The night was another restless one. I didn't have any bad dreams but I just couldn't sleep. Believe it or not, old, out of use sewers are not the most comfortable of places to sleep in. I was tossing and turning, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in, all while trying to stay quiet so I didn't wake Jasper and Max up. None of that mattered though because when I woke up, I found out that neither of them had managed to get much sleep either.

Through a yawn I ask them, "how did you sleep?" which in response I got two yawns back. I think that's all I needed to know.  "Is really any point of us staying here for any longer? It's not like we are trying to sleep anymore." I ask them both.

It is Jasper who responds first while Max still seems to be yawning. "I think that you're right although we should have some breakfast first. It is the most important meal of the day after all." he says. The three of us unpack some food from our bags, mainly just some berries that we can snack on, and then we carry on with our journey.

The three of us leave behind the area where we spent the night and make our way towards the ocean tunnels. According to Jasper, if we just keep walking and don't stop then  we should be able to reach the ocean tunnel by the end of the day. I'm hoping he's right. It would give me some piece of mind to know that I am leaving The Island far behind me.

Walking seems to be getting easier for me. I've never been unfit because while I lived in the palace I had to participate in numerous physical activities that included working out on a regular basis. However I have never been prepared for running away. The forest floor was nothing like what I have trained on before. Running and walking across it was a lot harder but now I am getting use to most surfaces. Even the one I am currently on, in the tunnel, is getting easier to walk on although it is covered in some sort of liquid. Jasper keep reassuring me that it isn't urine and is probably just overflowing water. Well that is what he keeps telling me.

Anyway, it means I am able to make more distance than what I originally could so I am not slowing the other two boys behind. I can feel myself walking faster than before without losing my breath or my feet aching which helps us cover a lot of distance. After around six hours of continuous walking we stop to have another break.

"I think there should only be another couple of miles or so until we reach the ocean tunnel. When we reach the tunnel, I'll go and find some sort of shop before we enter it. I'll get some more food and clothes if I can and then we can move forward. You two will have to stay down here though until I come back." Max says to us while we are sat eating more berries from earlier. I feel relived knowing that we have made a lot of distance already today and the idea of having more food to eat other than berries really lifts my spirits.

"Do you know what I really miss?" I ask them. "Coffee. I really miss coffee." I say.

"Out of everything in the palace, you miss coffee the most? You're a strange human being, you know that right?" Jasper says to me.

I look at him and roll my eyes, "obviously I  miss other things such as my bed but yes, I really miss coffee. I used to always drink it and now I'm not actually sure how I am functioning without it." I miss the smell of coffee, how strong it can be. Right now I would love to be smelling that rather than the remaining smell of human waste which haunts the tunnels.

"I hope this isn't your way of providing me with a shopping list of items to get while the two of you remain down here." Max jokes, or at least I assume it is a joke. The thought of the two of us getting along is something I never thought would happen.

"Don't worry, I don't expect you to get any. Just try and get something that is more filling than these berries though. I'm starving and we have only just finished eating." I say to him.

"I'll make sure to keep that in mind. Should we start moving again then?" Max asks. We agree that we should make a move again because hopefully it won't take us that now to reach the Mainland.

The sound of rain and wind can be heard faintly from where we are and I can only imagine how powerful that storm must be. I glance a look at Jasper who is showing a worried face which doesn't fill me with confidence. I'm just glad that I am not the one who has to go out into that.

"I thought it was suppose to be summer?" Jasper asks us while nodding his head upwards towards the direction of the ground above.

"I was also told that it was. Sounds a lot more like winter outside. It is starting to feel like it down here as well." I reply to him. There seems to have been a sudden drop in temperature since our lunch and I can feel goosebumps along my arm. What I wouldn't give to be at home, surrounded by a large fire.

Max's face suddenly becomes annoyed . "Consider yourselves lucky. I'm hoping it goes away soon otherwise I will be soaked by the time I get back to the two of you."

I bite my lip knowing that what he is saying is true. It isn't really fair that Jasper and I stay dry down here while he has to go up to the surface and face the storm. "Well you will not have to go straight away. Surely you can wait until the storm passes?" I ask.

"I don't think he can princess. The longer we are waiting down here, the more likely it is that we will be caught. There are going to be times where we face weather and other challenges that we want to hide from but we can't. We just have to keep going." Jasper informs me and I know he is right. "Besides, I'm hoping that by the time we reach the ocean tunnel it will be nightfall so then when Max pops up to the surface, he is less likely to be seen. If we waited for this storm to pass, well then we could be waiting all night and then we would have to wait all day for night again. It will be best to do it now." He tells me. It just seems unfair that Max will probably have to go out into that storm while we wait down here.

As we are walking, I notice how Jasper and Max begin to get closer together. For the first time since I have known the two of them, they actually begin to look like a couple. I guess I must have created a drift between them but now that Max and I are finally getting along, it seems that they can resume their relationship. Jasper places his arm around Max's waist and pulls him closer to his body. They look really cute, especially as Max is just shorter than him. I watch as Max stares at Jasper with an expression full of love and how Jasper returns it. For a moment the both of them forget where they are, what they are doing and that the princess of their country is standing behind them, watching their illegal relationship. It is a good job for them that I don't believe the things that my grandfather believed in.

It's funny because right now I don't want what they have. I'm not jealous of their relationship like some girls my age would be. I remember the many times talking to Crystal about boys and relationships and how she would tell me about all the boys she has met and kissed since the last time we saw each other. I used to laugh and joke with her about these things but I never once wished that I was her. I've always known that one day I will have to get married though and have a family of my own but I have never been in a rush to do so. Right now, I just want to help people.

One day, there will be a world where everyone is treated fairly and if I can start creating that world then that is the best thing I can do. I know that one day I will have to go back to the palace and share my experiences in order to create this world. Even if that means sacrificing Max to the rain.

"What are you laughing at?" Max turns around and asks me. I only realise now that I had been laughing to myself about the thought of sacrificing Max. Hopefully he doesn't think that I am laughing at him or Jasper.

I shake my head at him at him and reply with a simple "nothing" which is enough for him to turn back around so that he is facing forwards.

After a couple more hours of relentless walking, we finally reach the ocean tunnel, or at least that is where we are according to Jasper.

"Are you sure? It doesn't look much different to the rest of the tunnels we have been in." I ask him. In fact nothing about the place looks different. It is still dark, smelly and damp. I think I was expecting that I would be able to hear the crash of the waves against the tunnel as we walk through. Obviously, I am wrong.

"Yes I'm sure but we have to go up to the surface and then climb down into the ocean tunnel. So I guess that technically we are just at the end of this tunnel, if you want to be picky." he says back to me.

"Right, I better get going. You two stay down here and I'll go buy some food and warmer clothes. I'll try and not be too long but if I am not back by sunrise, well then you two carry on." Max then says which leads to me rolling my eyes.

"Wow, you are a drama queen. I think you'll be fine. Now just go because I am starving." I tell him.

"Yes your majesty." he jokes back.

"It's 'your highness'." I inform him and receive to blank looks in response. "I'm only a princess, not a queen. That is what you would say to my mother." now it is their turn to roll their eyes at me. "Just go." and so he does, leaving only Jasper and I down here in the dark tunnels.

"Can you believe we are actually doing this?" he asks me as soon as Max has gone.

"Honestly, no I can't. I never thought I would actually make it out of the castle, never mind get this far. If it wasn't for you and Max, I don't think I would have done." I tell Jasper, honestly believing every word I say.

Jasper's eyes narrow when he looks at me. "You know what, I don't believe you. You managed to escape the palace by yourself which I can't imagine was easy. Then you managed not to get caught for the first night even though you weren't really that far. I think if you hadn't have stumbled across me, you would have managed just fine. You would have figured out some sort of plan, although it would never be as good as this one, and then Alexandria, you would have run and never looked back." it is really sweet to hear Jasper say all of those things about me, it really warms my heart. I thank him so he knows that.

"You and Max make a cute couple, I thought you should know." I tell him when I think of nothing more to say. For the first time since I met him, Jasper actually blushes.

"I don't think many people will agree with you there." he says back to me. My heart sinks as I realise that Jasper believes that his relationship with Max isn't as valid as a heterosexual one. I know that he loves Max a lot more than Crystal ever loved any of the boys she ever made out with.

"Now it is my turn to disagree with you. I bet there are people all over the country hiding their relationship just like you and Max. You are lucky that I stumbled across you because if I hadn't, then I wouldn't have known that this is something that needs changing. Anyway, the love the two of you have for each other is so much stronger than any other love I have seen before."

"But didn't you grow up in a palace so you didn't get to experience the 'real world' and witness the relationships there?" Jasper challenges me.

"That may be true but I never saw my parents act the way you two did back in that tunnel. My cousin Crystal uses men as her own toys. I guess the only 'real' relationship I have ever come across is that of my butler Louis and his wife although I have only ever seen the two of them together a handful of times. When he would tell me stories about her, I could sense the love in his voice and it would show on his face. That is what the two of you are like and if people have a problem with that just because you are two me, well then, they are pathetic." I tell him, meaning every single word.

I try and read Jasper's facial expression but I can't. He looks both upset and happy with what I have just said. "I just hope you are right." he says to me but we are then interrupted by Max's arrival.

"See, there was no reason for you to be worried about whether you would make it back. You were barely gone. What did you manage to get?" I ask him.

At the same time, Jasper asks him, "Max, what's wrong?"

"Guys, I have some bad news." is all he replies with.

A/N: Hi guys, so I've posted this a little later than what I normally would mainly because I forgot it was Wednesday! Oops but happy #RoyalWednesday, the last one of 2016.

I hope you all had a great Christmas if you celebrated it and if you didn't then I hope you have all been well.

I have actually finished planning ALL of Royal Blood now so each chapter is planned out. All I have to do now is write the rest of it!

What did you think of this chapter? What do you think the bad news is?

As always don't forget to comment and vote!