12 The Elven Magic

***BACK IN THE PALACE***

The next morning, princes have all gathered around the dinning area waiting as the servants prepare their food. They were currently the only ones around the table, which they wondered. The King and Queen are always punctual. Rose isn't there either. It didn't help the mood without a jolly girl gulping down every food within her reach.

Well, Ren and Dan are jolly but in a more annoying way.

Once they sat down a servant approached one of them, Fred, and handed him a letter. It came from the king and the queen.

Saying his gratitude to the servant, he opened the letter.

It seems as if they left for an important visit to a friend from another kingdom.

He looked up and noticed the princes were watching him. He assumes that they are wondering what the letter says. He cleared his throat. "Gentlemen, the king and the Queen are out for a visit to their friend. She's leaving me in charge for the meantime." He fought the frown that was trying to form in his face. He hates taking charges. Everyone is always looking up to him. It's pressuring. He thought it was a bit weird for him to be having those thoughts since he is fighting for the throne and all.

But seriously, why can't they ask Nate or Ace to take charge? Or even Dan and Ren?

He looked at the twins who were clapping their hands joyously at the king and queen's absence.

Okay maybe not the twins.

The twins both looked at Fred. "Why do they always leave Prince Fred in charge?" They both asked the same question that he was asking himself.

Until now, he couldn't help but wonder how they always say the same things at the same time. Is that a twin thing or an Alpha thing? He wondered what would happen if he had a twin to finish his every sentence.

Weird.

But it sounds fun!

Nate snorted at the twins' protest. "That's because the king and Queen are so smart as to not let you two be in charge. We all know what would happen when you two got the reins." The twins both glared at Nate, who seemed oblivious to the twins' glare - that or he's just pretending not to notice. Which didn't really help since the two seemed to snap.

Crap. Another fight is about to break loose if he won't do something.

Think Fred!

"Prince Ren, Prince Dan. Why don't the both of you go and fetch Rose? Breakfast is about to be serve and it's almost time for her training with Ace." Just as he expected, the frowned from both of their faces vanished and was replaced by a grin. Their eyes sparkled as the both of them got up and made a salute.

"Our pleasure, your highness!" And they were off before he could even have the time to take back what he just said. Knowing them, they might pull some sort of trick on her before escorting her.

At the corner of my eyes, he saw Nate giving me an unsure look. "Prince Fred, are you sure that it is wise to call her now?" He thought about what Nate had said.

He's right. Rose might still be shaken from their little revelation yesterday. She might not like the idea of two werewolves giving her a wake up call. She might even freak out and scream bloody murder.

He nodded. This is why he hates being in charge. He takes the blame if anything goes wrong in the end. "I think that the sooner she'll get to spend more time with us, the easier she'll accept what we are." Was what he said.

Nate nodded. "Yes. I know that. But I wasn't referring to that."

"Oh? Then what are you referring to, Prince Nate?" I asked in curiosity.

"From spending time with her, I have learned that she's not a morning person." Nate chuckled. "Just imagine what she'll do to the twins when they try to wake her up."

Fred laughed. Nate is telling the truth. Right now, he can just imagine himself being the one waking her up for breakfast. He can just picture her glaring sleepily at him and yelling, "What the heck, ugly! Leave me alone."

He chuckled. He hopes she'll get back to her cheery self as soon as possible. It's only been yesterday and they already miss her unruly and refreshing personality. Fred thought about finishing the song that he was composing. He figured that Rose might want to hear it.

"Princes Fred?"

It seems as if the song was stuck to his head and the notes kept on replaying on his mind. He even practiced playing it on the piano yesterday thinking she would be delighted to hear it.

"Prince Fred!"

He was suddenly snapped out of his reverie. Nate had been calling his name while he was daydreaming. Oh wait, that wasn't a day dream! It's called memory recalling.

"Yes?" He asked.

"You were staring at an empty space for a while. Is everything alright?"

He nodded. "Of course. I just had a little thought." He glanced at Ace who was eating silently beside Nate. He didn't even notice that the food was already served.

What the heck is wrong with you, Fred? He thought to himself.

"Prince Fred! Prince Fred!" Before he had the chance to taste the food, they heard the twins screaming. Nate and Fred chuckled while Ace kept on eating. That guy seriously lacks socialization. He's not even joining the conversation.

But back to the matter at hand.

What did Rose do to make the twins scared out of their wits? He was eager to know.

The twins came into the dining area. Once Nate and Fred had a good look at the twins, their laughter died and even Ace stopped eating as he paid more attention to them. Both were out of breath and panic was in their eyes. They were breathing heavily.

His heart sank and he got up from his chair. "What happened?"

"Y-you see....we were knocking on Rose's door and trying to call her out."

"And when no one answered, Dan and I decided to go in and check her."

"When we came in, we immediately noticed that her scent was gone."

"We started to look for her in her room, but when we came to her balcony, we noticed that it was open."

"And not just that. She tied her clothes together so she could use it to climb down! Who knew she was smart!" By this comment, Ren smacked the back of Dan's head. He would have found it funny if the situation was different.

"Rose is gone?" As soon as the words left his mouth, it sounded more real. The twins nodded. By the now, Ace and Nate were out of chairs as they followed him when he started to run to Rose's room. He wants to see it for himself.

If those two are joking around then he will seriously turn them into frogs! Scratch that. He will curse them into frogs until someone kisses them!

I hope they're joking. Please let this not be real.

As soon as he reached her room, he noticed that her closet was empty. The book that held the history of the kingdom was on her desk and opened to a certain page. He didn't bother to check it since he immediately went to the balcony. Just as the twins have said, there was a makeshift rope that she used to climb down.

He heard someone curse behind me. He turned to see that the rest of the princes were able to catch up. Fred got up from his position and made his way to the princes.

"We need to find her." He turned towards the twins. "Can you track her down through her scent?" As wolves, they have a very sensitive nose so they can probably track her down.

Surprisingly, they shook their heads. "We tried, Prince Fred."

"But the scent stopped as soon as we reached the bottom of her balcony."

He quickly grunted and closed his eyes in order to collect myself. After 10 seconds, he let out a sigh. "That's okay. I'll try tracking her with my magic." He said. "Prince Ace, hand me her hairbrush over there." Fred pointed at the large white vanity table, where Ace was currently leaning on. He reached out behind him; grabbed the hairbrush and handed it to me. I couldn't help but notice that his eyes suddenly shifted to the book on her table. He then frowned at it.

He didn't bother to ask what it was about as he took the brush from him.

Fred studied the hairbrush until he was able to find a piece of her hair. He pulled it out and held it to his palm. He pulled out a small ounce of magic and pictured Rose in his mind; all the while trying to recall the word for the tracking spell.

"El' Reos zigreir." He whispered the words. Sparks flew from his palm and into the piece of hair. Suddenly, the piece of hair started to float and turned into a golden light.

"Alright! Way to go, Prince Fred!" Dan cheered.

They all ignored him as they watched the light floating towards the balcony. Without having second thoughts, they followed. The light stopped and then floated downwards and then...

...it just vanished.

"No!" Nate hissed and hit the railing with his fist in frustration. If it wasn't made of fine material, he's afraid that Nate would have broken it by now with his vampire strength. "Damn it!" he cursed.

"I don't understand." Fred shook his head in confusion.

The light was supposed to lead them to Rose. It wasn't supposed to just vanish.

"A cloak." Nate mumbled. Still glaring at the spot where my magic has vanished.

"What do you mean?" Ren asked.

Nate pointed below the balcony before looking at us. "Ren and Dan said that when they tried to track her down with her scent, they stopped just below this balcony. And when Fred casted the tracking spell it also led us to the exact same place. It means that when she has reached the bottom, she must have used something in order to hide her presence and prevent us from tracking her down."

Nate was on to something. He could tell. And Fred had a feeling what he was about to say.

"She's cloaked."

Fred's suspicion was confirmed when Nate nodded. A cloak is a special type of hood made by powerful warlocks. It conceals you so that no one can track you down. Not a vampire, not a werewolf, and not a warlock. It has been used by royals when they are hiding. The only flaw is that you can only conceal your scent and such from magic. But you can still be seen. It just keeps you from being tracked.

Dan shook his head. "But how? She doesn't even know that kind of stuff!"

"Maybe she has just figured it out somehow." Nate said in the middle of thinking. "Or the queen might have told her."

Fred shook my head in frustration. "Enough with this. We have to go look for her." He proposed and called one of the servants who was just passing by. "Tell the guards to prepare our horses!" The girl nodded and ran. Hopefully to deliver my order to the guards.

"All of you." Fred then directed to the princes. "Meet me in the stables in 5 minutes!"

He quickly headed to his room. Not even bothering to look back to see if the other princes have left to do the same. He doesn't really need anything in his room but his sword. He's not sure if he would really use this but he's not taking any chances.

They are in a supernatural world after all; and Rose is only a human. She might encounter some problems. Or worse. piss off a rogue that is capable of ripping her throat out.

He spotted his sword beside his bed and grabbed it. He quickly ran out as fast as he could and headed towards the stables. He could already see that the servants have already prepared their horses.

Surprisingly, Ace was the first one to have arrived. Like him, Ace also carried his own weapon. His bow was slung over his shoulder. Ace may be good in sword fighting but archery is more likely his style. The bow was made of a special elven metal. It's edge is sharp and, if he wills it to, it can be broken in two and be used as a double sword.

He spotted his horse just beside his and made my way to it. The stable boy then backed away to give me the reins, which he gratefully took and quickly jumped to ride his steed. "Where are they?" He asked Ace, who was now on his own horse.

He shrugged. "I don't know. But if they're not here in two minutes, we'll go ahead." If it were some other time, he would have been shocked since Prince Ace is eager to find Rose.

Then he was suddenly locked with a pair of wolves.

"Now that isn't very nice you know."

"Yeah. Considering that we took this time to shift."

Voices spoke in his mind. Nate came into his view with a determined look on his face as he rode his own horse. But he wasn't the one who spoke. It was the two brown wolves in front of us. One has a huge star-like shaped mark covering on its face while the other has a white-like sock on one of it's front legs. They were not like any ordinary wolves.

They were bigger and stronger.

"Ren? Dan? Why did you shift?" He asked curiously. It was their first time seeing the princes in their wolf form.

Both the wolves snorted at him. "We'll be faster this way."

"And our senses will be heightened. Which means the greater chance of finding Rose."

Well that made sense. He thought that they were just showing off.

"Alright." He nodded and told them the plan.

"We'll split up into two groups. Dan and I will try and head to go look in the town while Ace, Nate, and Ren will try and search the forest."

"Why do Dan and I have to be apart?" Asked the wolf with the white star on its face, he assumed it was Ren, and snorted in his wolf form. He was clearly not happy about the arrangement that Fred proposed. It's either he doesn't want to be parted with his twin or he doesn't want to spend time looking for Rose with Nate and Ace at his side.

"You and Dan have this alpha connection - or is that a twin thing? Never mind. What I'm trying to say is that we can communicate with each other through you and Dan. That way we can exchange some information regarding Rose's whereabouts."

"It only works on a limited distance. We'll be sure to inform you when we're out of each other's reach."

The twins let out a huff but agreed otherwise. Fred glanced at Nate and Ace and nodded at them. He pulled the reins of his horse to change courses. "Don't stop looking until we find her." He ordered and gestured at Dan to ready himself. Dan nodded.

Fred let my horse gallop towards the direction of the town. Dan, being a wolf, ran ahead of him.

***

"Excuse me, sir. Have you seen a girl with blonde hair and about this tall?" Fred raised his hand to his nose to show Rose's height. The old shopkeeper shook his head.

"I haven't seen that girl of 'yers, Prince Fred. I'm sorry." The man then gave them an apologetic look before proceeding to doing his work.

His face fell as he said his thanks. Prince Dan, still in wolf form, let out a sigh.

"If Rose is here in this town, she must still be wearing the cloak because I couldn't get a whiff of her scent." He winced. Fred gave Dan an apologetic glance. He wanted to find Rose as much and he did.

"We'll find her." He said. But it was more to convince himself than to convince him. Luckily, it did the trick when Dan wagged his tail and let out a toothy grin.

"Yeah. I hope so." he said. "But what if Rose isn't here in this town?"

Now that is a question that he had long considered after hours of asking the town's people. "I don't know. Let's just hope that Ace, Nate, and Ren can find her." He said honestly.

"Me too." Dan then looked to the side with an annoyed expression on his face. Well, as much annoyed look that a wolf could portray. He followed Dan's gaze to see a group of teenage girls looking at them with admiration.

"Being in wolf form increases our sense of hearing." Dan grunted and flocked his ears. "And I am really not enjoying my perks as a werewolf when I can hear the gossips from those girls over there."

This suddenly sparked his interest. "Is it about Rose?"

Dan then rolled his eyes at his question. "Psh! No. These girls are talking about us."

Fred raised an eyebrow in question. "What is it about us?"

"It's just that we are so dreamy and perfect and blah blah blah. They wanted to marry us and have our kids as much as we want. Oh! And don't forget that they're still arguing about whether I'm Ren or Dan." Dan let out a low growl in annoyance. "Here's what they sound. 'Holy Thalia!! Isn't Prince Fred soooo dreamy and wonderful!?!?! *Squeal*. He's so handsome!! And look at his eyes!! You can drown in them any second!! Oh.My.Gosh!!!*Squeals* And Prince Ren/Dan in wolf form. So hot!! It's a once in a lifetime! *Squeals*. Just think how soft his furs will be!! *Squeals* He looks soooo cool!! Is he naked right now? He is right? *Squeals*. But seriously....is he Prince Ren or Dan?" Dan imitated the girl's voice in his mind. Dan then rolled his eyes after that.

Despite the thought of Rose's whereabouts, he laughed. "So which Prince are you? Dan or Ren?" He joked and patted his head.

Dan didn't seem to find this funny when he snapped at his hand. Luckily, Fred was able to pull his hand back. "Shut up." He growled and glared at Fred. His ears then began to twitch as he averted his gaze to the ground in concentration.

Finally, his head perked up with an angry look in them before he dashed towards the girls and snarled at them. The ladies all shrieked in terror and caught the people's attention.

Fred panicked and ran after Dan, who was still snarling at the girls who were now cowering in fear. He quickly pulled Dan back. He had to put all of his strength on pulling the large brown wolf.

"What the heck, Dan? I know you're upset but do you really have to snarl at them?" He gave him a disapproving look.

Dan shook his head and turned to me with a frown on his face. "It's not that! These bitches just said something about Rose." He then turned and growled at the girls who quickly shrieked and backed away. One of them even tripped and fell.

"Dan!" He yelled and stepped between him and the girls. They were already starting a commotion here. He doesn't want the people to look at them badly for their behavior. And he's pretty sure that this news will be brought to the Queen. "Tell me what they said about Rose." He quickly said to distract him.

He let out a breath to his nose and gave me an irritated look. "They were hoping that we would never find her." A low growl escaped from his snout.

He frowned. Not because of Dan's behavior, but because of what he heard. "Why?"

"They hate her for seducing us. No - scratch that - they despise her because they think that she has seduced us all. It's a very low reason."

He recalled the time when they brought Rose in this town once. It was the day when they found her unconscious on a field. That day, the queen had brought us to the town to assist her to shop. They were confused at first why she wanted them to assist her when she had servants at her disposal.

But now. He knows why. And he was glad to have come and assist the queen.

Dan is right. It was a low reason for them. But unlike Dan, he doesn't want to go all wolf on these ladies. It seems that his temper is short when he's in wolf form. "Are you sure that it's what they said?"

"I don't know. Who has the enhanced hearing between us? You? Of course I'm sure! Ask them yourself!"

He rolled my eyes at Dan's attitude and turned to face the ladies. He offered them a smile to calm them down and to show them that he meant them no harm.

For now.

"My friend here," He pointed at Dan. "Prince Dan, told me something disturbing. So I wanted to ask you myself if it's true or not. Will you answer me honestly?". Their eyes shifted from one another before they finally nodded. "Prince Dan told me that he overheard you girls saying that you wanted Rose's demise?"

The girls fell completely silent. One, he assumes is a witch, has sparks flying up and down her arm.

"Is it true?" He asked once again. Finally, one of them dared to answer.

"Y-yes, your highness." She looked at the ground in shame. Beside me, Dan let out a growl.

"She's a Were! I can't believe that one of our people would even dare to say those things!" said Dan. He hit his head as a warning to shut up before he looked at them once again. This time, he was giving them a disapproving look.

"Rose is a beautiful and kind girl. Whatever is your issue with her, I suggest that you drop it. She's the king's niece. A princess and yet your badmouthing her? She's a part of their family and if you love your king and queen then you will respect her." He began to face the crowd that had formed around them. "All of you should respect her. And if we hear another rumor that threatens her life, rest assured that you'll have to face us. Right now, our princess Rose is missing. I don't require you to help us. We want you to volunteer for yourselves if you care. If any of you has any information regarding her whereabouts, then we would deeply appreciate it and will be in debt to you." He said. "That will be all. Thank you." He nodded at them as they went their separate ways. Except the girls who were still looking at us.

"Your highness?" One of them spoke. Dan and Fred looked at her. She was a petite girl with her black hair in a fine braid. "Why are you looking for the princess? Was she kidnapped or something?"

Dan and Fred quickly looked at each other. "You don't have to know." Fred snapped. "We'll be taking our leave now." He nodded at them. Dan and Fred were about to turn our backs when the girls suddenly called on them.

"Your highness!" Both princes turned to them. "We're sorry." They then bow their head. Once again, Dan and Fred looked at each other.

"You are a witch, right? If I even hear you badmouthing her again I'll do more than just banning you from our kingdom. You may stay in Thalia, but you will no longer be welcomed in Hazel." He said and then we left to try our luck in another part of the town.

"Nice work back there." Dan snorted.

He shrugged. "I just did what I have to do. And I don't really appreciate their point of view towards Rose."

"No. I want to talk about that." Dan chuckled. Wait. Chuckled? Can wolves do that? "What I mean is that you just gained more admirers than you already have." Dan gestured his head to the side.

Fred followed his gaze to see the women were still looking at them. When they saw him, they quickly squealed.

Despite the incident earlier, he couldn't help but laugh. "Well, not all of them are my fans. It seems that a handful of them are into short-tempered werewolves." Fred tilted my head to the side where the girls were gazing at Dan. And believe it or not, there are a few oldies too.

Dan frowned when he saw what he was pointing at. He laughed harder when he saw the old ones were blushing when Dan faced their way. But some of the girls did squeal a little.

"Don't get me started, Prince Fred!! And stop laughing!! It's not funny!! Let's just go to the southern part and look for Rose. I SAID QUIT IT, PRINCE FRED!!!!!"

***Meanwhile****

Ace and the others have been searching for hours now and they still have no clue as to where that annoying little brat might be.

I swear. I will kill that girl.

The other bastards there with him aren't helping either. All this time they kept on blaming each other regarding Rose's disappearance.

"If you hadn't shown her your fangs then she wouldn't have run off!"

"Well excuse me but who said to show her some proof!"

"I did. But I didn't instruct you to scare her with it!"

"Well what if she ran away because she had had enough of you and Dan!"

"Shut up you two." He grumbled. If anything, they just continued to fight as if he hadn't said anything.

"Us? Please. She was probably freaked out by your continuous flirting!"

"Guys." Ace tried again.

"Those were harmless. At least they made her laugh!"

He finally decided that words won't break them apart so he took his bow and two arrows then shot at them. It was just a warning shot wherein the feather of the bows just brushed their neck. They both paused and gave him a terrified look.

"The next one will be at your throats." He warned. "If you guys would just blame each other, then do it elsewhere!! Or better yet, argue through your minds and don't share the alpha link to me when you argue!"

Both swallowed hard. They then made their way on each side of him so couldn't argue anymore.

Well finally!

As they continued their search, he couldn't help but notice the silence thickening. Great, having these two argue for almost an hour had made him not used to this silence.

"Ren." he called the brown wolf.

"Have you heard anything from Fred and Dan?"

Ren didn't speak for a bit. His guess is that he's now talking to his brother.

"Dan said that the town's people didn't see anyone last night. He said that they will keep one searching. Fred got some of the people to help them look."

He looked at the sky and cursed. They were running out of time. They have at least a few hours left before the sun will set.

Stupid little wench!! Where are you?!

And his head hurts. He can't think clearly and he wasn't sure why but for some reason it seems as if he has to remember something.

"Are you okay, Prince Ace?" Nate asked beside him and gave me a curious glance. Now what does this freak want?

"Fine." He said before turning back to Ren. "Tell Fred our location and ask him to come. We have to think this through if we want some assurance that we could find her." He told the dog.

What? Wolves are part dogs so I have the right to call him that. Plus, he is very pissed.

That's all because of these idiots, including Fred and Dan, who are so eager to find the princess without thinking it through. Idiots indeed. They didn't even bother to search Rose's room in case she might have left something that could give us a clue as to where she had gone to.

Pain once again swallowed his head. Why does his head hurt?

"Fred said to wait here. They'll arrive in five minutes." Ren informed them and shifted his gaze at him for further orders. So what? The leader hat is on him now?

"Fine. Settle your horse, Nate. Let's wait for them here." Nate nodded as he climbed down from his horse at the same time as Ace did. Ace pulled his horse by the reins and tied it to a tree. He then sat on a fallen tree trunk. Nate only leaned on the tree in front of him.

He can tell that he wanted to go and search for Rose on his own right now since he was tapping on his foot impatiently.

Ren was worse though. He kept on pacing back and forth in my wolf form. Oftentimes, he would sniff the air in hopes of getting a scent of Rose. When he doesn't get any, he would growl in frustration and would continue his pacing.

Looking at these two makes him have another wave of headache. He quickly clutched his head and closed his eyes to ease the pain.

What is wrong with me? It's like I have to remember something really important but I couldn't recall what it is. He thought.

"This is stupid. We should have never told her about us. I wish we could have waited a little more." Nate suddenly said and ran a hand through his hair.

"Oh really? Why haven't I thought of that?" Ren said sarcastically and snorted. Nate, not in the mood, suddenly glared at him. "Don't act as if you have no part in this, Rutledge. The moment that we found an opening to tell her the truth, you and Dan were equally as eager as we are."

Here they go again. Should he shoot another arrow towards them? And why does Ren keep on sharing his alpha link with him?

"That's because we thought that Rose might have put two and two together when she read the damn book!" Ren countered with a growl.

As soon as the words came out of Ren's mouth - he means alpha link.

The headache faded and the memories of last night started to surface for some unknown reason. He was in the library with Rose. It was the time wherein she asked me about the book and my elf form.

But the look on her face when he confirmed that the information in the book is real, there was something sparkling in her eyes. It was hope.

And then the open page of the book earlier before they left the room. It was open and a certain page was ripped out of it. And that certain page is the map of the kingdom.

She must have read something from the book. He just knows it. And that certain something made her desperate to sneak out of the castle to go and look for it. Just what is that something that gives her hope?

He doesn't really know anything about her. What could have given her hope? For all he knows, her only wish is to leave this place. And in order to leave this place, she has to use the white orb, which is currently short of magic. Then it suddenly dawned on him.

Oh crap!

Of course! How can he be such an idiot?

All she wanted was to go back home. Unfortunately, she couldn't because of the lack of magic from the orb. But what if there is another way to take her back home? Another way out of this mess?

He had read something about it. It's a magic similar to the white orb that the kingdom of Thalia poses. It's the black orb. A magic similar yet dangerous. It's full of forbidden magic. It was made by a witch who wanted to resurrect the dead for the sake of reviving her dead lover. Unfortunately, everything went wrong and she ended up reviving every dead supernatural and unleashing them in our world. It broke the balance of nature. As a result, the door of the dead opened. Every supernatural who was dead came in a rampage. They started to kill everyone in sight. It was a massacre. In order to stop it, a group of witches and warlocks alike grouped together to create the white orb to close the gate once and for all. And to send the dead back in the other world.

To make it short; Is the black orb bad? YES!!!

And who is stupid enough to go and look for it? THE IDIOTIC FAKE PRINCESS!!

He just realized her situation after their meeting in the library last night when they suggested that Rose return to her world for her safety. Then the Queen finally told them about Rose's situation and why she couldn't send her back.

If she is looking for the dark orb then they have to find her sooner. And the last he heard it was in the kingdom of Tereau. Which is not a good news either.

Ever heard of the Seelie and Unseelie? The two kingdoms are just like that.

Well the Seelie, in our dictionary, is the Kingdom of Thalia. The unseelie, on the other hand, is the Kingdom of Tereau. It means that in every world, there is good and bad. In their world, the separation is evident between Thalie and Tereau.

The Kingdom of Tereau is bad news. They are full of rogues who oppose the ruling of the Kingdom of Thalia. They are ruled by a king who wants them gone. You could say that he can be a villain.

But back to the matter at hand...HOW CAN THAT IDIOT STILL WANT TO GO THERE!?!

She'll be killed on sight! Who knows how far she's gone by now?

Sometimes her idiocy makes him want to slap his palm to his face.

And worse of all? He hadn't thought of this possibility sooner! This is his fault anyways. He figured that there was something suspicious about Rose yesterday, but he ignored it. he should have been more sensitive.

"I'll go and have a little walk. Find me when they arrive." He told them and got up from my spot and headed deeper into the forest where he can think clearly.

They have to find her now! But how would they know which road she took? She's cloaked!

Dan, Ren, and Fred are useless. Even Nate and I!

He punched the tree beside him in frustration. "I'm useless! My brain and skills are the only ones that I have and I can't use it!" He cursed and leaned his head on the tree and closed his eyes, then he felt something. Magic. He could feel it. The tree was vibrating and was whispering to him. It was calling to him. Telling him to just let go. It wants him to use his dying magic.

The magic that he despised and wanted to kill. The magic that took his freedom away.

Just because it was believed to have vanished along with the first and original elf's.

He opened his eyes and stared at the tree in wonder. He wanted to get rid of his magic because his mother and father always kept him hidden. They treat him like he's someone special. They wouldn't even let him play with his two older brothers. They never let him out of their sight. In fact, he couldn't leave the house without a guard to watch his back. If he disappeared even a second from them, they would freak out. All because he possesses the gift bestowed upon to first elves.

For all they know, those kinds of magic should be dead by now.

That is why his mother and father are very strict when it comes to him. Once, his brother sneaked him out to play by the lake with them. When their parents found out about this, they had punished his two idiotic brothers by making them kneel in salt. You might think that they hated him after that, but no. They just laughed it off and made jokes about who has the largest gashes on them. Despite how stupid and annoying they are, it kind of hurt him to see them punished.

So I decided that he doesn't want his gifts anymore.

He has had enough of being locked up. His parents told him that it was for his own good. That if the people found out, Someone might attempt to kill him in fear of his powers or even take him so they can make use of it. Killing his power is not an easy process. For us elves, in order to kill your magic, you must not use it for 10 years. By killing your magic, you are also rid of your identity as an elf. Through the years, an elf's ears would slowly smooth-en and would lose it's edginess when it's powers are about to die.

He hasn't used his in 9 years. That's why the shape of his ears are not that visible anymore.

He stared at his hands in wonder. He can't find Rose, but his magic surely can. But is he willing to throw those 9 years away just to look for that annoying little brat?

Heck no.

But he wouldn't be able to live with the guilt.

From the distance, he could faintly hear the hooves of a horse galloping in the distance. It was probably Fred and Dan.

From the sound of it, Fred was getting frustrated as he asked Nate if they found anything yet. Great. The Rose-searching team is complete.

He stared at the sky. Two hours left before the sun would start to sink.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he made his final decision. That girl is in deep sh*t for putting him through all this!

He placed his palm on the tree and closed his eyes. He let himself in with the forest. Before, this was easy, but since he hasn't used his magic in 9 years, he was having a hard time with it. And don't forget that it was dying too.

It took him a while before he was finally able to tap in with the forest. The trees began to rustle without any wind. He could feel his ears starting to reshape themselves. He could even picture it coming back to it's true form.

He started to picture Rose in his mind: Idiotic face, stupid, and annoying.

He didn't get a response

He let out a curse. Maybe he's not doing it right. Maybe he should just picture Rose in my mind.....

He tried again. This time, he pictured Rose's face. Her features lighting up as she let out a grin. Her greyish-blue eyes sparkling with energy and her ash-blonde hair framing her face.

In other words: Hideous!

A second later and he felt himself being pulled - or at least his consciousness. The forest was showing him the way through their eyes. I was traveling from tree to tree in fast forward until I was finally able to spot a familiar blonde in a red hood through the eyes of a deer.

She was cursing when her foot got stuck in the mud.

How stupid can she get?

"Damn it!! Don't they have boots in this place!? I could seriously use one. Curse you all supernaturals for still living in a Disney world! Barbie would have been so much better." She mumbled and tried to pull her foot out. When she finally got her foot out she fell to the ground. But one her shoe was still left in the mud. She let out a frustrated sigh and faced the forest. "Seriously? Oh come on!! I don't have time to play Cinderella!! I just wanted to go home! Is that too much to ask?" He snorted at her stupidity.

Well at least now he knows her whereabouts and the knowledge that she is safe.

The vision started to blur and he was now seeing through the eyes of a hawk. He was flying. He could see Rose from where he was looking.

But that wasn't all.

A few distance from her are some rogues who are headed in her way. They were both muscular and bulky. One of them has a huge scar running along his cheeks while the other one, shirtless, has long scars starting from the neck to the waist. He didn't have to see their marks to know that they are rogues. He cursed.

This isn't good.

It's not that he's worried about them tainting her or something. But there was a very foreign present lurking in the shadows. And it's not another rogue. He's sure of that.

With a final burst of energy, he willed the forest to cover Rose for a while. It's one of the perks of having ancient powers. You can control the forest and the earth.

After that, he quickly ran towards the direction of the other princes.

They were standing in a circle and talking about some places where Rose could have gone to. They paused once he arrived.

Dan and Ren tilted their head to the side as he looked at him while Nate's jaw dropped.

"Prince Ace," Fred started as he gave a curious look. "What happened to your ears? I thought you said that your powers are dead."

His hands slowly traced the outline of his ears. It was true. They have become pointed and a bit longer. A true identity of an elf. A reminder that he has just tossed away those 9 years of long wait.

"They're back." Was all he said. "But it doesn't matter. I know where she is now."

Nate seemed to have finally snapped back to reality. "Really? How?"

He asked. He once again stared at my ears. He is asking about his powers.

He shook my head. "I said it doesn't matter! Rose is about to bump into some rogues. If we don't hurry then who knows what will happen to her." He said. Ren and Dan quickly growl while Nate and Fred have a frown on their faces.

"Then tell us where she is." Said Fred. If he wasn't a prince, he would have kicked his face by now.

How dare he order me around! I'm a prince!!

Oh yeah. So is he.

He ignored Fred and went to Ren and Dan, who were still in their wolf form. "Use your alpha link with me to see Rose's whereabouts. Tap into my mind. Quickly." He ordered them. Werewolves are way faster than horses and any vampire. If anyone could get to Rose quickly, it would be these two. He felt the link of the two in his head and let them tap into the part where he had seen Rose and the rogues. A snarl escaped from their lips.

Without another word, they quickly dashed into the forest, which he assumed was the way to Rose.

Nate, Fred and Ace looked at each other and nodded before they all climbed on their horses to follow them. He could tell that Nate and Fred still have some suspicion about how he was able to find Rose. For all he knows, they might have probably started guessing some common elven magic. But his gift is unique. He can see through the eyes of the forest and animals. He can even command them if he wishes to.

Well too bad for them. My magic is older than the ones they're thinking. He thought.

All they know is that his magic has returned. All because of some stupid search of a damn princess whom he will skin alive once they find her.

He climbed onto the saddle and positioned himself there. He noticed something different so he looked to his side. There, the once rotten part of the tree was now revived. It was once again green and good as new. To taunt him more of his resurrected powers, a few flowers started to bloom.

Great. Just great! Years of containing his mana suddenly went down the drain and is now becoming unstable. He gritted his teeth and forced the magic in. His body tensed at the pressure of his unstable magic. It was lashing at him from the inside.

He forced his mind to focus. There's nothing that he can do about it now. What's done is done.

He'll have to deal with the consequences later.