Katherine felt a bit out of sorts on the walk back to Matilda.

  It wasn’t a short walk, nor long, but the walk back felt longer than the walk to the stable.

  When Katherine entered, she looked at Matilda and shock her head.

  Matilda looked at her for a bit, then looked at An.

  “It’s unforeseen.”

  Katherine stared back at Matilda and nodded.

  …They had not been talking about the horses.

  “You should just tell them.” Matilda stated, sighing.

  Why?

  Katherine felt a bit depressed over even thinking about them knowing now. Not only had she come back as a woman, but…

  It didn’t matter…

  “Very well.” Matilda stated.

  It seems that Katherine needed more time…

  And I’ll have to find another way…Maybe I could try my hand and making a horse from scratch…

  “What aren’t you telling us?” Matthew asked.

  Matilda sighed, “Nothing big, don’t worry about it.”

  It seemed that Katherine was further away now, then she was before, from being closer to Band One…An.

  With all the little jobs that needed to be done to welcome the emperors and heirs, Matilda did not pce Katherine with An to do them anymore.

  Katherine would be willing and loyally help her or Matthew with anything, which pretty much was a dead giveaway if you ask Matilda, but she would spend a lot of time by herself now.

  Matthew being attached to Matilda didn’t help the situation and now that Katherine was like this, Matilda started to feel a bit stuck.

  “I need some time off this.” Matilda asked about a week ter, bringing up her and his hands and the link between them.

  Matthew brought her from standing in front of him to sitting on his p.

  “I need to talk to Katherine without you.” She stated, snuggling into him.

  Matthew kissed the side of her head but still didn’t speak.

  “How about I put it back on after I talk to her?”

  It was like talking to a brick wall!

  A whole minute passed, and Matilda actually tried to think of another way. What else could she do to help her sister?

  A sudden burning sensation went to her arm then and she saw the chains shatter.

  “I love you.” Was all he said.

  Matilda praised him both through actions and words. She wanted him to know that she was thankful for this chance.

  After a small little romance with her man, she finally was able to rush off to Katherine, finding her through the spiritual essence.

  “Princess?”

  And there she was, walking out of the shadow.

  “Katherine…” Matilda walked up to her and took her hands in hers. “Talk to me.”

  Katherine didn’t look happy. She looked down and then pulled her hands away, “Do you not know everything anyway?”

  Taking her into a cuddle, Matilda then said, “…I just want you to talk to me.”

  “I don’t regret it.” Katherine said suddenly. “I don’t.”

  Matilda rubbed her back and Katherine closed her eyes.

  …She still wasn’t used to intimacy, and it wasn’t like Matilda hugged her often so…It was slowly getting more and more awkward between them…

  Being quiet at this time, waiting for Katherine to say anything, was hard to endure.

  It wasn’t like Katherine was having such a hard time that she was suicidal, nor something that would be the worst type of experience in the world, but it still wasn’t easy.

  She had died, been pced away for many years…Only to come back as something else in hopes to please another. Well, let’s state it bnkly, most of it was to please another. Luckily it hadn’t taken long for her to get used to not being as strong and getting her monthly’s, but…

  “Why is it that the first thing you say is, ‘I don’t regret it’.” Matilda asked quietly.

  She hoped she didn’t say anything too harsh or serious…

  Katherine went still and sighed sadly.

  Because it was something that she had held dear to her! She had really wanted everything!

  How greedy had she been!?

  “Oh, honey…It’s ok…” Matilda patted her head.

  “What’s wrong with her?”

  A male’s voice interrupted both of them and Matilda took it the hardest…

  Where the hell did he come from!?

  This man has a talent of popping in and out of pces!

  She was able to hear this kind of thing but was she not paying attention?

  Katherine went behind Matilda and didn’t even look at An.

  Matilda slowly looked beside her, and then back to him, “She’s ok. We were having some ‘us’ time.”

  Clearly you interrupted us pal!

  It didn’t make sense to An. The one in front of most definitely the princess. She hadn’t really changed! She was nothing like the one behind her.

  Why, when they looked so simir…

  “Please give us a moment here.” Matilda stated, a bit upset that An wouldn’t bugger off easily.

  Memories…

  Matilda was suddenly swamped with memories!

  Band One and Band Two had a lot of time together, they fought together, they drank, ate and slept together.

  They watched, they hid…All of it was together!

  Small things…Like that of Band Two being caught pushing a piece of hair out of the so-called sleeping Band One’s face. How the look on Band Two’s face slowly changed over the years…How the look of Band One’s face changed over the years.

  The rare chance of them being close enough to touch without feeling bad about it. How they would nod together and act and know exactly what the other was thinking…

  They had clicked…

  An saw it in Katherine…He saw Band Two in her.

  Matilda wondered if she should tell Katherine Band One’s thoughts and feelings…Would that make her feel better? But…That would be interfering wouldn’t it…

  Turning back to Katherine, who was hiding away behind her and fiddling with her fingers…Matilda continued to be quiet…

  “It’s you isn’t it. The look you give me, the way you are able to walk away, the way you do as you are told…The way you fiddle with your hands!”

  An took long strides to Katherine and pulled her to face him.

  “It’s you…Isn’t it…”

  He put a hand to her face and looked into those eyes of hers…A pair of scared eyes…Eyes that became watery due to remembering why she had never told Band One that she loved him. She was so scared! Why is it when she clearly knew how much she regretted not saying anything for so long and yet here, right now, she still could not say a damned word!?

  “Two…”

  …It was done…

  Matilda walked away and hoped that Katherine will hold herself together.

  “…One…”

  Clearly Katherine looked like she was on the verge of crying, but she held on.

  “…My god…”

  An felt so many things at once that he didn’t know what to feel first.

  “It must be true then, you died as well…” An stated. He still held Katherine’s face in his hand, as much as Katherine gently tried to pry herself away.

  Katherine looked away and nodded, “Protecting the Princess…”

  An let go and blinked.

  Standing back a step, he took a deep breath in, but when he went to speak again Katherine turned and went to walk away. “Two!”

  Katherine stopped. How in the world could things turn out the way she wants? She loved that man, she adored that man…

  A voice, much closer than she thought, finally spoke from behind her, “I think I was the only one looking for you. Why couldn’t you at least let me know…Why couldn’t you…”

  Staying silent, Katherine just had no idea on what to say. A feeling of betrayal went through her as his words were thought about. They had been pretty close…Had she not trusted him?

  “When you adored me as you did, honored me…It was a bit strange at first…It even got annoying…”

  Katherine didn’t want to hear anymore, so she started to walk, only to be stopped before even one step could be taken.

  A hand grabbed her fingers…

  “It turned into a special feeling, like a friend…It was just something you did…It was something you only did for me…”

  An gently just held one finger now, “When you left, it almost felt like I’d gone naked…The constant stare I had behind me was gone. Hours turned into weeks…After it turned to months and it felt like I was the only one that remembered you, I started to panic…What if he was gone!? What if he was really gone!?”

  It really wasn’t An’s intention to say any of this out loud…None of it!

  Why the hell was he talking this out loud and to this person!?

  But he couldn’t help it…Was it a dream?

  “I can honestly say that when you were with me, back then, I did take you for granted.” An stated, cking a bit of sensitivity…

  Katherine moved her hand away from him and tried to be quiet while taking a big breath…

  What is going on right now? Is he being nasty to me?

  “I lived after that. I did things that I’ve had never done before…You know why?” An asked.

  Katherine shook her head slightly, still with her back to him.

  An frowned, he hated talking like this…

  Turning her to look at him, he saw her nearly lose bance to his strength…

  Right…He’s a woman now…

  Katherine went to look at him, but could only look at him for a moment, before bowing her head.

  An gritted his teeth and felt himself grow angry.

  Trying to hold it in, he sighed. “Do you really want to know or are you counting the seconds to get away from me?”

  Katherine looked up at him and frowned.

  Why would he think that? She wondered.

  She wanted to know…

  “I…Want to know.” Katherine stated bravely.

  An softened his gaze at her and smiled, “You may not have changed much, but I have. Do you know what I hated…What I changed?”

  He watched her think…

  Katherine looked back at him, “Being a Band, the emperor’s man…”

  With the thought of ‘emperor’, Katherine lost her small smile and showed anger in her eyes…

  An saw that! He saw Katherine’s sudden change and widened his eyes…

  “The emperor…” An said, pying with words and watching Katherine.

  Even Katherine’s hand clenched up and An knew something had happened with the Green Haven Emperor!

  “Was it him? Did he kill both of you?”

  Clenching his own hands, An’s anger rose back up again, and he could hardly contain it!

  He had been wrongly accused, imprisoned for such a long time and now…Because of one man!

  Looking at Katherine, who blinked and still looked like the cute and innocent, adoring idiot, An lost a bit of his anger.

  Finally, Katherine nodded. “He killed the Princess and then seven Bands killed me.”

  An took her into his arms and hugged her.

  Seven!

  Getting one of her hands, he unclenched it.

  “You can’t tell anyone. This meeting is important, and Matilda doesn’t want to care about our deaths.” Katherine said, not sure if she should hug him back or anything.

  They had rarely been this intimate in the past.

  On the rare occasion, Band Two had pretended to wake up not knowing about touching Band One, but it was far from hugging on purpose like this!

  “I don’t care if she cares or not.” An suddenly said.

  Katherine pulled back to look at him, confused…

  “I am no longer a Band anymore.” He said, “I am free to do as I please!”

  With that said, An pulled her face to his and he kissed it.

  Katherine was in shock to the sudden change of circumstance that she did not respond to An’s kiss straight away.

  He pulled away and looked at the shock still on her face and ughed.

  “Still adorable!”

  Wait…What!

  Katherine looked up, only to find him walking away, “One!”

  Calling out his old name, Katherine rushed after him.

  An was smiling when he turned back around. “Are you sure you want to follow me, little one?”

  “Little one!? You haven’t called me that in ages!” Katherine stated, now having caught up with him.

  An started to walk again, “You are smaller than me.”

  Katherine looked at him, “Do you have that much of an ego now?”

  Suddenly having his face close to hers, she stopped.

  “Yes!”

  “…So you are proud now?” Katherine asked.

  Feeling her hand get taken up in his, she went excessively quiet for the rest of the walk to where ever it was that they were going to...

  ***