They spent the better part of the night planning, and by the time the sun started to shine through the windows, Selene started to feel tired again. Being locked underground has completely ruined her sleep schedule, but there are bigger matters at hand for her to worry over.

Their first part of the plan was simple enough. Notify their respective families of what happened and that they are safe, then to try and blend in with the humans, which will hopefully allow them to manoeuvre around Theria a bit easier. From what they have gathered yesterday from their brief outing, they must be in Orlon, the capital of the human kingdom. Which makes things a bit more complicated.

Orlon is located in what humans deemed the safest area, away from the cursed forest and the Vralin. It is much closer to the cursed forest than the vampire kingdom, but it is still a two-week horse ride to the border. Then it comes to the matter of making it through the forest without meeting the creatures that reside there, or werewolves. They would worry about that when they got there, for now it was time to play pretend as best as they could and blend in with the human society.

Selene also reluctantly agreed for the prince to feed on her once a day, a decision she only made due to knowing Kaelan would be able to get them both out of trouble with her blood in his system. It will also allow her to keep an eye out for him. If she really focuses on her own blood, she will be able to tell where he is, and hopefully not cause the poor humans any trouble. He was still a sin, therefore a witches responsibility and the death of innocents will not be on Selene’s hands.

For a while now, they both eyed each other, unsure how to proceed or act anymore knowing who they are. Selene realised having to work with the prince was daunting, and she was pretty sure he thought the same. They were both stalling the inevitable, having to leave this room and rely on one another. And what certainly didn’t help is feeling the assessing glare of the prince, each time she looked away.

“We should get going.” Selene’s voice was firm as she sat up.

“We should.” Kaelan hummed in agreement, his gaze never leaving hers as he let the silence sink in, his eyes spoke a million questions but only one left his mouth. “Are we going to have a problem?”

“Perhaps you should be asking that question to yourself.”

The prince’s lips pressed into a thin line, and after a few moments, he got up from the chair and made his way towards the door. That was his only indication that he was ready to move.

Now that they were clean and wore clothing that wasn’t basically falling apart, it would be much easier for Selene to conceal the prince's identity, and she didn’t have to focus on herself at all. Kaelan found himself a dark brown, long sleeved shirt, that he didn’t bother to button all the way up, and matching pants. The clothes hang loosely on his body, the fitting was ill at best, but perhaps that would make him blend in better with the humans. His black hair was no longer knotted with filth, and gracefully fell down to his shoulders.

For herself, she found a simple beige dress that reached the floor. Not enough that it did nothing for her figure, it would also make it difficult to fight in, in case of conflict. But it was better than nothing.

As the prince left through the door, Selene quickly cast the glamour to conceal his pale skin and the soft glow of his eyes. That with the addition of it being early morning and the light not being as bright, they will not have to worry about someone finding out who they were.

The innkeeper was nowhere in sight, and whether that was something Kaelan planned for or not, they did manage to leave without a hitch.

The chill air bit Selene's skin and a small shiver run down her spine as she looked around their surroundings. The early morning sun and the shadows made this place look more bearable, hiding away the filth in darkness. There was less people around too, the only ones that were left were those setting up their stalls for the day, too busy to pay the two strangers any mind.

They walked for a while, mostly aimlessly as they took in all the corners and alleyways. Any place that they could use to hide or runaway in case of an emergency. The only thing that surprised Selene during their stroll is how no matter how far they went, the building and streets remained as plain and destroyed. She couldn't help but feel a tang of pity for these poor humans and how their king did not care how they lived. It was no wonder their hatred for the other species ran so deep when they though of how witches, vampires or even the werewolves lived in much better conditions than them. That those that lived in the wild hand a better roof over their head. Selene would feel resentment too.

Eventually they arrived in a spot that started to look similar, until they saw the large walls of the castle and the guards that were changing their rotations. Selene didn't have time to react before Kaelan grabbed her arm and pulled her into the shadows and away from the guards view.

“You know speaking would have been just fine.” She sent him a deep glare as his hand still lingered on her skin.

“Oh I'm sorry. Next time I will let them spot you and haul you back to the underground. Would that be better, witch?”

He always knew what to say to make her blood boil. As if looking at him wasn't enough, she had to listen to those snarky comments and wish she could burn him during daylight. Selene glared at him a long moment, their proximity making her magic vanish and revealing all his terrifying, vampire self before her.

“I know my charms can be overwhelming for some, but if you could look for a suitable guard to kidnap that would be great.” The prince's eyes met her for a second, and she swore there was a hint of amusement in them.

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The best way to deal with the vampire was to ignore him, at least that’s what she has told herself. Selene took a deep breath to calm herself down again and went back to observing the guards. It became apparent that they rotated their positions every 15 minutes and stayed just a few metres apart. Taking one of them without the other's noticing would be more difficult than she had anticipated.

“Any vampire tricks to lure him here?” She asked cautiously, while eyeing the guard.

“Now you want to use it?” Kaelan sighed but his eyes took a faint glow that not even her magic could cover.

The vampire prince set his eyes on the guard and without having to utter a single word he lured the man away from his post and towards them. A natural predator at its finest. Selene wouldn’t take this time to be useless and rely on someone like this, so she focused on the other guards. They needed a distraction, to look anywhere but towards them and notice one of their own walking away from their post.

Thankfully one of Selene’s specialty was summons. Sure some were more difficult then others and could probably kill all the guards around the castle, but those were tricky to control. One distraction and the summon could run away towards the city and wreck havoc on anyone in it’s path. So something simple like rats will have to do.

Spirits surrounded her unlike when she was locked away god knows how many feet underground. It was the morning sun, the breeze, movement from others, a fire place lit in someones home around the corner. Spirits were everywhere and they were willing to help her. Selene lifted her arm and muttered a few soft words as the rats began to gather around the guards back at the castle, making them kick out and swear in panic as the animals climbed their feet.

Selene’s mind was so focused on the act she didn’t notice, Kaelan’s hand wrapped around her waist, leading her deeper into the alleyway as the guard followed them mindlessly. When they were far away enough and she noticed the close contact to the vampire she quickly took a step away, taking her frustrations out on the guard, uttering a few words and sending him falling to his knees. The pressure of the magic should be strong enough to render him unable to move while they interrogate him.

“Can you persuade him to speak the truth or should I see what I could do?” Selene asked as she looked carefully over the guard. Unlike the beasts they saw previously, this one was most definitely human. The silver armour didn’t cover his whole body, instead just like one would expect it exposed the clothes under it where they would bend their joints.

It was only further confirmed the guard was human when the prince walked over the guard and ripped the helmet off their face, revealing a rather young man underneath. He must have been a few years younger then her, perhaps he just turned twenty. His auburn hair was messy from the helmet and big hazel eyes looked between his captors in panic.

Before the guard had the opportunity to scream and alert the others a soft “Shhh” came from Kaelan. The vampire squatted down before the guard, tilting his head curiously. If Selene had to compare the sight to anything it would be to a cat playing games with a mouse.

“You will listen to us very carefully, OK?” Kaelan’s voice was almost mocking and the darkness behind it made her shiver. No doubt he was using the powers of persuasion. “You will answer each one of our questions, and if you do, we just might set you free.”

Selene didn’t waste anytime before she started to speak. “Where are we?”

“Orlon.” The guard answered swiftly with a dead tone, whatever the prince was doing was working efficiently enough.

“Are you aware of any recent kidnappings of witches or vampires?”

“No.”

“Are you aware of any guards in the kings service that are not human?”

“No.”

“Are you aware of any attacks the king might have planned on the other species?”

“No.”

Selene groaned loudly as the guard was quickly proving to be useless, unable to provide an answer to a single one of her questions.

“Have there been any changes to the royal guard recently?” It was the vampires turn to ask.

“No.”

“The fool doesn’t know anything. He’s useless.” Selene’s tone was irritated as she pointed at the guard.

“Then it means the king doesn’t even want to know his people to know what he’s plotting.”

“And what do you suggest we do now? Question each one of the guards in hopes one knows something?”

“We sneak into the palace.” Kaelan said it as a matter of a fact, ignoring the look Selene has given him and the obvious matter that she thought the plan was pure stupidity.

“They will kill us on sight!” Her glare focused on the prince as he stood up and completely ignored her.

“Give me your weapons and keys.” He said to the guard. Just like that the guard stood up and handed over his sword, two hidden daggers and a large set of rusted keys he was carrying. “Forget everything and go.”

With that the guard was off and without looking back made his way to his post, looking dazed and confused when he arrived.

“As far as I’m aware neither of us has ever been in the palace of Orlon and we don’t know what we’re looking for.”

“Have a bit more confidence in me witch.” Kaelan said as a small grin appeared on his lips, no doubt from the irritation he knew he has caused her. “We’ll go during the night, my powers are stronger then and there will be less guards.”

It was hard not to roll her eyes at him, at his stupid cocky attitude. “And once we get there?”

“We look for an office, or a research facility. Anything that could have information on what they are doing.”

“This plan is madness.” Selene muttered as she shook her head in disbelief.

This only made his grin grow and his voice became even more cocky. “Isn’t there a saying that there is no great genius without a touch of madness?”