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That morning Evanna was the first to wake up. Rolling onto her side, she saw Ger sleeping peacefully facing her; the sight of him made her thoughts race more about the night to come. There was a lot of pressure on them to succeed. 

She sat up as the weight of what they needed to do seemed to push down at a force on her shoulders. Her heart became heavy as she looked at the men's peaceful faces while they continued to sleep. Uneasiness seeped into her at the thought of anything going wrong, with one or a few of them becoming injured, captured, or killed. 

It would be all her fault for asking them on such a quest. Her eyes then met a pair of hazel ones belonging to a heart-shaped face and dark red curls framing her features. Cilv sauntered over to where Evanna sat and plopped down next to her. Evanna watched her as she scanned their surroundings and glanced at each of the men's faces.

"You know.. we all accepted this knowing the consequences," She whispered before finally resting her eyes on the princess.

Evanna's brows drew together as a long sigh left her lips, "I guess you're right. But-" 

"There's no going back now, princess. You've come this far with this goal in mind. You need to focus on what is motivating you to do this. Let the others do the rest," Cilv interrupted, and one side of her lips twitched up into a half-smile. 

Evanna's eyes crinkled at the thought of her shifter friend consoling her. 

"Thank you for comforting me, Cilv," Evanna smiled earnestly back.

Cilv wiped her hand on her knee at some imaginary dirt as she replied, "Yeah, well, no problem. Man up, you know.. whatever happens, happens.."

She stood up and went back to her post, looking uncomfortable. This only made Evanna chuckle under her breath. The woman had really come a long way from staying as far away from the group as possible to consoling her. Now she even looked comfortable around them. Except for Ger, she presumed that relationship was never going to turn into one of friendship.

Cilv looked back at Evanna and shook her head. She didn't know why she comforted her; it's not like she would get anything out of it. A shiver passed through her as she realised spending time with people, decent people were making her… nice! Another shudder rippled through her at the thought.

With those thoughts swirling in her mind, she abruptly stood up, "I'm going hunting. Keep watch."

Evanna nodded and got up as Cilv disappeared. She took Cilv's position by the tree and watched over the men. A few hours later, the group, except for the shapeshifter, were eating together as they watched the palace from afar. Their legs were dangling over the side of the cliff, all excluding Axel, who sat cross-legged, away from the edge. They turned their heads simultaneously when they heard footfall and saw Cilv running forwards.

Evanna immediately jumped up; luckily, she finished her meal whereas the others were still eating. Evanna could see how alert Cilv was and began scanning the area from whence she came as well as looking deep inside herself for her senses. But she could not tell; her body was always cold and had constant shivers due to the creature inside of the cave.

Evanna… Please, help me.

Not now! Shut it!

She blocked his voice out again and looked back at Cilv. She knew something was wrong, the shapeshifter was never heavy on her feet, and she alerted all of them by running there.

"What is wrong?" Evanna enquired.

"Flori!" Cilv gasped before grabbing her bag and slinging it over her back.

The men immediately jumped up and began packing their bags after hearing what Cilv said.

"How many? How long do we have?" Axel demanded as he marched towards Cilv with his long strides.

"About ten of them.." Cilv looked over at Evanna, "Lover boy is with them."

Evanna looked up from where she was, putting her water skin away in her bag on the floor. Ger and Ronan looked at Evanna expectantly, making the princess shrug from their gazes.

"Who's lover boy?" She feigned innocence. She already knew who Cilv was talking about, but the woman was ridiculous.

Cilv scoffed, "That white-haired elf."

Ger looked between the pair, his brows knitted together by what was said. Wasn't he the one who kidnapped her when they were ambushed? His jaw tightened, the muscles ticking as fire burned behind his eyes.

"We have about ten minutes. They were going extremely fast," Cilv answered Axel's repeated question.

"Where do we go? We aren't going to the palace until the evening.." Ronan asked.

The group stood in a circle now, their bags packed, hands ready on the hilts of their weapons, except Cilv, who elongated her nails.

"We could go to the treetops. They don't climb them this close to the palace, from what we have observed. There is no need.. all the threats are further away from where they take residence," Cilv suggested.

"I am not going to the trees!" Axel argued, causing Cilv to smirk at his outburst. Everyone knew why he didn't want to go to the trees. 

"Axel is right, though. We can't stay in the trees all day. We need to rest," Ger added while he glanced around the group.

"What about the cave?" Ronan asked; all eyes looked at him and then at the cave.

Evanna.. I won't hurt you or your friends. It is your safest option…

"No. Definitely not," Evanna gritted her teeth in anger, pushing the whispers out of her mind again. She didn't understand; it seemed the creature was set on speaking to her only. The others didn't show any signs of it trying to lure them to the depths of the cave.

The nightmares she endured were definitely by that creature; her guard was down when she slept, meaning her invisible wall was down. The strange thing was, not all of them were nightmares, but a few were romantic, lustful even. She blushed and looked away from the cave, she had never had such dreams before, and the thought of a creature putting them in her mind was embarrassing and freaky.

The man from her dreams popped into her mind as she remembered one of them. He was as clear as day, with his devastatingly handsome face, chin-length black hair and dark brown eyes; on a few occasions, she thought his eyes were red. But what did it matter? It was nothing but a dream.

Evanna..

His words caressed her mind, oozing into her and clutching at anything she could give; Evanna closed her eyes, almost feeling the man in her dreams behind her and breathing down her neck.

Evanna..

Yes? She answered in her mind.

The group continued to discuss among themselves, not paying any heed to the princess and her state of mind.

"We could go in there and hide.."

"No-"

"Until they are gone. We don't have to venture far.." Ronan interrupted Ger's disregard.

"They haven't been up here in all the time we have stayed here," Axel added.

Evanna somehow crept away from them while they were absorbed in discussing about what to do. She walked towards the cave.

Yes, Evanna. My love, come save me.

The men looked around in a panic when they realised the princess was not standing next to them. Nor was Cilv as she followed Evanna into the cave. Ger raced forwards, grabbed Evanna by the waist and began pulling her back.

But she stomped on his foot before elbowing him just below the ribs. His breath left his lungs harshly, and he loosened his grip slightly. 

"Ger, we don't have time for this. We need to go in there. We survived the faceless!" Cilv hissed. He glared at her while he continued to hold Evanna back.

Cilv stopped and turned her head, "Get in the dam cave! They are here!" She snapped.

Ronan and Axel didn't think twice before following Cilv into the cave. Ger sighed and followed behind them but kept his hold on Evanna; he could tell she was under some form of spell telling her to go further into the cave.

Cilv left the group and ran outside. They didn't bother stopping and asking her where she was going; the woman did what she wanted when she wanted. Their priority was to hide, stay alive and after looking at Evanna, keeping her with them.

They walked further into the cool, dark cave; there were rays of light that came through different parts of the cave from outside. This helped them to see better, but barely as they tentatively stepped forwards. They were walking down a slight incline.

Ronan jumped suddenly after hearing someone arrive in the cave but calmed down when he realised it was Cilv.

"Where did you go?" Axel enquired as he held his huge axe out, ready.

"They are expert trackers. I was removing traces of us here, and hopefully, my footprints and snapped branches will lead them away. There was only so much I could do in a few minutes."

"I could have helped.." Ronan said.

"It was quicker me doing it." She replied.

Ronan nodded his head, and their whispers died off when they noticed a small rock formation. Ger held onto a struggling Evanna in his arms while the others surveyed the dark surroundings.

"Hey, hey, calm down!" Ger whisper-shouted while she kept trying to wriggle out of his grip.

"I need to help him, Ger.." Evanna whispered frantically.

He frowned at her comment, but Cilv marched towards her and slapped her in the face before he could reply.

"What the f-"

  "Snap out of it! The only person who needs help is Ger. If you don't snap out of it, he will be the one dead," Cilv interrupted Ger and spoke sternly to Evanna.

Evanna moved her head back slowly to face Cilv and relaxed her body. Cilv could see the awareness seeping into her eyes; nodding once, she returned to the others who hid in the rock formation. There was nothing in this part of the cave. If it weren't for how Evanna had been acting, the group would have hidden in there with no concerns.

However, Cilv also had been hearing the occasional whispers of a man, but they left quite quickly. Maybe the creature knew she never helped anyone but herself.

Evanna sighed and unknowingly leaned back into Ger, who tensed by the action. She was not wholly aware yet of his arms around her or that he was behind her. That was until her hands rested on top of his around her waist. She spun around with an apology on her lips but was halted when his hand went around her mouth. His face was close to hers, his eyes wide, and a finger on his own lips.

They searched each other's eyes as they heard voices coming from outside the cave. Ger removed his hand, and the pair slowly shuffled towards the others, hiding from view. Ger gently pushed her against a tall rock and put his hands by the sides of her head.

Evanna was not bothered by it and did not feel the arousal Ger had at the proximity of their bodies. She knew he was trapping her, so she wouldn't wander off and go save some creature in the cave. She moved her head to the side, so her cheek rested on the cool surface while waiting in anticipation of what may come.

The group hid behind the rocks, breathing slow and shallow as they braced themselves. The tension was thick as they kept their body's on high alert, their muscles straining from anticipation. 

Evanna.. 

Evanna whipped her head around, but the view of Ger kept her settled in the spot she stood. Gulping, she leaned her head back and took a deep breath in while visualising the bricks forming in her mind once again.

The group stayed in the cave for what appeared to be an hour when Evanna checked her pocket watch. The whole time, Ger kept her trapped in one position or another. Whether that was against the wall or near the end of the hour, sitting on the ground, his arm over her shoulder. Much to Ronan's dismay, he wanted to be the one to be holding onto her. But Axel gave him a stern look, reminding him why they were in the cave in the first place.

Cilv jumped up from her position and walked towards the exit of the cave; the others followed after she waved for them to move. When they made it out of the cave, they simultaneously sighed, relaxing their tense muscles after seeing the area deserted. 

For the remainder of the day, they rested, ate, and chatted away. This was before going through the plan once again as the sun went down.