The chase III, Boiling Point

　　Irena's POV

　　I had been chasing Fabian around for days across different countries at this point, trying to find Magnus and Alexey, he was taunting me, laughing at me, I felt my frustration well up every time I reached one of his locations and had to be directed to another, every time I had to fight his juiced-up goons, every time I was shot at, or stabbed, or punched by some lowly human miscreant who thinks he can contend with me simply because he was high on someone else's power!

　　But I had no choice, if this was the only way to find and Rescue Magnus and Alexey, then so be it. I had to play Fabian's games, and so I did.

　　The next location was in S?o Paulo Brazil, we made our way through one of the most populous cities in the world, didn’t seem very populous to me, the streets seemed completely desolate, not that it mattered, I just wanted to find Fabian and rescue Magnus and Alexey.

　　We got to a big house at the edge of the city and it reeked of the black arts. The stench was devastating, but I had to go in, for Magnus and Alexey, I had to go in.

　　I walked into the building and suddenly I was back in a medieval-style castle room.

　　I remember this room, the air about the day, it all seemed very familiar.

　　“Princess Irena, this is Prince Magnus, your fathers are already at the treaty of the five kings and will be busy all day, be nice,” Olga the serving woman informed me.

　　And suddenly it hit me, this was the day I met my oldest friend, this was the day I met Magnus.

　　We were thirteen years old at the time, our fathers’ kingdoms had been at war with three other kingdoms for a long time, since I was much younger, probably even from before I was born.

　　The fighting had gone on for a long time, I never really understood the details but for some reason, they didn’t want to fight anymore, so they held some sort of peace treaty and my father brought me along, it would’ve been so boring if Magnus’s father hadn’t brought him along too.

　　“Hello princess, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, I’m Magnus,” Magnus was very different back then, a shy and confused boy who didn’t understand himself let alone the world around him, but all that changed after he met me.

　　“Magnus, what do you like to do for fun?” I inquired as I approached him and drew closer until I could feel his breath on my face. This made him turn red. The poor kid had probably never been this close to a girl before, not to mention one such as me.

　　“I, I, uh,” he stuttered trying to steady himself as I peered into his something colored eyes

　　“What’s the matter, are you shy or something?” I questioned maintaining my intense gaze.

　　“Alright fine, come with me,” I ordered as I grabbed his hand and led him out of the room “I’m sure we can find something fun to do around here,” I said as I led him away.

　　“Play nice princess!” Olga yelled after us as we made our way down the hall to a flight of stairs and down towards the kitchens.

　　We spent the rest of our day messing with guards.

　　Throwing rocks at their armored heads and running away.

　　We were a lot younger back then, nothing like the super-powerful beings we are today, so we did get caught a lot.

　　We did manage to convince one guard that the castle was haunted though.

　　And after a few hours of running around and causing mischief Magnus started to seem like he was enjoying himself, he even laughed, he had such a cute laugh, of course after you hear it suddenly and abruptly in serious situations it becomes rather annoying, but back then it was cute.

　　Causing all that mayhem, made us rather hungry, and like a princess and prince, children of two of the most powerful kings in all the land, we could've simply asked for whatever we wanted and had it served to us on silver platters.

　　But I had the bright idea to steal some food right from the kitchens.

　　So we made our way down there and the look on Magnus’s face was one of awe.

　　“You don't get out much do you?” I quipped as he looked at the vibrancy of the kitchen with an open jaw and starry eyes.

　　“My father says, his heir has no business in places such as kitchens,” he said as he continued to gape at the scenes.

　　Then suddenly he stopped, his eyes fixated on a particular kitchen boy, he seemed to look at him with more than just awe in his eyes at this point.

　　It wasn't completely clear to me then but I understood enough.

　　“You like the kitchen boy!” I announced raising my voice slightly higher than the hushed whisper we had originally been speaking in and nearly alerting the whole kitchen to our hiding spot.

　　“Shhh, they’ll know where we are,” Magnus put his hand over my mouth, he seemed a lot more confident, he would've never tried that earlier in the day.

　　”I don't like the kitchen boy,” Magnus insisted, “I don't like any boys,” he continued “How could I when I'm a boy as well?” Magnus argued as he snuck another glance at the kitchen boy.

　　”So you're saying you like girls?” I questioned with a sly smile on my face.

　　“I have to,” Magnus responded sharply almost before I could finish my question.

　　“Prove it!” I insisted, once again talking a bit louder than I should've.

　　“How am I supposed to do that?” Magnus seemed puzzled.

　　“Kiss me,” I suggested. “And if you like girls, it'll feel right, but if you don't, then it won't,” I declared as I pouted my lips.

　　“How would I know if it feels right,” Magnus asked, seeming puzzled.

　　“Oh sweet Magnus, you'll just know,” I said as I put my hand on top of his.

　　Magnus swallowed hard and then puckered his lips and leaned in for a kiss, closing his eyes.

　　We locked lips in what was surely Magnus’s first kiss and admittedly mine as well.

　　We kissed for only a few seconds before Olga’s distinct voice yelled out from behind us.

　　“That’s too nice princess!” she condemned, sending a jolt of shock through the both of us as we turned to see her glaring down at us.

　　“Oh crap, she found us, run!” I yelled at Magnus. We got to our feet and took off running. Olga was a large woman in her fifties who had no business chasing around a pair of preteens, so she didn't.

　　We ran for a while until we got far enough away that we felt safe before stopping to catch our breath and share a good laugh about our excellent partnership.

　　“That was incredible!” Magnus announced, still breathing heavily from the run, “I’ve never done anything like that before today!” he established as he looked at me with a wide smile.

　　“You’re welcome,” I responded as I sat down on the floor and he joined me. We took a little while to catch our breath and get all the laughter out of our systems.

　　“So?” I inquired as I made my way closer to him.

　　“The kiss,-” I continued as he leaned back, prompting me to move even further forward, “Did it feel right?” Magnus looked away from me, seeming almost distraught.

　　“No, it didn't,” he said in a sad tone.

　　“Don't worry about that,” I comforted as I took his hand.

　　“But this means I'll never find a wife, or have an heir of my own, or get married, or fall in love,” he agonized, drawing dangerously close to tearing up.

　　“Well, I don't know about wives and heirs, but you'll find love,” I said in a tone of assurance.

　　“Really?” he inquired, suddenly looking starry-eyed and filled with hope.

　　“Yes, really,” I affirmed, “There are many men back at Ursula happily married and in love with other men and women with women, even my father has male lovers, and he's king, so I believe you'll find love,” I assured him as I pulled him into an embrace similar to how a mother would while her child.

　　“Thank you, Princess Irena, of Ursula, it has been my pleasure accompanying you today,” he said in a gentlemanly manner.

　　“Ah, but the day isn't over just yet,” I said as I slipped out a pouch of wine I had snagged from a table on our way out of the kitchen. It probably belonged to one of the guards who dropped it to flirt with a kitchen girl.

　　I popped off the cork and had a sip and passed it over to Magnus who was hesitant at first, it was his first time taking wine, but finally, he loosened up and took the pouch, he sat there for a little while longer, seemingly gathering more courage before finally taking a big gulp of it.

　　He looked up at me with a face of pure joy

　　“Wow!” he exclaimed, “I love wine!”

　　Come to think of it, that's probably where the drinking thing started and now he's drunk at least three oceans worth of wine.

　　We sat there a while longer passing the pouch of wine until it ran empty and then, completely drunk we both went back up to my room and slept until the next morning.

　　Magnus and I have been practically siblings since then.

　　It helped of course that because our kingdoms were closest together, our fathers thought it best to ally themselves, bringing us closer together as we saw each other more often whenever our fathers visited themselves.

　　They probably thought they would see us married someday, uniting the two kingdoms or whatnot until Magnus’s secret was exposed to his father, causing his being disowned.

　　”Irena! Irene, wake up!” Monica called out to me as I opened my eyes to find myself outside the house back in Sao Paulo.

　　”What the fuck happened to me?” I queried, looking around at Carlos and all the other vampires standing around me.

　　”You suddenly fell,” Monica explained as she helped me to my feet, my head still light and foggy.

　　”You were having some kind of dream, you kept talking to Magnus and you mentioned your dad,” Carlos continued.

　　”You were under the influence of the dark arts,” Monica concluded, confirming my suspicions.

　　Someone set a trap for me, used the dark arts to entrap my mind within itself, taking me to a simpler happier time. The day I met Magnus was a very good choice, but someone has to pay for this.

　　That they would be so bold as to take something, a memory, and someone so precious to me and try to use it against me.

　　This act cannot go unpunished.

　　I was frustrated at the game of cat and mouse I had been playing for about a week now.

　　Frustrated that I couldn't get my hands on Fabian Ruiz, frustrated that I had no clue where Magnus and Alexey were being held or what they might have been going through in the hands of the enemy.

　　The frustration culminated into a scream and I let it out.

　　I shrieked at the top of my lungs out into the open air as the other vampires watched helplessly as to what they could do.

　　And suddenly I felt calm, my mind seemed clear of the fog.

　　While I was under the spell, the next location had been deposited directly into my mind.

　　But this time it would go differently, we were headed back to our home turf.

　　The next location was in LA where my connections and power stretched throughout the entire city.

　　And so after I announced the next location I finished with one simple question brimming with confidence.

　　“Who’s ready to kick some ass?”