The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

Over the past week Midnight has proved herself to be hard working, and clever, and optimistic, and funny. Funny as hell - sometimes not even intending to be funny but leaving Jesse in stitches. And the conversation has just been great - Midnight listening with wide wonderous eyes as Jesse tells of the realities of his world, and then her eagerly stumbling over her words as she tells him of her own life. Yes, in the past week, Jesse has come to sort of...get it. Why the Goddess picked someone like Midnight for him. Because were she to have grown up in Moon Valley she'd have been spunky, and vivid, and fierce and sweet.

But, of course, she grew up here. And her poor little corrupted wolf...

Jesse sighs, picking up his cards and studying them, forcing himself away from the thought. Because Midnight hates it when he pities her, and any conversations about that wolf go again and again to why he won't accept the bond, and why he won't love her, and why they can't immediately have eighteen pups. "And here's the flop..." Midnight murmurs, setting out the first three cards on the floor of the yurt. Jesse smirks, loving how fast Midnight has picked up the lingo from his world, how much she delights in these simple things.

But even if so much about hanging out with Midnight has been great...she certainly has been a lock box regarding any information about this world.

Inwardly Jesse's wolf gives him a nudge, urging him forward. And he decides to put a little more on the table with this game than just a bundle of sticks.

"I'll raise you two sticks," Jesse murmurs, putting the required amount forward.

Midnight keeps her face perfectly still as she glances at her cards and then up into Jesse's face, studying his expression. His smirk deepens and she shakes her head at him.

"You're very bad at this, Jesse," she says with a sigh, putting forward her own two sticks to match his. "You say you can tell when I am lying but I know when you are bluffing.'

"Maybe you do maybe you don't," Jesse murmurs as Midnight turns over the next card for the turn. "But I do know that you're lying about that Fancy House you told me about before. With your friends in it. Where you ate meat and cake."

Midnight goes still, frowning as she looks up into his face. "I wasn't lying about that."

Jesse shrugs, pretending to consider his cards, even though honestly he's not really paying attention to the game. "All right, but even if you're not lying, it's clear that they don't exist. I mean, you spend a lot of time alone, Midnight, I guess you just made them up."

"I did not," she says, straightening her spine and looking at him aghast. "They exist!"

"Imaginary friends are great," Jesse says, lowering his cards a bit and looking at her with a bit of false pity. "You shouldn't be ashamed, Mids."

Midnight rankles at this, her eyes flying wide, and Jesse's wolf turns in an eager circle. Because honestly he does think that they exist, he just wants to know more. A great deal more.

This week Midnight has staunchly refused to take him to spy on the Atalaxians, but she has accidentally dropped some information about a dark palace on the other side of the world that she calls the Fancy House. And a Prince who lives there. And the cakes she gets to eat there once a year on the Day of Darkness, when she is allowed to go and mingle with everyone else.

"I'm not ashamed, Jesse," Midnight says, her voice low and dangerous as she stares at him, unblinking. Jesse fights his smile, because Midnight is very adorable when she gets all serious like this. "The people in the Fancy House are real

"If you say so, Mids," Jesse sighs, putting forward a few more sticks.

But Midnight ignores the sticks. "You'd better believe me, Jesse Sinclair," she snaps.

"I do believe you," he murmurs, gentle and condescending, the voice he uses when Seraphina tells him

that there's a monster under her bed. And like Seraphina, the tone just pisses Midnight off more.

"They exist," she hisses, shadows starting to leak from her, her eyes going dark.

But Jesse has dealt with Midnight's flares of temper enough this week to know to ignore it. He, too, has learned when she's bluffing. "Yeah well, I'll believe it when I see it."

"Fine," Midnight snaps, reaching out and grabbing his arm.

Jesse's eyes fly wide because...what? This is new.

"Let's go. Right now."

"What!?"

"You want to see that they're real? Let's go."

Darkness suddenly consumes the pair and Jesse gasps in fear, staring around him, searching

desperately for the world - the yurt - the damn reality -

But suddenly the world snaps back into place around them even though the yurt is...gone.

Jesse pants, staring around at the dark scene at the beautiful lake spread out in front of him, at the dark figures gathered in a beautiful little pavilion all laughing together. But is...one of them blue?

"See?" Midnight says. Jesse snaps his head back to her, his mouth falling open. She smirks at him, all trace of shadows gone. "Told you they were real."