(This goes back to the day our girl left the castle)
POV
King Knox
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Gently brushing aside the brittle strands of hair from my mother's face, I leaned over her bed, planting a soft kiss on her forehead.
Her dark eyes fluttered open, blinking me into focus. "What happened?"

My mother's voice had always held such power and strength. A strength that, in reality, she lacked. I was the only one trying to battle her demons. It didn't bother her that it wasn't a fight I could win without her help. She continually fell into the habits of her sickness.

"You went into heart failure, má. You're back home now, recuperating from the surgery," I informed her gently. "The doctor has cleared you for broth to eat once you woke."

Her skeptical gaze met mine. "Let me guess? You are here to make sure I eat?"

"It's that or a feeding tube, má. Your body is breaking down due to lack of nourishment."

"I'm well aware of how the disease works, mi cielito." She struggled to sit up in her bed, swatting at my hands when I tried to assist.

"Wheel my bed closer to the fireplace and pass me those," she instructed, her bony finger pointing toward her knitting needles and cashmere yarn.

I grabbed the extra quilt draped over the floral wing chair near the fireplace and gently pulled it around her frail shoulders before doing what she had requested. The room was unbearably warm. Heat was blowing from the vents, and the fire blazing from the fireplace should have had her sweltering. Yet her body visibly trembled.

"This is your third heart, má. That's the limit and that law even applies to the royals."

Her response was succinct, "I'm well aware of the laws."

As I held the spoonful of soup, ready to guide it to her mouth, a solitary dark eyebrow lifted on her too-thin, yet still lovely, face.
She settled her knitting supplies onto her lap and delved into her project, finally granting me permission to feed her.

After the meal, I positioned a chair beside her and took a seat. "Your nurse tells me that your diet has taken a drastic regression. Mamá, it pains me to see this. What's troubling you? What's behind this change?"

"I'm fine, guapo. Now, to a more interesting topic, I want to know if there is any truth to what Emilio told me?"

"Probably. But I won't confirm until you tell me what's wrong."

After my father killed himself, my mother always crumbled under the slightest pressure. That was when her disease began and slowly it had stripped my mother of her life. The same way my father's disease took his in an instant. Even though I had done everything in my power to make sure she was happy over the years, this problem always found a way to resurface. Anorexia was an evil beast I couldn't understand, no matter how many times I had tried to empathize.

"Can we discuss what is causing you to fall into old habits?" I leaned forward in my chair and put my hands over her knitting needles to catch her attention.

"There is no reason. After I recovered from my head cold, my stomach couldn't handle food. That's all. It has nothing to do with my disease," she said, gently knocking my hands off of her knitting needles. Her excuse was a lie.

I sighed heavily, and my mother rolled her eyes up at me. She hated when I sighed. According to her, it made me come off as an ill-tempered child, but that was how I felt when she made me beg her to take care of herself.

"I love you and I only want to give you the world."

"If you loved me, you would get married and give me grandchildren." Her lips curved briefly into a smile, a fleeting expression before she redirected her attention to the blanket she was knitting.

"Má, if you start taking care of yourself again, even if I don't get married, I will give you a grandchild."

She made a disgruntled sound in the back of her throat. "Emilio told me you met a girl that has possibly stolen your heart. Is there any truth to that?"

I shifted my focus to the crackling flames roaring in the fireplace.

"Oh, you're in love with her." My mother stated, dropping her knitting needles in her lap and giving me her full attention.

"No. I'm not." The instant denial turned my stomach sour.

"I don't know, maybe. Calina and I have only been dating for a month, though it's not an official 'dating' situation. She's not a fan of labels. But yes, I do have strong feelings for her. I'm trying not to scare her off. So I've been keeping things at her pace."

My mother chuckled. "You're rambling, hijo. That is what it sounds like when a man is in love."

I grinned up at her while accessing my phone.

My smile dropped, along with my stomach. I jumped up from my chair. My heart was crashing against my ribs as I reread the text on my phone: The princess is missing from the castle.

"Cielito, what's the matter?"

"My sincerest apologies, but I need to attend to something. I'll be back in a few hours." Leaning down, I pressed a kiss to the top of her head before hurrying out of the room.

"Update me." I offered only a brief glance at Emilio when I walked to my office.
"The princess scaled the oak tree next to her balcony. Beyond that, we're uncertain how she escaped. She skillfully avoided all the security cameras," Emilio reported.

"Was she wearing a cloaking device? In that case switch to the infrared camera sensor."

"The princess exploited the blind spots. She seemed well aware of their locations," Emilio explained, handing me a tablet. The screen displayed footage capturing Calina ascending over the balcony railing and leaping onto a tree branch. Witnessing the scene, made my heart plummet to my stomach.

What was she thinking?
"Are my elite with her?"

"No, your highness. They didn't notice she escaped. When the Princess is in her room, the Ghosts usually patrolled the perimeter."

It was something they must have done fairly routinely and Calina caught onto it. Nothing was wrong with routine, not when there wasn't an active threat, but it irked me to no end that a she had outwitted my highly skilled men. My beautiful Rogue outsmarted my elite security team. That fact was both maddening and oddly impressive. I clenched my jaw, torn between annoyance and a begrudging sense of pride.

"Any clues on her location?"

Emilio shook his head. "We are scanning her through facial recognition but nothing has popped yet."

"Did she happen to steal a staticveil for her disguise?"

Emilio's eyebrow flickered up and he shook his head.

Damn. Of course she wouldn't. She knew the masks had tracking devices.

"She would be smart enough to use some sort of disguise. Make sure you factor that in."

I pushed my knuckles into my wooden desk, leaning on them until I felt the bones ache from my weight. I told her I would work with her to help her guards once she was officially queen. She only needed to wait a few more weeks. What was the point of this? Because she could?

She did not take her royal life seriously. She lived entirely too dangerously. Thoughtlessly.

"Fuck! I hope she's okay. Keep me updated." I glanced at my door, letting him know he was dismissed. Emilio bowed and the door automatically opened and closed behind him.

I paced the expanse of my office, the absence of Calina, gnawed at my thoughts like a relentless itch. My fingers clenched and unclenched at my sides as I battled with the rising emotions.

What if something happened to her? The question hammered against the walls of my consciousness, echoing loudly. This feeling of helplessness was not a sensation I was accustomed to. I've always thrived on control, on preparedness, and now I found myself standing on the precipice of uncertainty.

The weight of the situation bore down on me, and I sank into the chair, my fingers rubbing my temples as I struggled to rein in all these overwhelming emotions. Just a tiny bit, I admired her resourcefulness. Mostly, I was worried fucking sick for her safety. I knew that Calina was resourceful, intelligent, and fiercely independent, but that didn't stop the fear that gripped me.

Hours turned into an eternity as I continued to pace the office, my mind a battleground of worry and determination. My team would find her. Calina was out there, and I would move mountains to ensure her safety. But for now, all I could do was wait and hope, my heart heavy with the uncertainty of the situation.

A hologram of Emilio materialized in my office, breaking through my restless thoughts.

"My apologies for the intrusion. We've updated Queen Ekko, but she is so distraught that she said we are no longer to come to her until we have a definitive answer on Calina's location."

I had just recently concluded an hour long call dedicated to consoling the queen. The toll of this situation on her mental well-being was evident. The current circumstances were triggering post-traumatic stress, from the harrowing night her son vanished with her entire family in tow. I had arranged for my best medical experts to attend to her, addressing the PTSD that had resurfaced due to the Princess's disappearance.

"Yes, I understand the queens agitation. My Elite are supposed to be the best in the world, and you can't even find one Rogue."

"I'm not making excuses your highness, but Calina's father equipped her with an exceptional skillset for maintaining anonymity. That said, We might have a lead," he informed me cautiously. "A young woman deposited Freedom dollars into an ATM, but our pursuit hit a dead end when we tracked the card."

My skepticism surfaced. "Well, if you've hit a dead end why are coming to me with this?"

Emilio continued, " Tracking the debit card, lead us to the woman we apprehended that claims complete ignorance about the young woman's identity. Strangely, she doubted the young lady's connection to Freedom altogether. According to the woman, the young woman's Greek accent gave her the impression that she was raised in the palace. This perception led her to the decision to steal from her, assuming she came from a privileged background." Emilio's sigh carried the weight of frustration as he ran a hand wearily across his face.

"Your highness, We've had her in interrogation for over an hour. We had to show her a picture of Calina, given that the girl's face was mostly obscured by a hood when she used the ATM. We only think it is the princess because of this..."

With a wave of his hand above the tablet, an image appeared - that of a delicate hand adorned with three distinct freckles on the ring finger. I've kissed those fingers enough to unequivocally know that it belonged to the Rogue that has captured my heart.

"Yes, that's Calina," I confirmed. "Now, return her home before her identity is comprised."

"We're at an impasse because of the suspect in custody, the bruja that stole all of Calina's money. Because of her actions, we can't track the princess' debit card. Calina tossed it in a nearby trash can when she realized the funds had even drained. I've come to you empty handed because the bruja is a fan of yours and wants to meet you. If you decline, she will tell everyone the Cardinal Heir has returned."

A bemused chuckle escaped me, and I reclined in my chair, staring at the ceiling. "She robbed a princess and is threatening a king? With Calina's announcement days away, let the woman say what she will. I will not even bother throwing her in jail for stealing. Send her home. We're wasting resources on her." I end the call, and make my way to the gym to try and regain some mental focus, but today, it didn't seem to work as effectively.

Calina's whereabouts clung to my thoughts like a persistent shadow. I contemplated her dire situation - stranded and penniless. No one would help her if she couldn't pay them. That wasn't how the world operated.

I showered then went to check on my mother. Somehow in the hours I spent with my mother, telling her about Calina, she pointed out all the reasons I was obviously in love with the Greecian Princess. I still thought it was too soon to tell, plus I was pissed off at her recklessness.

"The Ghosts found her. Well, if I'm being honest, Callie was ready to be found," Emilio said, walking into my mother's room and kissing her cheek. "Beautiful as always, Duchess Valentina. It is my turn to be showered with affection while the King speaks with his rebellious girlfriend."
He flashed a whimsical grin my way before climbing onto the bed with my mother. His oversized body curled onto her lap like a small child. My mother chuckled, smoothing her fingers through his hair.

"Go, mi cielito. I have hijito to keep me entertained."

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"Dude, I need more details than that. What did you say before you left?" Emilio asked with one eyebrow cocked. He leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on my desk.

" I didn't say anything. I just left. I needed the distance to clear my mind. When she placed her hand over my mouth..." I trailed off, expelling a loud breath, my fingers absently massaging the knot forming at the back of my neck.

"In that moment, it hit me," I continued, frustrated that I didn't piece this together sooner. "I realized that I'm fucking in love with her."

I cast a sideways glance at Emilio, half-expecting a surprised reaction, but he merely responded with a quizzical brow raise as he gave me the go-ahead hand wave. Except there was nothing more to say other than it was senseless to be in love so quickly.

It was like some cosmic moment, coming from a place so deep inside me it was as if we were destined for that very moment on the palace steps. Everything I've achieved in life was feckless in comparison. Calina was a gift meant to be savored and I wanted to forever, but she was absolutely unattainable.

I slowed my pace, glancing down at the frayed fibers of the carpet below.

Despite my annoyance, the audacity of her physically silencing me took more tenacity than she probably realized. She didn't see me as the world did, as a king. To her, titles were mere words, and I was just a man.

When I was with Calina, the world outside of us didn't exist. She had an allure that held me captive, a magnetic pull that had become an addiction. I feared losing her. Admitting my love too soon could unravel what we had, and that was a risk I couldn't afford to take.

"These three days until her ceremony, I don't want any contact. If she calls, decline. I need the time to reevaluate my emotions. Maybe the distance and space away will slow the acceleration, because I'm falling too fast for her. We've only been dating a month. She shouldn't be my first thought when I wake up. My kingdom should." Really I shouldn't be in love with a girl that would never love me back the way I craved.

With a grunt, Emilio dragged his feet off the desktop and stood. "Alright, I'll just text Alice..."

"No, because Alice might say something to Calina. I don't want to give her false hope. What if I only think it's love because of everything mamá was saying? I just need to make sure it's how I feel with no outside influences. Look, dude, I know I'm crossing a line, butting in on your relationship with Alice but..."

"You wouldn't ask if it weren't important. I understand. I've got to be honest, you sound scared. You've been in love before. What about red?"

"That was nothing more than lust. Alivia pales compared to Calina. The Greecian Princess has no interest in being in a serious relationship. So why the hell am I falling for the Rogue? "

"Because she's fearless, without hesitation. She's stubborn and strong willed. She wears her heart on her sleeve. At least, that's why I love her, you know as a friend."

Exhaustion pinched the space between my shoulder blades, I rubbed my neck and stared at the picture on my bookshelf, trying to get my mind to go blank. It took me several seconds to realize I was looking at a picture that had been on the shelf for eight years. It was Queen Ariadne. I snatched it off the shelf.

"Shit, dude. I can't think about this right now," I muttered, walking around the desk to toss the frame into a drawer with more force than necessary.

A quick double tap on the glass top of my desk started up the hologram screen.

"Update me on King Luigi's intentions regarding Almany. If he's considering taking control, find out the level of manpower he requires me to allocate," I instructed, my voice brisk as I sought to shift my focus back to other pressing matters at hand.