The king had found the both of them. His shadow loomed over them as they ran. They ran as fast as they could, but the king's men were on horses. She couldn't master her shifting yet and even if she could, she wouldn't be able to help Takeo and she wasn't going to leave him anytime soon. The leader of the rebellion, Leyea, had ordered them to leave. Told them it would be for a greater good, but now they would certainly be killed. They were cornered. Trinity closed her eyes to try and think of some sort of plan, but all she could think of was that the last thing she would ever feel was a cold brick wall against her back, and not the embrace of her mate. Trinity opened her eyes. Even back against the wall, Takeo fought fiercely. He stood in front of Trinity, eyes narrowed, wondering how many men he could take out before he too was killed. He flipped the small dagger in his hands before holding firm. The men were closing in, raising their weapons. Hooves splashed in the mud, spraying everywhere, covering us from head to toe. It was as if they were telling them to prepare for their deaths, that we would be buried in this mud. Trinity didn't want to see someone else she loved die. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to shift into a lion or a tiger, something that stood a better chance against an army than Takeo. She felt a jolt of energy rush through her veins. There was a rush of wind pulling her back, then, they were falling. It was just her and Takeo. Plummeting toward something in a whirl of blacks and blues and purples. She heard a snarl from above; the king's. He sounded more animal than human. Takeo grabbed Trinity by the waist and pulled her into a hug. She savored his embrace, the feel of his heat, the gentleness of his hands. "Thank you," He said as he kissed her. "You saved us!" his eyes were almost glowing green as he pulled himself closer to kiss her again. She was glad they were safe, but she didn't think she had opened the portal. "I didn't..." She tried to get the rest out, but she was ripped from his arms. She turned to find herself staring at a rock. The last thing she heard was Takeo scream; then, world went black.

Trinity woke up from her dream, sweating and gasping for air. Takeo was already at the side of her bed, staring at her.

"What did you remember?" He asked her. His face held no expression and there was no softness to his voice; she wondered if she had done that to him.

"Nothing, everything, I don't know." It was the truth, she wasn't sure if it was a memory or if she was just picturing what Takeo had told her. There was one way to know for sure. "What was the name of the leader of the rebellion?" She asked.

He smiled, "You tell me. I know you saw that night in your dream. You remember Leyea, don't you?" She nodded. "This is amazing! You remember me now, don't you?" His eyes were lit up like a Christmas tree, he was enjoying himself very much. She nodded again. "Wonderful!" he exclaimed before he kissed her.

Trinity flinched. She didn't want to, but she did. He pulled away fast and took a step back to sit on the side of his bed. The look on his face was enough to tear the heart out of her chest. "I'm sorry," She whispered, "It's just..."

"I know," he interrupted, "It was my fault, don't worry about it. You are still confused and scared and I shouldn't have done that. It was stupid of me to think...to think that that's what you needed to remember everything else. I'm sorry." he took the words right out of her mouth, again. How was he doing that?

Trinity leaned against the wall, wanting to comfort Takeo, but not knowing how to. "I know that you probably don't want to explain yourself to me right now, but I have to know how you keep doing that." She said.

"You want to know how I can know what you're thinking before you do or how I can feel and understand your dreams without magic, right?" She didn't feel that she needed to answer, so he continued, "Back in our world, some people have greater connections than others, especially among mates." the word mates felt foreign to her. It felt familiar, but different. Takeo continued on, "Those mates that the universe has approved of, so to speak, have a greater connection than the rest. It provides them with a better ability to understand and listen to each other, without having to open our mouths to speak. It's like telepathy only between mates. Some of the best conversations we've had have been in our heads." He smiled, he must have been remembering a conversation. "It was always you and I against the world." he looked at her, "Still nothing?" She shook her head. He sighed and laid back on the bed. "It's fine, it's not your fault."

"Takeo..."

"No, it's fine. I'll go grab you some breakfast, you must be hungry." She didn't try to stop him as he stood up and left the room. She could have sworn that she saw a tear fall from his face. He gently shut the door behind him.

Seeing him upset had made her feel awful. He looked like someone who wouldn't shed a tear if he saw the most horrible thing he could possibly think of, but crying over her...Just to think that she had that kind of power on one person... to simply not remember them and make them go half mad...it was insane. She didn't want to be in charge of that much power. She could never be queen even if she wanted to. If she couldn't be in charge of one person how could she possibly be in charge of a whole kingdom? She shook her head, she couldn't wait, she had to apologize to him immediately.

Trinity went to the closet in hopes of finding something better and less torn up to wear. She found a plain white gown hanging there. It was beautiful. She slipped out of her old dress and into the new one. She admired herself in the mirror. She looked better than when she first woke up, that was for sure, but something still felt off. She ignored it and put on an old pair of shoes that were sitting by the door, then she was ready to head out.

The elevator ride was long, but she loved the music. It was oddly calming, music unlike what she was used to. When the doors opened and the music stopped, she was reluctant to get out. The room was huge and so crowded that she could barely see any of the shops. Loud music was playing and the lights were so bright she had to squint to see. She spotted a food store and decided that that was where Takeo must have gone. She went in and was immediately bombarded by different scents. She admired some of the exotic fruit. She saw something yellow with spikes and something else that looked like a hairy brown ball. She picked up some little red fruit balls with green hair on top, "Strawberries" she whispered to herself. She was enjoying her little adventure.

After a while of looking around, she found nothing else exciting and decided it was time to go to the next store. She found nothing there either, just some more interesting fruits and vegetables. She went to three other stores and was about ready to give up, when she saw something that caught her eye. It wasn't Takeo, but it was still stunning. It was a shop full of clothes. She wandered in and started picking out her favorites; silky red, poofy seafood green, and a pink lace that passed her ankles, and other colors that caught her eye. She had suddenly forgotten about why she had come down in the first place, but she was loving this. The man at the front counter was so helpful and even let her try on the dresses she liked the most.

She went into the fitting room with nine dresses, but came out with only one. It was a sea blue, high low dress that sparkled in the light. She absolutely adored it! If anything, she thought to herself, at least now I really do look like a princess.

"Magnific!" the store manager said as he stepped from behind the desk, "It's never looked better on anyone else! Half off for you!" He clapped his hands together and gave her a huge smile.

"I'm sorry sir, but I don't have any money. Thank you for letting me try them on though." the smile from the man's face faded, but she ignored him and took one more look at herself in the mirror. She felt a hand on her arm. She thought it was just the man going to kick her out for not buying anything. "I'm sorry, sir, I'll get out of your..." When she turned to face the man she was surprised to see Takeo's face staring back at her, he looked pissed.

His eyebrows were furrowed, eyes narrowed, and cheek bones surprisingly more defined than usual, "You can't just leave without telling me. You almost gave me a heart attack! What do you think I would have done if I lost you? What would you have done if you were lost? You can't ever do that to me again, you understand?" He was breathing hard. He must've been running all over the city looking for her.

"I just...I just wanted to find you to apologize, but then I found this store and got a little distracted." She had just wanted to say sorry, but gave him the worst scare of his life instead. She didn't know what she could possibly say to him now. She fell so stupid, getting distracted by simple clothes.

Takeo looked her over, then he let out a nervous chuckle. "You got distracted indeed." He let out a sigh and finally said. "It looks great on you, Trin, how would you like it as your own?" He still seemed nervous, but raised his eyebrows at her. She knew he knew her answer, he probably just wanted to see her reaction from his offer. The dress was expensive and there was no way he had enough money for even half of it.

"I would, but..."

"But nothing, I'll talk to the manager and get you that dress." He started to walk away, but turned to face her again, "You always loved the color blue. It matches your eyes." He winked at her and started talking to the man.

When she went back into the changing room, she took a good long look at her eyes. She never noticed how blue they were. They matched the dress almost perfectly. She could have sworn they were brown when she was in her floral dress, and didn't she hear whispers from the other guests of how her eyes were grey? She had put that thought aside until now. She took off her dress and put on the white one. She looked back in the mirror. I guess it was just my... As if on command her eyes changed color right in front of her. One thing she knew they were blue, the next... "They're grey!" she said out loud. She sat on the bench, she felt as if she would faint.

There was a knock on the door. "Everything okay in there, Trinity?" It was Takeo, she could practically hear the smile forming on his face. She slowly opened the door for him. By the look he gave her she knew that Takeo had meant for her to find this out now.

"You knew?" she asked.

"Yep! Hasn't changed one bit, and when I saw they were blue when you had on the dress I couldn't help but give you that hint. It means that you have magic in this earth too." He frowned, "Which, now that I think about it, it doesn't make sense. You usually heal pretty quickly so you shouldn't have been asleep for five days if you had your magic." He turned pale.

"What." She asked, now she was curious.

"It means that you hit your head a lot harder than I thought, it means..." He took his turn to sit next to her on the bench. He suddenly seemed small compared to her, refusing to meet her eye contact. He stared blankly at his hands.

"What?" She demanded.

He finally looked up, holding her gaze. "It means that you might have almost died."

"How do you know?" Trinity asked, sitting up straighter, "Has something like this happened before?"

"Only with your father, when he went to battle the king the first time he suffered deadly wounds. No one thought he would make it. It took him four days to recover. He was a master of healing powers and that was the fastest anyone had recovered from the dead. That means that you must be more powerful than we originally thought. It took you five days and you haven't even begun professional training." He looked at her. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" she snapped, "It's not your fault, and for all you know I could have just been exhausted from the trip. You can't jump from a slight bump in the head to almost dying. It doesn't work that way. Thanks for the dress, by the way." she stood up with the dress in her arms and walked out the door. Stormed out would be the better word. She pushed her way through the crowd to get to the elevator. People glared at her as she elbowed her way through, but she had bigger problems. He has some nerve trying to tell me that I might have actually died, and to think, I was just going to apologize to him! I couldn't have almost died, I'm seventeen. Eighteen? I don't fricken know, but I know I'm fine.

Takeo worked effortlessly to catch up to her. He didn't touch her, didn't try to talk, nothing. He just followed her from a safe distance. He pressed the button for the elevator. Neither of them talked until they got in. Takeo started, "I'm sorry, Trinity, I didn't mean to distress you. I shouldn't have brought it up, you're probably right anyway."

She crossed her arms, her foot tapping angrily, "I know I'm right, and no you had no right to bring it up. What if it was true, what if I had almost died? Realizing it now would have changed nothing. Nothing! You have nothing to worry about." He touched her shoulder softly.

"That was not the part I was worried about. Yeah, it would have been awful if I had almost gotten you killed, but that's not my main concern. If you did almost die and recovered from it in five days of rest, that means than you are more powerful than I have ever thought to be true!" the gears were spinning in his head. He was trying to work something out.

Trinity shook off his hand from her shoulder, "So I've heard." She said simply.

"No, I don't think you understand," He continued, "It was rumored that in the week, a whole seven days, when the king didn't come set foot from his castle after the war he was recovering. In our world, a broken arm can be healed in a day, with magic of course, if the limb is gone completely, four maybe five days with an expert. If he was gone for seven days, and wasn't making plans as the people have claimed, that means that maybe he was almost killed." He wasn't talking to her anymore, but using her as someone to bounce ideas off of. He was looking for something. 

"So what? The king's killable, even I could have figured it out." She crossed her arms and waited for the elevator to get to the fifteenth floor.

"So it means if you almost died and recovered in five days, it means that you must be more powerful than the king! It means that we have a chance to defeat him once and for all. You might be the answer!" His eyes lit up with hope, but he had to be wrong.

"So? Maybe he recovered from a broken limb and took four days to recover, and spent the rest planning for whatever his master plan may be?" Trinity started without realizing she had started pacing around the elevator.

"True, but..."

"What if he did almost die and healed in four days and spent the rest on vacation or something?" She spoke faster.

"Well,..."

"Well, My point is that we can't know for sure so don't get your hopes up if I'm not all you think that I am or if you believe I am some shapeshifter, cause I'm not. So what if my eyes change color? Maybe it's just a trick of the light, or maybe my eyes are just super reflective or something, or maybe it's a birth defect. For all I know you could be manipulating me into thinking I'm remembering all these things when really it is just me imagining the stories you are telling. The fact is I can't trust you until I know for sure what is going on, and I guess I can't know for sure until I go into the city and have a little look for myself, now can I?" She had stopped inches from Takeo's face. She could feel herself burning up. She had no idea why she was so angry or why she snapped, but the smile on Takeo's face made her want to tear it right off.

"Look," Takeo said as he pointed to the mirror on the wall, "That's not a birth defect, is it?" His smile grew wider as he watched her turn and face the mirror.

Her eyes were bright red. She thought that it was just her imagination, but as she turned to face the other walls of the elevator, she saw her red eyes staring back at her.

"That happens, sometimes, when you get really angry or upset." Now it was Takeo who was crossing his arms, "I've learned to use it as a sign to stay away when we are about to have a fight, it's a good indicator to back off." The elevator dinged. "I guess you should calm down if you don't want anyone to see your red eyes." He smiled wide and stepped calmly through the opening doors.

She decided to follow closely so she could hide behind him if she saw anyone walking down the hall. Of course, as luck had it, they were the last room on the end. Takeo took his sweet time about it as Trinity tried to push him to the door faster. He opened it and she shoved herself inside, flying past her so called protector.

"What's wrong with you?" She yelled at him the second he closed the door.

"What's wrong with me? Oh no, you don't get to ask me that after what you just said in the elevator," so he was angry about that. She wished his eyes would turn red when he was pissed so at least something would show her his emotions. "You don't get to just yell at me and then think that it'll blow over the second we get out of there just because your eyes changed an odd color. I get that you don't remember things and that may be difficult, but it could be worse. Don't you think for one second that you have it harder than me right now. You don't remember anything about me, but I sure as hell do. Don't you dare talk to me like that again, princess. You have no idea what my life has been like." He turned and sat on the edge of the bed, clutching her dress tightly.

She took a step back, she hated to see him mad, but she was stubborn, "What do you mean? You actually think you have it harder than me right now?" Her eyes narrowed as she waited for his answer.

His eyes softened and he just snorted, "Here's your dress, milady." He tossed her the dress. "You're going to need it if you want to go to the city tomorrow." He moved to the chair by the window and took a sip from the full glass of water that was sitting on the table, lounging with his legs dangled over the side.

"You can't just go off on me and give me a speech and then give me my dress for a day of freedom just like that." He must have been trying to confuse her. In one day he went from calm to sensitive, to scared, to angry, and back to calm. It had to be some sort of sick test.

"I, princess, can do whatever I want. You don't know me, so maybe I'm not your protector. Maybe you were right. And if so, I guess that gives me time to pursue some hobbies while you get yourself into a mess and need me to get you out of it. Guess that gives me, what, and hour? Maybe two before I have to put down my newfound hobby and come save you. Maybe I'll start a stamp collection or start building my own car." He stared right at her, "Does that sound okay to you, Trinity?" His eyes narrowed slightly, but his smile was still plastered on his face. He had to be testing her, waiting to see what she did next. Waiting for something to scold her about, because if not, he truly was insane.

"Sounds perfect to me. I guess I'll see you in two hours then." She went to the bathroom to change into her new dress. When she came out Takeo was wide eyed.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked. "It's almost dark."

She purred, "I know, but it sounds to me like I got two hours to kill. Maybe I can show you that I don't need a babysitter. Plus, New York is the best place to be during a bright night like this. Maybe I'll go to a bar and get a couple of free drinks from strangers. Doesn't that sound lovely, Takeo?" It was her turn to test him.

To her dismay he just shrugged and made no move to stop her, "Have fun, Trinity. Hope I don't find you wandering around with some stranger tomorrow morning. I'll see you in two hours." His eyes sparkled and Trinity saw something in them, something unfamiliar and scary -not like everything was unfamiliar or anything. What he said sounded more like a threat. She couldn't shake the weird feeling as she walked out the door. When she got to the lobby she pieced together what she saw in his eyes... Mischief.