I woke up with the light shining on my face. I walked to the window and looked out at the beautiful view outside. There was a knock on my door, and I walked over and opened it. There stood a maid with her head bowed.

"Good morning, Lady Celeste. The king has requested you to join him for breakfast in the dining room," the woman said. Before I could answer, she hurried away, and I shrugged. I closed the door and went into the bathroom, taking a quick shower. I took out a new toothbrush from its case and brushed my teeth with it. I decided to put on the clothes I had worn since there were no extras.

Walking through the beautiful walls of the palace, I asked a guard the way to the dining room, and he showed me, for which I thanked him. The king, seated at the head of the table, looked up as I entered the room with a smile.

"Celeste," he whispered my name. "Please sit and have breakfast with me."

I nodded and sat next to him. I inhaled the aroma of the delicious foods in front of me and rubbed my hands in glee.

"Hungry, I see?" The king chuckled at me.

"Yeah," I mumbled, ducking my head in shyness.

"Well, dig in!" Elijah encouraged.

A few minutes of eating in silence passed before Elijah cleared his throat, and I turned to look at him. He took a napkin and cleaned his lips, then stared at me deeply, creepily, and asked, "Did you enjoy your tour of the palace last night?"

I froze at his question and almost choked on my saliva.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Hmmm," he hummed, still staring at me as he took a sip from his drink. His gaze on me darkened for a second, but I caught it. My heart pounded in my chest, and my hands shook. Something was off; something was definitely off with the king.

"I-I think I should get back to New York," I stuttered and cursed myself for it.

"Why so early?" he asked, looking at the watch on his arm.

"I have a class soon," I said, wiping my sweaty hands on my jeans.

He nodded and motioned for me to follow him as he stood up. I did the same reluctantly and followed him silently. We got to the same study room, and he stood opposite a mirror, placing his hand on it and chanting the same words as yesterday. After the portal opened, he turned to me, and I bowed my head, looking at his shoes, unable to meet his eyes, and he sighed.

"You do not need to be afraid of me, Celeste. I would never hurt you," he said, placing a kiss on my head, then placing his car keys in my hand. I nodded my head in thanks, faced the mirror, and jumped in.

I landed on the snowy ground and looked around. I saw that I was in the same woods that Elijah had brought me to. I looked at the giant tree behind me, and it looked normal, just like every other tree there.

I spotted the blue Lamborghini that we drove last night. I quickly made my way towards it and got in. I parked outside my hostel and made my way to my room. Immediately, I was bombarded with questions about my whereabouts from Anna, and I told her I was with a friend.

I skipped class and decided to look up some part-time jobs. I would be graduating from university in four months, and I didn't want to stay in the dorm room forever or rely on my parents' money.

I surfed the net for a while, looking for a job, and came across one. They were looking for a waitress. I clicked on it and saw that it was one of the restaurants close by, about ten minutes' walk from here. I scheduled the interview for this evening because, why not?

I watched a few YouTube videos on how to serve at a restaurant, just in case, and then got ready for the interview. I put on my blue jeans and a black t-shirt, paired with white sneakers. I went to the restaurant named Molly's Jollies and walked in. I tapped a lady with red hair, and she turned to look at me.

"Hi," I said with a smile. "I'm looking for the manager..." I trailed off.

"Oh, you must be here for the interview?" she asked, and I nodded in confirmation. She pointed to a door and walked to it, then knocked.

"Come in," a voice said behind the door, and I opened it to see an old, chubby man sitting behind a worn-out desk.

"Ah! You must be Celeste, no?" he asked, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

"Yes," I replied, closing the door behind me. He motioned for me to take a seat.

"My name is Johnathan, but you can just call me Molly," he said with a friendly smile playing on his lips.

"Sure," I answered.

"Okay," he said, clapping his hands. "I'm just going to ask you a few questions, and that's it!" he exclaimed, and I nodded.

"Any work experience?" Molly asked.

"Uhm... No," I rasped out, then cleared my throat.

He gave me a toothy grin and laughed. "Okay, you got the job."

"Wait, what?!" I exclaimed in disbelief. He nodded and told me to start work on Monday.

"Thank you!" I told Molly, standing to my feet. He waved his hand at me, and as I was about to close his office door, he shouted, "Have a wonderful evening."

I waved at the redhead attending to a customer as I walked out of the restaurant.

I looked up at the dark sky and breathed out. The air was chilly, and I wished I had brought my coat with me. I decided to go for a run and quickened my pace to the woods. When I was deep in, I breathed in and placed my hands on the hem of my shirt, about to pull it off when two men came out. I backed away from them and turned around, only to see three more standing there.

"Who are you?!" I shouted at them, clenching my fingers into fists. The middle man among the three chuckled, and the rest followed. I looked between them, pointing my fingers at them in a threatening manner.

"Look, if it's money you want... I-I don't have any," I rasped out to the five men, but I knew they were no regular people. They were rogues; I could smell it.

"Oh, honey," the middle man taunted, then tsked at me. "I'm sure in that pretty little head of yours, you know we want more than that."

I inhaled and tried to run away, but before I could, the men behind me grabbed my arm and held me tight. I screamed for help into the cold, dark night, my voice echoing among the trees. The man in the middle, who I guessed was the leader, came forward and grabbed me by the cheeks, making them hollow. He dipped his finger painfully into my cheeks, making me wince from the pain and tears threatening to fall from my eyes.

"Now, bitch," he spat, bringing his face closer to mine and drawing his finger from my cheek to my neck, now choking me. "I want you to tell the King that Derrick Wright is back."

With that, he let go of my neck, and so did the others, and I fell to the ground with a thud, gasping for air. I looked up to see that the men were no longer around me; it was like they disappeared into thin air because I couldn't smell them. I quickly took my purse that had fallen on the snow and ran out of the forest. I got to my hostel and looked around, making sure that I wasn't being followed before entering my empty room.

I brought out my phone, dialed my brother's number, and on the first ring, he picked up.

"What's up, short—" "You have to get me the King's number!" I told my brother, cutting him off.

"Celeste, what's wrong?" Simone asked, his voice getting serious.

"I don't have time, just help me get it!" I screamed into the phone, my voice trembling.

"O-okay," Simone stuttered.

I hung up and placed my phone beside me, then covered myself up with my blanket. Fifteen minutes later, a text came in from my brother, and I copied the number he sent me, then dialed it. He picked up immediately.

"Hello?"

"Elijah, you have to come now," I rasped out, my voice cracking.

"Celeste," he said my name, then hung up.

I placed my phone on my bed again, wrapped my arms around my knees, then placed my head on them and fell asleep.

I was awakened by the sound of a knock on my door, and reluctantly, I walked towards it. I opened the door to see the worried face of the king. He pulled me in for a hug, and without hesitation, I wrapped my arms around his waist.

"What happened?" Elijah asked, letting go of my shoulder and cupping my face with his warm hand.

"I was attacked by some men... Rogues," I whispered, looking over his shoulder, thinking they might be lurking around.

"Do you know what they look like?" the king asked, his eyes darkening, and his jaw clenched.

"No," I said, shaking my head. "But he told me to tell you that he's back."

"And what's his name?"

"Derrick... Derrick Wright."