, or his own? Well, friend wasn't the right word. Business partner was more accurate.

This didn't look good for Ronodin, because he usually deals in illegal shit. Kendra seemed to make better friends anyway. Eventually, the prince figured he should find out more information before coming to a conclusion, and yet he couldn't help but sway towards Ronodin's side.