Len's POV

We left the tower. Rin held my hand tightly. It was a miracle that she was alive, but I couldn't let my guard down. Things were still dangerous. There was still a castle full of people who wanted me dead, not to mention all the rebels in town. "What are we going to do now?" Rin asked. "We hadn't thought this far."

"Do we go back?" Kaito wondered. "It would be the safest place for you," Gakupo, who had joined us, along with Kiyoteru, added. I shook my head. I couldn't go back. I had to take responsibility here. "I want you all to go back," I said. "There are things I have to do here and I can't risk any of you getting hurt. Thank you for all you've done for me."

"I'm not leaving!" Rin shouted, letting go of my hand. "We're all in this together now. That's what friends are for." Everyone else nodded in agreement. "If Rin stays, the rest of us stay," Kaito smiled. What am I going to do with these guys?

Suddenly, the dark hallway we were in was illuminated with light. There were guards holding torches standing in front of us. They must have heard our conversation. They all looked nervous and I knew why. I was supposed to be dead. "You all," I shouted. They instantly straightened in fear. "Head to the dungeons and free everyone there immediately. If you see a boy that looks like this girl here, bring him to me. Now hurry!" The guards exchanged confused glances, but quickly ran off to complete their task. They didn't want to cross me. I'm sure they believed that I would have them all executed.

"Rinto…" Rin whispered under her breath. Her face was blank. I knew now what I terrible thing I had done to her. I had ripped her only family away from her. It had been years since they last saw each other. "Let's continue," I commanded, bringing everyone into the throne room. "I'll have to make a public apology in the morning. For now, you all can stay here overnight. I'll have someone take you all to the guest rooms, except Rin. You need to stay here with me." I called out for some servants and a few maids emerged. They looked pale and frightened. They were likewise terrified of me.

"Please take these men to the guest rooms," I said. "Treat them well. They're my friends." The maids' eyes widened at the mention of "friends", but they took them away without a word. Rin and I were left alone in the room. "Are you okay?" I asked, bringing her closer to me. She still seemed to be preoccupied with thoughts of her brother. Her eyes didn't meet mine. "Yes, I'm fine," she mumbled. "Don't worry," I said, giving her a hug. She was surprised by my sudden showing of affection, but didn't reject the hug. Instead, she held me tightly. It was a wonderful feeling.

"Prince!" a voice shouted, ruining the moment. Rin and I let go of each other and turned to face a guard, who was tightly gripping a weak looking man. The man had shaggy blonde hair and was as thin as a stick. His skin was pale and he looked tired as if he might collapse at any minute. The man let the guard handle him roughly. It appeared like he didn't care about living anymore. "Release him!" I shouted. "Who told you you could be so rough with a prisoner?" The guard let go of the man and the man fell to the floor.

I turned to Rin, whose hands were covering her mouth. There were tears in her eyes. "R-Rinto!" she cried, running over to her brother, who was still collapsed on the ground. She picked up his body and laid his head in her lap. She brushed his hair out of his eyes. I could see the resemblance now. "R-Rin?" the man breathed back. It sounded like every word pained him. What happened to him? Deep in my heart, I knew that I was the reason he was like this. I had sentenced him to years of prison. It was all my fault.

"I'm here," Rin smiled. Her tears fell onto her brother's body. "It's all okay." She wrapped her arms around him and he did the same. The happiness I saw in Rin's eyes was unlike anything I had ever seen from her. I prayed that all the families that I had destroyed would someday be reunited like this.

Rin helped her brother stand up. He could barely keep on his feet. "Rinto," Rin said, bringing him towards me. "This is Len." Rinto looked at me with empty eyes. I could feel the anger. "Don't hate him please," Rin begged. "He's my friend and he helped me get you back. I know he's done a lot of bad things, but he's going to fix them, right?" I nodded in response. "I care about your sister very much," I said in a serious tone. "I'll never let anything like this happen to her again." With those words, Rinto gave me a smile and I felt like everything in the world would finally be okay.

Epilogue

On that night, every prisoner was set free. Guards helped people return to their families and helped give out the aid that the prince had provided for everyone he had wronged. News quickly reached the little village on the outskirts of the land about the freeing of the prisoners and the sudden change of heart of the prince. Finally, everyone could be at peace. However, no one left the little village. They loved their friends so much, they had become a family. They could never leave each other. With time, the village grew in size as more people moved in to reunite with their families.

Only months after the prince's reinstatement on the throne, a grand wedding was announced between the prince and a young peasant girl. Though she was not of nobility, no one argued against their marriage. Everyone knew that she was the reason the prince was able to love again. And so, a beautiful wedding was held in the palace and prince and young girl's friends were all invited. There wedding was followed by many others of their best friends.

The land fell back into an era of peace. No one lived in fear and hardly anyone was sent to the dungeons. The country prospered and people were well-fed. It was one of the greatest times in the country's history all thanks to the rule of a young prince and his princess.