Dakota walked in front of everyone, the scowl on his face unwavering. Magnolia was concerned, as she stepped up to let him know that she was there for him, but Phoenix stopped her and told her that he needed time. She listened to him, but couldn't stop thinking about what was going on inside his head. She had no idea where they were going, and no one did. Slate kept glancing at Magnolia as if to tell her to ask Dakota where we were headed. Magnolia shrugged back, ignoring him.

Finally, when Slate couldn't handle it anymore, he spoke up. "Where are you leading us, Moses?"

Dakota whipped around, his blazing eyes getting suddenly darker, "You always have to seek a fight, don't you?"

Slate glanced at Magnolia, confused. She stepped up to put a hand on Dakota but he quickly backed away from her, shaking his head in fury. "I can't take you kids anywhere. It wasn't even five minutes in, and we were already spilling blood."

"Well excuse me, but I wasn't the one beating the crap out of some old man like you had some secret vendetta when he was just drunk!" Slate fumbled with the end of his shirt, not noticing how much worse he just made the situation. Dakota shoved Slate backwards, harder than he meant to. Slate went stumbling backward, cursing in surprise.

"What's your problem, man?" Slate shouted. Hudson shifted, shaking his head at the ground.

"My problem is that I feel like I have to babysit you and everyone else. The problem is that we could all starve to death in a few days and none of you have even focused on surviving because we're all too busy living our lives to the fullest. Which doesn't even make sense, because we are like dogs on the streets, strays that no one cares to even second glance at. My problem we have been through hell and back and we still have no place in this kingdom that we can call home." Dakota said, spinning on his heel and continuing to walk ahead of everyone.

Everyone couldn't look at each other after that, all silenced. Phoenix wrapped an arm around his little sister, whispering something in her ear. They all continued to follow Dakota, Magnolia straggling in the back, unable to stop wondering if the runaways would've been better out without her.

Everyone stopped, looking up at the tall building, a very old brick hotel sitting in front of them. No one stayed at hotels anymore, and Magnolia didn't understand how this one survived all the destruction and war. Dakota kept walking, strolling up right up to the front desk. The girl working there flashed a smile at the handsome boy in front of her, who looked as if he wanted to punch something.

"How can I help you?" She asked, and Dakota cleared his throat.

"Um, two rooms." His voice came out really rough because he had forgot about the water in his bag. The girl typed something into her computer, her blonde chopped hair falling into her face as she did so.

"Ten gold." She smiled again. Dakota fished out the gold coins in his backpack, tossing seven onto the glass counter.

"That's all I have. Can I work something out with you?" He swallowed, glancing around the hotel carefully. The girl looked from the coins to Dakota, not knowing what to do. The runaways piled into the hotel, crowding around Dakota, who didn't make eye contact with any of them. The girl looked shocked, scanning the crowd of teenagers.

There was a long silence before Dakota slammed his hand down on the glass, turning to the others. "Does anyone have three gold?"

There was a quiet murmur, and no one answered. Which meant it was hopeless.

"Well, I guess we'll head out of here then." Dakota began to grab his gold back but the blonde girl interrupted him, "Sure, it'll work. Let me take you to your rooms."

She took the seven gold, throwing her own three into the metal bowl under the desk, grabbing two keys and walking up the small staircase. Dakota sighed in relief, muttering a thank you. Magnolia tried to hold on to his hand, but he recoiled at the touch, stepping away from her. Hurt flashed across her face as she handed her backpack to Hudson before turning back down the stairs, needing some alone time. Brylee noticed her, and grabbed River, whispering something in her ear. River nodded in excitement, handing her backpack to Slate and kissing his cheek. Slate raised an eyebrow, confused. "I'll be back." She smiled before heading down the staircase with Brylee.

Brylee and River reached Magnolia, smiling at her. "Come on, we're going shopping." River said, grabbing her hand.

"Shopping? But-"

Brylee lowered her voice, "More like shop...lifting."

Magnolia's lip twitched upward as she followed the two girls out of the hotel.



Hudson set down Magnolia's backpack inside the room, Dakota looking at it in horror. "Where is she?"

"I don't know, but maybe you should start acknowledging her presence, man." Hudson grabbed a new green t-shirt out of his backpack, heading to the restroom to shower. Dakota chucked his backpack on the floor, taking his hat off and running his fingers through his thick hair. Collapsing on the bed, he sucked in a breath by how comfortable it was. Quickly taking his shirt off and changing into black shorts instead of his black pants, he folded himself inside the covers and immediately fell asleep.



Slate and Phoenix entered the other room, which was identical to the first. Two queen beds, a pull out couch, a small desk, a bathroom, and a balcony.

"Before you ask, she went with Brylee and Magnolia. I don't know where." Slate said, turning on the sink and splashing his face with cold water. Phoenix muttered something under his breath before stepping out onto the balcony, the breeze flying into his face. His blonde hair whipped around on the top of his head, as his eyes scanned the kingdom.

He thought about what it would be like to be in a relationship, but he couldn't even imagine it. All he ever did was to protect River, because of their past. He wouldn't let anything more happen to her. She had experienced enough as it was. She went through too much, and it was all his fault, or at least, that's what he told himself.



15 year old Phoenix chucked his leather jacket onto the chair, running a hand through his spiky blonde hair. He looked inside the kitchen, finding thirteen year old River on the floor crying. Her wrist was bleeding and pieces of glass were splattered all over the floor.

"Oh God." Phoenix quickly picked River up from the floor, setting her on the kitchen stool.

"I'm so sorry! I- I was d-doing the dishes to help h-her. And it b-broke." River cried out, tears unstopping. Phoenix shook his head, "It's okay, River. It wasn't your fault."

He quickly began to pick up the pieces of glass, trying to clean it up as fast as he could. Halfway through, he ran to the bathroom and came back with a bandaid, handing it to River for her bleeding wrist.

"Stop crying, River. It's okay. I'll get it cleaned up in time." He tried believing his own words as he chucked more glass into the trash bag but froze in fear when he heard the door swing open.

"What the hell is going on here?" Their mother shouted, looking from the glass to Phoenix to River. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a perfect bun, her face sunburnt.

"It was my fault, mom. I dropped it and-" Phoenix sputtered, looking up at his mom carefully.

"N-no." River sobbed, trying to wipe her tears away.

"Well, well, well. I see someone is finally telling the truth. After how many times you let your brother take your beatings, I thought you'd never learn." The mother set down her purse, gripping River by the wrist and dragging her body into the closet, locking the door.

"No!" Phoenix stood up, tripping over a piece of glass, falling on his face, the piece of glass slicing up his leg. He screamed out in pain, struggling to stand back up again.

"It was my fault! Don't punish her for my mistake!" Phoenix screamed, slamming his fist against the closet door. Trying to kick the door down, he cried long and hard, not giving up as blood poured out from his leg, the piece of glass still stuck in his skin. Tears stung his eyes as he leaned up against the door in horror.

He heard the loud screams of his sister from the other side of the door, and he sobbed, slamming his fists up against the door, his knuckles beginning to bleed. He struggled for his breath as he screamed her name over and over again, telling her it's okay, even though it wasn't and it never was going to be.



Brylee did most of the work. All Magnolia and River did was distract the workers by asking them super complicated questions like how much they thought the entire store cost. River was the best at distracting, and Magnolia wondered if she had to do that in her past. River had grabbed the store manager's hand, who had come out to answer their questions, and took him over by the swimsuits and asked him what size he thought she was. He had blushed, shrugging. River giggled and clenched Magnolia's wrist, dragging her out of the store as they both laughed together. Brylee was smiling ear to ear when River and Magnolia finally left the store. "You two are going to love me."

"That was so fun!" River exclaimed, sliding her hair out of her face. Magnolia laughed, watching as two boys walked by, giving all three of the girls a second glance. Brylee glared at them, which made River laugh even more, if that was even possible. Brylee had managed somehow to bag our clothes, and she handed the bag to River, patting her back, "Alright, bring it in, River. And admit that I can be fun."

"You can be fun." She said in between laughs, trying to regain her breath. She looked back at Magnolia, "Did you see that guy's face?"

"You definitely made him uncomfortable." Magnolia smiled, raising her eyebrows at River. River finally died down as Brylee wrapped an arm around both of them, "I need a drink."

River started her laughter once more, "I'm in."

"Slate. Earth to Slate." Phoenix shook Slate's shoulder, who was unblinkingly staring at the photo hanging on the wall. The photo was of a father and his two sons. They were all laughing, probably all staged. Phoenix looked back and forth between the photo and Slate, confused. Slate blinked, looking at Phoenix.

"What's up?" He asked, collapsing on the bed. Phoenix followed him, wanting answers. Slate wasn't one for answering to people's requests though, and he hoped Phoenix would just let it go. It was hard for him to be interrogated, because of how much he wanted to tell people about it, he would never break and speak about his past.

"What's up? You were staring at that picture for ages, man." Phoenix stood next to him, confused.

"I was just daydreaming." Slate shrugged, careful not to look back at the photo. Phoenix ran a hand through his spiked up blonde hair, looking around the room.

"The girls have been gone for almost two hours. I'm going to look for them." Phoenix rested his hands on his hips, heading out the door.

"Hold on, man! I'm coming too." Slate dragged himself out of bed, following him out of the room. Hudson was right in front of the door when they opened it, his fist in the air, about to knock.

"Um, hi. I was about to ask if any of you guys wanted to help find the girls with me? I figured that once Dakota woke up, he would flip out when he realized Magnolia was still gone and I didn't want to be here for his wrath." Hudson rolled his eyes, looking at the others expectantly.

"Yeah, man, actually we were just headed out to find them. I'm worried about River," Slate glanced at Phoenix, who was glaring at him, so he quickly added, "We both are."

Phoenix shook his head, shoving past Slate and heading down the stairs.



When Brylee took them to the very unfamiliar bar, Magnolia was slowly starting to regret her decision of agreeing to this. Once they stepped inside and immediately were blown away with a very distinct smell of alcohol and loud blaring music, Magnolia got nervous.

River smiled at her, kissing her cheek. "Come on, girl. Breathe, and rest on the fact that for this next hour you're free."

"What?" Magnolia was starting to get confused, as she looked around the crowded bar and found many young adults either dancing, kissing, drinking, falling, or yelling.

"Free as in no Dakota telling you what you can or cannot do, free as in not worrying about having to always look over your shoulder. Just relax, and focus on living for once." River said, taking Magnolia's hand.

"We can't drink." Magnolia practically yelled over the music.

"Who says?" Brylee shrugged, smiling.

"Not that. It's that we don't have any coins!" Magnolia shouted back, and River started laughing, which confused her even more. She let go of River's hand, running her shaky hand through her hair and stepping into the bar, trying to listen to River. Relax. Live.

A very tall young man with sweaty brown hair stepped up in front of Magnolia immediately, smirking down at her. "Let me buy you a drink, sweetheart." He said, raising his glass in front of her as if to convince her.

Magnolia bit her lip from smiling, finally realizing why she didn't need any coins in here. Folding her arms over her chest, she nodded, "Sure."

The man smiled, walking over to the bar table and ordering her something she couldn't hear over the music. Brylee quickly ran up and whispered in her ear, "Please, Magnolia. Pretend you like him back at least. Give him something, for Pete's sake, he's buying you a drink."

"Sorry." Magnolia muttered, shrugging, and having no idea what she was doing. When the man turned around and handed her the drink, she smirked, taking it and swallowing a big swig. The taste was unbearingly rough and it stung the back of her throat, but she kept drinking, causing the man next to her to start laughing.

"You do know how to drink, don't you?" He shouted at her, and she fake smiled, watching as his face got blurry for just a second. She convinced herself that it was just her mind messing with her, and that not one drink could be that strong. Finishing the drink, she rubbed up against him, wrapping her arms around the back of his wet neck, "Thanks."

Quickly, she turned away from him, almost tripping over a woman's tall heel as she made her way over to Brylee.



River had downed her second drink, sliding the glass back onto the table, giggling. The man who had just bought her the second one had obviously convinced himself he was in love with her, as he went and bought her another.

"Aw, you're so sweet." River shouted, taking a swig. She slammed the drink down on the table, trying to take a step forward, but instead falling as the man caught her. "Woah there." The dude said, pulling her hair out of her face, resting his hands on her waist. River giggled again, looking down at the hands on her waist.

"Hey, man, hate to say this but I have a boyfriend. And we're like... super serious." She said, her hot breath hitting his chin. The man took a step backward, nodding at her. She smiled, taking another huge drink, resting her hands on her hips and looking around the room. Her tank top was getting sweaty, her ripped black jeans sticking to her thighs. Quickly, she yanked her hair up into a super high ponytail before finishing her third drink.

The alcohol was really strong, and she was starting to wonder if the man got her the strongest on purpose. Shrugging it off, and not caring, she found that he was still standing in front of her, staring.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"River. And what's yours? Handsome?" She smirked, raising an eyebrow at him. He chuckled, "Unfortunately not. It's Bodie."

"The name suits you." She gestured to him awkwardly, resting her hands on his shoulders. Slowly she dragged her left hand down to his chest and he swallowed harshly. "Um, River?"

"Yes, Bodie?" She looked into his eyes, taking a step closer.

"I thought you said you had a serious boyfriend." He said, running a hand through her ponytail.

She giggled, "I did?"

Bodie grinned, looking around before setting down his glass. "Another drink?"

"You read my mind." River giggled, playfully shoving him on.



Brylee sipped her drink, sitting down. A man walked by and touched her hair and she whipped around, slamming his head into the table before casually sitting back down. Magnolia sat down next to her, almost missing the chair. She did feel like she was actually living, and a sudden burst of dizziness and excitement sprang through her in every second.

"Hey there. Having fun, yet?" Brylee asked, who'd always had a high tolerance for alcohol, and it barely ever affected her. Magnolia nodded dramatically, downing another drink completely and chucking it down onto the floor. A girl nearby noticed the shattering glass and made a disgusted noise before dancing on.

Both of their heads turned when they heard a loud rumble of young men shouting 'Woohoo'. They noticed what the men were getting excited about immediately, finding River clumsily climb onto one of the tables and stand up, moving her body around to the beat of the music. Brylee started cracking up, walking toward the table in laughter. Magnolia followed, never had seen that kind of dancing before.

River was having the time of her life, and yet she had no control or no idea of what was happening. She found Magnolia, yanking her onto the table with her, which made the crowd around them even more happy as Magnolia found how uncontrolled she was as she started following River's lead and using her hips in every move.

Whipping her hair around, looking like she may be the sassiest person in the kingdom, Magnolia felt like she could do anything and everything all at once. Saying goodbye to being the perfect princess, she let loose and began to live without the rules that used to control her life.