Kaizen wiped the blood from his nose, then raced down the hallway. He tore up the stairs, meeting Adeline and Alden with Kaden and Aliyah just outside of Rowan's room. Quinn was standing in the corner, wiping her nose on a handkerchief.

       "Kai," Kaden gave him a startled look, "What happened to-"

       "One of your men," Kaizen panted, wiping his bleeding nose again as he pointed a hand at Alden, "tried to kill me!"

       "What?" they all withdrew, shocked.

        "I saw the crest," Kaizen jabbed a finger at the symbol that rested across the king's collarbones as part of his uniform, "All of your men have it on their armor right below their collarbones. And this one had it. He came at me with a knife! Who ordered him to kill me?"

        "People have their own intentions, you know," Adeline commented coldly, "He could have been doing it with his own will. Besides, how do we know you're not making this up for another reason to start a war?"

        "What, you think I punched myself in the face and bruised my own throat?!" Kaizen roared, looking only seconds away from attacking her, "I threw a man over the edge of one of your balconies, and he was wearing your symbol! This was no assassin either, he had no clue how to use a knife of that style!"

        "And how do you know that?" Adeline snapped.

        "Because I would be dead!" Kaizen shouted, and Aliyah grabbed his arm.

       "Hey, easy! I know you're shaken up, but you can't attack anyone yourself," she told him in a calming voice, though he could see she was just as furious at the Queen's sheer denial as he was.

       "I know nothing of any man sent to kill you, I swear," Alden seemed appalled, "But none of my soldiers would ever-"

       "If I were you, I'd shut up," Kaden advised as Kaizen's eyes blazed, "Give him a moment to calm down before you lay on any more denials."

        "If they wanted you dead, why not have done it last night?" Aliyah asked, keeping a hand on Kaizen's arm to ensure he wouldn't surge forward in an attempt to strangle them. "It would have been easy just to slide in through the window."

       "Exactly," Kaizen began pacing, the adrenaline still pulsing through his veins from the recent battle. He found he couldn't stand still, "Which means, they couldn't have had an incentive to kill me then. The only thing that has changed is Rowan. Maybe they tried to kill me because they thought I might awaken Rowan..." His eyes flicked to Adeline, though no accusations left his mouth.

       "Or they didn't know you were here until today," Adeline pointed out.

        Kaizen looked down at her, and his hands curled into fists, "Possibly," he consented, his voice calming. He let out a relaxing breath, turning towards the king, "Forgive my outburst. But if you have ever been attacked by a soldier from a country you're trying to make peace with, and their leaders completely deny knowledge of such event, you would understand how I feel."

         "If you think we're trying to keep you from saving our daughter, you're welcome to go do it," Alden gestured towards the door, "Please. If you can bring her back, we'll give you the border that you want."

       "I can try," Kaizen said, looking to the door, "But I'm not expecting to do it. I doubt she looks at me as I look at her."

       "Then don't bother," Adeline snorted, "There's no one who can awaken her. Unless we can persuade Maleficent to lift the curse, I'm afraid there's nothing we can do."

       "You're afraid?" Aliyah glared at Adeline, "You've never been afraid for Rowan! I know you tried to have her killed! Deny all you want, but you can't make us change what we believe."

       "Well said," Kaizen agreed, then sighed as he looked to the door. "I guess we'll never know until we try," and he slowly pushed open the door. Kaden watched as he vanished into the room.

       He found himself wondering what would happen if Kaizen was the one to wake Rowan. Then he could watch as the two kingdoms were united, and he wouldn't be banished from Tiberia anymore. It was a good thought, but he realized it wasn't what he wanted.

        Kaden fidgeted uncomfortably, hating how selfish his thoughts had become. He didn't want Kaizen to wake her up. He didn't want Kaizen to be her true love. No. He turned away from the others, and Aliyah called after him:

       "Hey! Where are you going?"

       Kaden didn't reply, just descended down the stairs and strode out to the balcony he had seen his brother go to. He saw a small pool of blood on the floor, and a knife rested on the floor. This was where Kaizen had been attacked alright.

        Kaden gave his head a shake as he felt someone was watching him. It was only his imagination, so he shook it off. Even so, he headed back upstairs to see Kaizen leaving the room.

       His brother gave a small shake of his head, and Kaden felt his stomach drop. It hadn't worked.

        "Kade," Kaizen rested a hand on his shoulder as he tried to shrug past, "I'm not the only guy she knew."

         "What?" Kaden frowned at his brother, stepping back, "Dude, it's not me. I tried to kill her, and she obviously hates me. She only insulted me every other sentence."

        Kaizen laughed, surprising them all, "You know, I realized something. I was hoping it was me, y'know? But I knew it wasn't. Do you know why? I didn't want to tell you until I knew for sure."

        "What?"

        "Rowan doesn't like me. But she should. She did at the dance, and I knew cause I've seen that hundreds of times before with other girls. So what changed between our last meeting and the first one?"

        "Are you asking me, or do you know?" Kaden stared at him as if he had gone crazy.

        "I'm telling you that you should try to wake her up."

      Kaden blinked, "I'm sorry, what? Why me? I'm a pain to her, remember? If it's not you, it can't be me."

      "What if it is?"

      "It isn't."

       "But what if it is, and she stays asleep forever because you didn't want to check?" Kaizen grinned at Kaden, though it seemed slightly forced, "Go do it. Just see, and if not, so what? You tried."

      "I can't kiss her while she's asleep!"

      "Why? I did."

      "You're a creep!"

      Adeline rolled her eyes, "This boy is a stable boy. He has no right to go near the princess!"

       "Actually, he's my brother," Kaizen's voice turned to ice, "And also the prince of Tiberia. If you've mistreated him as he worked beneath you, then it will not end nicely for you."

       "He can try," King Alden said, flicking a hand to the door despite Adeline's protests, "Might as well test."

        Kaden found himself carted into the room before he could protest. He put a hand over his face with an annoyed sigh. He heard the door slam shut behind him, and he jumped. He snorted in annoyance, calling through the door, "It's not going to work!"

     When the door remained closed, he turned to face Rowan. She was unconscious on the bed, her dark auburn hair falling into her closed eyes. He sat down beside her, the bed squeaking beneath his weight.

       "I think that if you were awake, you'd probably hit me," Kaden said awkwardly, unsure if he should really do it, "Repeatedly," he added with a wince. "But, uh... if it woke you up... would it change that? I mean, if you did, that would mean..."

       She didn't move, the only sign she was not just a corpse being the slow and subtle rise and fall of her chest.

        Kaden dragged a hand down his face, then brushed away the hair from her eyes, "So, uh... is this one of those quick things, or does it have to be... longer..."

        "JUST DO IT!!" Kaizen shouted from outside of the door, and Kaden scowled, willing to bet his brother had his ear pressed against the door. Once an idiot, always and idiot.

       But he leaned down slightly, his heart seeming to race inside of his chest. She was going to kill him if she woke up. But he took a deep breath... and kissed her.