Ronin's POV

Freya led me through the lush garden to the edge of the wall where I knew the secret royal garden was. The door was closed and before we entered she turned around.

"Close your eyes and follow me. Don't open them until I tell you to." She ordered and I nodded. She can be quite demanding if she wanted to.

I closed my eyes as I heard her opening the door. She gave me instructions and I followed the sound of her voice.

After a few steps I heard her close the door behind us.

"There open your eyes." She said and I opened my eyes.

My jaw dropped in shock as I looked over the garden. Gone was the abandoned, neglected garden and in its place was a brand new garden.

It was absolutely breathtaking. The pond was clean, the pillars had flowers spiraling around them, the small pavilion was covered with leaves and beautiful white flowers.

The garden felt alive once more and I couldn't believe that it was the same garden.

"What do you think? Do you like it?" Freya asked.

"Do I like it, I love it!" I exclaimed as I pulled her into a hug.

"Thank you so much." I said as I pulled away.

"It's my pleasure, I'm glad you liked it." She said as we walked deeper into the garden to get a better look of the place.

I couldn't believe she did this for me. This was the best gift I've ever received in my life.

She took a seat under the pavilion and I followed. We sat there in comfortable silence for a while until I decided to break it.

"Freya?"

"Yes?"

"Do you still want to know about my curse?" I asked and she looked at me with wide eyes before she nodded. I never thought that I would ever be able to tell anyone, but after what Freya did for me proved that I could trust her and I was ready to tell her everything.

-*-
Freya's POV

I was shocked when Ronin asked me if I still wanted to know about his curse. I was curious, but I didn't want to pester him with it. I wanted him to tell me out of his own.

"Ronin you should not feel obligated to tell me, because of the garden. It was a gift, you don't have to give me something in return." I said thinking that he might feel that he should tell me about the curse in a way of thanking me.

"I know, but I want to. I trust you Freya, you're an amazing friend." He said and I felt a pang of something unfamiliar when he said friend. For some reason it made me sad. I knew Ronin was a friend to me, but there was another feeling there that I could not place.

"And so are you." I said unsure of what to reply.

He gave me his grimacing smile before he started to speak again.

"When I was twelve years old my parents had to go to another kingdom to discuss a peace treaty. I wanted to join them, but I had classes at the time and my father said it would be better if I stayed home. So for the last week before their departure we started to spend every spare second together. My father would always make time for me even though he was a busy king. The week flew by and before I knew it they left, leaving me alone with Moira and the rest of the servants.

Two weeks later a message arrived. My parent were attacked by a group of bandits. These bandits didn't want peace between the kingdoms so they killed the king and queen to start a war. At first I was sad and upset, but then I became outraged. All I wanted was revenge so I started to practice my sword fighting more and at the age of fourteen I became one of the best warriors.

I gathered my troops and being the stronger kingdom we plunged every village in the other kingdom until there was only ruins left. I blamed the other king, because he didn't control his people and I destroyed his kingdom. Victory was mine at the age of fifteen. Everything was great until she showed up.

She was a beautiful woman, but I was young and I didn't care for those things. She told me what I've done was wrong. And I chased her out my kingdom, but before she left she turned around and said, 'When the last petal of this rose falls your time is up and your curse would become permanent.' And she handed me a rose. With that she dissapeared. Pain surged through my body and I felt my bones changing. My men turned to wild animals and all my people turned into wild animals to. They ran off into the woods and nobody helped me. I hurt so much people through my blindness. I felt so bitter and angry and I knew I could never be happy again. But then you came and all my bitterness and anger slowly faded."

"Ronin...I'm so sorry. That must have been awful to go through." I said as I placed my hand on his paw.

"I only got what I deserved."

"That was the rose I saw."

"Yes it has four petals left."

"How much time do you have left?" I asked.

"Enough." He replied vaguely.

"But there must be a way to break this curse? Did she not tell you more?" I asked as I stood up and paced around.

"No, that was all she said." He said and I had a feeling that he was holding something back, but I did not know what.

"No, there must be more! We have to find her and ask her to remove the curse. You changed and that's good enough. If I could-"

"No, Freya stop. There is nothing you can do. Now lets head back to the castle it's getting dark and I'm starving." He said as he started to walk to the castle.

I wanted to help him so badly. I just got a new friend, I couldn't loose him. I needed him. I was determined to save him no matter what.

After making my mind I followed him back into the castle.

-*-
Ronin's POV

After our talk in the garden we went inside for dinner. There was silence between us and I knew Freya wanted to know more. But I couldn't tell her that the only way to break this curse was to get someone to say they love me and knowing her she would do it in a heart beat.

I didn't want her to save me because I deserved being cursed. I killed innocent people with families and the thought alone made me sick.

Later that night when I was alone Moira came to visit me.

"I told her about the curse." I said.

"And what did she say? Is she going to break it?" Moira asked.

"I didn't tell her how it can be broken."

"Ronin there is still a chance."

"Moira, don't you see? I don't want her to break the curse. She deserves someone better than me, not a cold hearted, bloodthirsty killer."

"Isn't it her choice?"

"I won't give her a choice. Now I need your help."

"With what?"

"Well as you may have heard, Freya has restored the royal secret garden for me. I want to do something to thank her. Any ideas?" I asked hopefully.

"How about a picnic?" She asked.

"Yes that sounds great, but where?" Moira thought about it for a while before her eyes lit up and she started to jump with excitement.

"I know! I know! How about the ocean palace?"

The ocean palace was our vacation home and my parents used to take me there when I was a small boy. It is a beautiful place with a stunning view of the ocean.

"That is an excellent idea. But it is quite a journey." I said. If I ran there it would take me an hour to get there, but if Freya has to walk it could be quite a long journey.

"Not if you carry Freya. Knowing her she would love to ride a bear." Moira said.

"Well then we will leave tomorrow morning. Would you bring our breakfast to us and pack us a picnic basket?" I asked.

"Of course, my king." Moira said with a mock bow.

"Great, thank you." I said. She gave me a smile before she left me alone for the night. I couldn't wait to see what Freya would think about the ocean palace. Thinking about it, I started to wonder if Freya ever saw the ocean before. And maybe if she had, it could trigger a memory.

That thought took me by surprise and I felt sad. I knew it was inevitable that her memory was going to return and she would leave. But for now I could only enjoy our time spent together.

-*-
Javier's POV

It has been a total of six months since my sister's dissapearance and we still had no idea where she could be. We searched for weeks on end, but with no luck.

I was on my way to the thrown room to speak to my father when I heard voices.

"This is all my fault Keelan, I should have never let her go! Now my little girl is out there probably fighting for her life." I heard my mother sob and my heart broke. Before my father could speak I stepped inside.

My mother's eyes immediately shot up to me with a pleading look.

"Did you find her?" She asked hopefully and I hated to be bearer of bad news. 

"No." I said softly. My mother started to cry more and my father pulled her into a hug.

My heart broke at the sight infront of me. Seeing my mother this sad made me want to do something, but I couldn't. I stepped out to give them some privacy and went to the training fields.

Auliria was fighting against a component. She was an excellent fighter and the moment I saw her I felt my spirits lifting. She was the one who stood by me through my sister's disappearance.

Auliria quickly disarmed her opponent before she came to me.

"How are your parents doing?" She asked.

"Not good, my mother is devasted." I said with a sigh.

"Don't worry, Freya will be fine. She is a fighter just like her brother." She said.

I gave her a small smile in return, but my smile started to drop the more I thought about Freya.

Auliria noticed my look and placed her hand on my shoulder, "Don't worry, we will get her back and that is a promise."