I scribble the note quickly, asking Aeris to meet me at the kennels after my lessons. I fold the note and write his name on the front as there is a knock on the door and my maids walk in.

"Good morning Miss," Saena and Lyari smile as I walk up to them.

"Will one of you give this to Prince Aeris for me?" I ask holding the letter out towards them.

"Of course Miss, I will give it to him as soon as you are dressed and ready." Lyari answers taking it and tucking it into her apron.

I thank her and move towards the bathroom. Only a few hours and then I would tell Aeris the truth and hope and pray to whoever is listening that he doesn't end up hating me.

I walk quickly, remembering the last time I had been in the kennels and feeling my heart beat faster still.

I hold my breath as I approach Moira's stall scared he won't be there, but he is there, sitting on the ground with a puppy in his arms.

He looks up and smiles at me.

"Hello Dearest,"

"Hello," I smile as I walk in and close the gate behind me. "I'm glad you are here."

"I am glad I am here as well, and you are with me." He smiles.

I nod, gripping my hands at my sides, trying to remember everything I wanted to tell him, the words I had practiced over and over last night and this morning.

"I want to tell you something." I say, still standing near the gate and he looks up at me, setting down the puppy and standing up, he dusts his pants off as he steps closer towards me.

"What do you want to tell me?"

"My feelings for you aren't what they used to be. I don't know exactly when they changed, but I love you." I take a quick breath. "I love you and I love Alvaryn, I can't explain why, and I can't choose between the two of you, I feel the same way about both of you and I wanted to tell you the truth."

Once the words are all out I dare to look up at him, he looks down at me before taking a step back and letting out a humourless laugh.

He's laughing at me?

"I have been so worried, wondering if it was me or my brother that you wanted, but now you are here telling me it is both of us, that you love both of us?" He asks looking over at me and I nod.

He laughs again and I feel my temper rise. I had just bared my soul to him, thoughts I have been holding onto by myself and tormenting myself with and now he is laughing at me.

"Is this some kind of game?" He asks, looking down at me. "You think it will be better for me when my brother chooses you first and I am left knowing that you love me but can't have you?"

"This isn't a game!" I snap. "I told you because I wanted you to know the truth, that it wasn't just what Demwyn said that made me stay away, that I felt guilty for being with you when I wanted Alvaryn as well."

He tilts his head back, his hands over his face. "It's payback, payback for seeing you as a game." He says out loud.

"Aren't you listening to me you idiot, I am telling you that I love you, that I am in love with you and all you can focus on is this stupid rivalry that only exists in your own mind!" I nearly scream as we stand facing each other.

"It isn't just in my mind Daella. You tell me that there is no difference, that you feel the same for both of us, and yet he calls you Dae, while I continue to call you Daella, like everyone else. What is that if not a difference?" He demands.

"It's just a name, a name my family used to call me. I liked having someone here who used it, it helped me remember, helped me to hold onto a part of myself." I answer, backing away as he paces, body rigid with anger.

"No!" He stops, turning on me with finger pointed at me in accusation. "No, it's more than that. You trusted him with it, you asked him to call you that, to use that name, but never once did you ever ask me. You trust him more than you trust me!" He is nearly yelling, neck straining, eyes wild and staring at me, waiting.

"He was there for me first. You were, you were showing me that mask that you show everyone. How could you expect me to trust someone who would drown themselves in liquor everyday, hiding away from the world and everyone around them?!" I snap back, anger roaring to life.

He shakes his head. "It may have taken me longer to see you, to truly see you and show you who I truly was but that doesn't mean I deserve your trust any less than he does! I have been honest with you from the moment we met, through all of my arrogance and selfishness I never lied to you, I never once asked you to be anyone but yourself." He stops pacing, taking a step towards me.

"That is why I trust you now, because you have always wanted me just as I am, you have always said whatever it is you think and feel, not prettying your words for the sake of others, not caring whether it gets you in trouble, or what people think of you. It is just a name Aeris, why does it mean so much to you?"

"Because it is something you have given him and held back from me. How do you expect us to live like this? It was just a game, a stupid rivalry amongst brothers." He laughs humourlessly. "Now I question what I have been doing with my existence these past two hundred years. You make me question everything, every part of me, every rule I follow, every tradition I believe in, everything I have done for two centuries. I am changing every day to become someone you deserve, and I am offering you all of me, the dark and the light, this fucking fire that burns inside me constantly trying to find its way out and burn the world down around me. All of it is yours and all I am asking for is that you give me all of you in return. Just love me the way I love you, unrelenting, free and wild like the fire that burns within the both of us."

"I do love you Aeris, I take you as you are, the light, the dark, it makes no difference to me, I love you just as you are because I know that it is who you truly are and that is all I want. Why can't you love me the same? Love me for who I am, the light and the dark."

"The darkness being your love for Alvaryn?" He questions.

"Only in your eyes."

"He is my brother Daella, we promised we would never let any woman come between us, hurting him would be like hurting myself!"

"What would you have me do Aeris? I can't choose only one, no matter how hard I have tried to convince myself that it would be easier, it would break the last piece of myself that I am clinging onto in this prison. The only other option is giving up both of you and marrying a High Lord!"

He moves closer suddenly, taking my face in his hands, face desperate and utterly ethereal as I stare into the dark depths of his eyes.

"Don't say that, don't even imagine being with someone else. Don't let go Daella, don't let go of any piece of who you truly are. I would take you in any form, in any capacity, just don't let go of anything else, you shouldn't have to sacrifice anything else just to have a life." He says quietly.

"I'm so scared Aeris," I whisper, tears filling my eyes no longer able to hold them back. "I'm so scared that the longer I pretend to be this version, I will forget everything else, I will forget my family, my home, all that will be left is this burning anger inside me and there will be nothing worth left to love at all."

"No!" He says firmly, resting his forehead against mine. "No, I will never let that happen. Alvaryn and I know who you truly are, we will make sure you remember every part, every detail, every day. We won't let you forget a single thing because every single detail is why we love you. Every part that makes you exactly who you are, every single part that pulled me out and woke me up from the haze I was drowning in. Don't be scared dearest, don't let them win, don't let their threats linger in that beautiful mind of yours for even a moment. You are not alone. You will never be alone." He whispers, his thumbs wiping at the tears as they fall.

"I'm trying Aeris, truly I am, but every day, it gets harder to tell myself that it will be worth it in the end, that I will have a happy future."

"Of course you will!" He insists, pulling my face up to meet his eyes. "Of course you will dearest, I will make sure of it. Every day I will make sure you are happy and I will get on my hands and knees and crawl on the floor if it makes you smile." He smiles, I smile weakly, sniffing softly, shaking my head but he holds me, making me look up into his eyes, two black pools, infinite and open.

"How can you be so sure? We will still be here, in this place, surrounded by these people, day in, day out, even if we could find a way to make this work, the world around us wouldn't change."

He presses his lips against mine firmly. "That is why, that is why I know you will be happy, that we will be happy, because I love you and will do whatever it takes to make sure of it."

I lean up onto my toes, my lips finding his as I kiss him. He kisses me back, our mouths moving together as his hands wrap around my back pulling me closer against him. I scrape my teeth against his bottom lip as we pull away, breathing heavy with our foreheads resting together.

"Do you know why my mother started calling me Dae?" I ask softly, he shakes his head, not pulling back, not letting me go. "She said when she had me it was like night and day, her old life, the old her, all of her ideas and wishes changed. I became the daylight and her old life was the night, still important, still a part of who she was, but not who she wanted to be anymore. She called me Dae to remind herself that although she gave up much, she gained so much more, she wanted to walk in the daylight of her new life instead of living in the shadows of her past."

I smile. "I didn't think of the reason when I told Alvaryn he could call me Dae, and I had never really understood it before, never believed I could ever feel that way, be happy about giving up parts of myself for a new life I wasn't ready for, but now," I say, looking up into his eyes. "Now, it feels ok to give up parts of my old life, my home, my family, I feel like when I am with you and Alvaryn I am in the daylight, my memories are just the shadows, still important, still a part of who I am, but I choose to walk in the daylight. I don't want to forget any of it, but I don't want to go back."

He smiles, kissing me softly.

"There is no going back dearest, not now that I have found you. I intend to keep you right here by my side for as long as life will give me, and maybe even beyond. I will make bargains, I will strike deals and I will sell whatever needs to be sold. As long as it means I will always have you right here with me." He kisses my forehead.

"Call me Dae, call me Dearest, call me anything you like Aeris, just know I will always answer." I lean into him, my cheek resting against his chest as he wraps his arms around me. My arms tighten around his waist holding him closer, not wanting to let go of this feeling.

"Ikind of want to all you Daylight now," I can hear the smile in his voice. "ButDae or Dearest will suffice."