Olive sat in her tiny apartment, waiting for Phabel. She had rushed through the shopping, gotten everything he had written on the list and returned to do the mad dash cleaning. It wasn't as if she was a messy person, she was just nervous and wanted to appear that she had made an effort. So in the tiny studio apartment she had swept the floor, neatly stacked her text books at her desk, scrubbed every surface of the bathroom and tidied the kitchen. She sat on the chair beside her desk looking around the room. He was a prince, he would have some grand place that he lived in, much like what Lucian and Danika lived in. She sighed, his storage cupboard was probably bigger than her apartment. As she sat there, she saw a bug crawl under the door. Her hand shook as she reached for her shoe, slowly taking it off her foot readying to squish it.

'Don't.' the bug said.

Olive screamed as she fell back on the floor, scurrying backwards away from it. Her eyes widened as the bug got bigger and bigger. She sat on the floor agape as she looked upon Phabel.

'Told you I could get in undetected.' he grinned at her.

'Oh my god.' she breathed.

She put her shoe back on as he held out his hand, lifting her up.

'What did you think a shape shifter could do?'

'I hadn't really thought about it.'

'Well I can take on the form of any living being. Now you sit here and tell me of your day after we parted company while I make dinner.'

Olive pulled herself up onto the bar stool and watched over the bench as he fussed around her little kitchen.

'Not much. Had the language lessons, such a bore.' she rolled her eyes 'I can't wait for the change over of my lessons.'

'You find your lessons boring?'

'Well not the ones with my very handsome professor in them.'

Phabel grinned as he chopped the vegetables.

'I have a question about your abilities.'

'Ok, ask away.'

'How is it that you can turn into a bug and when you change back you are wearing clothes?'

'There was a time when normal clothes were a problem. We would change into the creature and there would be a pile of clothes. Depending on the circumstance the clothes could also burn up, turn to liquid.' he shrugged 'Different fibres react different ways. It was ok if it was around the home, the clothes might still be there, however if it was an emergency we could lose our clothes.' he grinned slightly as he looked up from the cutting board 'And of course with loss of clothes it means that we were running around rather naked. No one wanted to run afoul of John Q Law so our most brightest set about creating a fibre that shifts with us.'

'You're wearing a suit.' she said dryly.

'Yes but feel it when I shift.'

His eyes were wide with excitement as he held out his arm, waiting for Olive to reach out. As her hand came out, she gently ran her fingers over the sleeve of his jacket. It felt normal until he started to shift and then it felt like silk.

'Amazing.' she breathed as he stopped shifting, returning to his normal form. 

Phabel regaled Olive with all of the pre-shifting cloth days as they ate dinner. Of all the times he almost got caught because he didn't have the forethought before he shifted. Olive was in tears as she laughed at his antics. As she laughed Phabel watched her, feeling something inside of him sing. The stones colour changed ever so slightly, tinting a little more golden. He could feel himself drawn to it like a moth to the light he had to be near it. Olive stopped laughing, watching his fascination. His head had turned slightly, his eyebrows pressed together with curiosity. Out came his hand slowly moving to it. The singing swirled through his body, a crescendo of angels calling to him. As he touched the stone he was knocked from his chair with brute force, thumping him into the badly worn wood floor.

'Phabel!'

Olive rushed to his side, lifting him upright. He was delirious and confused as he looked around, blinking forcefully at the light.

'Are you ok?'

He turned to look at her as a memory flooded through his mind, it was like he could see Olive and a sheer overlay of the memory as well. Phabel shook his head as he closed his eyes hard. Forcing his mind to focus on the memory.

'Potatoes and beans.'

Olive sat down beside him, waiting as he remembered something.

'Carrots... you don't like carrots. Made me throw them in the bin.'

She grinned hard, refraining from any giggles or laughter.

'You like lemon with your fish. I made chips with the potatoes and you ate the beans as you watched me cook.'

His eyes opened seeing Olive grinning even though tears were tripping out her pretty eyes.

'We had fish and chips under the stars.'

Finally she laughed, one small laugh as she wrapped her arms around him hugging him as hard as she could.

'I'm getting there slowly, that's good, right?'

Olive leaned back and nodded, Phabel wiped the tears from under her eyes. She looked tired and had probably been up most of the night studying.

'Dinner and then an early night for you.'

She seemed to hesitate at his words, fear was skipping through her body.

'Olive.' he softly chastised her 'Do I look like I would force myself upon you? Have a little faith in me.'

They finished their dinner with the television going but it was only background noise, neither of them were watching it. Phabel no longer felt the need to touch the necklace. It seemed to him that the necklace was going to dictate to him when he was to receive a crack of the memory. He found it frustrating that he couldn't get where he wanted to be, that there was something holding them back. Of course he knew that they had to consummate their love in order for all of his memory of her to return but he had hoped that a little more would come to him. Olive's hesitation was likely to be the biggest hurdle, she was nervous of her future and worried that he would forget her again. Even as they laid upon the bed he could feel her reluctance. She was scared of not being enough for him and he didn't know what he could do to convince her she was more than enough. Olive didn't know much about mated love, he knew that he would be spending the weekend searching through his books to find something for her to read. Something that she might find reassuring. They laid on the bed, Olive asking lots of questions and Phabel answering them. For all that she was nervous and unsure, she had a very inquisitive mind.

Olive snuggled into Phabel's body as they laid on the bed, their conversation about shifters had ended, opting to wait for the weekend when he could provide her with books. She had fretted at the thought of his family being there, his father was a nice person but she was still a little worried. Phabel had wrapped his arm around her tiny frame as she rested her head on his chest, his fingers traced the line of the necklace. No matter what he did, he couldn't force another memory.

'Lucian and Danika have been discussing something.'

Olive hummed sleepily.

'They suggested that you live with them while you are doing vamp history and when you are free from it you can live with me.'

He could feel her body tighten just a little as she slipped from his embrace and sat up to look at him.

'Live with them?'

'Yes, I'd like to know that you are safe and there are bonuses to living with dark beings.'

'Which are?'

'Gates that make my passage to you quick and efficient. Protected by their guards, you would also have an easy ride to your lessons. You also need to learn of my world, I am royalty and one day you will be too. Lucian will have his staff teach you all manner of things. My father will send people to teach you of my world.'

'Is my head going to explode with all this information?' she asked as she laid back down.

'I dearly hope not.' he smiled softly 'One day at a time aui leabu, there is no pressure to learn these things all at once.'

'You're language is quite different, isn't it?'

'It is however, you will be happy to know that we speak English because there was a time where my people lived in this world.'

'Why don't you live there?'

'For a very long time I believed it was because I felt tied to this place, I had spent far too long here to leave it. But now I believe it was because of you, my soul would not let me leave until I found you. I know it might seem scary to you but I want for you to think about joining my people and become what I am. Then we can pass between the worlds with no issue.'

'The gates the vampires use?'

'You know of them?'

'I saw a vampire once, she was being very cautious but I still saw her. She was walking through the forest near the house, I was a child and thought I had mistaken what I saw. I didn't mistake it, did I?'

Phabel grinned as he sat up, leaning on one arm. As he shook his head he skimmed his fingers over the gap in her shirt that exposed her navel. 

'It's called mid jump.'

Olive gasped as his fingers circled the indentation.

'Imagine that this circle I draw around this lovely little dip is a place where dark beings can go to meet and socialise, shop, eat, anything the heart desires.'

'Humans can't go in there, can they?'

'No, it was created in a time where humans hunted the vampires, this was a safe haven for them if they were being hunted. Now it's a group gathering destination. It is also the place where all of the gates are, to travel between our realms with ease.'

Phabel drew a line out from the circle.

'My world, this world.'

His finger trailed back in, watching as her stomach shrank from his touch. He drew another line out.

'Werewolves.'

Olive's eyes widened as he looked up at her, strands of his hair fell into his eyes. His fingers trailed back out again.

'And finally the soon to be completed realm for the witches.'

'Do these other realms have humans in them too?'

'No. There might have been the intention to have them at one point but after what has happened in this realm I know my father and our people preferred not to have them. The werewolves were very insistent that there not be any in their realm and as for the witches...' he shrugged 'After what the humans did to them I can't say as I'd blame them for not wanting to have them.'

Olive giggled when his finger dipped into her navel, feeling rather ticklish.

'When Lucian's mother gained control of the realm she ensured that witches would be safe here but it was far too late for them, the damage had been done long before Alina was even a thought. There are some that still live here now that the world is safer for them, the rest live in my world.'

'When will their world be ready?'

'Hopefully soon, they deserve the peace of a world that doesn't seek their demise.'

'Do you want to be king of your world?'

'I'd rather my father was alive.'

'Me too, I like your father, he seems nice even if he was dealing with a teary human.'

Phabel grinned softly at her. 'Understanding and compassionate, ideal qualities for a king.'

'Love for his son.'

'The creation from his love with a wonderful woman.' Phabel's hand flattened over her stomach 'To create such love is the hope for all of us.'