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I followed Ashton away from the crowd and he slowed his pace so that I could catch up. He was eerily silent as we walked and idly kicked up clumps of sand.

"It's a full moon," he commented while looking up at the sky, which was now freckled with stars.

I glanced up at the moon. He reached for my hand and the tingles came back. He hesitated. "I don't know if you can feel this too, but I feel more connected to you. I want you near me."

He stopped walking and turned to face me. His eyes almost seemed to glow. They were dark, yet vibrant.

"I want to officially accept you as my soulmate now," he said as he ran his thumb down my neck. I shivered and took his hand in mine.

"Accept me as your soulmate? What does that mean?"

"The soulmate acceptance has three steps. First, I accept you with my words. This a statement that triggers the soulmate bond. You have to say it back. Next, I officially accept you by marking you. The mark appears wherever I bite you with the intention of marking you. The last step is to consummate the agreement. After that, you're fully accepted as my soulmate."

"Bite me?" I paled. "Am I going to turn into an Origen too?"

"It will be over in a second," he assured me. "And no, you won't become an Origen. You can't become an Origen unless you're born as one."

I cocked my head. "Ashton about this whole soulmate thing-"

"I'm going to accept you as my soulmate," he said, cupping my face in his hands. "Elizabeth, I'm going to accept you."

"Wha- Right now?" I asked as I recognized the serious look in his eyes. I took a step back.

"It won't fully activate right now, because you probably won't say your part. But I have to do my part now."

I stared at him uncertainly.

"I Ashton Levi DeLorentes, prince of the kingdom of Crysauralia, accept you, Elizabeth Danielle Seymour as my official and only soulmate," he declared.

My heartbeat escalated as I waited for something to happen.

"What did you do?" I whispered anxiously.

He smiled and for a moment his eyes seemed to become more vibrant.

"I just accepted you, Elizabeth. You are my soulmate; I had to do it eventually."

"But I'm not ready yet. Please take it back."

Ashton looked taken aback at my request. "What do you mean take it back? I can't and I wouldn't want to either."

Okay, calm down, I told myself.

I let out a shaky breath. "D-Does this mean that I have to be with you now? Like permanently?"

He narrowed his eyes at me. "No, it doesn't... but that's kind of the whole idea of a soulmate," he pointed out.

"Ashton, I told you that I'd think about this. It's only been two days. I need more time," I rushed.

"Time is running out, Elizabeth. I need you to make a decision now. I know you feel something for me."

"Yes, I do," I admitted, "But that's all because of the soulmate bond. It's not actually my feelings."

"Whatever you feel for me is what matters. We're fated to be together. You can't escape your destiny."

I stared at him in disbelief. "I don't like the idea of my destiny being chosen for me, Ashton. I have a choice and I want to make my own decisions. I thought you respected that."

"So what? Are you're trying to decide whether or not to reject me as well as millions of people?"

I couldn't believe he just said that. Was he really going to guilt trip me using the kingdom?

"Ashton, I've been thinking really hard about this and I want to make a decision that can help everyone. I've met some people who have placed their hopes in the future queen. That's a lot of pressure for me because I don't want to let them down. It's not that I want to reject them. I just don't want to make a decision that I'll be miserable with for the rest of my life."

"What's so hard about it?" he asked exasperatedly.

"Well, excuse me, it's not like deciding where to go out to have lunch. This is a lifetime commitment that I'm not ready to make."

"You have to be the queen. There is literally no-one else!" he shouted. "Think about what will happen to the kingdom if you don't do this, think about the treaty. Besides, I can't be crowned unless I'm at least engaged."

Tears rose to my eyes. "I have been thinking!" I yelled. "But with you as the king, does it really matter who the queen is?"

Ashton rubbed his palm along his face. "It will not be the same, Elizabeth. Especially for me. I need my soulmate by my side."

"So you don't care about how I feel? I'm not royalty like you are. I was never born into any of this and I won't be forced into it either."

"I was supposed to officially accept you that day and I didn't," he sighed in annoyance.

"That day?" I asked while trying to blink back the tears that were threatening to fall.

He ran a hand through his hair and a muscle clenched in his jaw.

"You mean Friday? On that date?"

"Forget it," he retorted.

"No, I won't forget it," I said as my anger started to rise. "You were supposed to officially accept me? You were going to put the soulmate mark on me? Why would you even think that was okay?"

Then it dawned on me. "Your dad asked you to do it, didn't he?"

"Just drop it, Elizabeth."

"No. Is that what you both agreed on?" I asked, desperately trying not to cry.

Ashton didn't respond.

"Did he convince you to go along with the date too?" I asked as my voice broke and seemed to vanish. "That's why you broke up with Nicole."

He didn't respond.

"Answer me," I pleaded, staring into his eyes.

"Yes."

My heart sank to the pits of my stomach and seemed to continue sinking even further. My chest ached and the first tear slid from my eyes.

"Was any of it real?" I was crying now, but I didn't care. I had to know.

Ashton shifted his dark gaze to me.

"Was it real or was it all just a game to you?"

"It was real for the most part, Elizabeth, considering the circumstances," he said, trying to wipe my tears away but I backed away from him.

"I was stupid," I laughed between my tears. "To believe that I could trust you. That was the first real kiss I've had... but I guess it was only real for me."

"Elizabeth..."

"And you were my first kiss too. Is that all you know how to do? Play with people's emotions to get what you want?"

Ashton lowered his gaze to the ground. "I'm sorry."

I let out a sharp breath. It really hurt to even breathe. I felt like I'd been punched.

"You're a jerk," I told him as I tried to wipe away the never ending stream of tears running down my face.

Ashton sighed and looked at me. But I didn't want to look at him.

Stupid Elizabeth, I chided myself as I ran off so that he wouldn't see me crying anymore. It didn't make sense to think that I could actually have a relationship with Ashton. I guess I was the one who was actually stuck in the 'Ashton daze'. Trying to live out a fairytale with a prince.

Of course, this meant nothing to Ashton. Girls were his toys, why would I be any different?

I had to go pass the campfire, but I couldn't stop my tears from flowing. They just wouldn't seem to stop. I wished that I could be concealed by the darkness, but I was betrayed by the bright, illuminating light of the laughing full moon.

I heard everyone calling after me worriedly as I ran past them as quickly as I could. I ran to the house and went upstairs to the room that I was sharing with the girls. I felt like I was running pretty fast, but as soon as I entered the room Melissa and Callie came in a few seconds later. Their brows furrowed as they saw my tears. They sat on the floor where I was and hugged me.

"I'll kill him," Callie murmured into my hair.

"He'll pay for making you cry," Melissa said as she ran circles with her hand across my back.

I just let the tears flow and hoped that all my memories of Ashton would flow out with them.

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