Over the next week or so, I didn't see much of Alexander and it was so hard to get a hold of him. This base was huge, I couldn't go walking the length and breadth of it everytime I wanted to find him. If he wanted me to find him, he probably would tell me where he was going whenever I did ask him, so I stopped. He had a secret and I had to respect that.

But another week went past and I grew impatient, and one thing especially threw me off the rails.

As I was checking the day's rota in our hallway, I saw that Alexander's had completely changed, even his lunch and breakfast times were different.

He did this.

I didn't know what was happening. I didn't know if he was avoiding me, if he was busy, if he wasn't we'll all because he wouldn't tell me and I couldn't ask!

Although I said I couldn't walk the length and breadth of the base, I did! I was going to be Boo Boo the Fool yet again, and I probably wasn't going to learn from past mistakes- but that's what anger does.

I finally came across Alexander in the gym, sparring with the same guys that Gemini used to train with. I hadn't actually been in there since I got that box from Austin, I didn't think I could. But now, I needed to.

No one spared a glance at me. He'd probably told them to ignore me too. I knew damn well that they all knew I was there.

I watched and waited, Alexander was exceptional at fighting, he was currently up again two guys at once.

Once Pulp called a timeout and threw each of the guys a water bottle, I decided that would be the time to make my move. I tried to appear dominant in the situation, determined to get the answers I deserved, but my tug on Alexander's arm to pull him over to me barely made him budge. He looked down at me with a confused expression- and like that, the power dynamics were once again in his favour; I felt like a child trying to get the attention of an adult. His strength was incomparable.

Alexander held up a finger to the guys he was sparring with, signalling he'd be one minute and then walked over with me to the side- like adults.

"Why are you avoiding me?" I hissed as quietly as I could.

"No need to whisper, those guys can hear you and they don't care," he responded casually.

"Okay, then why are you avoiding me?" I repeated in a normal voice.

"Remember what happened in the car on the way back here, the day before the interview?"

He was referring to the incident where his grip got a little too tight. I nodded, remembering that very well.

"And do you remember what I was like in the medical bay when I was brought back here?" He added.

Again, I nodded.

"I can be like that sometimes now, and I don't want you around to see it. It's embarrassing not being able to control my instincts. I'm training to keep that personality suppressed, yet keep my abilities. I want to fight Austin and to do that I need to be strong." He sighed, "Austin is probably a lot different to the Chace you knew, and that's because of his instincts, but he can keep them under control. I can't do that very well. So I'm sorry if it seems like I'm avoiding you because you did something wrong, I just don't want to hurt you. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself."

My mouth kept opening and closing as my mind went into a frenzy trying to pick out what I wanted to respond to first. I was angry, confused, guilt-ridden and even a little embarrassed- all that was a lot for one body to handle.

He flashed me a toothy grin, "it's a lot, right?"

"Yeah," I breathed out. "So you've stopped drinking blood so you can be stronger and so you can fight Austin-"

"Actually, I just reduced my intake. If I stopped, you'd be dead by now," he cut in nonchalantly.

I narrowed my eyes at him, a warning not to interrupt again. "And you want to go to Austin to fight him? Are you insane?"

Although Alexander said the guys he was training with didn't care about what we were talking about, I still didn't want to create a scene before them and raise my voice.

"Fight him? That's not all I'll do. That guy- he messed with me, with you, my family, my country, with everything. I despise him. He'll pay with more than cuts and bruises. I'll-"

I reached out to him, watching as his eyes gradually turned red the angrier he got. The second my skin met his, he snapped out of it. The same look of confusion that he had when we were in the car muddied his face.

"I'll come to your room and we can talk about it later. Please?" Just as I was about to protest, he pouted and dropped to his knees jokingly, "please?"

Cute. Real cute.

I huffed and threw up my arms, "okay!"

"Thanks, love you," a quick kiss was planted on my forehead before he jogged back over to the mat.

So he was avoiding me for my own safety, and he didn't tell me why because he was embarrassed. There was no reason for me to be mad anymore. I just wished he lied to me or something- so I didn't blame myself as much. This was all because he wanted to go against Austin- not only going against, he wanted to kill him. That much was obvious from his demeanour, and that thing with his eyes happened again.

If Alexander was to kill Austin, then he'd be lowering himself to his level, and who knew what kind of mental damage that would do to him? He was fragile, that wasn't a bad thing, but it meant he was easily hurt and I didn't want him hurt anymore.

How could I stop him though? He was so determined to go through with his plans that he was avoiding me without even telling me why! The King put no restraints on his children, they could do what they wanted. The General, however, could stop all of this, he was in control down here.

I made my way out of the gym and over to his office where it was common to find him. We didn't have permission to leave the base until either Iyeong or the General said we were allowed. Therefore, Alexander couldn't go if the General said he wasn't allowed.

I knocked on his door and waited for someone inside to let me in.

The General stared at me with steely eyes as the door was. Iyeong had the same expression at the far end of the desk. No surprise there. These people were so weird. The General had especially hardened up compared to when we first arrived.

"What can I do for you, Princess?" He questioned, gesturing that I should take a seat.

"Do you know what Alexander is planning to do once he finishes training here?"

"Yes I do, and I support his decision. The boy has strong instincts, stronger than anyone I've ever seen down here. Fighting is in his nature! If we are to send anyone directly to Austin, then Prince Alexander is the only one that can match his strength."

"Alexander is going to live with the memory of killing someone!" I screamed. Either they weren't listening or they didn't care, but it was annoying me.

"You don't think Prince Austin deserves to die?" The General asked, his voice dangerously low, a warning to think before I say anything else.

"That's not what I said. I don't care about Austin. I care about Alexander and what'll happen if you let him kill-"

"The Prince won't kill Austin. No one kills Austin. Alexander can break every bone in Austin's body until he's near death, and if he doesn't stop we'll do the same to him. We need Austin alive," Iyeong said in a very firm tone. I had no doubts about what she said.

"If the Prince wants to go, that's his decision. I'm not going to stop him. But this could end the war, I hope you know that," the General stated.

"General Cory Phaeus is right. With Prince Austin out of the picture, his soldiers will become messy and unorganised, and their numbers are dwindling as it is. If we win, and if we capture Prince Austin, the Monaghan family could own Drecott," Iyeong added.

I'd never seen or heard any of them so passionate about something before. They felt really strongly about letting Alexander go, and I felt the same about not letting him go. If Austin recaptured Alexander, we could end up at square one again, and who knows what he'd do to Alexander. Everything hung in the balance, and I wasn't the one for gambling and taking chances.

I looked between the pair, there was no persuading them. Their decisions were set in the very stone this place was made of. I thanked the pair for their time and made my leave.

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