“Use Magic.”

"My—my sister?" She choked out, her dress still floating on the surface of the water, the king still mere inches away from her. The steam from the spring flushed her skin and made her head cloud.

His hands had lowered from her shoulders and now rested at his sides beneath the water, her eyes stared at his blue ones instead of staring at his bare chest. Her mental faculties were not able to comprehend her entire situation at the moment. Just that the king knew her name, knew that she was not Mirella, and that one of her sisters had told him.

"Yes." He drawled out poisonly, "Mirella."

'Ah, well that clears that up.' She licked her lips and began to back up, doing her best to keep her skirt down as she climbed onto the bank. She needed to get out of there.

Magic—she had no idea how to control it but it was evident that she had it. And that she had used it, and not blacked out. She paused as she attempted to stand; she hadn't blacked out. Her memory of it was crisp and clear, right up to the feeling of her body smacking into his warm, wet, hard one.

She blinked and physically reared back from her thoughts. "Where are you going? Did I say that you could leave?" He said angrily.

'No. But frankly, I don't give a damn.' She thought to herself as she stumbled from the weight of the heavy fabric that was now waterlogged.

He materialized in front of her and she fell backwards, not even able to grimace as she gaped at him like a fool. Not only had he travelled from one place to the next, but he was also unclothed. She glanced along his anatomy, her eyes widening then darting away when she saw the part of his anatomy that was positively male.

When her eyes found his, all the way at the top of his long, glistening body, she found him glaring at her. "Is that because you're cursed?" She whispered breathlessly and painfully, referring to his strange teleportation.

He scoffed but only continued glaring at her. "Are you going to kill me now?" She tried with much difficulty. "What do you want?" She finally got out.

"I want to know why you lied."

She was taken aback. "I didn't have a choice." She panted.

He scoffed, this time with cruel intent, and she felt the temperature dip once more. "You didn't have a choice? You had every chance in the world to tell me that you were not your sister."

"Maybe I did—but… you're king, and I wasn't the first princess. I am now your queen—whether you like it or not."

He scoffed and she fought not to roll her eyes. "Did you always want to replace your sister?" She could see a fire building behind his eyes that made her instinctively shrink. No! Why would she desire to be Mirella?

"I didn't ask to be my sister."

"Then why accept the role?!" He growled and she blanched at his sudden ferocity.

"I didn't have a choice!" She shrieked, her weak voice giving out in her.

The next instant his hands wrapped around her neck, choking her. Yavanna stared at him in fear as her oxygen ran out. Her hands flew to his hands to try and pry them off with her waning strength. The last sight she saw before her vision darkened were his blue eyes turning red.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Her smeared consciousness resurfaced and she registered the warmth and weight of her blankets and bed, along with the musk of the furs. The second thing that registered was the throbbing pain in her neck, followed by hushed voices.

She strained her ears to listen, her sleep slowly peeling away. She realized soon that the voices were not speaking in her native language. Forcing her sealed eyelids to open she saw in her blurred vision two male figures. By their body language she could see that they were arguing.

She attempted to sit up but felt her muscles complain and released a strangled groan. The voices stopped and she blinked, trying to clear her vision. She heard a last hiss of a voice before footsteps began to stalk towards her.

Safe turned her head but stiffened and gasped at the harsh pain in her neck. She had just been getting better. She thought of the king's red eyes, so vivid and filled with hatred. She guessed that his dislike of her would only increase now. He clearly loathed deceivers, she did as well. But she hadn't had a choice. Her mother and father had told her to play the part of Mirella, and she had, to the best of her abilities.

Mirella…the letter. How had her parents allowed her to send a letter to the king?

She reopened her eyes, which had managed to close, and saw the king standing above her. His face was creased with those lines of anger that she had come to know very well. Those stormy blue eyes that were so blue, it was impossible to imagine them so red. But they had been.

"I could kill you right now," He stated.

'Why don't you?' She had nothing left to live for.

"But Mirella asked to see you."

She blinked and her eyes widened, asking for him to explain but he only stood there. Douglas' words echoed in her head suddenly, "Feed on blood…" And her blood turned to ice. She saw something predatory in his gaze that she didn't like, but she had no strength to move.

"Use magic." He ordered and her eyes flashed in surprise then annoyance. She didn't know how to use magic. Her—her emotions had controlled it.

Wolfgang hopped onto the bed and like always, began glaring at the king, yowling loudly. She arched a brow when she saw that he already had what looked like a few scratches on his hands. She liked her cat very much. But he had also attacked the general—why?

As she pondered a reason that she didn't want to believe was true, she had forgotten about the king's request. Her lips parted in a silent gasp when his arms were suddenly caging her on her bed, his blue eyes inches from her. 'What—"

Her mental question was interrupted when his lips were placed on hers through the veil.