22. What have you done...

The way home was like hidden in the mist. One moment Ally stood next to the town's border with a stranger covered in blood the next moment she's in front of Balthazar's house. The Princess opened the door to be met with very frantic looking Eros. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight bear hug.

"I was about to go out and look for you, alert all my Warriors! You've been gone for a couple of hours, where the Hell have you been? Do you have any idea how worried I was? How worried were we? Ally, you promised to get back home by dinner, but you didn't. I couldn't reach you using mind-link, nobody could. When we give promises, we keep those, baby." Ally could hear the disappointment in her father's voice. The King was scolding his daughter, yet feeling guilty about it at the same time. Eros knew that she was more than capable of taking care or protecting herself if needed, but it didn't mean that he would stop worrying. She was his gem, same as Eve and their second baby. For years Eros promised himself that he would be the best father ever; he couldn't forgive himself if anything happened to his children. No matter how young, grown, or old, the girls would be at that time.

"Sorry, dad, I must have lost track of time. I wanted to run back as quickly as possible, but I met an obstacle in my way, if I may say so." Ally felt incredibly tired as if she had walked through the desert in one day. Her limbs were sore and mind racing, trying her best to recall how she got home in the first place. The more she thought of it, the more her head hurt. A part of her memory was lost, and the Princess couldn't understand why.

"An obstacle?" Eros let go of Ally and stepped backward. His eyes traveled over his daughter's form from top to bottom, trying to find if she had gotten hurt in any way. Her clothes were clean, with no cuts or bruises on visible parts of the skin. The only thing which worried him was how tired the young woman looked. Her hair was a little messy, but aside from that- the Princess looked the same as she did when she got out of her father's car.

"Did you meet rogues on the territory, or was it a rather harmful obstacle? Please don't tell me that you tried to chase rabbits as you did when you were little. You're not five anymore, Ally." Eros pinched the bridge of his nose, silently trying to calm down enraged Ares. His beast had been restless since the moment he got back to Balthazar's house. For some reason, Ares was sure that their pup was in danger, but none could feel fear or pain of their pup.

"No, I didn't meet rogues, and I didn't chase rabbits, dad. I'm pretty aware that I'm not five anymore, that's the only reason why I don't run after those tiny balls of fluff anymore. It's not that I don't want to, I just understand that I shouldn't. Imagine people seeing the King's daughter chasing rabbits in the forest; that would be ridiculous. If I'd meet rogues, I'd come back covered in their blood." Ally rolled her eyes. She didn't want to have a conversion with her dad at this moment. All the young woman wanted was crawl back to her room, shower, and sleep. She felt as if her body hadn't gotten a proper rest for years.

Before Eros could question her even more, the Princess cut him off and announced that she would get to her room and rest. Her father tried to talk her into eating, at least a bit, but she was too tired. Ally assured Eros that she wasn't hungry and that they would spend the next day together, doing whatever he wanted. It was the easiest way to distract her father and get back to the doom.

"Deal. And you're right; you do need some rest. Goodnight, baby." Eros kissed her forehead and left the main hall.

Ally partly regretted sending her father off, getting upstairs would be easier if he helped. The young woman managed to reach the last steps of the staircase and nearly cried out in pain. Whatever happened to her- it couldn't be good. Shifters didn't get this tired easily; they would need three days of intensive training without sleep, food, or water before collapsing. She took a few deep breaths and pushed herself forward, thinking about doing a victory dance because of her little success. She didn't. Ally knew that her father might be watching her every step, making sure she does enter her bedroom.

She locked the door behind her and slid down it. Ally did need some sleep, but the young woman couldn't resist the tiredness. She fell asleep on the floor, her back tightly pressed against the door.
Ally woke up around midnight after an amazing two hours of sleep. Sue had regained enough energy to take a shower. The Princess avoided all beauty routines she tried to do every day, but this day was definitely not one to waste more time than she already did. Ally wrapped a towel around herself and left the bathroom. Something about her bedroom seemed off, but she didn't bother to check. Not being this tired. The Princess found an oversized shirt she stole from her father before moving to Balthazar's house and wore it. It reached her knees, looking like a real dress. Sometimes having a rather large father was an insane plus, especially because he would allow his daughter to take anything from his closet. She slid under the blanket and turned to her right side, thinking about the mysterious stranger. She couldn't understand how being that close never got her clothes ever a little stained in blood. When he first touched her- the blood on his shirt was still fresh, dripping a little. The Princess closed her eyes, and the stranger, once again, was right in front of her. Any other day she would try to get rid of the image, but today she felt like it was exactly what she needed. The young woman didn't trust people easily, especially because of her title, but this male seemed to be something different. Just like Deimos, but he had obviously lost any interest he had in Ally before.
She fell asleep faster than ever, content with the dream as a recap on the previous events. Oddly, the way she got home was still covered in mist. She couldn't understand why even her dreams kept hiding the tiny detail.

Ally woke up from feeling a presence next to her. If she didn't open her eyes fast enough to see who was in her bed, the Princess would have screamed before the person registered it.

"Holy shit, what are you doing here? Can't, I have a decent night's sleep anymore?" Ally placed a hand over her heart and let out a deep breath.

"I'm sorry I didn't intend to scare you. I felt how distressed and scared you felt. I had to come and check on you. Since you were asleep, I thought that I'd stay around for a while and leave soon enough." Baka smiled at the Princess and moved a strand of her hair behind her ear. She was like a real-life fairy godmother to Ally, always getting close if anything out of the ordinary seemed to happen. The same for better days- Baka had been close for all her life's biggest events, even kindergarten graduation.

"You can stay, my bed is big enough for two." Ally stated with confidence and grinned. She loved the night when Baka was around, both of them spending most time talking about everything and nothing. They had meaningless and heartless conversations all of the time. The Watcher female was like another mother to Ally.
"I'm planning to do that. Thank you. Now, do you mind telling me what those weird emotions I feel from you are? You've been crying for nine months, and not the sudden change scared me a little." Baka smiled at Ally and got under the blanket, laying down. They faced each other and smiled before the real conversation would start. Most of the time, that was exactly what they did- a moment of silence before the topic was brought up.

"Something weird happened to me today. I can't explain it, and I don't remember a bit from it; therefore, it's even weirder. I don't know; I'm kind of lost in the situation right now, trying to figure it out. And I'm not crying anymore because Deimos came back. But not the same Deimos I met months ago, he's cold and distant. I met him once just to find out that I don't feel any connection or pull to him. So does he, obviously, since he acted as if he had no idea who I am. Aside from the title, of course." Ally spoke eagerly. The words left her lips too fast, making Baka think that the Princess did it on purpose—probably trying to avoid more questions about the mysterious Deimos.

"Do you want to talk about what happened to you or the sudden change in the man?" The woman caressed Ally's cheek with such gentleness that only a mother could. It made Ally smile and move a little closer. She missed her mother greatly, if Ally were back home- she would share a bed with Eve. They would speak about everything Ally had on her mind or felt a bit distressed about.

"There isn't much to talk about, Deimos. As said, he doesn't remember me. It's kind of weird since I cried my eyes out each day while he was gone, but after seeing him again, the feeling faded as if it was never there. He's still too handsome for his own good, but I'm sure there are reasons why he's acting this way. Probably he simply forgot me. Some men do that- they play with emotions, fake attachment, and the next day it's gone. I'm not crying over him, and I don't feel like I should, so it's a good thing. What I'm truly worried about is what happened in the forest today." Ally peaked up Baka's interest, the woman sat up and eyed her suspiciously.

"You were in the forest today? During the day time, right?" Baka wasn't one to show any emotions, but the tense tone of her voice gave her out. There must be something wrong with going into the forest during the night; Ally stared to register how badly she messed up.

"I mean- kind of? I went for a run during the day and promised dad to return before dinner. Since I thought I'd be boring to go back the same way I got there, I decided to roam around the forest. I might or might not come back a little before midnight." Ally bit on her lip as she watched the Watcher's eyes widen in shock.

A complete silence overtook the bedroom; both women lost in their thoughts. Ally tried to recall anything she had to learn about, any information that might give out why her Watcher was so visibly worried. Baka, on the other hand, tried to think of possible consequences and what might be the worst thing the King's daughter might have done. It was one of the most dangerous nights happening. Usually, Blood Moon happened every twenty or so years, but this year it appeared out of nowhere. When it happened like that- there was a reason for it, never a good one.

"You said something weird happened, and you can't remember something. Please, explain. I have to find out more before coming to any conclusions." Baka got out of the bed and paced around Ally's bedroom. She never did such things, giving out so many emotions at the same time was unusual for Watchers, especially so ancient as Baka was.

"Should I tell the whole story or the most important details?" Ally tried to sound calm, but the frantic behavior of Baka worried her. She wasn't one to get scared easily, but there were some occasions she could freak out over things certain individuals never did, like now.

"Everything, you can avoid details which don't seem important, but I need to know everything. I will ask questions if needed." The woman didn't spare a glance at Ally; she just kept walking back and forth and biting into her lip.

"Okay, so- dad wanted to take me out for dinner, but we spoke about Deimos, and he changed his mind. He was about to head to his house and find out what was happening, but I had none of it. I convinced him to drop the idea and let me go for a run while he would wait for me here. He agreed. As said, I decided to roam around the forest a little since getting back home would be a little more interesting. I caught a scent of fresh blood and headed towards it to check if anyone needed help or was injured. After a little while, I met a man, covered in blood from head to toes. He was from the nearest town, and I was about to run there to check if anyone was alive when the man stopped me. He said everyone there died, and he barely survived the attack. Apparently, something or someone came out of nowhere and tore the whole town apart. He didn't say how he managed to escape, though. We spoke for a bit; I even offered him to come back with me and join this pack until he finds a new one or another place to stay. He declined, so I was about to get back home, but he asked for me to eat a little more and talk. I can protect myself, so the idea didn't seem that bad. He didn't seem like a creep or weirdo, either. Then he offered me to join him and how at the moon, what was actually rather fun. After that, everything in the mist, I found myself standing in front of the house without any idea how I got back here. I can't remember what happened." Ally spoke, looking at the window, she didn't notice how Baka stood frozen on the spot with her jaw dropped.

"You invited him here?" Baka questioned Ally, her voice trembling. If Ally didn't know better, she would think that the Watcher was afraid of something. The Princess nodded her head, unable to trust her voice anymore.

"You howled at the moon?" Baka asked another question, making Ally even more confused. Why was she asking the questions about things Ally already stated as facts? Did she stutter while she spoke, or her words were too fast to understand? Ally nodded her head again, raising an eyebrow, waiting for any reaction to come.

"What have you done?"