It was easy to get lost in the deep woods of Tennessee. No roads or cell signals penetrated the dense forest. It was an excellent place to live for a vampire that didn't particularly care if anyone could reach them or not. Peter and Charlotte had lived in the same little cabin for years and Lily doubted they had moved anytime recently. She led the way through the trees, Garrett right behind her with Sebastian trailing further behind.

They'd left Forks within the hour after her argument with Edward. She left a note telling Carlisle to get ahold of Sebastian if he discovered anything as neither her nor Garrett had a phone at the moment. Of course, that wouldn't matter until they got out of the damned woods.

She adjusted her path slightly and stumbled over an exposed root. Garrett was quick to catch her and pulled her to a stop. "When was the last time you ate?" His voice was sharp, irritated.

Lily frowned as she scrunched up her nose. She jerked out of grasp, or rather tried to. She knew why he was concerned. It should have been easy for her to get away from him. She was still a newborn after all. And vampires were never clumsy, yet she kept stumbling over natural debris on the forest floor. It was at least the third time she'd done so.

"I'm fine, Garrett."

"Not what I asked, Lily Bit."

Sebastian chose then to make his presence known. "Hands off the queen, Garrett."

Her friend's eyes narrowed and grew dark. He scowled at the other guard. "Stay out of this, boy. This is a conversation between me and a stubborn girl who has never valued her own well-being the way she should."

Lily rolled her eyes. Garrett didn't like that she trained with the Major. He also didn't like that John started training her as young as he had. Actually, come to think of it, there were a lot of things that he didn't like when it came to her training. "I'll eat later."

His jaw set. "Still not what I asked."

"Seriously, you need to back off," Sebastian interjected again.

The corner of Garrett's mouth quirked up. "If you'll excuse me, Queenie, I need to have a discussion with the Brit."

In a flash he was gone. Then he gripped Sebastian by the front of his shirt and tossed him into a tree. The crack echoed through the woods. Lily shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned against a tree she deemed to be out of the way. She'd step in if necessary but for the moment, she'd let them fight. To be truthful the tension had been building since Chicago.

Sebastian held his own better than she thought he would, but Garrett was the stronger of the two. The third time the soldier tried to stop the fight and Sebastian pressed his luck, Lily decided it was time to intervene. "Enough," she called out.

Garrett stopped immediately which Sebastian took advantage of and punched him. That started the fighting anew.

Lily stepped forward. "I said enough. Stop this shit right fucking now."

The chaos continued until a flash of color blurred into the fight. It stopped between the two idiots. Jasper hit both combatants in the chest, sending them flying backward. "The lady said stop."

She didn't give him a chance to prepare himself, didn't care if the fighting was actually over or not. No, less than half a second passed before Liliana darted over and launched herself at Jasper. Her arms and legs wrapped around him like a koala and she buried her face in his neck. Tears streamed down her face as she clung to him. Some of the pain in her heart lessened immediately at the contact. More so when his arms wrapped around her as well. He murmured words of comfort as he carried her through the trees. She could only assume the others followed. Frankly, she didn't care at the moment.

As it turned out, they weren't far from the cabin at all. Lily didn't lift her head to greet any of the others, instead simply raising her hand. She'd talk to them later. Right now, she needed the healing Jasper's presence was giving her. She hadn't realized just how bad the physical ache from her weakened bonds had become until he took some of it.

He settled them somewhere and just held her while his hand ran over her hair. She wasn't certain how long they stayed like that until he spoke. "Want to tell me what the fight was about, Princess? I need to know if it's something to worry about."

She sat up but stayed in his lap as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. He pushed the hair back from her face and studied her features. "Garrett and I were talking. Sebastian didn't like the familiarity with the queen, I guess. They've been bickering since we picked Garrett up in Chicago. You know how Sebastian is. He likes to be close to people, to have that contact, and Garrett wants him to stay the fuck away from me. I sided with Garrett."

Jasper nodded at that but said nothing else about it. "Did you go to Forks?"

She flinched at the reminder. "Yeah. We didn't stay long. Carlisle was okay but the others..."

His hold tightened on her. "What did they say to you?"

A smile curled her lips with his concern and she shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I punched Edward."

Jasper's eyes widened before he released a bark of laughter. "So, did I. It's part of the reason we left."

"Carlisle said there was a disagreement because of me."

"That's one way to put it, I suppose." He frowned. "I just don't understand where their dislike for you suddenly came from. It was like a disease that just moved through them. Other than myself, Carlisle seemed to be the least affected."

She ran her hands through her hair and stood from his lap. They were alone inside the cabin, not that every word couldn't be heard outside the walls, but it gave the semblance of privacy. Her head spun and she closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. "Everyone's been like that. Even the kings." She handed him the letter so he could see it in their own words. "Sebastian was the least affected of the guard so I asked him to come with me. Garrett was indifferent and irritated when we found him, but he seems to have gotten over it."

Jasper frowned at the letter before folding it up and putting it in his own pocket. "You don't need to dwell on this shit. I'd burn it, but I have a feeling we may need it. I guess that answers the question of why you're here."

"I was hoping to convince you to travel with me."

"Of course," was his immediate response. "Peter and Charlotte will come as well as Alice. You'll have a regular entourage, your majesty."

"So, you're just volunteering everyone now?" She huffed a laugh.

"Yes." He was so serious, so certain.

Relief flowed through her. "I love you, Jazz."

"Love you, too, Darlin'." He stood and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Come on. The others will be wanting to say hello."

They stepped outside and the pixie immediately appeared in front of them. "Hello, Lily." She gave her a hug that didn't hold its normal enthusiasm but Lily would take what she could get. It was more than she'd gotten from most of her family.

"Liliana," Peter greeted as the women separated. He gave Lily a nod when she waved.

"It's good to see you again, Peter. You as well, Charlotte. It's been too long." Charlotte said nothing but smiled in response.

"I'm sure you all heard Jasper volunteering you for service. If you'd like to join us, I'd welcome the company, but don't feel obligated contrary to what the cowboy says."

"I stay with my Jazzy," Alice said and took her mate's hand in hers.

Peter and Charlotte studied Lily for a moment before their gaze slid over to Jasper. When they looked back to her, Peter smiled. "We'd be honored. You're welcome to stay here for as long as you wish in the meantime."

"I appreciate that."

Jasper placed his arm back around her shoulders and steered her toward the firepit that stood to one side. As the sky was quickly darkening, the fire had already been started. Garrett and Sebastian were settled on opposite sides. Lily looked between them before taking the seat beside Garrett. Jasper sat on the other side and she had to admit, she'd never felt safer.

Until Jasper spoke up, that was. "Good to see you, Garrett. The princess says you were having a talk before the fight. Care to share?"

Lily fidgeted, shifting her weight from side to side. If she thought Garrett was bad, Jasper was going to chew her a new one. She felt the soldier's eyes on her, giving her the chance to talk first. Nope. That wasn't happening.

"I was trying to get her to tell me when she ate last. She hasn't been very forthcoming." Irritation colored his words.

"I'm assuming you haven't let her out of your sight, so it's been at least since Chicago," Jasper reasoned. His gaze flitted over to her guard. "Before?"

Sebastian shrugged. "Not since we left Volterra. Before that, I don't know. It wasn't my turn to babysit her."

"Fuck you, Sebastian," Lily snapped. "I don't need a babysitter."

He snorted and rolled his eyes but said nothing further. Why was he being an asshole now?

"Alright, princess. Ignore the asshole. Focus. When was the last time you ate before you left Volterra? How many days?"

She closed her eyes to think wanting to give Jasper an answer. He probably wouldn't like it, but at least it would be something. Finally, she sighed and opened her eyes. "I don't know, Jazz. Honestly. I just don't remember."

"Long enough to have her stumbling. And she's slower than she should be," Garrett oh so helpfully provided.

"Damn it, Lily," Jasper muttered.

"It's fine. I'm not hungry," she insisted.

He shot to his feet. "Because you're blocking it. You look like shit, Lils. Come on, we're going hunting." He turned so she could climb on his back.

It was Alice that actually took the deer down before stepping back to let Liliana feed. Jasper lowered her to her feet and she moved over. Her nose crinkled at the smell. Animals just weren't her preference. As she knelt beside the corpse, her stomach churned.

"Seriously, Jazz. I'm not hungry. You guys eat it."

"You don't have to be hungry to eat, princess. Feed," he ordered.

He wouldn't let up until she did. After taking a deep breath, she bent forward and dug her teeth into the side of the carcass. She took several long swallows before backing away and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

Jasper sighed. "It's a start."