Leonidas and his men started to follow Westly and his men through the forest. When it started to get dark outside, Westly suggested that they should camp out in a nearby clearing.
Leonidas agreed and hopped off his horse. For a second, he felt a little uneasy about the situation but he eventually just thought that it was nothing and chose to ignore it. Westly and his men had extra tents and set them up in the clearing.
As Leonidas helped them set up, he started worrying more and more about Leah and whether it was going to be too late to save her. He constantly found himself thinking about her. At night, he walked outside and looked at the stars, as if maybe Leah was looking at the same stars in the sky.
When Leonidas got back in the tent, he laid down and looked at Kylo, who was sharing the tent with him.
"There's something wrong, Your Highness"
"What's wrong, Kylo"
"I think we need to leave immediately"
"Why, Westly has been so accommodating"
"He's going to kill us"
"How do you know that?"
"I read it in a book not too long ago. I just recalled a particular section that explained how they deal with their victims"
"What exactly did it say?"
"They lure their victims into the woods, telling them that they know about a shortcut. Then they burn their tents and take the horses. I'm sure you can imagine how their victims end up after that"
"Then you're right, we must leave now. How should we leave without them noticing?"
"The book I read stated that they can only carry out their plan at exactly midnight so we have some time"
"Ok, let's alert the men quietly"
"I'm on it, Your Highness"
"Please call me Leonidas. You are saving my life"
"Alright, Prince Leonidas"
"No, just Leonidsas will do"
Meanwhile, in Hydreas, Leah was still walking in the gardens with Chase. They had a picnic earlier and were now just strolling near the flower beds. Leah started gazing at the night sky, wondering if Leonidas was looking at the same stars. She missed him so much that her heart ached whenever she thought of him not being with her. Her thoughts slowly drifted back to reality when she saw Hydrean guards trailing closely behind her and Chase.
"Chase, do your guards have to keep following us?"
"Yes, I don't trust you to keep yourself out of danger"
"I will have you know that I am perfectly capable of taking care of my own safety"
"So if I were to get rid of the guards, you would not try to escape"
"That's not what I said"
"I have an idea. I actually had this in my pocket because I knew we would be having this conversation"
Chase pulled out a piece of long blue fabric from his pocket and showed it to Leah.
"Chase, what is this for?"
"I'll be tying it around our wrists. That way I can fulfill your wish of having the guards gone and I can still make sure you don't escape"
"So they're basically like restraints that they put on prisoners?"
"If you would like to think of my method that way then you may but it's your only other option"
"Ok then proceed"
Chase then tied around their wrists and made sure that it wasn't too loose. He did this by pulling on it gently but Leah wasn't ready and started falling over. Chase reacted quickly and caught her in his arms.
Leah looked into Chase's eyes and she could see something different. His eyes had so much more depth and when she gazed into them, she felt a warm tingly feeling in her stomach. She also noticed a sparkle in his eyes that captivated her. She eventually looked away, blushing a deep red shade.
"I guess you could say that you've started to fall for me, Leah"
"If you mean physically then that is an accurate statement because as of now I am literally falling for you but might I remind you that you were the one who pulled me towards you"
"Well it seems that you're already developing feelings for me so maybe you just need another pull for you to fall for me emotionally"
"Don't even think about trying to kiss me right now"
"That's not really something I can reasonably do but don't worry, I won't actually try to kiss you, at least not right now"
"Chase, don't you dare believe for a second that I will marry you. That was all in the past"
"Well if I play it right then I'll be able to make being married to you a thing of the future"
"Untie me, I want to go to bed now"
"That just won't do, you must have dinner"
"I suppose you're right but you still have to untie me"
"As you wish, Princess"
As Chase united Leah, he noticed her glancing around.
"I hope you're not thinking of running away from me"
"I'm sure that even if I tried I wouldn't get far"
"If you try to escape again, there will be consequences"
"Like what?"
"I'm sure that you don't want to find out, Princess, so don't try anything"
Leah stood speechless as Chase started walking towards the castle again. She decided against trying to run away at the moment but knew that she would have to create an intricate plan without a chance of failure. Leah then followed Chase into the castle and into the grand dining hall.
The spread on the table was magnificent. There were so many different types of food on the table including and two famous desserts from both Alriya and Hydreas. The first one Leah saw was called Velflaira.
It was a rich, chocolate cake filled with strawberry whipped cream, and covered in a silky milk chocolate ganache and chocolate-covered strawberries. What made it really special was the special chocolate cake layer that had pieces of fresh strawberry and when it was cut, the layers appeared to make a crown.
The second dessert was from Hydreas and was one of the best desserts in all of the kingdoms. It was an ice cream-like dessert that was usually Hydean berry flavored. It also had a special thin vanilla cone that was decorated in red jelly roses. As a result, it was called Rosalie cream.
Leah decided to try the Rosalie cream as she had tried Vellfire many times growing up in Alriya. She first took a small bite and found the taste absolutely delicious. It was soon finished in a matter of seconds.
"It looks like you're enjoying my favorite Hydrean dessert. If you were to stay here with me, I would make sure you would be able to have it any time of the day"
"Thanks for the offer but Velfaira is equally if not more delicious"
"You wish, Princess. In most peoples' opinions, Rosalie cream is vastly superior"
"Chase, perhaps you have not stayed in Alriya long enough to realize that Velfaira is the dessert of choice for most people"
"Perhaps you could have had the best of both worlds if we were to unite our kingdoms. We could combine the desserts. Imagine how delicious a Vefaira would taste if it was topped with some Rosalie cream"
"I don't think that this is still just about ice cream"
"You're right, if we were to join our kingdoms, imagine how powerful we could be"
"Chase, I don't think you understand, I will not let you have the satisfaction of overthrowing Drastos. To think for a second, that I actually cared about you or even though that you might love me"
"Don't you dare think that I don't love you. I wasn't going to tell you this, but clearly you need to know"
"Know what? What could possibly change my mind right now?"
"Leonidas is a murderer"
"I heard he was a soldier but his only intentions were to protect his people"
"I don't mean on the battlefield"
"Then what could you possibly mean"
"That man, that you supposedly fell in love with, killed my father"
"Are you sure? I don't think that he could have done something like this"
"I'm sure, he killed him right in front of my eyes"
"Why would he do such a thing?"
"I myself don't know but I'm sure my father didn't do anything that deserved death"
"I just can't believe that he would do that. How can I trust you?"
"Look, what do I have to gain from telling you this, I am trying to justify my reasons for keeping you here in Hydreas. I don't want you to suffer the same fate as my father"
"There surely must be a reason that you've decided to tell me now"
"I had no choice, Leah. I didn't even want to tell you right now. I wanted you to fall in love with me on your own but it seems like you were still under the delusion that Leonidas was perfect for you and I could not in good conscience just let you fall to his violent wrath"
"Leonidas loves me"
"I'm sure he's made you believe that but he's not who you think he is"
"I'm going to bed now. I need time to think"
"Would you like me to escort you to your room"
"No, I'll be fine. You can finish up with dinner if you would like"
"I'm coming with you"
"I suppose I can't stop you"
Chase and Leah then started to walk up the stairs until they got to the door of the room. Chase wondered why Leah hadn't entered the room until he noticed that she had been crying. He gently lifted her chin up so that she could meet his eyes. He tenderly wiped tears off of her cheeks and she finally looked into his eyes.
His gaze was as warm as a hot summer day and yet part of it was still as cold as ice.
"I'm here for you, Leah. I'll always be here for you"
Chase and Leah then walked into the room and Chase noticed that Leah was slowly falling asleep so he immediately picked her up. With Leah sleeping in his arms, Chase carried her to his bed as it was closer and he didn't want to wake her up.
As he laid her down onto his bed, he heard her mumble something.
"Stay with me"
He obeyed and laid down on his bed next to her. She started to shiver so she carefully pulled the blanket over them. He was surprised when she started to move closer to him and eventually had draped one of her legs over his. He especially had to maintain his self-control when she nuzzled her head against his neck.
Eventually, they had both fallen asleep, when they heard the guards yelling loudly outside their room.
They both woke up and ran outside. Chase asked his head guard what happened and he informed him that there had been a breach in the castle.
As soon as the guard left, Chase saw a figure walking towards him. When he looked closer, he could see that it was Leonidas.