I ran through the forest bored as always. I never get to do anything, it's always “put on this dress!” or “Try this one, it'll look much better!” but I never liked being a ‘princess’ but that is what I have to do in order to be seen as the royalty I am. So as I ran and jumped through the forest it started raining hard, but I kept running and sliding through the mud. “My mother will surely kill me for this” I said softly under my breath as I looked at my now mud stained clothes and old sneakers. I decided to walk now as I looked around and stopped for a second. ‘This isn’t my kingdom’ I thought to myself as I looked at the beautiful glowing string lights down below at the edge of the forest line ‘They’re dancing in the rain’ I thought. I didn't even notice I was smiling. I shook my head as I sighed and looked at the carefree kingdom below, hoping that one day my kingdom would be just like theirs.

As I started walking back to the kingdom I called home, I ran into a boy who looked like he was in his teens. He was taller than average and kept walking back and forth as he adjusted his sleeves every now and then. I stopped walking as I stared at him as I thought ‘I haven’t seen him in Epiphany”. Epiphany is my kingdom's name but people call it the Epm kingdom because of our history with wars. The boy looked at me as he stood still, almost frozen before speaking very quietly “H-Hello'' He spoke with a soft stutter as he backed away from me as if he were scared. “Who are you and what are you doing here?” I spoke with a much more strict tone as I looked at him before standing up straight and pulling my braid behind my back. “Do you know where you are? The Emp isn’t a peaceful place to stay.” I spoke once more as I pulled my sword from my sheath and slowly pointed the tip of the blade at the boy in front of me. He stepped back as he held his hands up in defense as he closed his eyes and spoke softly once more with his stutter “I-I don’t mean any harm! I-I don’t even know wh-” “You shouldn’t close your eyes when an opponent has a sword on you.” I cut him off as he opened his eyes slowly and looked at me with a softer, calmer look on his face as he took a deep shaky breath “S-Sorry I-I… didn't mean to intrude in your kingdom…” He trailed off avoiding eye contact. I took a soft breath as I looked at him and put my sword back in my sheath “What is your name? Why are you even in my kingdom?” He looked down before speaking again “M-Mark” he replied quietly as he once again avoided eye contact. “A-and I-I don't know how I got here.” he spoke as I gave a soft glance before huffing “You want to be friends? It gets isolated around here especially since ‘royals don't make real friends’ .” I spoke as I began to walk as I looked around into the trees. “R-Royals? Y-you mean as in royal families?” He spoke as he decided to follow me. I didn’t speak as we kept walking, he tried to make small talk but eventually gave up. As we made it to the edge of my kingdom I looked down over it seeing all the people look as if they were small bugs crawling beneath me. I stopped as I took in a sharp breath and let out a soft sigh once I caught a glimpse of my elder brother walking into the castle.

I sighed as I sat down on the cliff's edge and smiled as I looked over my shoulder to see Mark standing there holding his hands in front of him as body swayed back and forth with the wind. “Mark, do you live in a kingdom?” I asked softly as I looked into his mismatched eyes and he looked into mine. He answered me with a soft smile as he spoke “I do! I live in Hiraeth’s nation.” He said as I stood up almost instantly. “Hiraeth? Doesn’t that nation belong to Kinoko?” I spoke as I crossed my arms over my chest with a realization “You live in the enemy's kingdom? You do realize that Hiraeth and Epiphany have been at war since…..like forever now! If I get caught with you I could get in trouble!” He smiled at me before speaking “Cora you don’t have to worry! Nobody has to know we are friends?” He said as if he were trying to convince himself more than me. “Nevermind that now I want to see….” I trailed off as I looked at my kingdom down below. All the memories were good but the people weren't. I have been wanting to leave the kingdom for quite some time now but I never had a reason. Ellie always told me that I needed to stop being so worrisome and just go for it. She's not here with us anymore. So I think that this time I might actually take her advice. So I Stopped to think about it. Should I Just go for it?

As I walked through the kingdom I could hear people laughing and whispering little nothings about me. It’s always been this way. So as I made it up to the central plaza where the castle was there were people whispering and pointing the whole way there. My older brother Clayton walked out of the castle and gave me a cold glare as he grabbed my arm and yanked me inside. “Where’ve you been?” He yelled harshly as he pushed me closer to the staircase. “Clay I-I’m not a kid anymore! I can stay out for as long as i’d like!” I yelled back as I crossed my arms “Cora for as long as you live here you listen to me and our parents! You can't just sneak out to go see you frie-” “What friends Clay! You’ve scared everyone away from me! I can't even get a boy to like me because you’ve threatened them all!” I cut him off as I huffed and wiped the tears forming in my eyes. “Just leave me alone” I spoke softer as I ran up the stairs. Remembering things like hurt because of having to be around Clay just…hurt. As I ran with my bag in one hand and my sword in the other I huffed while tears ran down my face. I was doing it. I was running. Ellie would be proud if she’d seen me. I huffed and huffed as I ran making sure that I wasn't seen. As Mark ran beside me he grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to him. “Are you sure this is going to be ok for you?” he asked in the softest voice he could muster up after all the running. I looked down before running once more and yelling back behind me. “This is the best choice!” I yelled as I ran through the forest. Soon enough Mark and I made it to Hiraeth as we walked along the dimly lit pathway in the central circle of their town. I looked up as the stars twinkled and the string lights swayed as the wind blew softly. “It’s beautiful…..I don’t think I could ever believe we’ve fought wars with them…..” I trailed off as a little boy ran and held up a small flower. As he ran off with his little friends I looked up once more to see the beautiful stars and moon shine brightly casting a glow onto everyone who walked outside. Mark slowly slid his hand into mine as we walked along the pathway. “You like the stars?” He asked softly as he looked at me with a soft smile. “I do! My mother sang to me alot about stars and moon.” I said softly as I looked at him. “You know…..It’s hard to believe we were just at war with Hiraeth a couple of weeks ago” I brought up as we walked, not really knowing what to talk about. He squeezed my hand tight and smiled as we walked, assuring me it was okay to stay silent and enjoy the moment. Soon enough we reached the town's capital and a boy with short curly blonde locks walked out and pointed a sword at me. “A girl? What are you doing here?” The boy asked as Mark stepped in front of me and spoke. “She’s a friend of mine Thomas…” He spoke softly as He once again took my hand but this time he led me inside. As we walked around inside the town’s capital Thomas kept giving me dirty and almost arrogant looks as Mark kept me close. Hours pass by and it's almost daylight outside. Mark took me to a small cozy cottage near the forest line of Hiraeth and told me that I could stay with him until I got up on my feet. I sat down on the couch and sighed softly. Once I got up I went to look for Mark and walked in on him sleeping. I smiled softly to myself as I walked over to his bed and sat down as I ran my finger through his tangled hair. His hair was a soft dark brown with blonde highlights, it’s something I never really notice but he was quite pretty. My soft smile slowly turned into a small bashful grin as I stood up and walked out the room and went to explore the rest of the house,Leaving me alone with my thoughts and desires.

The next couple of days were simple and sweet as me and Mark slowly grew closer to one another. About two weeks after I had run away from Epiphany I started getting worried that Clay was going to panic when he realizes I'm not in the kingdom. Hopefully George helps him though. I woke up and sat up on the couch as I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. Lately I've been trying to keep my mind off of Epiphany by doing simple things like cleaning, reading, or even training with my sword. I hate the people in Epiphany for all they’ve done to me but after I left I felt homesick? I admit I love my kingdom just as much as the next person but I'm tired of the two kingdoms fighting over the land! Clay has told me plenty of times I needed to focus but I'm not sure I can live here in Hiraeth knowing that my kingdom is still continuing to go to war with Hiraeth. To make everything worse I think something is wrong with me. When I'm around Mark I get this weird feeling. It’s a nice feeling but weird. I've decided to push it done for now though because Mark and I are traveling to Kinoko’s palace to meet someone. I’m not sure who but Mark wanted me to meet her. As we were walking though Mark slipped his hand into mine as we intertwined our fingers. I felt really hot all of a sudden and got that strange feeling again. I let go of his hand and shook it as I put my hands on both sides of my face to feel the heat coming off of it. Mark looked at me with an almost hurt expression as he spoke softly. “A-are you ok?” He asked as he put his hands down and continued to walk with me. “I-I’m Fine just…..got a strange feeling for a moment!” I spoke as I smiled brightly at him. His hurt expression faded almost instantly as he saw my smile. He sighed softly and kept walking.

Soon enough we reached Kinoko. Once we did, I stood there in awe as I looked up at the tall tower and small islands in the sky that had hundreds of string lights on the underside of them. It was sunset as well which made it much more beautiful. We walked a little more until we made it to the central square of the kingdom. There was a woman wearing a long red dress with silver accents and she held a small silver chain purse. I watched as she moved around in the crowd as she made her way over to us with a smile. I grabbed Mark's arm as she stood in front of us and spoke with a calm steady voice. It was quite soothing to listen to her speak. “It certainly has been a while hasn’t It Coraline?” She said as she took my hand and pulled me into a hug. I thought to myself for a minute as I finally looked up to see sparkling amber eyes and a soft solemn look. As I broke into a smile I wrapped my arms around her and whispered softly. “Ellie…I’ve missed you” I spoke with a broken voice and small tears running down my face. Ellie was a close friend of mine until she left for Kinoko, and since Kinoko and Epiphany are always at war I was unable to see her. Ellie and I walked along the pathway as Mark followed behind us. Everytime I would look back to see If he was following he would quickly look away as a soft red tinted his face. Once I was pulled out of the conversation that I was having with Ellie I looked off the cliff to see my kingdom. I huffed softly as I turned back around to look at Ellie and Mark with a warning glare and spoke. “Why are we-” “Remember what I would always tell you? Go with your gut because you only get one shot at life.” She spoke softly, cutting me off with a smirk. “Same goes for you Mr.Mark~” She said with a giggle as Mark went red and covered his face. Ellie walked up to me and took my hands into hers and took a deep breath before speaking. “Coraline Renae Ethereal” She spoke and let out her breath as she took another one. “I know there are times Clayton can be a little much, but that doesn't mean you can abandon him.” She smiled softly as she let out her breath and let go of my hands. “He might act like a jerk but he needs you, The whole kingdom needs you” She said as I turned around and looked down at the kingdom I once called my lovely home. I wanted to go back but not if things were going to be the same. I got lost in my thoughts for a good three to five minutes before turning around to face Mark and Ellie. Ellie stood smiling and Mark was red in the face with embarrassment. I smiled softly as I spoke. This time with pure confidence.

“I’m going back, I’m going to change Epiphany so I can live like I want to.” I spoke as I began walking down the pathway that led to the kingdom's entrance. Mark ran and caught up with me before breathing out “Cora wait!” He spoke with a sudden urgency. I stopped and looked at him with a soft smile before speaking. “Yes?” He stood up straight before speaking with his missed stutter. “A-Are you going to s-stay in Epiphany?” I smiled softly as I looked at him. “I think I will once I make sure Clay forgets the past.” “So this might be the last time I see you?” He asked, almost cutting me off. “W-Well i’m not too sure but Clay might not like the idea of it.” I Spoke softly as I started walking again. “I love you” Mark whispered and I turned around to face him. “What? You love what?” I asked softly not getting what he had just said. “I love you Cora….I think I have for a while now.” He said as I looked down trying to process it. My face flushed a bright red as I looked anywhere but him as I spoke. “Y-You love me?” I spoke as I frantically looked around trying to avoid eye contact. I went to speak again but was pulled in by Mark. Our faces were now inches apart and I could feel his breath on my face as he smiled. “If this might be the last time I see you…….I want to be honest about how I feel towards you.” He smiled softly as I pressed my lips into a firm line before breaking into a smile. He leaned in before stopping. Our noses were now touching and his hands were loosely around my waist as he spoke. “C-Can I kiss you?” He asked softly as I nodded and smiled before pressing my lips into his. The kiss itself only lasted for a few seconds but the feeling lasted much longer. I smiled softly as I kissed him once more before turning away and letting out a soft sigh. “W-We have to get going into the kingdom before dark” I spoke as if nothing happened while he gave me a lost look before I grabbed his hand and led him down the pathway with me. We got inside the gates walls to see that Ellie was already there and waiting for us. Mark and I smiled at each other before we walked over to her and started talking. We talked all the way to the castle and stopped once we were in front of the doors.

I opened the castle doors and stepped inside as I took a deep breath and looked back at Mark and Ellie for reassurance. They both gave me approving looks as I continued to walk inside. I walked down the halls until I got in front of the meeting room where I heard Clay and George talking about plans for another war. I slammed the door open as I waved my fingers and smiled at the two boys. “Clay, I know this isn’t really a good ti-” I was cut off by him crashing into me and giving me a hug. It was a warm hug and it felt nice. I started to regret leaving all over again. He started crying, I know he was crying but he wouldn’t admit it. After about five minutes Mark and Ellie walked into the castle and somehow made their way to the meeting room. As soon as Ellie and Mark walked through the door Clay stood up and straightened himself as he looked at Ellie. “Why are you here?” He asked calmly as he grabbed my arm. Clay and Ellie didn’t have a good history. George walked over and calmed Clay down as I calmed Ellie down with Mark. Soon after they were calm, Mark and I explained everything to the elders in the room. We started with the reason I ran away then moved on to how Mark and I met then eventually fell in love. We explained why Ellie was here as well. Clay spoke with a steady voice as he sighed. “If you wanted to be heard then you could’ve just told me. We can try and avoid the wars if you’d like? But there isn’t a permanent way to stop them without surrendering” He said as I smiled softly. “Then that’s what we’ll do! We’ll start there.”