"Mom." I stood up and wiped off my tears. "Sorry, we didn't mean to wake you up." My voice cracked as I tried to stabilize myself.

"How can we not wake up when our own daughter is distressed?" As they walked closer, I ran toward them and hugged them.

"I am sorry. It is my duty to protect you all, but I failed as a princess - I failed as your daughter." My mother gently rubed my back.

"Self-doubt will always lead you to failure." My father began as he pulled slightly away to produce an amulet. "When the crown was formed, they knew that it may fall into the wrong hands, so they used a piece of crown's gem to make this amulet." The lightening strike illuminated the gem. "You may not be able to produce electricity from thin air as you always have, but this gem will allow you to use electrity from other places like lightening. But be careful, if you try to use electricity from an object that does not have electricity anymore, or try to draw them from clouds without lightning, it may result in your dismay."

"Also," my mother added. "Once you put this one, and your magic is taken away, you cannot remove it until your magic returns back to you. Or it may result into your loss forever." I took the gem, staring at it as it gleamed in my hands.

"It's a risk I am willing to take." I whispered as I wrapped the chain around my neck. "I cannot be soft or afford any more losses." My throat was tight as I tried to be brave. My family, Akihiko, and my people, they all are counting on me.

"We will arrange transport for you." My father whispered as he hugged me.

"No, dad. This is my fight. I need to do this on my own." I hugged both my parents tight and asked them to go to sleep.

"I don't want to lose you, please don't do this Manami!" Akihiko pleaded as he tranformed into his human form and tried to remove the amulet from my neck.

"I have to do this, Akihiko. It's my duty." I grabbed Akihiko's hands and squeezed them as I gazed into his eyes. "It has to be me. I cannot let anyone else do it."

"I know, but I do not wish to lose you. I cannot afford to lose you, Manami." I cupped Akihiko's face, stroking his cheek.

"I don't want to lose you either, Akihiko. I also love you, so much." I wiped off a few of his tears. Akihiko buried his face in my neck to hide his tears as he wrapped his arms around me, sniffing.

"She has that crown, which makes her stronger than anyone else. How are we possibly going to defeat her?"

I squeezed Akihiko in my arms. "I'll figure it out."

"It's getting cold, we should head back inside." He hugged me once again.

"I don't feel like going in right now. I'll end up stressing about the situation." Akihiko removed his jacket and wrapped it around me.

"I think your parents know...about us, I mean." I glaned in the direction they had left.

"Do you think that's why they easily left? To allow us some time together?"

Akihiko nodded. "They heard you awoken and followed you worried about your stress about the situation...I was so occupied in my own thoughts that despite being in my wolf form, I couldn't hear their feet. I am glad that it wasn't anything serious."

Akihiko glanced up, it had stopped raining. "You'll catch cold."

I shook my head. "Your jacket is warm, and it smells nice too." I buttoned myself up, hiding in the collar of his jacket.

He smiled wide. "You look cute," and kissed my forehead. We removed our shoes and sat down near the lake, our feet soaked in water.

"Won't water electrocute you?" I rolled my eyes and whacked him gently.

"All these months and now you are realising this?" I laughed a bit.

"There's the smile I fell in love with." My face became serious for a moment before I smiled again.

"Really, do tell me more about this 'falling' you talk of?" He giggled before wrapping his arm around me.

"You were young and beautiful when I fell for you." Pouting I moved his arm away from my shoulders.

"What do you mean that I 'was'? You fell in love with me a few months ago, not centuries ago."

"Oh my bad," he wrapped his arm around me. "I cannot remember exactly when I'd fallen in love with you. But I was sure of one thing, all of a sudden I did not want to lose you, or let you go. I knew that of course since you are the princess, you'd marry someone of your level." He wrapped his arm around my waist as he gazed out into the lake, the moon peeking slightly from the clouds.

"And yet you took your chance." I snuggled into him.

"What can I say? You are pretty irresistible." Cupping my cheek, Akihiko slowly brushed his lips against mine.

"Are you trying to relive that same experience again?" I asked, breathless, as I also recalled that same moment like it was a few minutes ago.

"Maybe..." He whispered as he tilted my face up to trace to kisses along my neck.

"Aki-hiko." I moaned as I dug my fingers in his hair, making him pause. Blinking, I realised that he paused to ask for permission. "It's okay, you may." I whispered as he lifted his head up slightly, a small smile on his lips before meeting mine in a deep kiss, laying me on the soft grass. I sniffed in the fresh earthy smell after the rain as I surrendered myself to him.