Her eyes fluttered open, the confusion of not knowing where she was breaking in. She squinted at the bright light shining straight into her eyes, realizing it's the sun exposing itself through the tent. Magnolia's memories came flooding back, and she immediately tried to tear the tent open, but soon realized it was helpless.

She watched the shadow of hands cutting the ties outside of her tent, and waited expectantly. Dakota ducked his head in, his long dark hair flopping onto his tan forehead and over his ears. His hat wasn't on, and he almost looked unfamiliar without it. He smirked, "Morning, Princess."

"Will you please stop calling me that?" Magnolia groaned. He shrugged, yanking her upwards. She lost her balance a little, gripping onto his arm. He tensed at her touch, and she quickly took her arm back. Walking out of the tent, Dakota moved towards Archer.

"Watch the prisoner." Dakota demanded, not caring to look Archer in the eye. Archer rubbed his dirty hands on his tan shirt, letting the dust fall.

"We're holding prisoners now?" He asked, glancing at Magnolia carefully. She was watching Hudson tear down his tent, and she hesitantly walked over to him.
She didn't ask, just began to help him. Hudson didn't speak, just nodded at her when the job was done. She looked into his blue eyes, realizing they had a speck of yellow in them.

"So, um, why did you run away?" Magnolia questioned, regretting the words as soon as they left her mouth. Hudson's eyes drooped as he sighed, tucking his hands into his black jean pockets. He looked at her, determining how he should answer. Finally, he decided to just spit it out.

"I didn't run away because I wanted to. The house burned down. The house that my parents and two brothers were in." He answered, walking away from her quickly. Magnolia's eyes dropped to the ground, taking on the sorrow of his family.

Slate strolled up, his metal dog tag swinging with his step. "I bet you're wondering why everyone hates you, am I right?"

"No." Magnolia didn't look at him.

He smacked his lips together, "Well, let's trade. You tell me why you haven't shown that smile of yours since you ran away, and I'll tell you why some of us are angry towards you."

Whipping her head in his direction, she became confused. "How do you know-"

"I'm good at reading people, let's just say I've been doing it for years." He searched her eyes, wondering if she'll take his deal. She shrugged.

"Is that a yes, then?" Slate asked eagerly.

"You first." Magnolia challenged. Slate ran his long fingers through his straight strands of hair before sighing, deciding to trust her.

"The fire that killed Hudson's family... Your beloved daddy created it." Slate smirked as Magnolia sucked in a breath. She tried to think hard, think on what her ruthless father had done. She couldn't remember all the horrid actions he had taken and was suddenly full of regret. Could she have done something to stop that? No. The King would not be stopped, and definitely wouldn't have listened to her. And who's to say it didn't happen after she ran away? Was he looking for her? Magnolia's imagination roamed wildly, anger boiling inside of her toward the King.

"I- I..." She stuttered, looking at the dirt below her for a distraction.

Slate came to a conclusion, "I guess he wasn't much of a daddy, was he? You would be trying to defend him right now if he was."

Magnolia played with the end of her dress nervously. Slate realized she had nothing more to say, continuing, "Oh yeah, and he turned Archer's daddy into a murderer, forcing Archer to run before he became chopped liver. Small world, huh?"

Archer heard his name, and came marching over, "What lies are you feeding her, Slate?"

Slate smiled, as if he wanted Archer to ask that, "Nothing but the truth, sir."

Archer gently reached for Magnolia's wrist, "Come on, Magnolia, we're about to leave the site."

"I bet Magnolia just can't wait to get home." Slate said sarcastically, smirking. He leveled his eyes on hers.

"The castle is not my home." She growled, and Slate smiled approvingly.

"And you have a question to answer, beautiful." Slate twirled a piece of her wavy light brown hair around in his fingers, letting it fall behind her ear, waiting for Magnolia to fulfill her part of the deal.

Magnolia didn't hesitate, "I stopped smiling because I realized it didn't change a thing. Smiling is a waste and a useless tool," She strolled away, leaving both of them in shock.
"Hey, come on! That wasn't much of an answer!" Slate shouted at her, and she ignored his every word.

The eight of them travelled for five hours on feet. Archer stayed close to Magnolia, defending her in every rude comment that was shot at her. Magnolia bared a half full backpack, her hands tied behind it. Archer would every so often try to untie them, but would get a death glare from Dakota. Dakota's thoughts raged as they made their way toward the castle. He kept his eyes on Magnolia, who was strolling in front of him. He could tell by the way she walked upright, that she was used to the long hauls.

Once the five hours were up, he noticed her shoulders were drooping, and her feet were dragging. Archer took her backpack off of her, and threw it on his own back. She muttered a thanks to him, glancing around. She took in her surroundings. These parts of the woods are very unfamiliar, but she had a feeling she was going to start remembering them once they get closer to the castle. Her body trembled at the thought of being brought back there. She would do everything in her power to convince the others they shouldn't do this, but she realized it was a pretty helpless case. Brylee walked close to Dakota, her knife clenched in her right hand.

"You can put that away, Bry." Dakota said, but she ignored him. His deep, stern voice wasn't fooling her. Slate was very occupied in trying to impress River in every way he could, but was failing miserably. At one point, Phoenix stepped between them as a barrier. Hudson stayed in the back, just barely trailing behind everyone.

A few hours later, as the sun was beginning to descend, the Princess began slowing down her pace.

"Alright, everyone. We can stop here." Dakota announced. They all scattered, unzipping their giant backpacks to set camp.  Archer quickly untied Magnolia, searching her eyes. He looked at her kindly, his gentle hand sliding a piece of hair out of her face. Magnolia flinched at the touch, but then closed her eyes.

Hudson started a fire, and everyone gathered around it, getting warm. Archer sat down next to Magnolia, his hand resting behind her. River laughed at something Slate said and it made Magnolia shiver. Her laugh was beautiful. Magnolia watched skeptically, the smile slowly disappearing from River's face.

Dakota stayed standing as he placed his snapback hat back on his mop of dark hair. He never sat with the others, never sat down. No one knew why, and no one bothered to ask. Everyone had their scars from their past.

"Why isn't he sitting with the rest of us?" Magnolia whispered to Archer, who glanced back at Dakota.

Archer shrugged, "Never does. None of us have ever seen him sit, I guess he only does when he sleeps."

Magnolia was curious, more curious than anyone else there. No one bothered to even ask, but Magnolia felt obligated to. She shoved the thought down her throat, knowing it was a bad idea to be her curious self. Hudson sat down next to her surprisingly. She tugged her dress tight over her knees, pulling them against her chest. The air was chilly, her favorite.

"I'm sorry you have to go back to the castle." Hudson murmured quietly. Magnolia focused her attention on him, "Thank you for not calling it my home."

He turned, taking in her appearance for the first time. "What happened that made you run away?"

Magnolia sighed, "I know, it probably seems like I'm a rich girl that was being dramatic and ran away for some pointless reason."

"No... it doesn't seem that way for me." Hudson whispered, his eyes sad.

"I didn't want to become queen of a murderous kingdom. I guess that's the short version." Magnolia spat.

Hudson shook his head slightly, "I believe there's more to it than that."

He was right, Magnolia just wanted the truth to stay hidden. She didn't know why, but it was so hard for her to open up. It was so hard for her to trust someone. Hudson understood, not pushing it.

Archer put his hand on her knee, "Maggie, you might want to share why because it could save you from being returned."

Magnolia jumped, "What did you just call me?"

"Maggie?"

"Maggie." She repeated, hearing the sound come out of her own mouth. She closed her eyes in sadness, thinking of Evan. Her beloved older brother, her best friend, the only one she could trust. Tears streamed down her cheeks uncontrollably as she began shaking. She felt an arm rest around her shoulders, Archer's arm. He pulled her close, and she tensed.  He tugged her head into his shoulder softly. She cried into it, relaxing at his touch. The way Evan held her.

She wiped the tears off her face and swallowed the memories.

"You okay?" Archer asked, and she nodded a little too forcefully.

Brylee walked up to Dakota, "Why aren't we still walking? The sun hasn't even gone down yet."

He looked around for a distraction, "We need to rest, we got a big day of travel tomorrow."

"Since when do we need to rest?"

"Since I said so." He looked her in the eye. Her dark hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, off her face. She looked confused and angry at the same time, being impatient. She wanted the payment soon.

"You'll get the money in five days. Chill." Dakota snarled. She sighed dramatically, resting her back on the same tree trunk as him.

"Do you think it's odd at how calm the Princess is acting? Because if I was about to be delivered back home, I would-"

"All of us are watching her, and she's not going to run." He stated.

"How do you know?" She began carving a target into the tree with a sharp knife.
The corners of Dakota's mouth twitched, "Because the last time she did, I made her realize how much of a bad idea it was."

When Brylee was finished carving, she backed up a few yards, and began tossing her knives at the target. Five knives later, she pulled out her gun.

Dakota put up a hand, "No. Not now. That's a waste of ammo."

Slate drew letters into his arm using a blade. Blood drools down his arm and dripped onto the dirt, and he bit his lip as he finished his work.

River gasped at him, her eyes wide, "Slate, what the-"

Slate smacked his lips together, "You don't need to worry for me, River."

"I wasn't. I was just... shocked that you were cutting yourself, and still are!" She shouted, grabbing the knife from him and chucking it at a nearby tree, hitting it right in the middle.

"Good shot, aaaand you ruined it." Slate let out an exhausted sigh. River looked at his arm, finding it all covered in blood. She took her sleeve and wiped some of it up, revealing three words: I'M A RUNAWAY

The bottom of the Y was jagged and incomplete, what Slate called ruined.
"I did not!" River exclaimed, "And you need to bandage that."

"No, thank you. I've never really been a bandage sorta guy. I just suck it up, like a real man."

River rolled her eyes, "A real man would admit he needs help."

"Nah." Slate shook his head, rubbing blood onto his black shirt. Phoenix stormed over and announced he was going hunting and he needed Slate to come with, adding that he wanted Slate to back off his little sister. River rolled her eyes at Phoenix, mentioning it's her life, not his, hugged him, and walked off.

Slate grabbed his gun, nodding at Phoenix, who ran a hand through his thick blonde hair and wrapped his bow around his chest. His quiver hung from his shoulder, and they grabbed Hudson on their way to look for dinner.

"I don't like killing animals." Hudson stated once they are out in the quiet, almost dark trees.

"Thank you, for telling us that the millionth time. We really care about your thoughts." Slate snapped sarcastically.

Phoenix whipped his head at them, his bow fully drawn, "Be quiet, both of you! I'm sorry, Hudson, but it's either their lives or ours."

A deer came stalking out of the trees, chewing on a stray patch of grass and weeds. Phoenix bit his lip, as he always did, pointing the end of his arrow at the deer's stomach. Slate rustled leaves beneath him, creating the attention of the deer to turn towards them. Releasing the arrow, it missed the deer barely as it ran off, it's legs kicking up.
Phoenix let out a long groan, "You're kidding me, Slate. You've got to be dumber than a-"

"Rat." Slate whispered.

"Well yeah, dumber than a rat but I was going to say-"

"Shut that hole in your mouth!"

A piercing ring coming from Slate's gun roared as a bullet shot through the small rat's body, letting it drop dead in the dry grass.

Phoenix smacked his hands against his sides in frustration, "Did you seriously just shoot a rat with a gun?"

"Shut up. At least we got something now."

"Well, we were going to have a deer." Phoenix complained, kneeling down and picking up the rat in his bare hands.

"This isn't enough to feed us all, you know that." Hudson added.

"Hey." River's soft spoken voice startled Magnolia, who was starting to doze off. She looked around, realizing Archer isn't next to her anymore. She turned back to River, finding that she had a giant scar running down the side of her face, by her right ear. Magnolia knew better than to ask what happened, knowing it had to be from her past. She swallowed, "Hey."

"We might look like a bunch of rebel teenagers, but really we've all been through so much. We don't push the subject about our pasts, but right now, it's all you got to convince them to not take you back to the castle. How hard it might be for you to talk about it, it's what you need to do. Unless, of course, you want to go back."

Magnolia shivered, "No. I don't want to go back."

River sighed, looking towards the trees, where Phoenix, Slate, and Hudson strolled out. "Well, I gave you my advice. Do whatever you want. The boys are back."

Phoenix looked furious as he chucked his bow and quiver into his tent. Slate set a bloody mouse down on a fallen tree, everyone huddling around it.

"You've got to be joking. This is all you guys managed to hunt?" River asked, horrified, but not disgusted. Magnolia, on the other hand, felt like she was going to puke. Brylee stared at it before rolling her eyes, "Figures."

"Give it to the girls." Dakota grabbed the rat harmlessly, shoving it into a large stick and hovering it over the fire. He waved Brylee over and handed the end of the stick to her, "Here."

Magnolia could see his pleading eyes as he glanced at the mouse, and she realized he was hungry. Magnolia watched skeptically as Brylee ripped the fur off of the dead mouse and grabbed the bones, which were dangling meat. She handed one part of it to River, who began to eat around the bone.

Brylee shook part of the insides at Magnolia, who was hungry, but didn't know if she had the stomach to eat it. She reached out and grabbed it, feeling everyone's eyes on her.

She gulped, slowly moving it to Archer, "You can have mine."

Archer looked at her, his eyes smiling. "No way, you need to eat, Maggie."

Magnolia shook her head, giving the flimsy meat a disgusted look. She heard a deep chuckle, and wondered if it was Dakota.

"If the Princess doesn't want to eat it, she doesn't have to." Dakota spoke up.

Archer shook his head, "Eat it."

"I'll solve this problem." Slate walked up, grabbing it from her hand, and began to eat it. Magnolia sighed, relieved it wasn't in her hand anymore. Everyone sat around the fire besides Dakota, all murmuring to each other. The sun was half gone, the sky getting darker.

"What's your favorite color?" Archer asked suddenly.

Magnolia was caught off guard, "What?"

"Your favorite color." He smiled.

"Um... Blue?"

"Like the sky?"

"A stormy sky I guess." Magnolia shrugged.

"Huh, good to know," Archer smiled, "Mine's green."

"Like the grass?"

"Yes."

Dakota stared up at the moon, not wanting to lay down, for the nightmares were too much to bare, even for him. He wondered why the stars were hiding. Maybe they didn't like him either. He pressed his sweaty back up against a tree, slowly resting his eyes.
Immediately, the memories flood back.

Seventeen year old Dakota sat down at the dinner table, smiling across the table at his eleven year old sister, Cassidy. She was the cutest eleven year old, her dark brown hair curling down over her chest. Her eyes were big and brown, her smile contagious. She stuck her tongue out at her older brother, and he chuckled.

"Guess what, Kota?" She gasped, like she almost forgot.

"What?" He answered dramatically, his eyebrows raising. He leaned forward, and she cupped her hand to whisper in his ear.

"I did what you told me to do to those bullies."

Dakota tensed, remembering that he taught her how to fight.

"What happened?" He whispered back, swallowing regret.

"They apologized and said they would stop." She nodded, proud. Dakota bit his lip from cracking up in laughter.

He smiled, "What did you do, Cass?"

"What you told me to do, duh!" Cassidy reached over and took off his hat, "Do I need to slap that worried look off your face? You're the one who taught me to defend myself."

"You're right, you're right. Good job, Cass. Next time, though, I'll take care of them for you, okay?" He chuckled again, running a hand through his hair.

Cassidy rolled her eyes, placing his flatbill hat on herself. Her head was too small, letting the hat fall down over her eyes. Dakota laughed again, and she joined in, giggling.

Mr. Foster came stumbling down the stairs, holding a glass of alcohol in one hand. "What's all that noise you're making down here?" His words slurred.

"Dad, come sit down." Dakota swallowed, looking at his father with pity.

"Don't tell me what to do, boy." He yelled. He wobbled over to them, unsteady.

"Dinner's ready, Dad." Cassidy added, and Dakota gave her a warning look. Mr. Foster gripped onto the counter for balance, setting his glass down forcefully.

"This is my house, my rules!" He roared.

"Dad, please calm down, you'll scare Cassie." Dakota stood up, and just as quickly, Mr. Foster swung out his illegal gun.

"SIT BACK DOWN!" He shouted, and Dakota raised his hands in surrender, slowly backing into the chair. He swallowed hard, his father never got this bad. The barrel of the gun stayed pointed at Dakota, his hand shaky.

"Okay, Dad. We'll do whatever you want." Dakota glanced at his sister, who was trembling in her seat.

"I want you to respect me!"

"Okay, we get it. We will. Now just lower the gun." Dakota tried not to look afraid in front of Cassidy.

"Dad, stop pointing the gun at Kota!" Cassidy screamed, suddenly too scared to sit still. Mr. Foster swung the gun in Cassidy's direction now.

Dakota flipped out, "NO! DAD, NO. Shoot it at me, I don't care. Just don't do anything to Cassidy. Please."

All at once, Dakota shot upright to stop him, and Mr. Foster pulled the trigger. Cassidy's body slid out of her chair, her breathing getting heavy as she began to cry. Dakota charged at his father, ripping the gun out of his grip and running to Cassidy's side.

Her eyes were wide in shock and hurt. The bullet had gone through her chest, blood seeping through her white dress. Dakota slid his hat off her forehead, shaking his head uncontrollably.

"You're going to be okay, Cass. Just hold on, you'll be okay. I'm right here. Kota's right here." He couldn't even say a full sentence without taking a deep breath and regaining his strength. Dakota ran his large hand through her dark curls, trying to soothe her.
She shook, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'm going to be okay. I'm strong."

Tears flooded down Dakota's face, down onto her blood soaked shirt. "Yes, you are. You are the strongest girl I know."

"Hold me." She whimpered, and Dakota wrapped his strong arms around her, holding her close to himself. She cried into his shirt, "I love you, K-kota."

She suddenly stopped shaking, her heart going still. Dakota looked down at her lost eyes, not ready to let her go.

"NO!" He screamed, unable to regain his composure. His whole body shook, her in his arms.

"Cass, come back! Cassie! Don't leave me."

He leaned down, kissing her forehead, "I love you too."

He laid her down softly, his eyes turning from sadness to anger. He whipped his head at his father, who sat on the ground, staring at his hands in misery.

"What have I done?" He cried.

"You killed her!" Dakota screamed, grabbing the gun from the floor, pointing it at his father, and pulling the trigger without hesitation.

He hunched his back and cried into his hands, screaming at his life. He shakily grabbed his hat and the gun, gripping the table and standing up.

His eyes shot open, and he wiped his eyes and face in misery. He turned to a cracking of a twig, finding Magnolia heading into the woods with Phoenix's bow and quiver.