"Is there method to madness?

I move to you like a magnet.

Maybe we can be magic,

I'm just a sucker for your tricks."

❁❁❁

I HEARD ROBIN call after me faintly but didn't stop. I heard him curse, and then footsteps approaching from behind me. A cold hand clamped down on my shoulder, causing me to brake on my heels and turn around to face the blonde boy.

"Let me go!" I protested. Robin's grip loosened on my shoulder, but still held me firmly in place.

"Let me follow you," he muttered, before letting go and stalking off in front of me. At his declaration, I frowned in confusion, and stared at his hulking figure. Why did he have to confuse me all the time? "You need a partner, don't you?"

I wanted to protest but stopped myself at the last second. Now wasn't the time to bicker with Robin Clair. We had more urgent things to do– like finding my best friend and her grumpy fiancé. With a sigh, I jogged to catch up with him.

"Grab some supplies," Robin said when we reached the assembly area where a small group of students had already gathered. Greyson and Marla stood on a makeshift platform, giving instructions to the group of students who had volunteered to help with the search. It seemed like everyone else had already gone to sleep. Checking my watch, I gasped when I realised that it was already past midnight.

Robin approached Greyson and exchanged a few words with him, before Greyson nodded and clapped Robin on the back. While they continued their private conversation, I grabbed some water, flashlights and an emergency kit from the medical aid tent. I stuffed everything into the small backpack I brought along with me. I was about to leave the tent when something caught my eye. Two packets of saltine crackers sat unopened on the table, and after hesitating for a few seconds, I swiped the crackers and stuffed them into my bag as well. I might get hungry, I reasoned. No one's going to miss a couple of crackers.

"Alexandra! Let's go," I heard Robin holler from outside the tent. I quickly exited the tent and walked up to Robin. Four other boys showed up, presumably to help. They stood a safe distance away from Robin, muttering amongst themselves. Greyson and Marla were also present, looking ready to help.

"Alright, thank you all for coming down to help. We are trying to locate Asher Dane and Emily Park, who are presumably lost in the woods. Your classmates Logan Marshall and Yuko Hideyoshi have already gone into the forest to find them. Please equip yourselves with water, flashlights and a first aid kit, and do not wander off without your partner," Greyson briefed, before handing us what looked like small, colourful tubes.

"What we are passing you now are emergency flares," Marla said. "If you find the missing students, light up the blue flare. Use the red flare only if you are lost or in danger. We've just contacted the nature reserve and notified them about the situation. They are sending down their forest rangers, but they will only be arriving in an hours' time. Until then, be careful and good luck."

The four boys nodded and headed into the woods without hesitation. Robin glanced at me, reaching his hand out to grab the backpack I was holding. He slung it over his shoulder effortlessly, sighing loudly.

"Come on. Clock's ticking."

Without another word, the two of us turned around and began to jog into the dense thicket. Then suddenly, a soft shout made me stop in my tracks. Turning around, I came face to face with none other than Bianca Harding and her two friends. The three girls looked uncharacteristically nervous, especially Bianca, who bit her lip and hugged her waist tightly. Adia looked uncomfortable, while Marissa just looked like she was about to vomit.

"May we help you?" Robin asked politely, although his expression looked less than friendly. Bianca swallowed, looking behind us into the woods and pausing. She opened her delicate pink lips to say something, but stopped herself at the last moment.

"Emily...you'll find her, right?" Marissa piped up, her quiet voice echoing around us. I frowned at her strange behaviour, looking back and forth between the three girls.

"Yes," I replied, hesitating for a second. "Why do you ask? The last I checked, you girls hated her."

"I-," Adia began before Bianca quickly silenced her with a look.

"Whatever," Bianca snapped, sounding much more like her usual self. "We just don't want to be stuck here for longer than necessary. We're leaving."

With that, Bianca spun on her heel and stomped off, Adia following closely behind. Marissa lingered for a few moments, a troubled expression plastered across her face.

"Let's go," Robin said, grabbing my shoulder. As impatient as I was to begin searching for Emily, something about Marissa made me pause. Shooting a look at Robin, I turned to her.

"Do you need anything?" I asked gently, my eyebrows scrunching together. Whatever it was that was making them act so unlike themselves was starting to weird me out. Marissa's head snapped up to look at me, and she hesitated once more.

"Nothing," she muttered quickly. "Sorry."

We watched as Marissa ran her hand through her black hair and turned around, running off back to her tent. Robin and I shared a look of confusion, but didn't linger on their strange behaviour for long. We had more pressing things at hand, like finding Asher and Emily. We headed into the forest, the noises emitting from the campsite slowly drowning out as we walked deeper into the thicket. Our surroundings were painfully quiet, save for our footsteps. It was so dark that I had to squint to see in front of myself.

"It's dark. Be careful," Robin muttered, narrowing his eyes to try to see beyond the darkness that surrounded us. A small gust of wind blew past us, making me shiver slightly. I didn't realise how cold it got at night in the woods, but could only rub my hands together in a poor attempt to warm myself up.

"I brought flashlights," I said, and Robin nodded, retrieving two small flashlights from the backpack. Robin flicked the switch on one of the flashlights, immediately illuminating the path before us.

"Here," he said, passing me the extra flashlight. The both of us continued walking into the foliage. A shiver ran down my spine at the eerie silence, and I jumped in fright when an owl hooted above us. Unconsciously, I shuffled closer to Robin.

"You should've stayed behind if you were so afraid of the woods," Robin muttered under his breath condescendingly. In any other setting, I probably wouldn't be able to catch what he said, but since we were surrounded by nothing but trees and the still night air, I heard him loud and clear.

"Do you ever have anything nice to say?" I couldn't help but snap back at him, shooting him a glare.

Robin shrugged, barely casting me a second glance.

"Did you bring the emergency kit with you?" Robin asked, ignoring my question. I let out a huff of annoyance, before telling him that it was in the bag too. He retrieved a roll of bandages from the kit before closing it and stuffing it back into the bag.

"What're you doing?" I asked, watching curiously as Robin stuck the end of the small flashlight into his mouth, freeing up both of his hands. Then, he unravelled the roll of white linen and tied it to a low-hanging branch beside him.

I watched silently as he tied the cloth into a neat ribbon and tore the excess off. Then, he passed the roll of bandages to me.

"Marking the trail," he said. "Hold the bandages, we'll need it."

Robin continued to move forward, shining the flashlight around the perimeter and keeping a look out for anyone wandering around.

"Emily! Asher!" I called out as we walked deeper and deeper into the dark woods, pausing occasionally for Robin to mark the trees with the roll of bandages.

We searched the woods for what seemed like hours, but to no avail. We didn't come across a single living soul wandering in the woods, and spent our time in suffocating, tension-filled silence. When Robin stopped to mark another tree with the bandage, I reached for the backpack hanging on his bag and zipped it open, retrieving the packet of crackers.

"Want some?" I asked, handing a cracker to Robin after stuffing one into my mouth. I winced when the sound of my chewing echoed loudly, shooting him a sheepish look. He gingerly took the cracker I offered and nibbled on it quietly as we proceeded forward.

❁❁❁

"WE'RE OUT OF bandages," Robin muttered, tying a neat knot with the last piece of white linen.

"So?" I asked, scrunching my eyebrows together.

"It's not safe to continue forward," Robin explained stiffly. "We should head back now."

I frowned at his suggestion, shaking my head. We couldn't just head back, as far as I knew, Emily and Asher were still lost. None of the pairs from the search party had lit any of the flares Greyson and Marla passed us yet. Furthermore, we haven't even ventured that far into the woods.

"We can't just leave now," I protested, pursing my lips. "So what if we ran out of bandages? We can still carry on. We have the flares that Greyson and Marla gave us, so I'm sure they'll be able to find us quickly even if we're lost."

Robin remained silent, looking displeased at what I said.

"It's not safe, Alexandra," Robin muttered again. "Even if we have flares, we still have to wait for the forest rangers to locate us. And with Emily and Asher still lost in the woods, having to find two more people will just slow the rangers down."

As much sense as he made, I couldn't help but hesitate. Just the thought of Emily alone in the woods made me want to ignore everything Robin said and carry on forward. After all, how could I just leave her behind? I didn't volunteer to search for Emily and Asher just to give up halfway. Robin seemed to sense my hesitation because he scowled and sighed loudly.

"If you're so worried about them, let me search for them. Follow the markings back to the camp and wait there until everyone returns," Robin said quietly. My jaw dropped in surprise at his offer, but I quickly regained my composure.

"I won't do that! I'm not going to leave you behind either, you know," I chided, "Don't make such ridiculous suggestions ever again!"

"It's not a ridiculous suggestion," he grumbled. "I've been through survival training so I can handle being in the woods alone. You look like you're about to collapse at any given moment."

"I do not!" I gasped, shoving his shoulder slightly. Despite that, I knew Robin was partially right. I wasn't the most physically fit person in camp and my legs were already sore from walking. Because I was sweating so much, the cold air and wind sent goose-bumps across my skin. Robin shot me an unimpressed look, before setting the backpack down on the ground. He proceeded to remove his navy blue windbreaker and shoved it under my nose.

"Here," he grunted. "Put that on. You're freezing."

"T-Thank you," I mumbled shyly, looking away as I took the jacket from him and shrugged it on. Even though Robin's hands were always so cold, the windbreaker he passed me was surprisingly warm due to the heat that radiated off his body. I shoved my hands into the pockets of the jacket, feeling much better than before. Robin ignored my words of gratitude, shooting me another glum look and shaking his head.

"Go back to camp, Alexandra," Robin said, his voice taking a more authoritative tone. "I mean it. You're worn out. It won't do anyone any good if you continue to stay here."

"I told you I'm not leaving you behind," I insisted, shooting him a look of annoyance. I hated how he seemed to treat me as if I was a burden that he desperately wanted lifted off his shoulders. I wasn't the most savvy camper out there, but I was trying my best to keep up with him. Robin shook his head again, but seemed to come to a realisation that I wasn't going to listen to him.

"Whatever," he grumbled, rolling his eyes. Then, he turned around and began walking deeper into the woods. "Keep up."

I hurried behind Robin, disliking the idea of being left behind in the dark. In my rush to catch up with him, I didn't pay attention to the ground in front of me, causing me to trip over a fallen branch. I let out a small yelp of pain as I fell forwards. In an attempt to break my fall, I twisted my body awkwardly and landed on the ground with a thud. A sharp pain shot through my ankle and I winced when I tried to get up. In an instant, Robin was kneeling by my side.

"Are you alright?" he asked, grabbing my shoulder gently.

"I think I sprained my ankle," I groaned, reaching to cradle said ankle carefully. Robin frowned, gingerly grabbing my ankle in his hand.

"I told you to be careful, you stubborn girl. Now look what happened," he chided, shaking his head with a sigh. "We should head back to the camp now."

At that, I quickly shook my head, grabbing his arm lightly.

"No, we can't," I said, almost pleadingly. "We haven't found Asher or Emily. Yuko and Logan are still in the woods too. I can continue searching, really. It doesn't hurt that much."

"This isn't the time for you to be worrying about others," Robin scolded, standing up and dusting the dirt off his pants. "We're going back. No arguments."

I opened my mouth to protest, but my voice died in my throat when I looked up at him. Robin's expression was stony and firm, telling me that there was no space for arguments, but that wasn't what stopped me from resisting. In his eyes, I caught a sliver of concern. Concern for me.

I swallowed, then nodded reluctantly.

"Fine," I muttered, giving in to the blonde heir. Robin nodded, pleased with my answer. Then, he offered his hand.

"Do you think you can walk by yourself?" Robin asked as I grabbed his hand and slowly heaved myself onto my feet. I nodded, taking a cautious step forward and wincing at the pressure my body weight put on my injured ankle. Robin sighed and rolled his eyes before walking in front of me and crouching down.

"Come on," he said. "Don't make me wait."

"W-What?" I stuttered, suddenly feeling flustered. He was asking me to get on his back so he could carry me back to camp, wasn't he? Obviously, the voice in my head scolded, what else could he be doing, squatting on the ground like that? Getting ready to poo, or something?

My cheeks burned a bright red when Robin impatiently beckoned me to climb on his back again.

"I can walk on my own," I managed to utter.

"Either you arrive back at camp on my back or in my arms. Your choice," Robin grunted, shooting me a look of irritation over his shoulder. My eyes widened at his implication and I quickly scrambled forwards, climbing onto his broad back. I looped my arms over his shoulders and he quickly stood up, lifting me off the ground. I let out a squeal of surprise, tightening my grip around him as he hooked my legs securely to his sides.

Robin carried me silently through the forest, while I held the torch that provided us guidance in the darkness. Perhaps it was because I was so close to him, or because we were left alone for the first time in days, but I was suddenly compelled to ask him the questions that had been running through my head ever since we kissed.

"Did you regret it?" I asked quietly, grateful that Robin couldn't see my face right then. Robin stiffened at my question but did not stop walking.

"What do you mean?" he replied.

"Everything you said to me then. The kiss. Everything in-between," I replied softly, my voice unusually whispery. I was nervous, of course. That night meant more than I would have wanted to admit, and I know if Robin were to tell he did regret it, I would be hurt. My heart thumped against my chest as I waited for his reply, and I tried to lean away from him just in case he could feel how fast my heart was beating.

There was silence, and then, a soft reply.

"No."

I feel the muscles in my body relax, and I let out the breath I did not realise I was holding. Then, unconsciously, my hand balled into a fist and collided into his shoulder.

"So why did you ignore me, you jerk?" I demanded, making him grunt in pain.

"What did you expect me to do, then?" he snapped, and the sharpness in his voice let me know that his face was probably contorted into another one of his scowls. "You're the one going around holding hands with other boys, Alexandra."

I blinked, before a small smile crept onto my face.

"Are you jealous, Robin?" I all but teased, making Robin stop in his tracks.

"I am not jealous," he stated firmly, causing me to snort.

"Yeah, right," I sniffed, my smile growing bigger.

"I'll drop you," he stated, his grip loosening slightly. I yelped, tightening my arms around his neck. The desperate attempt to stop him from carrying out his threat caused me to close the distance between the both of us, and I was so close to him that the ends of his blonde hair tickled my nose.

"Don't you dare!" I squealed in terror.

"Listen carefully, Alexandra," Robin began, his voice piercing through the still night air. "I don't appreciate confusion, and that's what you've been making me feel for the past few days. So...So, stop it. I don't like it."

"W-What?" I stuttered, feeling confused. Stop it? What the-

"Stop confusing me. If you don't...like me, tell me. Don't make me make wild guesses," he muttered uncomfortably.

"I am the one confusing you?" I scoffed in disbelief. "You're the one that has been ignoring me the past few days!"

"You're the going around holding hands with other boys!" Robin retorted, and my jaw dropped.

"That's called jealousy, you idiot. And I wasn't trying to cosy up to Yuko! He was upset because Siobhan left and I was just trying to comfort him!" I defended.

"Now how was I supposed to know that? I was feeling this new emotion that I've never felt before and all I could think about was you and how much I want to kiss you again, and then less than twenty-four hours later I see you getting all cosy with my best friend. I thought you wanted to pretend like nothing happened," Robin replied, irritation creeping into his words.

"You...want to kiss me again?" I echoed.

"Was that all that got through your thick skull?" Robin groaned. As he spoke, I saw the lights from the base of the camp shining through the foliage, and I knew that we were reaching camp soon.

"Kind of, yeah."

"Fantastic. I've caught feelings for a complete dumbass."

"Excuse you!" I snapped, flicking the side of his head. "I am not a dumbass! And that's not how you confess your feelings to a girl!"

"That was not a confession," Robin muttered. "Not a proper one, at least. I don't know what to make of the feelings I have towards you yet. And I'm not sure whether these feelings are entirely positive."

"Do you need me to kiss you again so you can make up your mind?" I teased, my lips brushing against his ear. I attributed my new-found bravery with the fact that Robin couldn't see my face, and because we were running out of time before we reach the base of the camp. Robin made a choking sound with the back of his throat, his ears turning a pale pink. He sped up his pace.

"Stop teasing me," he muttered darkly as he continued to take long strides. "Or I'll drop you. I mean it."

"Trying to make me fall for you, huh?" I continued to joke around, much to his irritation.

"Stop it," he snapped again, his ears now a bright pink. I finally let out the laugh that I tried hard to suppress, the joyful sound bubbling out of my lips.

"Sorry, sorry!" I giggled, causing him to sigh loudly. "You're just too fun to tease!"

  ❁❁❁  

A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! I'm sorry for the delay in uploading. I've been going through some ups and downs and all that affects my updating schedule because I don't get to write as much as I want. I know many of you are anxious for updates and I apologise for the delays and hiatuses I often go on. I will try my best to update as regularly as I can! Also, for those of you who are curious, this edition of The Lonely King will not be identical to the old version as mentioned before, it will include new chapters, scenes and characters, and the original characters will go through more extensive character development. I know some of you are wondering why I am rewriting, and it is because when I was writing the original version years back, I didn't do much planning and often wrote whatever I could think of, edited quickly and uploaded chapters without much thought. Because of that, after completing the book and reviewing it again, I realised that there was so much I could have written to improve the book and make it more interesting and original. If you are a re-reader, you know that I have planned to write sequels after TLK following the other characters in The Royals Series, and I felt that in the original, I didn't focus much on the development of the other characters and thus felt quite sorry towards them (even though they're fiction, i know, but they're honestly like my children, and i felt as if robin and alex were the favourite child and the rest of them were the middle kids LOL). I hope you guys can understand that and follow me on my journey as a writer! 

I want to thank everyone who has contributed to purchasing Radish chapters, I'm honestly completely overwhelmed by the amount of support from all of you. I'm really happy to say that in total, we've raised USD$164.60 (3918 Radish coins), and all of this will go to purchasing necessities and as monetary donations for the impoverished in Vietnam. I promise to do the best I can during my trip to help those in need, and to make all of you proud! 

Song of the Chapter: Magic // San Cisco