Chapter 25

[X] indicates inner dialogue

The kingdom of Vaccoon loomed in the distance taking up most of the mountain side. From the height of the airship Nyline could see all the way to the farming lands in the far west and east with the main city in the middle. It came right up to the forests edge and climbed up the mountain in the distance. The entire kingdom was surrounded by a large stone wall that encased every piece of land all way out to the tiny little shack in the far, far west. The inner city was surrounded by an additional wall that seemed to section off the main city itself. Almost every building was a skyscraper and was made out of a black shiny material that changed colors in the lighting. Each building had rows and rows of windows on each side. Some of the large buildings had little balconies that jutted out from the building with iron fences.

Even while living in the human world, Nyline had never seen a skyscraper, there were no high rises where she was from and she wasn't sure if any of them went quite as high as the some of the ones here. Maybe the Empire State Building would rival it? She wasn't sure.

The airship crossed over the second retaining wall that enclosed the main city and Nyline could see the people below. They were small but she could see many of them stop and look up at the ship. Several children started pointing at it while others just stood and stared.

"Lady Nyline?" Nyline jumped at Sigma's words causing her to look towards the girl. In this lighting she could see Sigma's hair was more strawberry than blond, but she was gorgeous with her softly glowing green eyes. Nyline could see for the first time that she had a speckling of freckles that went across her nose and cheek bones.

"I'm fine," Nyline whispered her eyes looking down at the people who looked as small as ants.

["Don't lie, Lady Nyline."] Shanell scoffed making her turn and look at Sigma.

"I'm not lying, I'll be fine. It just takes time." Sigma took a second of looking at Nyline in the face before she walked over and looked over the edge.

"You know, Vaccoon's boarders are closed." Nyline's brow rose.

"What?"

["It's true. We do not interact with any kingdom outside our own. Any trade that happens within our walls and everything we use we produce ourselves."]

"That's really amazing."

"You see way over there?" Sigma pointed all the way to the edge of the forest where it looked like a farm was. "That is one of our seven farms that provide our grains, meat, cheese, milk, and other produce."

"They have the most land in our entire kingdom and we give it freely." Shanell spoke as she walked over and leaned against the railing. "Everyone else we just build up."

"Is that why everything is so tall?" They nodded.

"As our population grows, we must expand somehow, but with our barrier we are limited. It is hard to grow as a population when you only have so much land."

"What do you mean?"

"You see the outer wall?" Sigma pointed to the large stone wall that surrounded everything all the way out to the farmlands. "That is all of our land, its small but it's ours. That outer wall is where the barrier ends. Anything past that isn't protected."

"What are you being protected from?"

"A very long time ago," Gabriel spoke as he walked up behind her, then in a very soft voice he continued speaking close to her ear. "When our kingdom was first started, we were constantly raided by not only humans but also daemons. They hated us. They thought that we had tainted our blood lines and wanted to destroy us for it. The original king and queen put up a barrier for the daemons and the wall for the humans. They wanted our people to be protected from the problems that were the outside world. So, we closed our boarders, shut the world out, and stayed out of view. Eventually, the world forgot who we were and why they hated us, instead we became the cursed kingdom, who didn't welcome foreigners."

"Except for Thaul," Sigma smiled her green eyes glowing softly. "Before your kingdom was deserted, you were the only people that we would interact with. The history books say that they accepted us, treated us as equals, and enjoyed interacting with us."

"Then in truth, all of this area belongs to Thaul except for where Vaccoon is. In a way, your kingdom protected ours, keeping the curious at the bottom of the mountain, and keeping our secret." Gabriel smiled softly. "It is said that Vaccoon was originally just a city state of Thaul. Your grandparents, long past, gifted the land to the very first darkling race the land. After a while, Thaul declared Vaccoon as a kingdom, and so our city and the surrounding areas became an official kingdom."

"So, why didn't you expand your boarders, the barrier and take over the land now that my kingdom is gone?"

"Because your kingdom isn't gone," Shanell said sounding shocked, "You still live, and the land belongs to you."

"We also wouldn't disrespect those who showed us such kindness in the past." Sigma continued not missing a beat. Nyline's eyes fell to the people and felt her stomach clench. What type of person would be a princess of a half daemon race? She was sure that they would be everything that wasn't her because she just wasn't what a princess was supposed to be. She didn't know the first thing about being a royalty.

"Oh wow," Gabriel whistled next to her and she jumped, her eyes going to him before they followed his line of sight. "They really rolled out the red carpet for us. You see the two in the far back? That's my parents." Nyline could feel her face drain of blood as she watched Gabriel walk over to the little door, his feet shoulder width apart as he just grinned at them. She looked back at where he was talking where about fifty people were all standing in two long lines on either side of the strip. She could see from there that most of the people wore black and white uniforms were styled to look like traditional maid and butlers.

"Lady Nyline, are you alright?" Sigma asked sounding concerned.

"I've never met royalty before," She said quickly, as she took a single step backwards and they just watched her. "I'm not a real princess. I don't know how to greet anyone."

"King Nicholas and Queen Alice aren't like that at all. They'll accept you for who you are. Just walk over there and say hello." Her eyes grew wide as Shanell winked at her, before they both walked over to where Gabriel was standing. She was suddenly aware that all of his scouts had walked over to him. Standing in two lines behind him with Delta in the front, directly behind Gabriel.

"It'll be okay," Gabriel said in a reassuring tone as he tossed her a grin. Nyline couldn't focus on him though as her eyes turned to the two at the very end of the landing strip.

The man had long black hair that fell down past his belt and was tied off at the nape of his neck. Nyline could see from there that his eyes were yellow, with a wide nose, strong jaw, and thin lips. He wore a black pair of slacks with a blue shirt and black vest. No necktie and the last button was undone. He looked more relaxed than anyone else as he rocked slightly on the heels of his feet and seemed to be, Nyline felt herself pause; was he whistling?

Next to him stood the most imposing woman that Nyline thought she had ever seen. She was a head shorter than her husband with platinum blond hair that was braided down her back; her nose was small and slightly upturned. The dress she wore was an elaborate sky blue that was light and flowed softly in the wind, but none of that was what made Nyline's stomach flip. The woman's eyes were blue, just like Gabriel's, only they had a gleam in them as if she was excited for something. Her lush lips were turned upwards on one side as her eyes were trained on the ship: searching. It took her a moment to realize that the Queen was looking for her.

Right as the ship pulled into dock, all the inner voices started up, they were screaming in Nyline's head. She stumbled slightly as she reached into her pocket and turned up the volume, the music pounding away in her ears trying to drown out the noise of so many mated pairs constantly talking to each other. She staggered, it had never been this bad in the human world, but then again, in the human world people couldn't talk to others in their mind.

"Mother, Father!" Gabriel spoke loudly the second he could, then opened the gate and walked out, heading directly for his parents. "I wasn't expecting for the two of you to come greet us." He spoke softer as he got closer. His scouts all dropped to one knee as Gabriel looked between his parents.

Nyline on the other hand inched towards the edge of the boat and looked down. She felt like she was going to throw up with how nervous she was meeting Gabriel's parents. Debating on jumping off the ship and just baling out was starting to become a reality.

Warmth filled her chest and she looked up to see that Gabriel was looking at her from out of the corner of her eye. Obviously, he had heard what she was thinking and the glint in his eye showed that he found it amusing. She set her mouth into a thin line as that amusement filtered through their bond making her fell annoyed. She could land it, it was just a lot higher up than she had ever jumped… and there wasn't a clear place to land, but she was sure that she could do it.

["Oh no,"] A soft woman's voice rose louder than the rest.

["What's wrong?"] A male voice responded and Nyline swallowed. It was the queen and king. It had to be. She didn't know how she knew but she knew.

["There aren't enough scouts. You don't think Jonathan would have raised her without them?"] The woman sounded worried.

["I don't know my queen. Why would that matter so much?"]

["Stephany told me once, that the only reason she made it through her childhood was because of her scouts. If it hadn't been for them then she would have never been able to be around people. What is her daughter is the same?"] Nyline felt her stomach clench at talk of her mother.

["We won't know if she is the same. I'm sure Jonathan had good reason to not get her scouts if that was the case."]

"Oh honey," His mother smiled as her full attention turned back to Gabriel. One hand going up to his cheek as she cupped it. "You know us better than that." "Does she have any scouts?" The inner voice asked and Nyline saw ever so slightly as Gabriel shook his head. "Is everything alright?" Again, he made almost no movement with his body as he nodded shortly. "Plus, you met new friends, we wanted to make sure that we got to welcome them to our kingdom correctly." Gabriel's father nodded to his scouts and they stood, making a line on one side of the strip.

"Ah yes, Prince Damien of Dunhule." Gabriel turned and looked at Damien who was standing at the gate to the ship. He walked out, a smile on his face, his scouts behind him in two lines just like Gabriel's had. "It is his airship that we were able to return to Vaccoon safely and quickly."

["Which one is her?"] Gabriel's' mother asked looking at the ship, her eyes landing on every single person.

["I'm not sure my queen, we could just wait until Gabriel introduces her?"]

["I'm just too excited to finally be able to meet Stephaney and Nori's daughter. I've waited for this day for so long."] She paused. ["Is Jonathan here as well?"] Nyline's heart did a double beat.

["I can't feel his presence so no, but we already knew that he wouldn't be. You know that."]

["I'm aware, but I can keep my hopes up."]

"It is a pleasure to meet you both," He smiled before he bowed at the waist, "My scout team." He stepped aside as all of them bowed as well.

"The pleasure is all ours," King Nicholas grinned widely as he spoke with them. "Thank you for bringing our son back to us unharmed.

["There."] The queen glanced over from behind her lashes as the king spoke to her. ["That's Stephaney hair and Nori's eyes."] Nyline regarded them as she walked to the gate as well. Her father's eyes? Her mother's hair? She'd never looked like either of them her entire life, what were they even talking about? Then what had they meant that Jonathan wouldn't be coming, how could they have known? Sighing she looked towards where the king and queen were, before the calm and collected mask that she wore at school was pulled onto her face. Then, without hesitation she pulled the earbuds from her ears and shoved them into her pocket.

["Why are you taking your music out?"]

["Because I am greeting your parents."]

["But you don't have to, they'll understand."]

["I'll be fine for a few minutes…"] She turned her attention away from Gabriel as she clutched the bear and knife in her hands, before she stepped off the airship and started to walk towards them.

["The stuffed bear! Ahh, Stephaney must have ended up making it. She had been so excited about it. It must have been in the nursery. I'm happy that she found it."] It was then that Nyline realized that Gabriel was the male version of her, only with his father's jaw and broad shoulders. She could feel every person's eyes on her as she stopped in front of the king and queen. She bowed slightly, holding her items close to her chest.

["Oooo, no china doll here. Which means she's a wild card."] The king spoke sounding amused. Nyline felt her body stiffen, wondering what she could have done that would have made them make that comment. How would they know that she wasn't a real princess with her just walking off the ship?

["Oh husband, this is not a contest."] The queen chastised him, but she was smiling.

["Don't worry I'm sure if you ask her, she will still have tea with you in the garden."]

"Nyline Swift, princess of Thaul. It is a pleasure to meet the both of you" She muttered before she straightened and looked up at them, her back going just slightly straighter at the conversation.

Mind chatter erupted from all around her of mates yelling at each other, demanding to be allowed to see. She staggered slightly at the sudden volume. Gabriel reached out and caught her elbow without hesitation. Then, the same thing that had happened on the ship happened again, all of the voices were turned down and it was as if she could breathe again.

["I wonder if the scout appearance is just because of the situation they were in or if it's normal?"]

["I would like to remind you, my queen that you often ran around like that with your scouts."] The queen smiled all the way to her eyes as if she was thinking of an amusing memory.

["Oh, shush you. I do not mind her appearance just wondering what type of girl ended up being our Gabriel's mate. With everything that happened, I've always wondered what type of person would end up complementing our Gabriel."] Her voice sounded just a touch sad towards the end.

["Do not worry my dear, Gabriel isn't going to give up on her simply because she is a challenge."]

["Still,"] Still there was a moment where sadness crossed her eyes, but it was gone so quickly Nyline wasn't sure if she'd actually seen it. ["This is also partly our faults for what has happened."]

["Yes, but it was worth it. The prize is literally standing directly in front of us. Neither of us would have changed anything back then, don't let our decisions of the past cloud the present."]

["I am aware, it just still saddens me. The hardships that both of them will go through because of our decisions, but you are correct. I wouldn't have done anything differently if given the chance."] Without another word Alice stepped forward and pulled Nyline into a tight hug. Nyline could tell that she was soothing over her emotions by holding her. Which was very odd. Why would she be able to comfort Gabriel's mother?

"Oh, dear child, the honor is all ours. I'm Alice." Nyline froze as Alice pressed her lips to each of Nyline's cheeks. Memories flashed in front of her eyes. She knew that she would be able to review them later, which only piqued her interest as a flash of red hair caught her attention in one of them.

Once Alice had let go, she was replaced by Nicholas who stuck out his hand and Nyline looked down at it. There were thick gloves covering each hand and Nyline let out a slight breath. She reached up and shook.

"And I am Nicholas, welcome home."" He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. This time Nyline closed her eyes against the memory that appeared in her eyes. This one stuck more than the queens because the skin contact was still there. She felt her throat get thick as she recognized her father riding on a horse in front of the one she was on. They were hunting in the forest and her father turned for just a second as he laughed backwards towards her. His green eyes were lit up in joy as they glowed softly in the darkness, his mouth opened in a wide smile.

"Father," Gabriel spoke making the king pull away from her. She let out the breath that she had been holding. These people not only knew her parents, but they had been good friends with them. She felt her heart do a double beat. "I believe that everyone is rather tired and would like to rest before we have dinner tonight." Nicholas just raised his brow at Gabriel before he let Nyline go and step back.

["Gabriel will fill us in later. You know that."] Alice chimed. "Yes of course darling," Alice smiled again as she reached over and kissed Gabriel on the cheek.

["I am aware darling."] Nicholas sighed inwardly. "Alright son, we will leave you now." Nicholas spoke looking at Nyline. "If there is anything you need, please do not hesitate to ask." He paused turning his attention back to Gabriel. "Janti said that you would be speaking with us before dinner." Gabriel nodded. Then everyone waited as they left, followed by most of the serving people. Once they had gone into the door, Nyline sighed, holding onto her bear tighter. If there had been somewhere to sit, she would have sunk into it by now.

"You know," Gabriel bent slightly speaking into her ear. "No matter how skilled you are, you would have hurt yourself if you had jumped." She couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Never know until you try." She muttered back.

"Well, if you ever want to try. I'll make sure to have a medic on standby so that you don't die." Nyline chuckled.

"So over dramatic." Gabriel only smiled down at her before it softened. "Are you alright? Do you need to put your music back in?" She shook her head.

"No, you turned the volume of everyone down again, so it isn't as bad."

"What are you two whispering about over there?" Damien asked as he rejoined them.

"If a scout could land jumping from the platform." Nyline smiled as she saw Rebecca glance over the edge and blanch. Damien looked between the two of them before he just shook his head and ran his hand through his long hair.

"Only the two of you…" He mused before he looked at Nyline, "Just to let you know. Females of royalty curtsy if they are wearing a skirt or not. Men and scouts bow because they are more military orientated." Nyline cocked her head to the side as she listened to his emotions. He really didn't want to make her mad, but hoped that she would want the knowledge. She had grown up away from all of this and he'd hoped it would help.

"Thanks." She spoke softly, trying to keep her own mind in check. She was happy that he wanted to help her but at the same time, she felt devalued. These were things that she should already know, and she didn't, and that bothered her.

"Don't worry, my parents aren't strict about that type of thing," Gabriel spoke quickly as if trying to make her feel better. Damien looked at him with an odd expression before he sighed.

"Mine are. They've removed people for less out of their throne room." He muttered and Nyline just looked at him.

The more she heard about Damien's parents the more confused she got. It was more like they were his king and queen rather than mother and father, which was just horrible. Nyline went to open her mouth to speak but there was a clearing of a voice behind her and they all turned to see a boy standing a few feet away from them in the most immaculate double tail coat butlers uniform that she'd ever seen. It was ironed just right, his shoes were shined so much that you could see reflections, everything was perfectly aligned, and he even had the most perfect bow tied in his golden hair that feel down his back. In his hand was a clipboard, with a pen in the other, his skin a soft honey brown. The only thing that Nyline could think of in that moment was how the hell did he get that bow so neat and perfect? How did one even tie bows like that?

"Janti!" Gabriel grinned at him as he took the two steps forward and grabbed him in a hug. Janti looked as if his bright orange eyes were going to bug out of his head as he placed a hand on each of Gabriel's arms, removed them from his body and took a step back.

"Prince Gabriel," Janti's voice was tight, as he started to adjust the already straight uniform back into what Nyline assumed was perfection, not a single thing out of place. "Please remember to act accordingly when you are in public. Hugging your scouts or serving staff is not common nor does it make you or any of them more respectable in the eyes of your people." Janti finished off his little speech by adjusting the cuff of his sleeve. He frowned slightly as if he found some invisible wrinkle that offended him.

"You know that's never going to happen," Gabriel laughed loudly. "You should really just stop trying at this point." Janti just shook his head, his eyes still on his cuff before he yanked on it one last time before he placed his hands behind his back with his clipboard looking unamused.

"Welcome back," Janti placed one fist over his heart and bowed to Gabriel before he looked at Nyline. "And welcome Nyline Swift Princess of Thaul." He bowed again before he straightened and placed both hands behind his back once more, turning his attention back to Gabriel. "The maids are still gathering the items that were requested. The list was rather long so it's taking them longer than expected. I did inform that since some of the items of the list cannot be found in Vaccoon that they had leave to choose something that they thought would be similar." Gabriel smiled at him.

"And how are they going to get something similar if they have no idea what they're looking for." Janti's face turned slightly upwards as if he was thinking.

"I assure you that they will do the best that they are able." Gabriel looked over at Damien with a grin.

"You're scouts good at improvising?" Damien nodded looking at Janti with respect in his eyes.

"Would you like to take this time to go to your rooms, bathe, and change into something," He grimaced as he looked Gabriel up and down then Nyline. "That isn't covered in dirt, mud, and grass?" Gabriel let out a loud laugh again. Nyline however was side glancing Gabriel to see that he,was in fact, just as dirty as her, only with a little more grass.

Gabriel glanced at Damien. "You want to go relax for a little bit in your room?"

"That would be great, thank you." Damien forced a smile.

"Janti please have someone escort Damien and his scouts to their rooms."

"Yes sir," Janti bowed with his fist over his heart once more before turning to the two short lines of people that were still standing in attendance. He clapped his hands twice and two butlers walked over to Damien and bowed deeply.

"Your rooms will be located in the east wing of the castle, if you would follow us we will show you the way."

"Thank you." Damien's voice was tight. "Give me just a moment to verify everything with my ship." He turned at that point and returned to the ship, where he and the captain spoke for several minutes. The entire crew looked extremely unhappy with the situation. After a little the deck hands started preparing to leave. Damien stood at the edge of the dock as they took off. He waved to them as they turned the ship around and started off south. Turning he looked to Nyline, his face fell slightly, and she could feel the sadness radiating off of him in waves.

"I will see you both at dinner," He spoke sounding cheerful. Nyline knew that the smile was fake, it was same as the mask that she always wore. Deep down she did wish that she could do something for him, but what could she offer him? She had told him the second she saw him that she had nothing to give him and it was still true, she just wished that he wasn't quite as depressed.

Nyline watched them for a few seconds before she turned her attention to the city. It was so… alive with people moving, shouting at each other, selling wares, and laughing. There were so many people laughing, the warmth coming from the emotions as it swelled around her. Then, the inner voices of the people seemed far away and distant, but they were there. Happiness flowed from the minds of every person down there. A warmth kindled in her chest making her feel like she wanted to cry.

Gabriel's hand landed softly on her shoulder pulling her from the emotions that were running rampant down below. She only glanced at him before she returned her eyes back to the bustling city.

"We can go shopping tomorrow if you'd like?"

"I'm not really a shopper," She looked back down at the city, "too many people."

"I'm sure we could arrange for the streets to be clear for a few hours." He grinned as she turned to him and cocked her head to the side.

"That's not necessary. I'm not looking at the shops anyways." Gabriel went to open his mouth but Janti spoke behind them making them turn.

"Princess Nyline, as instructed I have handpicked up two maids." Nyline let the small sigh escape her lips before she turned and looked at Janti, suddenly feeling exhausted. Taking a deep breath, she looked between the two women. She did a double take with one of them, as she saw the same yellow eyes, medium skin color as Delta, the only difference was that her hair was more of a sand color than the brown. Her eyes glanced at Delta, who grinned. Nyline turned her attention back to them and looked at the other. She had bright orange eyes, with long black hair that she had braided down to her elbows. She had olive skin, a small nose, and a wide mouth.

"This is Pallsana," He motioned to the girl with orange eyes, "And Omega," the slightly different version of Delta.

["You chose my sister and Pallsana?"] Delta sounded beyond excited.

["You know that Pallsana and Omega were torn about accepting their positions at the castle because it meant that they would never see each other. Honestly, I have never met anyone who met Prince Gabriel's requirements more than the two of them. They are honest, caring, and true. I have never heard them say anything negative behind anyone's back, and they often beat up bullies in school."] Delta laughed.

["Oh yeah they did. They got in a lot of trouble with that during primary school. Lady Nyline you're going to love them, I promise."] Nyline wanted to look at her, but she continued to look at her two new babysitters. She cocked her head to the side a little as she noticed that they were both standing much differently than the rest of the serving staff that was around them.

Whereas the maids and butlers were all standing with their hands clasped at their navel, feet together at the heels. The one named Pallsana was standing with her feet shoulder with apart, her arms crossed behind her back as if she were in a military resting position. Then Omega, was standing with her feet together one arm crossed behind her back as she held onto her forearm.

["I'm nervous, what if she doesn't like us? Dismisses us? We'll be disgraced."] Nyline could only guess that was Omega since she was sending her mate sideways looks, who was refusing to look anywhere other than at Nyline.

["Just keep smiling. Janti choose us for the job, which means that we were a perfect fit. That's how he works."] Pallsana responded and Nyline could hear the worry and want in that sentence.

["You're totally freaking out right now,"] Delta laughed softly to Janti as he started to panic.

["Of course, I am!"] Janti didn't avert his eyes as he spoke to Delta, ["This is a big deal! Prince Gabriel gave me a huge task; this is a chance to prove how capable I am."] Nyline heard Delta laugh softly.

["He already knows you are Janti."]

["Ug, how long until dinner? I'm starving."] Shanell asked.

["Not sure, but we can stop by the kitchen and get a snack before we head back to the room?"]

["Let's do that."]

["She's doing the same thing she did to us,]" Dashiner's inner voice spoke softly.

["I don't think she does it on purpose, it's almost like she gets distracted by all of the voices. I'm sure it's hard to concentrate."] Adrenell laughed.

["Lady Nyline say hello,"] Dashiner's inner voice whispered and she pulled her mind out of the conversations.

"Hello," She spoke her eyes watching the two of them as she heard Dashiner laugh in the background.

["She actually did it?"] Dashiner laughed more. She ignored him as she refocused onto the two that were currently standing in front of her. There was a pause as if they had known she wasn't actually looking at them this entire time, but now she was.

"The two of you aren't normal maids, are you?" Nyline could see Janti stiffen out of the corner of her eye.

"That is correct princess," Pallsana took a small step forward, placing a fist on her chest as she bowed, before she stood slowly. "Originally, we were chosen to be part of the military. For myself, Primary Guard first class."

"And I was chosen for the Primary Medic first class." Omega stepped forward and bowed as well before she stood. Nyline's face fell slightly.

"Those sound-like pretty impressive positions."

"Yes ma'am." They spoke together, pride showing on their faces. Nyline took a step towards them, whispering so only the two of them could hear.

"Are you sure that a baby-sitting job is worth losing those positions?" She could feel them both stiffen next to her.

["Baby-sitting job?"] Omega asked Pallsana sounding confused.

["I think she's talking about herself."]

["Oh. Why would she think that?"]

"Because that's what this job is, isn't it?" Both women stiffened again before they took a step back and looked at her. Shock covering their faces.

["Did she just?"] Omega asked sounding shocked.

"I did," Both looked at her with wide eyes. "Now, are you sure that you'd rather be baby-sitting me over your original positions?"

"Of course," They both said together.

"But I would not call this a baby-sitting job." Pallsana spoke in the same soft voice as Nyline had. Nyline stepped back and regarded the two.

"Then what would you call it?" Nyline raised her brow at her.

["We're maids? How else do you explain that?"] Pallsana sounded unsure of herself.

"Nyline," Gabriel placed a hand onto her shoulder, and she glanced over. "How about we move this conversation inside? I'm getting chilly standing up here in the cold air and watching you, is just making me feel colder." Nyline glanced at his thick wool cloak, long sleeve shirt, and long pants. Whereas she was wearing her jeans, large t-shirt, and her oversized hoody.

"If you say so," She muttered, knowing full well that it was probably cold out, she just didn't feel it. Gabriel placed a hand on her lower back as he turned, and they walked towards the door at the end of the landing strip.