I open my eyes and gasp for air. Memories come rushing back. The war, my mother yelling at me to stay in the castle and to not go fight, my father looking back at me with pleading eyes as a hooded figure shoved their sword into his chest. Wait. _Hooded figure? _The society. I remember the society. A secret society going behind enemy lines, and _our_ lines, acting to help but just getting intel to take over both Aetheria and Lunaris after our kingdoms are weak and destroyed. The Black Lantern Society.

As tears well up in my eyes, I finally adjust to the dark room. My hands are cuffed to a cobblestone wall from my wrists and the dagger that was once strapped to my thigh has been taken. Panic sets in. With no way of defending myself, any point of breaking free of my cuffs is useless. More importantly, who had kidnapped me? And then it hit me. The society had. The _leader_ of the society had. I remember getting knocked out on the battle field by the hooded figure who had killed my father. No one knows who the figure is but they are rumored to be the most powerful assassin in history.

I wanted to cry but no amount of tears could save me. No one would even be able to hear me given that the surrounding area hinted at me being underground, or in the middle of the forest. And suddenly I heard footsteps outside of the dank room and I braced myself for what was about to happen.

The old, rusty, metal door opened slowly letting the little remnants of lighting from nearby lanterns in the stairway illuminate the room ever so slightly. A man walked in. He wore a smooth black suit that fit him perfectly, and he had jet black hair that was unkempt. As he walked closer, I could see that his eyes were a deep shade of jade green. His expression remained the same, cold and hardened. He spoke and I was surprised at the way he sounded, “You must be valuable to them.” It was clear he was talking about my kingdom. “Perhaps if I strike a deal with them, well, then I’ll let them take you. But first you have to tell me everything you know.” He fixed the sleeve of his suit and looked back up to meet my gaze, “First of all, If,” he paused, “and that’s a strong word, **_If_** your petty family makes a deal with me, then you have to forget my face and tell them nothing.” I tried not to break down crying. “Who are you?” My voice sounded so faint and distant. “Isn’t it obvious.” He gave a slight smile, though it was anything but sincere. I gasped, “You’re the leader…” A tear rolled down my cheek, “You killed my father.” His smile grew every so slightly, and it was evil, “Perhaps you’re smarter than you look.” I could tell he was bluffing. He knew what I was capable of, he knew I was smart and strong. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have kidnapped me or taken my dagger away.

“Now, I’ll be back later. I have matters to attended to, don’t go anywhere.” He said that with a smirk on his face knowing well I couldn’t get out even if I tried.

After letting my guard down, a half and hour after he had left the door opened again. Quietly this time, and with more struggle. A woman stepped in. No. Not just any woman. My servant whom I have known for years. “Ophelia!” I was shocked to see her. I nearly broke down into tears, “all this time, you’ve been working with the society?” She spoke heartbroken, “No I’m undercover. You really thought?” She shook her head, “never mind… I’m here to get you out, Elizabeth. I have a spare key, Thorne trusts me the most out of the whole society.” She chuckled “Can you believe it? Getting sidetracked. Sorry your highness.” She took a step closer but I gasped as a figure came from behind her and slit her throat. I screamed and began to cry. Ophelia crumpled to the floor and made horrible gasping sounds but finally went silent. Thorne stepped into the room with my dagger in his hand, bloodied with Ophelia’s own blood, “You physchopath! Why would you just kill her like that!” I screamed at him with hate filling my voice but his expression stayed the same nonetheless.

“Physchopath? That’s a new one. I would never hurt you princess Elizabeth, but go ahead. Make me your villain.” He left me speechless as he walked out of the room leaving Ophelia’s deceased body on the bloodied floor. _He would never hurt me_. I didn’t want to believe him but a part of me felt as if he wasn’t lying. Most of me hated him. That wasn’t a lie. But a part of me felt differently. I couldn’t help it and I hated myself for it. That wasn’t a lie either.

I had fallen asleep. The way I knew was because of a loud explosion from above me jarring me awake. The next thing I knew I was in a world of chaos. The wall my handcuffs were connected to exploded and sent me to the floor. My head hit the concrete floor and I felt blood trickle down the side of my face. As my vision cleared from the bluriness of pain, my ears began to ring. The explosion was loud and caught me off guard. I sit up as quickly as I can and spin around before I can get caught off guard yet again but no one is there. I get onto my feet and turn towards the door just to see it opening as Thorne runs in. “Do you really want to go back to that war? All of that violence and bloodshed, so much death and tragedy?” His voice was unsteady for the first time since I’ve met him. “It’s better than staying here with you.” I look at Thorne one more time and he looks desperate but before I can change my mind I run. I run into the woods without any recollection of where I am just to get away from Thorne and the society.

After what seemed like hours of running I collapse underneath of a tree. Out of breath and lost. I stand back up and look around but nothing seems familiar. _Maybe I should’ve stayed_. No. don’t think like that. I feel defeated. I turn to one direction and start walking. Worse case scenario, Thorne finds me and brings me back to civilization. _Is_ _that really that bad of a scenario_? Yes. It is.

As I begin to see the sun set I can’t help but feel the ever present sense of dread crawling up the back of my neck. Where do I go when the sun sets and the creatures of the night emerge from the gnarled remnants of the trees surrounding me? _Maybe I was better off… _

No.

Maybe I should just start running and hope I reach somewhere. Even if it’s just a cottage to stay in overnight. My heart is racing and I can feel the presence of the sun draining from the horizon. That’s when I hear a twig snap from behind me. I gasp and spin around but no one is there. “Hello?” My voice is shaky though I know I can’t show fear. Fear is just a weakness. As I start walking slowly towards a nearby tree to see if someone is hiding, a rookie mistake on my part, someone pushes me hard against the tree and pins my arms behind my back. The person chuckles, “Looks like we meet again princess.” It’s Thorne.

Thorne spins me around to face him but still has me pinned. He pulls out a dagger and lightly traces my throat with it, “You are such an annoying little thing, running away like that. But a promise is a promise.” He scowls at me from those deep green eyes and puts his knife away. “What are you going to do if I let you away from this tree?” Thorne is glaring at me but I _swear_ I saw his eyes flicker to my lips. “I’m going to run.” I kick him in his shin and he winces but his arm stays steady across my chest. “You’re going to have to do a lot more than that to try and get away.” He’s mad now. At me. He could kill me at any point, slit my throat just like he did to Ophelia, snap my neck, plunge his knife through my heart. There is a million different ways Thorne could kill me but yet he doesn’t.

“If you let me go you _have_ to take me back to Aetheria or else I’m running away. We can’t stay here all night like this.” I meet his eyes for the first time since I ran. Thornes eyes are cold and empty and filled with hatred but there’s something behind that facade. Something I’m realizing only I can see. Something only I am looking for. The rest of the world doesn’t look too deep into others eyes because they’re afraid of what they might find, lies and corruption. With Thorne, he’s hurt. He’s tired of fighting. He’s tired of killing all of those innocent people, but he has to act like he doesn’t care because of this reputation he has upheld for _so long_. And then it hits me like a ton of bricks. The hatred in his eyes is really only hatred for _himself_. I falter as I realize this and blink a few times breaking our stare down.

“Thorne. I-“ he cuts me off “How did you know my-? Never mind.” He clears his throat and builds that protective wall right back up. “I will bring you back to Aetheria. On one condition.” He glares at me again. “Forget who I am. My name, my face, everything.”

“Okay.” A promise I hope to keep.

After walking for a few miles in silence Thorne finally says something. “Aetheria is about half a mile that way.” He points to a dirt path leading to a clearing in the distance. “Your not coming?” I ask half expecting, _or hoping_, him to say yes. “Why would I do that. I brought you here, now you can get as far away from me as you want. And the same for me.” He faltered saying the last part. What was his issue? “Goodbye Thorne. And I swear to god if you show your face in Aetheria ever again I will have my fathers men arrest, and behead you.” Thorne looked half expectant and half hurt but he hid it well. Without a word Thorne kept his eyes on me as long as he could and then turned around and began to walk away. Thorne was out of my life for good.

Walking out of the sorrowful forest, I saw the final bits of sun, slip underneath of the buildings and return the world before me to darkness. I hurried down the back streets of Aetheria as to avoid anyone seeing me. Shadows danced around the barren streets as I crept by making my way to the castle as quickly as possible. The looters and thieves watch me from the dark, hidden alleyways and whisper about the strange girl running through the village towards the castle.

Once I have made it through the near desolate village, I step up the dark, looming steps of the castle and hesitate as I reach for the door. I look behind me and feel a sudden rush of disappointment. I want to kick myself for feeling this way but I know it’s because in the woods I would always look back and be greeted by Thorne not paying attention to me and looking around like he was a little kid. In those woods was the first time I ever saw the slightest hint of his real smile. My own smile fades away just like the memory and I pull the huge doors open and walk into the castle I have lived in for so long but now seems unfamiliar in the chaos of the war.

Upon entering the dimly lit halls that usually have guards around every corner, I head straight for my parents throne room. They used to spend most of their time in there studying maps, or war strategy’s during times like these. Now the only thing different is my father being dead.

I see my mother and a few guards gathered around a table to the left end of the throne room and decide to speak up since no one hears me come in. “Mother.” She turns around and her eyes go wide. She runs over to me and wraps me into a hug, “Oh, Elizabeth! I thought you were dead!” I can hear the tears in her voice and I look up at her. “I’m so sorry, I-“ I pause. If my mother knows about Thorne she will have him on every wanted list and have the reward price of catching him higher than every single thing she has ever paid for in her life. But I want that right? I want Thorne to pay for what he has done to me and so many others. Instead, I make up a lie. “I- I got lost in the woods trying to hide during the war and couldn’t find the way back. But I’m okay now.” She smiles, “I’m glad your okay dear but I have matters to attend to about the war. Nothing has changed since you’ve gone.” I look at my mother and she nods. “Okay. I’ll be in my room.” I hurry silently to the corridor where the stairs lead up to my bedroom and once I’m outside of my door I slip inside and close it quietly.

Laying down in my own bed feels surreal. I’m so used to the woods surrounding me and the cell Thorne kept me in that I forgot how luxurious my stupid princess life was like. My eyes flutter shut almost instantly but I still prefer the latter. I have a dream that night. I am dancing in a familiar ballroom but not my own. Im dancing with Thorne. He is wearing a blood red suit that makes him look amazing with his jet black hair so perfectly styled and his jade green eyes that are looking at me so intently. We’re laughing about something but I don’t know what. He smiles at me for the first time since we have met and it’s beautiful. His teeth are perfect and white, and he has dimples. I can’t help but blush. I smile back but everything starts fading. Suddenly I am awoken by a sudden loud sound that sounds like it was coming from the village. I gasp as I recall my dream. If I were in control of my dreams it would end with me plunging a knife into Thornes heart and smiling as he bleeds out on the floor. I get up still dazed from sleep and my dream which was more like a nightmare and look out of my window to see a fire burning in the distance. I hurry to the door, flustered, and swing it open. My mother is standing in knocking position with her eyes filled with fear. “The village has been bombed by Lunaris. Several have been injured, many are dead. Before the bombing a villager had gotten stabbed three times by a spy from Lunaris.” All of this imformation at once is too much to handle. My palms start sweating and my heart begins to race. I follow my mother out of my bedroom and downstairs to the windows facing the village.

There are soldiers killing secret Lunaris spies, and injured civilians lying on the ground calling for help. I put a hand up to my mouth and let out a sob. “Do you think you could tend to the one who got stabbed? He is in the infirmary at the moment but our nurse just went home a few hours earlier and I must figure this out because your father usually…” she trails off. I have always been good at praticing first aid but I’ve never actually had to use my skills in a real emergency. I nod nonetheless.

As I walk into the infirmary, instead of being prepared to tend to a villager whom I’ve never met before, or a child who was walking outside when the bombing happened, I’m greeted by a familiar face. I gasp. Thorne is in the first medical bed. He has blood all over his white shirt and is nearly the same color as porcelain. He is staring at me with those deep green eyes that I have always had a deep hatred for but says nothing. “Thorne why were you-“ he cuts me off just like the last time we spoke. “Don’t.” He winces at the effort of talking, “I was just making sure you made it back. Don’t turn this into something.” _He’s injured. Just help him and he can leave_. I grab a clean cloth and dab it with wound cleaner. I walk back over to Thorne and hate that he’s here. “Take off your shirt.” I scowl at him as he pulls off his white shirt that is soaked with blood. I walk over and sit down in a chair next to the bed.

I wipe the blood off of the three stab wounds that cover Thornes chest and he doesn’t make a sound. I lean back in my chair after I’m finished with the blood and catch Thorne looking at me. “I didn’t want to come back. Don’t think this was voluntary.” The way he speaks is different, his voice sounds defeated and weak, instead of powerful and angry. “Then why did you.” I meet his eyes for the first time since we were in the woods, “Do you remember what I said about coming back?” Thorne avoids my gaze and looks down. “I heard about the bombing from a spy from Lunaris and had to come warn you.” He clenches his jaw and looks back up at me with pain in his eyes, “Before I made it, I got stabbed by another spy and knocked out.” I grab more supplies and begin to stitch the biggest cut. “Why would you come warn me if you hate me?” Thorne looks at me and is speechless but his gaze hardens. “Don’t look at me like that.” I was caught by surprise, “What do you mean? I’m not-“

“Yes you are. I’ve seen that look before.”

“What look?”

“You tell me.”

“_What_? Thorne why are you-“

“I’ve killed _thousands_. I’m planning on more. Your entire kingdom is going to fall whether you want it to or not.” Thorne stands up with only two out of three cuts stitched, “Eventually im going to watch that light in your eyes go out whether it’s because of me or not.” He takes a step closer and I back up. “I will _always_ hate you and the way you live. You think just because you’re royal means you’re safe from the world but that’s just not true. Tragedy can happen to anyone. _Death_ can happen to anyone, and it already has. Your father was killed. By me. On purpose.” Thornes expression is filled with hate now, “I know how you’re thinking just by the way you’re looking at me.” He takes a step back and shakes his head, “Part of that look means you want me dead. But what happens after that?”

“You think I want you dead?” _What was the other part though?_

_Did I want him dead? _

“Yes. Because _I_ want you dead. I’ve killed everything and everyone you’ve ever know except for your poor mother. You hate me, I know. I never want to see you again Elizabeth. If I do, it will be with my dagger in your chest and your blood on my hands. I swear that.”

Thorne walks out of the infirmary with a new white shirt already ruined by the third cut I didn’t stitch, leaving me speechless and confused. I try to go after him but as I reach the door, he is already gone. A tear rolls down my cheek but I’m unsure as to why. Is it because of the hatred Thorne has left me with because of his choice of words? Or the hidden intimacy I have just learned I have for him even though he has kidnapped and threatened me and killed most of everything I know? _Can it be both? _

I walk out of the infirmary and hurry to my room. I can’t help but feel hot tears threatening to fall down my face and make me break down. I have to forget him. Forget everything Thorne has ever done. Forget his face, his history, his name, the way he looks at me from time to time, and the way he makes me feel. Forget _all_ of it. Focus on the war. Focus on your future people. I will go to the local psychic tomorrow. See if she can help with the war and how to stop it. See if she can tell me if I have any chance of a future of being queen.

The next morning I hurry to get out of the castle without my mother knowing. Being gone for days made her never want to let me leave the castle ever again. I slip out of the double doors that keep me locked in this prison of a home and head straight for the richer part of the village. Lady Adena is the psychic in town. She helps everyone she can by telling them what she sees in their future. It’s a fifty fifty chance but it’s worth knowing about the war if she can help. Upon reaching the large cobblestone and mahogany wood cottage, I knock on the door and wait for Lady Adena to come and let me in.

After waiting four, maybe five, minutes I get worried. Lady Adena never took more than three minutes. I reach for the knob and it’s unlocked. I push the door open even more and step inside. What greets me makes me have to stifle a scream. Lady Adena is on the floor covered in blood and someone is holding a dagger and looking back at me. _With green eyes._

I slam the door shut as I step inside and lock it, “Thorne! Why in gods name are you still here! Why did you kill her!” I’m screaming at him hysterically. He said he was leaving. He said he would never come back. _He said the next time he saw me he would kill me_. “Elizabeth. I was just about to leave. You don’t understand-“

“No! Stop. Don’t try and make an excuse! You said you hated me! Said you wanted me dead! Said you were leaving and never coming back!”

“I’m sorry. I was just leaving but I had to see Lady Adena first. She helped me with where to go but she wouldn’t stop talking about what she saw in my future.” Thorne took a shaky breath and looked at me, “She saw you and me. Together.” I pull out my dagger and take a step closer. “Is that really the worst that could ever happen to you?!” I’m crying now but Thorne just looks at me like I’m the crazy one and not him. “Yes. We hate each other! We are so different. I cause death and destruction, you are kind, and beautiful, and strong. That’s why I hate you. I will never have _anyone_ who loves me. My parents left when I was five! I had to live on the streets of Lunaris for years until I started the society and I finally had somewhere where I felt safe and in control but you don’t know what that’s like Elizabeth!” He takes three steps closer and my back is now fully pressed against the wall. “Your life is perfect. You have someone waiting on you for everything you need! But some people need to work for the things they get. Some people have to fight to stay alive. We have to worry about food, and money, and safety. Unlike you royals. That’s what I started the society. To kill off all royals and finally let them know what it feels like to _lose_.” Thorne took another step and pins me against the wall just like the tree in the woods but this time he was fully intent on killing me. He presses his dagger against my throat to the point where he nicks it. I feel hot sticky blood drip down my throat and I start to cry. “I hate you Elizabeth. I hate you for being perfect, for being strong, for being royal, for not knowing failure but most of all I hate the way you make me feel. I can’t ignore it. So I have to kill you.”

Thorne presses the dagger to my throat even more and I struggle to keep it from cutting me. “You know, it’s easy to mistake true love for true hatred. Both of them leave you in agony; trading your last breath to someone undeserving of your attention.” The way he said this shook me to my core because I realized he was right. I have loved him from the start I just never realized it until now. It’s because that love for him got covered by hatred. In a way they are very similar emotions. I can’t help falling in love with him and I hate him for it. Thorne can’t help loving me and he hates _me_ for it. It goes both ways.

“Choose your last words princess Elizabeth. After all, they are your last.” He sneered at me and presses the dagger harder to the point where it hurts to breathe. I lift my head shakily to meet his deep jade green eyes. My eyes were blurry with hot tears but I take a deep shaky breath and blink, clearing my vision. Three words is all I say. It’s all I ever needed to say to Thorne from the beginning.

“I love you.”

Thorne faltered and he begins to shake. “N- no don’t say that.” He dropped the dagger to the floor and backed up. He looked at me with tears in his eyes and for the first time he looked scared, “You don’t know what your saying.” I took a step closer to him and put my dagger on the floor along with his. “Thorne. I know you didn’t want to kill any of them. I know why you’re so scared of admitting that you care about me. It’s because you’re scared that everyone you love will leave you because up to this point in your life that’s been true. But I also know that I love you and would never leave you and i’m not just saying that.” I take another step closer and Thorne just stands there. He stares at me in disbelief with tears filling his eyes and rolling down his face. “You don’t have to kill anymore people. You finally have a place where you belong. With _me_, Thorne. You belong with _me_.” I take a step closer, closing the gap between us and he finally says something, “It’s interesting.”

“What is? Thorne why do you keep saying things like this?”

“It’s interesting how intimacy and horror can come from the same place. There is a very thin line between the two, but Elizabeth, every time you cross that line, I’ll always… always, pull you back.”

“From which side of the line?”

“The side in which my heart resides beside yours.”

He wraps his arms around me and pulls me into a hug and says three words I thought I would never hear back. “I love you too.”

I look up at him and he smiles just like he did in my dream. Perfect white teeth and dimples. I smile back up at him and his deep green eyes finally look happy for once in his life. He presses his lips against mine and I can tell he is still smiling. I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him back. He pulls back and looks down at me, “I used to think I didn’t have a soulmate. That I would always be alone without anyone to love me.” He pulls me closer again and whispers into my ear, “That was until I met you. I hated you because I was irrevocably in love with you, my dear Elizabeth.”