***Persephone's POV***

I enter the house, Ace behind me humming a lullaby.

"Shush," I say, looking around for anyone.

"Ok, princess," he says, coming up right behind me.

"Ace..." I say, causing him to lean in so his head is beside me as he stands behind me, "your breath stinks. You need some new toothpaste."

He pulls away immediately, putting his hand up to his mouth and breathing in, trying to sniff his own breath, "Stop lying. My breath doesn't stink... right? Right?"

I just laugh, heading towards the main living area to see if I could find anyone, the house felt dead.

"You were totally joking. I mean there's no way my breath stinks, I brushed it recently... Do you have a toothbrush? Please don't let me meet new people with my breath sti-"

He's cut off by the sound of the back door opening and people rushing in, filling the room we're in. As soon as they see me they rush forward with gasps of happiness until they notice Ace.

I know exactly when they recognize him because they all gasp and take a step back, looking at him wearily.

"Guys I have an important question," he says, pacing behind me, "Does my breath stink?"

"W-what?" Granny says, looking confused as fuck.

He steps forward a bit, causing them all to back up to the wall, "No, stop I need to breathe on your face. So you can tell me if my breath stinks."

Granny steps forward a bit, sticking her nose in the air, "I'm ready."

He breathes as hard as he can towards her, "So? Does it stink?"

"Smells minty to me," she says, backing up once again.

"You fucking lied," he says, turning towards me as I try and hold in my laughter.

"Wha- I coulda sworn-" I say, cut off by the back door opening and closing as Brandi comes in.

The door opens once more and in walks Hunter, his eyes widening at the sight of me.

I look over him, my heart sighing in content at the sight of him. Being away from him is getting harder and harder the stronger the bond gets but sometimes the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

Cliche, I know, but it was true.

He looks over at Ace as he steps forward, scrambling back and looking at me. He opens his mouth but closes it quickly, just staring at me.

"I told you they wouldn't like this, princess," Ace says, turning to give me an 'I told you so' look.

"It's Queen," I say, never taking my eyes off my soulmate, "Hi, Hunter."

"Persey," he says carefully, "get away from him. He's dangerous."

I feel anger filling me at this comment. I'm not some helpless princess who needs saving.

"So am I," shrugging and feigning nonchalance, "Besides, he's the warlock on my court so we need him."

"What about me?" Malachi asks from the side, causing me to turn towards him.

"One moment, twin," I say, turning back towards everyone, "I'm assuming you all know of him."

"Yes," they all say in unison.

"This is giving cult vibes," Ace says unhelpfully.

"Shut up," I say, rolling my eyes, "Introduce yourself, please."

"Fine. Hi, everyone. My name is Ace."

"Yes, and apparently he has no last name," I say, rolling my eyes once more.

"Careful, Princess, your eyes might get stuck up there."

"Hardy har har. Now, why are y'all so scared?" I ask.

"WELL I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE BECAUSE HE'S A MURDERER," Brandi exclaims, her eyes comically wide.

"Or maybe it's because he got the rarest wizard gift ever. So rare that he's the only one in history to have it," Jordan adds in, backing up even more.

"Interesting. What was that gift again?" I ask, feigning ignorance as I turn towards Ace.

"Death. We've already been over this. Don't act stupid, princess."

"Oh no, I know I just want to clarify before moving on. So how exactly does this 'death' gift work?"

""Well my main way is I can kill with a touch, hence the gloves. Another way is I can torture with a thought but that takes more energy and isn't as fun."

"Wait like that chick from twilight?" Hayden asks the question we were all wondering.

"Well yeah except hotter," Ace says, almost causing me to roll my eyes.

"And you're sure that's all?" I ask, trying to get Ace's attention back.

"I have other surprises up my sleeve but I guess you'll have to keep me around to figure them out," he says, surprising me by coming up to caress my cheek.

"Hell no, buddy. Get your hand off my mate." I hear Hunter growl before charging Ace.

Hunter gets the upper hand, pushing Ace into the wall on the other side of the room before turning towards me. "What is going on? Why is Malachi being replaced? What does Ace have to do with the boy on the card? Why did you disappear for so long? Where have you been?"

"So many questions," I say, faking a laugh, "Don't worry, I'll answer them all but first I have to deal with Malachi. Ok?"

He nods his head and backs up, allowing Malachi to come stand in front of me.

Twin, I say, using my mind linking abilities, I can release the spell on you that blocks your powers but it will hurt. Are you prepared to do it?

He nods his head slightly, shifting his body as if to prepare himself. I gather up as much power as I have and throw it into him, overfilling him with my magic.

Nyx screams in the background, trying to get to us as the others hold her back.

Don't let anyone near us, I blast out towards them, cursing softly when I notice Zach wince.

I put more magic into it, praying that I'm right. I watch as he's completely filled up with my magic, his body lighting up as if he were a Christmas tree.

"No! STOP!" I hear Nyx yell before she breaks away, running towards me.

I try and keep her back with my other hand, my magic wanting to hurt her but I reign it in.

Just as Hunter steps towards me the room blows up, everyone but me and Malachi flying backwards. I use my magic to soften their blow, heading over to Malachi.

I hear him groaning, causing me to quicken my pace as my heart rate increases. Please don't let him be hurt. Please don't let him be hurt. Please don't let him be hu-

"I know you said that would hurt sis," he says, standing up, "but goddamn that was undermining it."

I just stare at him, my eyes filling with tears.

He looks just like mom.

Whereas I only got her blue eyes, he got her sandy-blonde hair and tan skin. When he smiles shyly at me I'm brought back to every time she smiled at me.

"Is that..." Brandi says, coming up to me to share at him too, "he looks just like her."

"Why do you guys keep staring at me?" he asks, scratching the back of his neck and chuckling awkwardly.

"You look just like mom," I say, pulling him into a hug, "You even got her smile."

"Really?" he asks, melting into the hug.

"Really," I say, pulling back to allow Brandi a hug.

"I... I thought you looked like her," he says from over Brandi's head.

"No, I only got her eyes. I got our sperm donor's pale skin and dark features." I say, turning when I notice a loud gasp.

"You... you look just like her," Granny says, her face pale. She stares at him a bit longer before charging, lightly pushing Brandi away to hug him.

I look around, noticing people getting up and staring and seeing Hunter look at me with a mixture of awe and confusion.

"Meet Malachi, the Knight," I say, pulling my twin to my side.

Brandi runs out the room, returning with the cards. When she pulls out Malachi's card she gasps, almost dropping the card, "How did I not see it before?"

"How did you know?" Hunter cuts in, still looking at me warily.

"I just... did," I say, refusing to break down and beg him to come over to me, "I had a vision of all this it just took me a while to get Ace out of prison and give him time to heal."

"Thanks for that, princess," Ace says, coming to stand beside me and glaring at Hunter, "Touch me again and you'll fucking regret it."

"Wanna test that?" Hunter asks, moving closer to try and pull me behind him.

"Stop it, Hunter. I can protect myself," I say, standing beside him but refusing to go behind him as he wants, "Ace stop with the princess. Hunter don't pick a fight, we're on the same team."

"How could we be on the same team? He's a fucking murderer," Hunter says vehemently, looking down at me.

"Things aren't always as they seem," I say, looking over and seeing the troubled look on Ace's face, "I just need y'all to trust me, ok? Ace is on our side."

"Ok," Hunter says after a couple minutes of deliberation, "I trust you."

"Good," I say, standing up on my toes to kiss his cheek, "Who wants a movie night?"

"ME!" Ace yells, startling everyone, "Sorry, I didn't get Netflix in my prison cell."

We all walk towards the giant living room, filling up the various couches as Hunter leads me to a front couch and pulls be down on his lap, putting a blanket over us.

"OOH OOH TANGLED, PICK TANGLED," Ace says, sitting alone on a couch.

Hayden gets up, pulling Jordan with him as they head towards Ace, "BITCH YES, I LOVE TANGLED!" He then looks towards me, "Can we keep him?"

"He's not a pet," I say, scoffing, "Speaking of... ALFRED AND ALFREDO."

I hear them run through the house, the loud thumps telling me they were definitely knocking down everything in their path. Finally, they arrive at the bottom of the steps and see me, sprinting forward with their tongues lolling out their mouth. As soon as they reach me they let their fire out before tackling me and licking all up in my face.

"Good boys," I say, laughing as I pet them.

They surprise me, calming down and laying at me and Hunter's feet, their warmth heating up my cold toes.

I look over at Hunter, ignoring the others who wrestle behind us for the remote, trying to pick between the new Insidious and Tangled.

He expertly dodges my eyes, looking anywhere but at me.

"Look at me," I say, sighing.

He finally looks at me, his eyes filled with sorrow, "You... you just left. And I know. I know you had to. I know that this situation requires that you be on top of the game and that sometimes you're going to have to keep things from us. I understand that. But it doesn't stop me from hoping it wasn't that way. When I came back after those years away from you I prayed everything would be normal, that we'd be able to go back to how things were. But as soon as I arrived, everything went to shit and now it's one thing after another and we just have no time at all to ourselves. To figure out what we are in the first place."

I look behind me, noticing everyone actively ignoring us, their eyes on the movie.

"I'm so sorry," I say, "I really didn't want to leave but I knew I had to. And I know it's a lot but I don't wish we could go back to the way we were. I know that now we're soulmates and it explains so much about how I've always felt connected to you, in love with you. Back before you left, I felt sad all the time because I loved you and I thought you didn't feel the same. So even though the world is crazy right now, at least I know I have you and my family beside me. That's all I need."

"You're right," he says, snuggling his head into my shoulder, "As always."

"I know," I say with a smirk, slightly shifting so I can see the screen.

Looks like Ace and Hayden won since we're watching Tangled.

I play with Hunter's hair, smiling when he leaves soft kisses on my neck.

"I love you," I say, my voice soft.

"I love you," he says, lifting his head up slightly to look up at me, "More than you'll ever know, sunshine."

I smile at the nickname, remembering the way the sunflowers followed me in the field.

Sure, we didn't have the most normal relationship, we'd gone from having to hide our feelings by arguing to relying on each other quickly. But I'd known I'd loved this boy since I was 12 years old. I was just waiting for him to catch up.

~5 years ago~

I cover my hand with my mouth, trying to cover my sobs.

If my father found out I was crying he would make his next 'training session' harder. If Hayden found out I was crying he would pester me until I'd tell him the reason.

Therefore, no one could find out I was crying.

I look up at the tree, wishing I was anywhere but here.

Out of nowhere, a picture takes place in my mind. I can see rolling, grassy hills and beautiful tall trees. The wind blows my hair back as I run through the trees, noticing the bright colored flowers that pop up everywhere. It's the brightest place I've ever seen, the colors seeming to pop out unnaturally.

I run for what feels like hours, laughing and smiling the whole time. It feels like home, more of a home than my real home. I hear the chitters of animals around me, having noticed mythical animals like unicorns and Pegasi.

I had no clue where I was but I never wanted to leave. I finally felt whole.

I lay down in the grass, looking up at the bright blue sky and noticing the clouds looked extra fluffy. I took in a deep breath, the air fresher than any I had breathed in before.

I wasn't sure what it was about this place but I knew that I belonged here.

"Wake up," I hear someone say, causing me to startle forward.

No. No. Don't wake up. Don't go back there.

I try and run again, I run and I run and I run. But it's inevitable.

The real world draws me back into its cold grasp, forcing me awake.

I wake with a gasp, looking up to see Hunter, Hayden's twin, above me.

"What?" I snap, grumpy that I'd been taken away from that magical dream land.

"Are you ok?" Hunter asks, his eyes filled with concern.

"I'm fine," I say, sighing as I rub my eyes. I know I look like shit but at least he can't see the bruises.

"No you aren't, sunshine," he says, his eyes widening at the last part.

"What did you just call me?" I ask, cocking my head as I looked at him.

"Oh... sorry haha. It just slipped out," he says, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

"Oh ok," I say, a little bit disappointed.

Wait what? There's no reason for me to be disappointed. Hunter wasn't even my friend and he made it apparent that he didn't want to be. I didn't owe him anything.

He opens his mouth to say something else but he's cut off by Hayden's screaming, "PERSEY! YO WHERE ARE YOU? DID YOU EAT MY ICE CREAM YESTERDAY? YOU MOFO, I WANTED THAT ICE CREAM. COME HERE PLEASE, I PROMISE I'LL BE NICE."

I roll my eyes, getting up and wiping my butt of before turning towards Hunter.

"Well, see you around," I say lamely, giving an awkward smile before running off towards where I heard Hayden.

I can feel his eyes on me but refuse to look behind me, not wanting to give him that power. I just needed to shake the school-girl crush off.

***Hunter's POV***

I watch as she runs offs, silently cursing my brother.

He always had to ruin any moment I had with her. And for fucking ice cream.

When I saw her asleep on the forest floor I thought that this was my chance. My time to finally tell her that I liked her.

But just the sight of me had pissed her off, not to mention she showed no reluctance to run off.

It's obvious this crush is one-sided, I just needed to crush it down on this end.

No matter what it took, I would get rid of this crush. Even if it took pushing her even farther away.

~Present Day~

I hold Persey in my lap, snuggling my head into her shoulder.

If you'd told me a few months ago that I'd be able to do this, I'd knock you out for getting my hopes up.

Yet here I am, finally able to hold the girl I'd loved for so long.

I lightly press kisses to her neck, causing her to sharply inhale.

"What's the matter?" I taunt in her ear, nipping at her earlobe when she doesn't respond.

"She's about to show him her powers," she breathes out, confusing me until I look up and see that girl with glowing hair.

"Wow, you're more focused on a children's movie than me," I say, pouting.

"Excuse me," she says, turning towards me, "it's not a children's movie. All ages watch it."

She turns back away, causing me to chuckle a little bit. She always did get riled up about Disney movies.

Once, when we were kids, I'd said Mulan sucked at pretending to be a guy and Persey refused to talk to me for weeks. She only started talking to me again once I promised to never say anything bad about Mulan again.

I go to tease her a bit more when she stands up suddenly, her magic noticeably freaking out.

"Another child was kidnapped," she says, although her voice does not sound her own, "The mission must begin now."

"Ok," I say, gulping and standing up, along with Brandi, Hayden, Bia, Nyx, and Malachi. We all look to Persey for advice.

"Pack your bags, you'll need a couple weeks of clothes but that's max because there is no way in fuck I'm keeping y'all there for that long," she says, meeting all of our eyes before nodding, dismissing all of us. 

We slowly walk up the stairs, Jordan going with Hayden, Zach going with Brandi, Bia, Nyx and Malachi going together, leaving me with Persey.

We walk into the room in silence and Persey sits on the bed while I go into the closet to pack, seemingly lost in thought.

"I promise to come back to you," I say when I exit the closet, sitting next to her.

"Don't make promises you can't keep," she says, looking at me with sad eyes, "However, you better try your hardest to come home to me."

"You know I will, I always will."

"I know," she says, kissing me softly before pulling me out of our bedroom, "Everyone wants to send you off."

"I want some alone time though," I groan, pouting.

"Come home and we'll have all the alone time," she replies, winking before pulling me downstairs where everyone is waiting.

Everyone going has bags, standing by the front door as they say goodbye to their loved ones. Almost everyone is crying, the fear of losing each other too much to bear.

Persey goes up to everyone, hugging them all before turning back to me and hugging me tight enough to break a bone.

"Come back home to us," she tells everyone before throwing her magic over all of us, the rainbow mist covering everyone, "I put a shield over all of you that'll block magic from harming you but it will wear off because I can't keep it going infinitely without redoing the magic. Stay safe."

"Yes ma'am."

"We're coming back."

"We'll come home to everyone."

"We'll do what needs to be done."

"Ok," Persey says, nodding, "Remember, figure out why little human girls are being kidnapped and stop it, even if that involves taking out the head of law enforcement, who seems fishy. And no matter what, do not let the council know you are there regulating the trolls, they will track you down."

With that she opens up a portal behind us, causing Nyx and Jess to gasp.

"How the fuck can you open a portal that big by yourself and not pass out?" Nyx asks.

"I'm not sure," Persey responds, shrugging before facing everyone, "Goodbye everyone."

"Trust your instincts," Camilla says, stepping beside Persey, "It's the only way you can truly succeed. And have each other's backs, no matter what."

We all nod our heads, waving bye to everyone before stepping through the portal, leaving our home.

We land in a field, a huge tunnel to the left of us, presumably the entrance to the troll's home.

"Y'all ready?" I ask, taking the head of the group.

Everyone says yes and I nod my head, walking towards the entrance, knowing they've got my back.

As soon as I enter the tunnel I know one thing, that somehow, we'll never be the same.

I'm coming home to you, Persey.