Chapter 24

Kore trekked through the forest, walking the long path as soldiers patrolled around her. The sun had barely risen as they walked, the dull sky hardly letting sunlight through as the sky lightened gradually. The storm went away quickly.

"Your Majesty, we found the teens!" one of the soldiers yelled, gesturing to one area with an arm. "Do you want us to escort them to the main area?"

"No, just warn them that they should stay closer to the main area," She said loudly back. "No reason to ruin their fun. I want some of you patrolling this area, and a few stationed near the entrances. Get a few Telepaths to monitor people as they leave later on."

The soldiers acknowledged this with a quick tap of their right hands on their hearts before they did as instructed. Some of them fell back as Kore continued to walk towards the main area, only a couple dozen yards away as she could see the lights and hear the music from the party.

"Your Majesty," General Hardrada greeted, coming from the other direction to quickly fall in step with Kore. "Everyone is on the lake as requested. The other Crowns want a status update from you."

"I don't really want to speak to them, I want to go hang out with my friends." Kore scowled.

"I can update them for you,"

"That would be excellent. Tell them the threat has been crushed but to maintain face, keep everyone near the ice so they can have some fun."

"Is that all?"

"I'll tell the Crowns the rest tomorrow after we all have had rested."

As they broke through the treeline, General Hardrada strutted away to the other side of the area to speak to the Crowns.

Kore quickly found her friends near the edge of the lake, a few had gotten onto the ice but not gotten far. She quickened her step to get there, stopping with a fake smile to maintain the fact that everything was alright.

"Everything alright?" she asked.

"We should be asking you that," Ruel said. "You disappeared without a word."

"I had to sort something out but it's fine now," she smiled. "Are you all getting on the ice?"

"We were waiting for you,"

"Aw, you didn't have to do that. I'm getting on later. I'm hungry again so I'm gonna grab some food. Anyone want some?" Kore watched them all shake their heads or verbally say no.

Kore summoned a blanket to put on the floor a couple of metres away from the ice, enough space for all of them to easily sit on and perhaps even lay if they stayed close.

Wandering over to the buffet tables near the treeline and benches, she carefully picked food she knew the others would like. As she piled up each large plate with food, she let the plate float up around her so she didn't have to carry them. They just floated around her, staying enough distance away from her so she didn't accidentally hit them as she piled on another plate.

It wasn't hard to know who liked what when you lived with them for the last several months. Silas liked sweet treats, Annaliese liked chocolate, Wylan liked raspberries, Richard liked everything from her knowledge. Growing up with her cousins, she knew exactly what they ate and what they wouldn't. Ruel was a little difficult so she put neutral foods in and put a couple of each flavour.

She didn't make separate plates for everyone, instead, she just chose thirteen things of each so each of them could get a piece. It was all mostly finger food that they could eat to retain their energy.

As she finished piling food onto the last plate, she turned back to call Markus over.

"Is there anything you would like?" she asked him as he stood next to her, observing the array of foods before them. She felt his hand at the small of her back, reminding her of how her aunt and uncle acted when standing next to each other.

"I will be fine," He said, glancing at the table and the plates that were floating around them. Gesturing to another dish that had cheesecake on it, he nodded. "I think that will be enjoyable. The others are not big fans of cheesecake, but I know you are."

She grinned. "I love cheesecake, salted caramel, Raspberry ripple, and white chocolate are my favourite flavours. How'd you know?"

"You ask the chef at the manor for it whenever you have a proper dinner with us all, which isn't often but it has happened enough to notice," he said, shrugging a touch. "And Annaliese might have mentioned it a while back."

"My dad makes amazing cheesecake," she smiled in memory, "Whenever he had me for the summer or for a holiday, he made me it."

"Someone always complains if she doesn't have her favourite dessert," Jupiter Dunner said, grabbing his daughter by the shoulders as she launched herself at him. He hugged her earnestly, suddenly making her let go as he took his lucky jacket off. "You're fucking freezing, Kore!"

"It's not that cold!" she whined but allowed him to make her put the jacket on. It was long with a couple of inches on the sleeves but it was warm and suddenly she realised how cold she was. "Okay. Now I feel the cold. Thank you."

Markus frowned. "You didn't say you were cold."

"I didn't realise," she said, letting out a half-smile to try and reassure him but it didn't work.

Jupiter reached for two glasses with pink liquid in them, giving one to each of them. "No alcohol, just a warming spell in it. Should last for a couple of hours."

"Thank you," Markus said, sipping at it as he tasted cherries while Kore just downed it.

"Kore!" Annaliese called from the frozen lake as she and Wylan were on the ice, sliding around in whatever shoes they wore as if they were ice skates. "Come on with us!"

"Maybe later," Kore called out, bringing the plates of food over to the huge blanket as her father went on his merry way to find someone else he could talk to. He left the jacket with her.

Markus took a seat on the blanket with her, crossing his legs neatly as he sat next to her. They both looked out to the ice.

"Why don't you go on now?" Markus asked. "You look like you want to."

"Why don't you?"

"If you do, I will,"

Kore paused before cringing as she admitted, "I can't skate."

Markus smirked at that, stopping a laugh but he shook his head at her. "Is that why you are so reluctant to go on the ice?"

"Last time I went on the ice, I was about fourteen and I belly-flopped the ice... Don't laugh!" Kore gasped and shoved Markus in the shoulder as he continued. He stood up and held a hand out for her. "No. Not happening."

"You don't even know what I was going to do,"

"You want me to go on the ice," Kore stayed sitting down, stubborn to not get up. "I can't ice skate to save my life and I'm not going to embarrass myself in front of you just to prove it."

"Why don't I teach you how?"

"There was never a need for me to learn. I've only been on ice once in my life and I don't want to kiss it like I did last time."

"There might be a time you could use the skill, Kore," he said. "Great bonding experiment."

"Fine," Kore pouted. He stuck out a hand to help her get up. "Just so you know, if I fall on my face, I will blame you, Markus."

"Even if I'm helping you?"

"Yep!"

She was unsteady as they got onto the ice, shoes acting as if they were ice skates.

Markus grasped both of her forearms as Kore was able to balance herself properly. Her hands were white with how hard she gripped his arms, afraid to let go and fall again as she did years ago. He gently slid backwards until there were a few more metres between them and the shore.

"I feel like a penguin," Kore muttered.

Her knees were bent and arms out a little to keep her balance as she marched forward in tiny steps. Markus stood right in front of her, trying to keep her on her feet instead of the floor.

Kore leaned forward a little too much, making her muscles quiver as she had to rebalance herself before she fell.

"Careful," Markus said, readjusting her posture.

"I'm—" Kore yelped as she fell forward onto her hands and knees. "Falling. For fuck's sake. Markus, stop laughing!"

"You truly look like deer on ice," He shook his head as Kore put one leg up properly, using both of her hands on that knee to get up. "Stiffen your stomach to activate your core muscles. It will help you keep from tilting forward or back too much."

"I'm gonna have a bruise tomorrow," Kore complained as she did as he said.

"You can heal your knee later," Markus mused as Kore was able to slide a few feet without falling again. After she got the technique down, it was down to practice. "Now try and do it without your arms out."

"Still feel like a penguin," Kore laughed as she was just about able to skate a metre or two without falling.

"Try going a few metres and then stopping," Markus suggested, watching as she tried. "Dig your skate in and twist a little so you don't fall completely or unbalance yourself again. There you go."

"Never thought I would be able to do this," Kore smiled as she went back to him again, stopping easily. "Thank you."

)()()(

Markus glanced to his left, eyes softening as he kept his gaze on the royal Witch next to him.

She watched the scenery pass by them. The car they were in was going quickly towards the gates of the school once again.

He saw her sigh in something he would call defeat. The way she fiddled with the hem of her sleeve with anxious fingers was making him uncomfortable. He didn't like the fact she was feeling anxious or worried about something, nothing should distress her enough to make her worry but she was only human.

He rarely worried himself.

Having ways to get what he wanted, he never had a need to worry about being betrayed or have something be taken away from him. Of course, there were people trying to do just that, but he knew it wouldn't be possible.

Angering a Vampire would end in corpses, more so when a Beloved was involved.

"You're worried," he stopped her picking at her sleeve threads by pulling her right hand away and lacing his fingers between hers. "Why?"

It took her a moment to reply.

"Less worried and more concerned," she said, relaxing as she felt a familiar presence of Magic come from him. There was a pull from within her chest, her blood seeming to ooze Magic for only a minuscule amount of time before she closed it off.

They both felt the way their respective Magics seemed to merge too close for comfort, confusing both of them.

"What are you concerned about?" Markus asked, moving their entwined hands until they rested on his left knee as he stroked a thumb over the side of her hand.

Kore pulled her Magic back in, fixing him with a glance that allowed him to see the touch of purple in her otherwise light eyes.

With each new stroke of his thumb against her hand, the touch of his skin against hers with the hum of Magic and blood under his skin, Kore stroked Duke who was a tiny puppy in her lap. Tsar was curled under Markus's free arm, tucked into his elbow to nap.

"With so many variables, so many people with different agendas," Kore said, looking out the window. "I'm getting tired of being left out of the loop of discussion within my own kingdom. The Order is a Triumvirate monarchy. We were a Quadrumvirate monarchy. I fear that the Order will become too unstable going back to four."

"What would happen if the Order becomes a monarchy with one ruler?"

She let her lips twerk up in a smile, a simple thought coming to her head as the car slowed down as it approached the Key Houses.

"Order cannot live without Chaos. Magic is Ordered Chaos." She said as they got out of the car. She looked up at one of the windows, seeing a familiar face of a friend of her traitorous mother. "And I'm that in human form."