The night after, Verena was out once again moving through the kingdom. She was tempted to go near the castle and sneak back into Koen's room, but she wouldn't allow herself the temptation. She found herself staying busy by watching the King's court advisor sniffing around the brothel.

The entire time she was watching the man, her mind continued to move back to Koen. She had gotten to close to the prince. She wasn't supposed to let him see her. She wasn't supposed to talk to him. Now, everything could get messy, and she could end up causing trouble for her kingdom.

Verena sighed as she wrapped her arms around her knees, hugging them to her chest. If Koen did decide to find her and turn her in, she didn't know if her own kingdom would give a shit about her. There are more people like her that her King had hired in case any of them were captured. There had been plenty of times that she could remember that one of his spy's were captured and the enemy would use them for ransom. The King would never do anything about them. He would ignore the ransom, or worse, give them permission to go ahead and kill the spy.

Verena didn't want to be at the mercy of the two King's. She knew that it was only a matter of time before she had to make the decision to run back to her kingdom. She had already given them the war plans. She didn't need to stay here any longer than she already was.

Verena's eyes trailed the court advisor as he walked into the brothel with two women on his arms. She recognized the two women that worked at the brothel. Their heads were thrown back as they laughed at whatever the man had said to them.

She rolled her eyes as the threesome disappeared into the brothel. Not wanting to follow them any further, she moved off of the roof and into the open terrace of her room. Verena closed the double doors, locking them and drawing the curtains tight before taking off her mask. Her eyes closed as she took a deep breath and ran her hands over her face.

A voice close to her right chuckled, "Are you going to kill my father's court advisor while he's having fun?"

Verena pushed the mask back onto her face as she pinned the owner of the voice to the wall. Her knife was tight against his throat, ready to slice if needed. It took her eyes a moment before they adjusted to the small amount of light, and she saw the owner of the voice.

Koen.

His eyes shined from the candles as he held his hands up by his head. A smirk danced across his lips.

Verena let out a breath of relief as she stepped away from him. She lowered her knife, but didn't sheath it. She still needed to be careful around him.

"How did you find me?" she asked him.

Koen shrugged one shoulder as he rubbed the mark she had left from her knife. "No one looks for me. I can go wherever and whenever I please. Ever since we shared a bowl of soup in my room, I've been searching for you."

Verena moved to the other side of the room and poked the fire with a metal stick. Next to the fireplace sat a small round table. Her head tilted to one side as she noticed that a tea kettle sat on top of the table with two, brown mugs beside it. A small letter sat underneath the kettle.

Learn to relax, Red. You work too much. - Zathan

Verena let a small smile spread over her lips as she picked up the kettle and hooked it over the fire. "What you did was reckless, Prince," she told him quietly.

Koen moved closer to her and shrugged again. "I made it here safely and in one piece."

Verena looked over at him and held up her knife, stopping his movements. "I could have hurt you with this. Anyone could have taken advantage of hurting, kidnapping, or killing you." She turned back to the fire and poked it again. "What are you doing here anyways?"

"I wanted to see you again," Koen answered as he leaned against the fireplace. "I admit that you intrigued me."

Verena let the smile behind her mask widen at his words. She heard him move and watched as he went to sit in one of the plush chairs beside the table.

"Strange that you would choose to stay here," Koen mentioned as he looked around the room. The sounds of moaning and beds creaking filled the air from the rooms around hers. "Doesn't that bother you?"

Verena shrugged her shoulders as she crossed her arms across her chest. "You eventually get used to the sounds."

Koen shook his head. "You shouldn't be staying here. What if someone tries to hurt you or take advantage of you?"

Verena's eyebrows furrowed as she raised her knife, waving it in front of her face. "I can take care of myself."

Koen sighed as he began to pick at the already damaged wood of the table. "I figure you could take care of yourself, but I wouldn't feel right leaving here knowing that you're living here."

Verena shook her head and leaned against the fireplace. "You'll get over it." They all do, she thought to herself.

Koen's eyes snapped up to hers, his face now serious. He stood up quickly and moved to stand in front of her. Verena straightened her back as she looked up at him. "I want to take you back to the palace," Koen continued. "You'll be more comfortable there."

Now it was Verena's turn to give him a stern look. "The guards would find me, know that I don't belong there, and take me prisoner." Maybe this is his plan, she thought. Trick me into believing he cares about my wellbeing, take me back to the castle and hand me over once we cross the gate.

One side of Koen's lips turned up in a smirk as he shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think so," he responded as he leaned in closer to her. "I think that someone who was able sneak into the palace with all the guards roaming around and steal our war plans without a single trace can live comfortably in my room." His eyebrows raised, daring her to contradict him.

Verena shook her head. "I don't know what you are talking about."

Koen's smile widened as he chuckled. He reached out and pinched a strand of her hair in between his fingers. "Don't be afraid. If I wanted to turn you in, I would have the night that I caught you in my room." He took a deep breath and slowly let it out, as if he was taking in her scent. "You see, I was there in the war room when they found that the war plans were stolen. There were no clues as to who took the plans or where they had gone to. But I smelled a very important clue. Sweet honey and vanilla had filled that room. No one else noticed the smell but me. It wasn't until that night I found you in my room that I put the pieces together."

Verena's jaw clenched as she gripped tightly onto her knife. Things could get very bad very quickly. She needed to get out of the room right now, but he was too close to get away without hurting him.

Verena started to shake her head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"No," Koen shook his head. "I knew it was you by that scent alone. When I found you in my room, I knew it was you that had stolen the war plans. I'm not going to turn you in."

Verena's eyes narrowed. "Why wouldn't you turn in the person who stole your father's war plans?"

"With the war plans gone," Koen began to answer. "This war can be stopped."

Verena sighed as she shook her head. "That's not going to happen. The war plans are only going to enhance the war, not stop it. More people are going to die, Prince."

Koen shrugged; the smile that was once on his face long gone. Now, only a look of sadness and tiredness was on his face. "My father didn't listen to anyone. Not to me or my old brother's. Not to his advisors or his generals. This war was because of him. If more people die, then that is his fault."

"You think your father deserves this war?"

"I think he deserves to lose this war, yes," he answered. His eyes focused on the strand of hair still in between his fingers. "My father isn't a good man. Never has been."

Verena titled her head to one side. Her grip on her knife relaxed. She didn't feel as if she was truly in danger, but she was still going to be careful. "Do you think the King of the other kingdom is better and deserves to win this war?"

Koen shook his head. "I don't think this war was necessary. Both kingdoms have enough territory as it is and they want to fight over a small piece of territory." He sighed. "I don't think it's going to be safe here for much longer."