Elias quietly watched as she slept. Curled like a cat, she slept with her hands tightly gripping his. He sat by the edge of her bed, one leg crossed over the other as he observed her. He noticed strange habits of hers, like her occasionally twitching nose, the wrinkling of her brows, and how she scooted closer to him.

"Such a delicate little thing…" Elias gently pulled back her hair, so that she slept more comfortably. She was lying on her side and facing him. The poor thing didn\'t know the ability she possessed.

Adeline spoke of love and compassion as if she did not know who she was. There was only one person in this world who could teach him those emotions.

Elias slowly shook his head. She was as much of a fool as she was wise. Their conversation had long died off. He had finally convinced her to sleep a few hours before this, but she was still holding onto his hand.

Elias promised he\'d be gone by the time she fell asleep, but he remained glued to her side.

"What a strange woman you are."

Elias pulled the blankets higher, so that it covered her chin. Humans like her were frail and weak. Even the flu could kill them. He needed to keep her warm and comforted.

Despite holding her hands for a while, Elias\'s palm was still cold as ice. He was surprised her fingertips didn\'t freeze over.

Then again, Adeline was always warm. It was strange. She was as comforting as the first fall of snow. His touch was the stings of pain when snow melted upon a hand. They were worlds apart, but she managed to find her way back to him.

"What use would you have for sad memories?" Elias questioned. His other hand caressed the back of her head. He saw the small black wisp surface upon his finger, itching to wipe her memories away.

"Did I do it?" Elias wondered out loud.

Did he wipe out the memories of him from within her? He didn\'t recall doing such a thing. That rainy day, he had stolen all of her unpleasant memories. They were fragments that she didn\'t want, shouldn\'t want, and didn\'t need.

Elias didn\'t think he was in the disposal category. For once in his life, he had bad luck.

"No one else has this ability." Elias continued stroking her hair, adjusting it as he deemed fit. Only Elias himself was capable of stealing memories from people. Even then, it was a difficult task that\'d require a day of rest afterward.

Elias recounted stumbling into the car after taking away her fragments. He had been out of breath and exhausted. Back then, he should\'ve known, her hollow stare was not because she was upset, but because she did not know him.

Their eyes had met in the car window, and it was the last time she saw him for an entire decade. Trapped in the Marden estate, she was never seen again.

"I will get to the bottom of this abuse." Elias slipped his hand away from her tiny ones. She was hugging his hand as if it were a teddy bear. When he slipped away from her, she grumbled in protest.

"Eli…"

Elias continued to sit there and wait. She stirred in her sleep, her brows becoming more knitted together. If he knew she was so attached to something, he would\'ve given her a pillow to hug.

Just as he was lost in thought, her hair turned brighter. He was surprised by the flicker of sunlight that danced upon her head. She glowered ethereally, the light reflecting off of her white sleeping gown. He smiled.

Sunrise at last.

It would be enough to chase the nightmares away.

"Sweet dreams, my sweet."

Elias rose from the bed. He didn\'t need to watch her anymore. He had already chased the night terrors away. And now, the sky was brightening. She would be safe and sound in his estate. This was how it should\'ve been, three years ago.

Adeline was twenty-one now. The second she turned eighteen, she was supposed to come to his estate and be his wife. But she refused and threatened to kill herself.

Why was that?

- - - - -

"Hmm, I wonder what this man did," Easton spoke up.

Easton lazily glanced around the underground holding room. This was a place that not many people knew about, but it was highly guarded with hidden technology. There were laser points in every hallway and corner. But the function was currently shut off, due to the twins\' presence.

Despite being filled with technology, this place resembled the medieval era. There was a lack of windows. The floor and walls were grimy with questionable dark stains. The stench in here was enough to burn off the nose hair.

"Must\'ve been a horrible crime for him to end up in this underground room, instead of the usual prison upstairs," Weston noted.

Weston was glued to his tablet. He was reading the profile about Asher Blake. So far, nothing was alarming about this man. He was orphaned at a young age and fostered by the Rose family. That was the information on paper, but in truth, they didn\'t foster him. The Rose family trained a weapon out of a small boy.

"Nothing is interesting here," Weston said. "Or anything unusual."

Easton took a peek at the unconscious bodyguard. His arms were bound behind him with metal-infused ropes. He was also bound by the knee and ankles whereas his mouth was duct-taped.

"It seems he arrived at the Rose estate shortly after Adeline was born," Weston noted.

"So the Rose family practically brought an orphan boy just to train him as Princess Adeline\'s bodyguard?" Easton found it bizarre.

Why were the Roses so worried about Princess Adeline\'s safety? Sure, she was royalty, but bodyguards were aplenty. What was so interesting about this orphan for them to foster him? Was there something special about him?

"Seems like it," Weston said.

"If His Majesty wants a clean-kill, he\'ll have to wipe the memories of Asher out of the people closest to him," Easton stated. This was how it was usually one anyway.

Whenever one of His Majesty\'s enemies randomly dropped dead, all traces of the person would disappear. Sometimes there was no need to clear the memories from loved ones. Usually, the procedure was to release into the news that the person committed suicide or died under suspicious circumstances.

"Starting with Adeline," Weston pointed out. He couldn\'t care less about this bodyguard. A life was just a life.

"Why do you call her Adeline instead of the formal address?" Easton asked with disapproval all over his face. The King wouldn\'t be happy to hear this kind of title.

"Princess Adeline is a hassle to say," Weston said. "Besides, I\'ll call her once she regains her stolen throne. Right now, she\'s nothing but a runaway Princess who fled from her kingdom."

Easton raised a brow. "I\'d give the poor woman some slack. Wasn\'t she ten years old when the usurper came for her Crown? If I was that young and a human, I would\'ve fled without looking back."

Weston scoffed. "If you were truly loyal to your kingdom, you would stay and fight. I\'d rather fight to my death than running for my freedom."

Easton supposed this was where they had a different perspective of things. A life was precious to him. What was the point of fighting if there was no chance of winning?

"Oh, here comes His Majesty," Easton said. Even from half a mile away, he heard the approaching footsteps of the King. Not many people knew of this place. If there were footsteps, it was either the King or the twins.

"Took him long enough," Weston muttered with a slight roll of his eyes.

Elias hid an amused smile. Weston always had something to say, no matter how perfect someone was. He always had insults prepared, but never for himself. It was as hypocritical as it was hilarious.

"I see he put up quite a fight," Elias said in his usual deep voice.

Weston huffed. He yanked down the sleeves of his white button-up. There were scuff marks on his forearm, and knife wounds that had healed into a scab due to his superior blood.

"He was armed with two guns, Your Majesty," Easton said. "Luckily, it was just regular pistols that we could easily dodge."

If it had been assault rifles, everything would\'ve been over. Those types of weapons packed the most punches and could hold too many bullets.

Elias raised a brow. "Manufactured by the Claymores?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Easton said. "The weapons were confiscated in the next room if you\'d like to have a look at it."

"No need," Elias said. He already knew how close the Claymores were with Asher. It seemed the Duke\'s family was worried about Adeline\'s safety as well. Everyone seemed to be interested in keeping her safe.

He wondered why. Especially with how talented Adeline was. Oh well, he supposed the more protection the better.

"Let\'s get this party started," Elias mused. He unlocked the metal doors and set foot inside.