The King of Eos

They walked out of the room, and Katherine started to walk with Charles down the hall.

Before they got too far, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to a stop. She looked up at him with confusion, but he quickly explained. "Go pack a bag and I'll make sure the jet is fueled and ready to go. They will probably need half an hour, is that enough time for you?"

"Yes," Katherine quickly replied.

Charles nodded and let Katherine go before he started to walk away.

"Charles, wait!" she called out after him.

He turned and looked at her. She ran forward and threw her arms around him in a grateful embrace. "Thank you," she whispered as she held him.

He brought his arms around her and held her for a moment before he let her go. "I'll see you soon," he said.

They walked off to get to their rooms, and Katherine immediately entered her room without waiting for the guard at her door to tell her it was safe.

Jasper excused the guard so that he could follow her into her room, and by the time he got in, her room looked like a tornado had hit.

She desperately rummaged through her things so that she could make sure she had everything she needed for a couple of days. Once she got Marcus to agree to give up his crown, she would travel directly to Selene to convince their King and Queen.

This plan was going to work, she kept telling herself. It had to.

Jasper watched her for a moment before he interrupted. "Katie."

The sound of his voice brought her out of her wild thoughts, and she paused packing to look at him.

She saw the worry in his face, and it made her mad. "Don't try to convince me not to give up my crown. I never wanted to be Queen anyways."

"I think you should give it up," Jasper said, surprising her.

"What?" she asked with surprise as she studied his face to see if he was being honest or not.

"If you don't give the law over to the people, they won't stop until you're dead. If you give it up and it's still not safe for you, then I can take you and your mom away to the woods like my parents did with me when I was young. It will be a difficult life, but I will take care of you both. I won't let anything happen to either of you. We won't ever have to be apart. We can finally live our lives for ourselves, and we can be together as a family."

Katherine stood there in shock before she dropped her bag and the clothes she was holding and ran over to Jasper. She jumped in his arms and kissed him hard.

Living a life in hiding where she would have no promise of food or shelter was not ideal, but if she had Jasper at her side, she would happily run away. She would give up everything for him.

"I love you so much," she told him when their lips broke apart.

"I love you too," he told her before he kissed her again. He let her go, and she continued to frantically pack her bag.

When she was sure she had absolutely everything she would need, she said, "Alright, let's go," and she and Jasper walked outside and made their way to where the jets and helicopters were kept.

They arrived to find Charles speaking to the pilot, explaining the sudden need to leave and the fact that the Queen of Helios would be joining them. "Ready?" he asked her when she made it over to him.

Katherine nodded and Charles walked up the stairs into his private jet, leaving Katherine and Jasper alone.

"Stay safe, Katie. Call me if you need anything at all," Jasper said before Katherine could follow Charles.

"Wait, are you not coming?" she turned and asked with urgency. She looked at him and just realized how he had not packed a bag like she had, and she suddenly became even more nervous.

Jasper shook his head and explained, "In the same way we wouldn't let Marcus and Charles bring their personal guards when they came to Helios, they aren't going to let you bring me to Eos. It's not safe to have strangers in the castle, especially with a spy somewhere among us, but it's alright because I know Charles will make sure you have a guard the second you land."

Katherine became visibly upset and took a turn shaking her head in disapproval. "No. Wait here, I'll go talk to Charles and I know he will let you--".

"No my love, you have to go now. I'll be right here for you when you get back," Jasper cut her off and told her as he grabbed her and brought her close to hold her. No one was outside with them, so a quick embrace was something they could get away with.

"I love you," Katherine said through the tears she couldn't hold back. She hadn't spent a day apart from Jasper in nearly thirteen years, and now she wasn't sure how long they would be away from each other.

"I love you, Katie. Now go so you can come back to me sooner."

Katherine tilted her head up and kissed him deeply before Jasper pulled away and nodded his head towards the jet. She turned and walked up the stairs and away from him, and with every step she felt her heart ache.

She looked back at him one last time when she reached the top of the stairs. He gave her an encouraging smile that she saw did not quite reach his eyes, and she turned forward to enter the plane. When she made it inside the jet, the captain pulled the door closed and sat at the head of the plane to prepare them for take off.

Charles was sitting in one of the seats towards the back of the small private jet, so Katherine walked over to the seat across from him and sat down as she dropped her bag to the floor.

He could see the tears in her eyes, so he leaned forward and grabbed her hand to give it a reassuring squeeze. "The flight from Helios to Eos is about five and a half hours, but with the three hour time difference, we'll land around ten p.m.; I've already called my father and told him we were coming so I'm sure he'll be waiting to hear what we have to say because I didn't tell him the reason."

"Thank you for everything, Charles," she said in a small voice. She was emotionally spent for the day, and she did not even have Jasper to comfort her. Thankfully, Charles seemed to be good at helping her calm down and feel supported.

Katherine mostly took small naps on the flight, but would wake with her heart racing because of the anxiety over her situation. By the time they reached Eos, she was exhausted.

When the captain told them they had arrived and opened the door for them to exit the plane, Katherine immediately felt the cool, ocean breeze hit her face. The air smelled like salt, and somehow it helped Katherine to relax a bit.

When Charles made it down the stairs, he put a hand on her back and led her to a golf cart that would make their trip from the runway to the castle easier.

An Eos guard drove them, and the cold air whipped around them, giving Katherine a chill. She did not understand how it could be so cold in the middle of summer.

Noticing her discomfort, Charles took off his jacket and wrapped it around her. She looked over at him and was about to tell him that she was fine, but he shook his head and gave her a smile that did not quite reach his brown eyes.

He looked nervous despite his best efforts to try to be strong for her, but like he had already admitted to her, he always wore his emotions on his face and was horrible at hiding them.

They made it to the castle, and Charles jumped out of the golf cart and offered Katherine a hand. She took it, and Charles held on tightly, not letting go even when she stepped out and was on land again.

They hadn't said a word to each other since they left Helios. Both of them seemed to be at a loss.

They walked up the steps to the grand castle that was on a hill overlooking the ocean, and when the doors were opened for them, they walked inside to find Marcus waiting at the top of the stairs at the grand entrance for them. "So have the two of you come with good news or bad news?"