The Prince Of Hearts.

I need to know.

His words lingered in my head for a while. I wasn't sure what to respond. I mean, he is a complete stranger to me, and though I feel like I do trust him, something tells me there is something else, if not a lot of things I should be worried about.

As I got lost in thought before giving him an answer, I looked into his eyes and noticed a slightly darker purple take over his left eye. It's was a strange combination. Not to mention it felt.....dangerous.

He tightened the grip of his hand on mine, and I looked at his hand. He wouldn't let go. I tried pulling away, but he held my hand in place. Still, never took his eyes off me. I was getting impatient. I needed to leave, I couldn't stay here. I wasn't safe here.

I looked back at the portal and back at him.

"Ok..." I said quietly. Loud enough for him to hear. His face lit up in a smile, which made my heart to a whole flip on my chest. He grabbed the mirror and placed on the left wall of the room.

"Jabber?" He called the bird. In less than 2 seconds, the bird flew in from next door. I heard him whisper something to it, and just like that, the bird transformed  and flew into the mirror.

A few seconds later, the room started to shake. I lost my balance and felt his hand slip on my waist. He held me in place. He wasn't affected by the sudden change in the room. I felt a small breeze coming from the mirror and noticed it started to grow. It kept growing until it was the size of Alekai. He was a lot taller than me. I considered myself to be tall. But...he wasn't just tall. When the mirror stopped growing, he looked at me and held out his hand.

I was getting tired of him trying to do things like......what happened earlier. So, I just smiled slightly and walked towards the mirror on my own. I heard him growl behind me.

I stepped into the mirror. And a second after, I was standing in front of the gates to the queen's castle.

"So this is where you wanted to go."

I turned around and saw Alekai holding out his arm for Jabber. He looked at me from the corner of his eye and gave me a childish smile.

"Stop doing that," I said, looking away.

"What? I didn't do anything, " he complained.

"Never mind," I whispered and walked towards the gates. He followed.

The gates opened before my hand fully reached them, and we both walked in. I saw the door of the castle open and heard a familiar voice say my name.

I saw the white queen walk out the doors and walk gracefully towards me. Her expression changed, and she stopped  walking when she saw Alekai. She seemed.....confused.

Did she know?

I reached her and greeted her as best as I could since she was still focused on Alekai. From the distance, I heard someone call out to the queen. I heard Alekai gasp.

"I...I...shouldn't have..... I can't be here, "  he stuttered. He turned to walk away and stopped as soon as he heard her.

"You stop where you are. Don't. Take. Another. Step."

I looked behind the white queen, who was still mesmerized by Alekai, and saw the red queen walking towards us. She didn't seem to notice me. Just Alekai.

I turned towards him once again. He was shaking.

Was he.. scared.

I reached out to him unknowingly, and he jumped. Startling me in the process. He looked at me with a sad face which then turned into anger. He saw I tried to reach for him again and his face changed. Almost pleading me to do something. Before I could tell him to leave, I saw her walk past me and stand in front of Alekai.

He wouldn't look at her. He still looked at me.

"Look. At. Me" she commanded.

He jumped at the sound of her voice. He looked at her. Anger evident on his face. They didn't away anything to each other for a while until the white queen asked her sister who he was. She turned to the white queen and waved her hand in the air.

"Later. It's a long story. Oh, your here too."

So she finally noticed me. How long has it been since she's seen Alekai? The silence was growing more and more intense it was making both me and the white queen uncomfortable. She puts her hand on my shoulder and shakes her head towards the castle. She was telling me to go in. So i did. She followed right behind me.

I turned around to find Alekai looking at me, he was angry but something about his expression told me he just wanted to leave. He couldn't be here. He said it. 

I never told him I wanted him to come with me. He chose to come along on his own. Yet, my heart ached for him. He looked miserable. He looked like me when I was at that horrible hospital. He needed help and someone to be there for him. But how could I be of any help when I know nothing about him. After a few moments I saw the white queen leave the room we were in. She came back with a basket filled with what looked like cakes, and cookies. She placed it on the glass tea table in front of me and offered me something to drink. 

I was still lost in thought so she decided to leave me be for a few minutes. 

After an hour or two I heard the castle doors open. I got up as fast as could and ran towards the door only to find Alekai. He looked drained, tired......sad. I walked to wards him slowly and noticed Jabber wasn't with him, but I didn't care. He needed someone right now and I don't think anyone else would be willing to help him. I reached for his face but I held back. 

I heard him growl slightly. He took my hands in his and placed them on both sides of his face. He held them there and closed his eyes. He let go of my hands and reached out for me. I wasn't sure what to do, so I let him pull me close. He placed his head on my shoulder and hugged me tightly. I hugged him back and began to rub his back in a comforting motion. I felt him inhale deeply. He was still shaking I could feel him trembling. For a moment, I lost my balance and he did too but he let himself fall on his knees taking me with him.

"I need you to tell me what happened with your mother," I said lifting his head so I could look at him. And immediately wished I hadn't. 

He was crying.

He looked at me with soft eyes and nodded. 

I hadn't asked the queen for a room but she insisted on giving me one anyways. She hadn't given Alekai one because she thought he would have left after the conversation he was having with his mother. I was going to ask her to let him stay but I needed to hear what he had to say first. So, I took him to my room. 

He sat on the edge of the bed while I took a chair that was near the night stand on the right side of the room. 

"What I am about to tell you Alice, is not a story to be taken lightly. I was hurt, abused and even on the brink of death thanks to that woman. And...there are things that you might not want to hear.....So when you do you might want to stay away from me and I will understand...." He looked at me and I gave him a nod of approval.

He took a deep breath and continued.

"I'll start with my father......."