Chapter 38

Warning: This chapter contains some material that people might find triggering in reference to ra.pe and child abuse. Section is marked so it can be skipped if this affects you.

Gabriel

Gabriel watched as the air ship carrying Delta, Shanell, Jake, Angelica, Elisabet, and Nylah took off into the sky. He crossed his arms feeling as though something in the air was wrong. It was a feeling that he couldn't shake and didn't want to look at because he was almost positive that it had something to do with either the scout trip to the human world or Nyline. Part of him hoped that this feeling deep in his bones was related to the trip, but he didn't want anything to happen to his scouts. On the other hand, he wasn't sure what else Nyline could take at this moment before she simply combusted on the spot from sheer shock and emotion.

He took those all-consuming thoughts and pushed them down deep as he turned and looked at Janti. Who was standing a few feet behind him, his eyes on his mate as the ship took off into the night. Janti would be filling as command center while Delta was away, and Gabriel wasn't sure how his butler felt about it. It was only when Janti turned his orange gaze onto Gabriel's did he give a small smile and short nod.

"The kitchen staff should be done with the food that you requested. Dash is picking up the basket for you. Sigma went to go speak to the queen and king and will be returning with the requested items shortly." He spoke in his normal business-like tone and Gabriel gave another short nod of thanks before he turned to Damien. His eyes were still on the ship and it wasn't until it was completely swallowed by the darkness that he turned and looked in Gabriel's direction. His eyes seemed haunted and that feeling in Gabriel's gut reared it's ugly head and he couldn't help but to just look at the prince of Dunhule and hope things worked out for him as well.

"Time to go find Nyline?" He asked and Gabriel had to give it to him as he kept his face straight. Though his words were strained as even he knew that the conversation that Gabriel was about to go have wasn't going to be easy.

"Yeah," He said shortly, turning his eyes to the small dark figure that he could make out with only with the help of his daemon vision. She'd sat herself on the highest point of the castle that she could find and hadn't moved in hours. "I think she's had enough time to think on her own. I need to go get her out of her head." Damien nodded before he sighed.

"Good luck." He mumbled sounding dejected before he turned and walked away. Gabriel felt for him a little. They hadn't been planning on sending the scouts out until the following morning. However, after Nyline's father just suddenly appeared, it had been pushed up. He'd found out that last night his parents had tried to go find Jonathan, however, their search had turned up nothing. No body, no traces, no leads, and most of all, no Jonathan.

He turned and followed Damien down the steps and back into the castle. About halfway back to his room Dash appeared in the hallway carrying a basket, followed by Sigma with a small velvet bag.

"Here you go Boss. Angie made up our favorite stew, some bread, cheese, and some desserts." Dash held up the basket with a smile on his face. "Honestly, I think there are more sweets in here than she let on but she smacked me with a spoon when I tried to look." That cocky grin appeared on his face. Gabriel couldn't help but feel his heart warm just a little at the image of Dash getting hit by Angie's wooden spoon. He knew exact what it felt like to be on the receiving end of that spoon. His head cook was one feisty woman, but she had a heart of gold.

"I managed to get the memory that you wanted from at least six different angles. Everyone else was gone." Sigma spoke softly, her face scrunched up in emotion. He could tell just by looking at her that she was upset at the recent turn of events. Sine Nyline had come around Sigma seemed to start showing more emotions when it involved his mate, whereas he loved that Sigma was bonding with her, he also worried on how it was affecting Sigma.

"Thanks guys," He spoke softly as he took the basket and the memories.

"Gab!" He turned to see Adrenell running down the hallway carrying one of the large comforter's that were usually in the common room. "It's a cold night and Lady Nyline is probably cold." He paused knowing exactly what she would say, but then he decided he didn't care. He'd refrained from running to her directly after the news of what had happened reached him, but that was only because he knew that she needed time to get her head together. Now, it was his time to pull her out of the never-ending thoughts that were circling around her mind like a swarm of bees. He was following everyone's advice to follow what he felt was right, however he also wanted to make sure that he was giving her time and she didn't feel like he was pushing himself onto her.

"Good luck," Janti spoke from behind him as his scouts all gave him thumbs up. He let out a silent breath as he tried to find the courage to do this. Intrude on her space. Show her that he was there for her. His stomach was in knots at the fear of the rejection that she might fling at him, but this was what his gut was telling him was right and so this was what he would do. She needed him and he wanted to be that person for her. Now and always. So, he turned and walked back down the hallway, heading straight for the balcony that was on this level. Out the door and one movement skill later and he was walking towards her as she sat, unseeing as she stared out across the garden. She gave no indication that she knew that he was there, her eyes continued to focus on nothing, her mind flying around, not landing on a single thought.

Nyline didn't say anything as he walked up next to her and sat the basket down, throwing the blanket over her shoulders. He sat so that their knees were touching and started to rummage around in the basket. Dashiner had been right, Angie had crammed it full of sweets. So much so that he had to take out several packages and set them on the roof before he found the two mugs and the canteen of soup at the bottom. He poured one cup and pressed it to her hand. She took it robotically, her eyes never going back into focus. He poured himself a mug and then set the canteen back into the basket and unloaded the rest of the goodies in the small space in front of them.

It was only after he'd almost finished his first cup of soup and Nyline still hadn't even taken a sip of hers, that he spoke.

"Talk to me." He whispered and she jumped slightly her eyes going to his as if she'd just realized that he was there. It was then, that he knew that she hadn't been in her own mind, she'd been in the memories from today and hadn't even registered that he'd even sat down next to her. She took a moment looking at the soup in her hands, then to the blanket around her shoulders, followed by her eyes growing wide at the plethora of sweets that surrounded them. Her eyes found his and she just looked at him for a long moment, then she pressed her lips together and took a sip of the stew, her eyes going downcast.

"I'm just…" She started but then stopped, her breath coming in and out in a rush before she just shook her head. "There are just so many things." She breathed finally. "Its so hard to even know where to start."

"What's the most common thought in your mind?"

"What's wrong with me?" She whispered. Gabriel didn't speak as he just watched her slowly curl in on herself. "What is so horrible about me? What could I have even done as a newborn that would make not only my dad to leave but also my mom? Now, Jonathan's gone." Her voice was hitched, and he knew that she was trying hard not to cry. He reached over and pressed a hand over where her arm was under the blanket. She only pressed her eyes together and took in a ragged breath. "Why does no one want me?" She whispered ever so softly, as one, single tear leaked from her eye and rolled down her cheek slowly. Without missing a beat, he sat his mug down, then he shuffled so he was sitting behind her. Then in a single movement he pulled her right into his lap and wrapped his arms around her middle holding on tightly. She stiffened, her back going ram rod straight.

"I want you," he spoke in a strong voice against her ear and it was then that every muscle in her body relaxed, and a small breath escaped her. She turned, so she was sitting sideways and looked up into his face. Her bright green eyes were swimming with tears as she searched his eyes, his soul, for the truth. As if she just stared hard enough that the answers would come to the surface and she would know that she was cared for.

"I want to believe you. It's just so hard. Everyone else in my life has just left and I… I just… part of me doesn't want to risk it." she said finally as she squeezed her eyes shut and the tears finally started to roll down her cheeks. "What happens when your parents get tired of me? What about the people of Vaccoon? Jason said that all of my actions reflect you, I'll only ruin everything you've done. I'm so afraid that you all will just get tired of me one day and just cast me aside," then in a much softer voice, "just like everyone else."

"Ny," he spoke the soft shortening of her name as he reached up to touch her face before he paused. Emotions crossed her face as he knew that she was thinking all the wrong thoughts. So, when he pulled the glove from his hand with his teeth and pressed it up against her cheek, he was surprised that she leaned into it. As if she were seeking comfort in him, which made his heart warm. He looked deep into her eyes this time, capturing all of her attention, before she bridged the small gap and pressed their foreheads together. He moved his hand, so it was on the back of her neck before he started speaking again.

"While we're young and dumb or old and wise. The happy times when were all laughing and joking. The sad times, like this, when we just sit up here, cry, and drink stew. Rain or shine, cloudy days or snowy ones. None of that matters, I will always want you. Today, tomorrow, the day after, the rest of our lives. I will always want you. I will follow you to the depths of hell to where the soul stream is kept or to any world you want to visit. I will fight daemons, reapers, humans, halflings, and anything else out there that might want to harm you. I don't care. I will always fight for you, with you by my side. I am always in your corner. You will always be a part of my life. You are my other half. I will never leave you, even if the whole world falls down around us. Nothing could drag me away from your side. I am yours and you are mine and nothing will ever change that." She let her forehead rest against his for a long minute as she absorbed his words and he could feel, somewhere deep inside of her, a warmth kindle to life. Where once there was only a void, he could feel something, something that was important, something he never wanted to fade from her souls again.

"Ny," He spoke again, and she opened her eyes and looked into his. Those amazing bright green orbs glowed softly, and he could only smile. He loved it when she was close and her eyes did that, he'd only seen it a handful of times, but every time it was worth it. "I want you to know that my parents are never going to get sick of you. They will never toss you to the side, kick you out, or abandon you." Her eyes grew wary, "I'm serious, now listen. You don't know them as well as I do, but I can tell you with one hundred percent certainty that they think the world of you and that will never change." It was then that she pulled back from him and shook her head looking down at her hands.

"They were apart of, whatever happened, and because of that they were punished. Even if they tell you or even me, that they don't mind what had happened, it still affects them. The fall of Thaul and the problems that came along with it. Their friends vanishing. All of the unanswered questions. They might not understand it on a conscious level, but they do regret it."

"They regret what happened, what the results were from a very unfortunate event. Not you." He said sternly. Nyline only pressed her lips into a thin line and he knew that she didn't believe him. On a very fundamental level, he understood that she wouldn't. Not until she started letting his parents in and felt their love for herself.

"Do you think," she started looking back down at her hands. "Do you think if I grew up here, I'd be somewhat normal? Do you think my parents would have noticed my problems at a young age and figured out a way to fix it before it blackened my soul? What if I grew up here and I knew what it felt to touch someone without gloves?" He paused and digested that. Before he simply picked the part that had stood out to him most.

"People wearing gloves around you bothers you, doesn't it?" The emotions that flooded him, told him yes, it bothered her but there was also a hint of fear and sadness that laced all of the emotions. "Why do you say that your talents blacked your soul?"

Memories flooded his mind, disjointed memories that didn't belong to either of them. He felt confused as he tried to focus on them, tried to figure out exactly what he was seeing. Yet, quick as lightening Nyline snatched every single one and shoved them into a box. She took that box and buried it so deep into her mind that he couldn't see them anymore. His brows scrunched.

"Don't ever look at those memories," she said in a harsh voice. "Don't go looking for them…" her voice trailed off and for the first time he felt true fear bleed from her, it seeped into his soul making it cold as ice.

"Ny," he started but she shook her head forcefully and he stopped talking, allowing her to gather her thoughts. He knew that she was aware that she had to tell him something. He understood that this was important and whatever she was about to say was something he needed to understand. She just needed the correct words to describe them. After a long moment, she turned in his lap and gave him her back. Before he could say anything, she reached down and picked up both of his hands and warped them around her middle. Then she fell deadly silent. He didn't speak as he leaned his head on her shoulder and allowed her the time that she needed to figure out exactly what she wanted to say. Her scent calmed his nerves as the seconds turned into minutes. He'd even turned his forehead into the place between her shoulder and neck and just enjoyed feeling her skin on his and he hoped that she was getting some comfort out of the contact as well.

"The first time I saw Jonathan assassinate someone was when I was two." Her voice was so soft that he had to strain his ears to hear what she was saying. "I didn't understand. Everything was just disjointed in the memory that I just didn't get it. I only saw that I was killing someone. The blood on the knife that was in my hand. Then those several moments where I just stood and watched as the light faded from that man's dark grey eyes. I made sure he was dead, rolling the body over with my foot before I used my movement and slashed another person's throat. I didn't stop to check on that one. I already knew he was dead and there was no saving him." She paused shuddering as she explained the memory and he knew that she was replaying it behind her closed lashes.

Trigger warning

"When I was younger, I didn't understand the memories that I picked up from other people weren't mine. I have never once had sex, but I know what it feels like. I know how pleasurable it can be, I know how badly it can hurt when it's forced. What it's like for a man to lay with another man, woman with woman, man with woman," her voice dropped to a completely different level of low and was laced with anger, "a child with a grown adult, both male and female on each side. I know what it feels like to get beaten bloody in a fight by people that I should have been able to trust. I've been stabbed, shot, slapped, slashed, kicked. I've broken bones, cut my skin, felt the loss of an eye. I know what it feels like to murder someone in cold blood for enjoyment, and burry their body. I know the emotions of a survivor. How it feels to be in such a deep dark hole that all I want to do is stab myself in the chest with the knife that I cook dinner with every night. I know what it feels like to be afraid to go home at the end of the day. I know…" he reached up and placed a hand over her mouth. She stopped and he only pulled her closer, wishing that there was some way that he could comfort her, be there for her, shield her from all of these things. Even so, he hadn't been, and he couldn't go back and fix that. So, he gave her one more squeeze and pressed his face further into her neck, his heart bleeding for his mate.

End

"How are you even able to function at all?" The voice that came out was raw and horse as he tried to speak. He felt the burn of his own tears as he started to truly understand what exactly Nyline had gone through as a child and why things were so hard for her. What the impact of her parents not being around had really affected her. Not only her own nightmares, but every persons that she passed. She knew everyone's deepest, darkest secrets, experienced them with the person, and felt the daunting emotions that came along with such trauma.

"When I was five, I started to understand that they weren't mine. Daemons, when we view memory's instinctually hold our minds back while watching it. We can experience what the person went through, but we do not allow their emotions to attach to our souls. However, since I was viewing them from inside my own mind, it took me a while to start understanding how to separate them. Once I had figured that out, I could simply experience the new memories without my soul getting attached. Nevertheless, I still had to focus on the past ones. They were tangled up with my own memories. Some of them that I didn't even know if they were mine or not. Whereas I could remember the exact moment that I received the memory, it had haunted me for so long that pulling myself away from it was the difficult thing. There's a complex disorder called post traumatic stress disorder, that makes you experience the trauma over and over again. As you know when you view a memory you naturally make a copy. So with ptsd, those emotions and the memories get distorted and they are numerous. So instead of having just the one memory to deal with there are many.

"After a few more years, I started to realize that all memories are connected and tied together. In essence they are a tangled mess of yarn. When we view memory's, we go into that ball, cut out the section that we wish to share, and when we are done, we put it back in the place it belongs. So, I figured out how to untangle that ball of yarn and remove the traumatic experiences, and repeats of that experience, and cut the emotional ties that went from the memory and connected with the synapses of my brain. This made it so I was able to remove the negative ones from my mind. Where now, I can acknowledge those memories, they don't drag me under, and I don't end up with traumatic responses. So basically, I combed through my memories, removed the repeats, cut the emotions that tied them to me, and now it's somewhat like it never happened."

"Somewhat?"

"No matter how many emotions I sever, how many memories I remove. I can't just get rid of my excess fear of people and most of all touching them. It's just so tied up with all of the other emotions that I can never remove all of the strings. I think it has more to do with an emotional response that was created as an after affect from the situation I struggled with most of my life, but since they are actually my own responses they are harder to get rid of." She sighed, "it's just a theory though."

"Why don't you just throw those memories out?" Gabriel asked on a breath and Nyline just shook her head.

"By me taking them, they are, now, in a since my memories. On a subconscious level, I don't like giving up my memories. On a conscious level, I understand that it would help to a degree, but I'm always held back. Feeling as though it is fundamentally wrong for me to get rid of them, They are mine, a part of me and my soul now." She paused for a very long moment. "Uncle John had to do it." She muttered and he raised his head from her shoulder to look at her profile. "For a good chunk of my childhood there was a jar full of memories that he kept very high up on a shelf. I don't know exactly what was in that jar, but I got in trouble more than once for trying to climb the bookshelf to find out. It had always bothered me, wondering how Jonathan had known that a three-day old baby stole memories from him, but how he could never figure out which memories I stole after that. It makes since now. I stole those memories, the ones from the blood bond. They must have activated it, and he fought me tooth and nail to get them back from me. He always tried to bargain with me after that to get me to give them up, and never wanted to force himself into my mind again. I think I might have damaged him somehow, but I was never sure how to ask." her face held a very sad smile on it, but it fell shortly after.

"I never told him the things I picked up, the things I experienced in my own mind. I wanted to several times but, I just couldn't. I knew, deep down that taking care of me was something he never expected, never wanted, and being a single dad in a new world away from everyone he knew; his family, his friends, a lover if he had one. I never felt like I could add more to that. To make him feel like he was failing me because I couldn't make myself stop stealing memories. I wasn't the perfect child, but I generally tried not to bother him to much, to get in his way, and so I kept to my self." She fell silent and he swallowed.

"You were the one, not Jonathan, who put distance between the two of you?" She nodded her lips thin as she let out a puff of air.

"I knew he loved me, but I also knew that I was a lot. After some traumatic responses, I would have panic attacks and be skittish for weeks. Staying in my room or in the basement training. I'm a hard person to deal with on a normal basis, add all the rest of the crap in." She sniffed, and he turned to see the tear running down her cheek. "I don't blame him for leaving," her voice was shaky as she spoke, "I understand the want to get away from me. I just wish it didn't hurt so much." More tears ran down her cheeks and she didn't move to brush them away, just cuddled deeper into the blanket and his arms.

"Jonathan wouldn't have left you if he didn't have to." He breathed into her hair and she only shook her head. "Listen," his voice was soft but strong. "I spoke with him in Thaul, I could tell from just that interaction that he thought the world of you. Damien will agree. Plus, today that old reaper woman said that there had been a deal brokered, leaving you might have been a price that he was forced to pay in order to keep you safe. Also, you're not a difficult person to deal with Ny, I think that you're just a touch to hard on yourself. You have so many amazing qualities and I feel like you overlook the good things since you are constantly worried about what other people will think about you. Children are hard to raise, all children have problems. I know I did." He paused. "Dash certainly did. Janti had more problems than any of could have imagined, but we made it through and so did the people who raised us. They don't hate us for it. Like mom said, some of the most difficult experiences end up being the best stories later."

"It's different," she pressed. "My entire life I've only felt like a burden to anyone and everyone around me."

"That's only because you hear the thoughts that they won't speak aloud. You know as well as I do that not all thoughts that pass a person's mind encompass everything that they are thinking." He cupped her chin in his hand and had to turn to face her. "You are not and never have been a burden, I acknowledge the feeling that you've felt your entire life and I will work for the rest of my life to make sure that you never feel that way again." Her eyes grew wide and he felt her emotions shift once more. She felt, light, as if a weight had been lifted off of her soul and she turned away from him as fresh tears started to fall. "I see you Nyline, Aurea, I see your strength, your heart ache, and your pain. I acknowledge the struggles that you've gone through, and everything that you've overcome by yourself." He wrapped a hand around the top of her head as he pressed their cheeks together. "But you don't have to carry all of these emotions alone anymore. I'm here, share them with me." More tears overflowed from her eyes falling down and damping her shirt. She allowed him to press their skin together for a short time before she pulled away slightly and looked up at him.

"What else is on your mind?" He asked softly and he watched as her eyes fell. He took that moment to start opening the numerous packages that held the sweets. He unearthed raspberry, blueberry, and strawberry tarts that had been lightly dusted in sugar, fudge, small cakes that he knew the frosting was on the inside. Then there were little chocolates of varying types, some drizzled with Carmel, fruit juice, other types of chocolate.

Nyline watched him as he continued to unwrap more and more packages. As if memorized, she reached down and picked up a tart, taking a bite out of it. Her eyes closed as a very small smile appeared on her face.

"This is heaven." She muttered before she shoved the rest into her mouth with a soft moan. She snatched another one and down it in one bite. When she reached for her third one, he reached out and placed a hand lightly on the back of hers. She froze, turning her eyes to his and he couldn't help but smile as he brushed some of the sugar and crumbs from her lips.

"I know there's something else on your mind sweetheart." He brushed her hair behind her ear and her eyes fell from his as she looked down.

"There's something wrong with me." She spoke in a sure strong voice that spoke volumes of how serious she was. "All my life, I've felt like I've been missing something, but I've never been able to put my finger on it. I know now after meeting you that it isn't the mate bond…" she pressed her lips into a thing line.

"You don't understand how your body doesn't contain any daemon energy while your still able to use the skills?" She nodded numbly, then ran her hands up and down her face several times. When she looked at him, he realized that her eyes were still glowing, and he felt himself mentally pause. How many times had he seen her with glowing eyes? It was a dead giveaway trait for anyone who had daemon blood, or he guessed power. It hadn't been often. Mainly on the air ship, then again on the air ship landing. He had to pause and think really hard. She'd mentioned on more than one occasion that he'd somehow turned the volume down on her skill. Did that coincide with her eyes glowing as well?

Without really meaning to, he cocked his head at her. Looking deep into her eyes as his mind was starting to work on something that might have been right in front of their faces all along. Nyline had grown silent as she watched the cogs and gears spinning inside of his mind. When, he blinked a couple of times, he realized that she was still just looking at him with the same downcast eyes. He thought about sharing his theory but stopped himself short. He stopped himself short. If there was one thing he didn't want to do in this moment, it was give her hope about something he couldn't guarantee. Although, if he were right, it would change everything.

"I think," he spoke circling back to the topic. "Your able to use your daemon abilities because you contain so much aether. It would make since actually, if your aether was simply compensating for your loss of power." She paused looking back down at the roof before she grabbed another tart and shoved the entire thing in her mouth. He watched as she chewed the food slowly before she swallowed and whispered.

"What if it's not my power and there's something else wrong with me? What if this feeling of incompleteness never goes away?" A smile picked up one side of Gabriel's face as he gently took her chin, moving her head so that they were looking into each other's' eyes once more.

"Then we'll keep looking. We'll figure out what's going on and we'll fix it." The smile morphed into a smirk and he was surprised to see the hint of a very small smile curl up the sides of her lips.

"Thank you," she whispered as she reached over and picked up one of the cupcakes. She took a moment to look at it before she took a large bite and squeaked in surprise as the frosting that was hiding on the inside got all over her nose.

"All of this is so good," she spoke as she finished the cupcake and looked down at the chocolates. Selecting a few, she started popping them into her mouth one at a time.

"Angie, my head cook, is a pretty amazing woman." He watched her swallow before she sighed.

"You guys don't even have to cook? What do you even do with all your free time?" She popped another piece of chocolate into her mouth and he regarded her.

"Well, we're usually too busy to actually have time to cook. There's a lot of things that I handle around the kingdom. It just makes things easier." She nodded a couple of times and he caught the words never going to get frozen waffles again… as it passed through her mind. He was confused because he had no idea what a frozen waffle was. He knew what a waffle was, but he wasn't sure why anyone would actually freeze it. He decided to not question her about the oddities of the human world and instead focus on the new thing that was on her mind.

"Did you used to cook a lot back in the human world?" She made a soft humming noise before she shook her head.

"Uncle John and I switched days so we'd would alternate cooking. It's weird to think that you guys have cooks. Only the super rich or celebrities have personal chefs."

"We have cooks so that we can focus on our work." He said simply, "they work at the castle, some even live here. It provides jobs to our people as well as makes our lives easier." She nodded a agreeing with the logic without argument.

"I understand what your saying but that doesn't make it any less… odd." Gabriel paused as he tried to think of if she'd even been into the kitchens at all, before he seemed to really mentally pause. Had he actually seen her eat the entire time they were in Vaccoon?

"You've been eating right?" He burst and she only looked at him slightly confused at the sudden topic change.

"Pallsana or Omega vanish randomly and come back with food when they get hungry. They usually give me a plate." She shrugged.

"But have you actually been eating it?" She paused and shrugged again.

"Some." She admitted without wavering and then just as the worry was bubbling up in his chest, she continued. "I don't honestly need to eat a lot, or even sleep for that matter. I can usually run two or three days then sleep for maybe four hours and be fine for another round." He frowned at her. "Same goes for food. I'm never really hungry and I eat out of habit."

Gabriel did a quick count in his mind as he tried to think of any half daemons who needed that little sleep. His father was the closest and he still needed at least one to two hours a night. He started racking his brain on his knowledge on daemons and again he came up blank. They still had to get some sleep every night, even if it wasn't much. He knew many of them simply slept just to pass time. It dawned on him then why she had such high leveled scout skills and was really intelligent. If she almost never slept, that would mean she would have almost double the time to learn things. Although, if he were going down that thought process, after everything he'd learned tonight; what were the possibilities of her actually being more affected by those memories than she realized? What if they had, and still were, affecting her physically?

"Do you have nightmares?" He asked softly and she shrugged.

"I used to, when I was little about the memories that I picked up but not so much anymore. I'm either out so deeply that I'm dead to the world or I'm sitting in my memories. There is no in between. Why?" She raised a brow at him.

"No reason," he shrugged, attempting, and probably failing, at acting nonchalant. To his surprise she only shook her head and picked up another tart, this time bitting it in half and chewing slowly, her eyes went unfocused. He recognized it as her mind being pulled into a conversation and only watched her as she cocked her head to the side as if she were listening harder. There was another few moments, as he just waited to come back. He reached down and picked up one oof the chocolates, and right as she was putting it into his mouth, she blinked several times and bent to pick up another piece of chocolate, a soft snort escaping her.

"Something funny?" The grin on his face feeling true for the first time since everything had gone wrong all those hours ago.

"Dash wants some sweets, Omega and Pallsana are debating on coming up here themselves, Adrenell and Sigma are playing cards and they keep telling Dashiner to shut it." she paused as she looked around for a few seconds, "Jason and his mate are debating if they should head home." His brows scrunched as he followed her gaze to the set of red eyes that were focused on her. From the very faint outline of the man, his skin so dark that he blended in with the night, he looked to be leaning against a tree. His eyes trained on Nyline.

"Why are they still here?" He asked looking at her and she only turned her eyes onto the same red ones that Gabriel was looking at.

"He and his mate trailed me after the queen dismissed them. His mate is…" she paused before she nodded with her head to a pair of light purple eyes sitting in a tree above the red glowing ones of Jason. Her fair complexion off set the darkness of Jason and was illuminated by the moon. "There she is. It seems like they never left." She whispered. "There still in their training gear as well." Gabriel scrunched up his nose slightly.

"Since they had training with the Queen today, they don't even work tonight." He said softly. She nodded before she gave a half shrug.

"They just stayed…" she muttered looking away from them as she took another bite of her tart. "They were worried about me."

"Does that bother you?" Her back stiffened at that before her shoulders sagged and she seemed to collapse in on herself.

"Jason was the one who goaded me into playing that game. I'm not really sure why he did. I feel like he might have wanted to actually play with me, but he kept telling his mate that if I didn't play then I'd be wasting all of their time.

"So, they interest you?" She inclined her head as if she were thinking before she gave that little half shrug once more.

"Jason's a really fast runner and his mate tracked me during the game. She was the only one that thought to try and track me with aether." She paused as she pressed her lips tightly together. "I don't even know his mates name." She muttered softly.

"You could just ask?" Her eyes met his and the look in them told him that she thought he was crazy.

"Oh yeah, hi the crazy princess. I knew that you'd been tailing me all afternoon because I can hear your inner thoughts and I thought I'd come down and say hello?" She raised a brow as she finished her little rant and shoved a piece of chocolate into her mouth. He grinned like the cat that got the cream.

"I'm sure Janti would love to set up lunch with you three." He couldn't help but laugh as, just as expected, all the color drained from her face in half a second.

"You wouldn't dare." She whispered shouted.

"Oh, I won't, but if mom finds out." She shoved a hand against his mouth, her eyes glowing just a tad brighter then they'd been all night.

"Don't give her any ideas, and you know for a fact that there are ears everywhere." He held his hands up in surrender. There was a moment where her face showed the carefree person he knew that Nyline could be if she wanted, before her normal demeanor fell down and she pulled back quickly. He felt as though she'd just pulled a curtain over her mind, hiding who she really was underneath. Not just the emotionless, calculating person that she always put forward, but a happy, carefree girl that didn't have the weight of the world on her shoulders. He reached for her and gripped her hands in his, feeling her cold skin start to warm under his.

"You are allowed to touch me." He said in a soft but sure voice. His ice blues darting back and forth between her slightly glowing vibrant green ones. "You do not have to worry about stealing anything from me." She took a breath in as if she were about to speak but he continued. "And I do not have any horrible, trauma inducing, memories. I have never taken another life. I have not been mistreated. My mind is okay for you to wander around and to take what you want. You do not have to hold yourself back when it comes to me." He let go of one of her hands and cupped her cheek with it. She let out the breath that she'd taken in with a whoosh.

"Give me some time to adjust," She said finally. "I'll try, is that enough for right now?" He smiled softly.

"Of course, it is." He kissed the top of her head softly. The silence returned, only this time it wasn't a tense silence that filled the air thickly. Gabriel couldn't help but smile softly at his mate. He'd come up here afraid that she would yell at him to go away and leave her alone. However, she'd needed him, and he was happy that he'd decided to come.

"What were the memories that Sigma asked the King and Queen for?" She asked in a very soft voice as if she wasn't sure she wanted the answer.

"I'd asked mom, dad, and any of their scouts to give a copy of the memory of when your father arrived earlier." She stiffened and he only held on tighter. "I was going to show them to you, the exact moment when you turned your back on your dad, and his expression. I don't ever want you to feel unloved or unwelcome, so I wanted to show you that he does care." She sagged before she leaned back into his chest.

"Did he look sad?" She whispered.

"I haven't looked directly at the memories, however, from what dad said. It was as if he could tell that Nore's heart was breaking right then and there." She let out a long breath before she just held her hand out.

"I'll keep them and look at them later." She whispered and he bent, grabbing the small bag from where he'd left it on the basket, and placed it into her hand.