I'm not sure he really did have a plan.

I stood up after we ate the last of our meal and did as he told me. I let Alethea know that Technoblade was here and she would head back to my rooms, but she insisted on staying in case he wasn't there to walk me back. I think that she just wanted to spy on us together. She had mentioned too many times that she thought I could win him over if I tried.

When I went back and informed him of that, he looked discouraged, mentioning that he didn't like using his authority to make Alethea do things. They obviously knew each other fairly well, but she mentioned to me that she grew up here. And whatever that history was with Ishton hadn't ever been explained.

"I know this may sound a little risky, but I'm gonna block you from this angle from Alethea's view, and you run over to that exit," he said nodding to the arch just past the other side of the tree. "Hide around the wall, and I'll say something like goodbye before I meet you over there. This won't be a good plan for long, but we only need a few minutes to get out of the palace."

Out of the palace? I was hardly allowed to be around the palace grounds, let alone outside the walls. I was surprised he was willing to go against his father's wishes for this, but I was desperate for a change of scenery.

"Okay," I said darting my eyes over to Alethea. She seemed to be extremely bored, but was trying to fight her curiosity of looking at us. Technoblade stepped into her view and signaled for me to sneak off. I followed his instruction and snuck to the place behind the entrance.

"Let's hurry. She's bound to know you aren't there soon," he said starting off down the hall after he rounded the corner. I smiled and followed, keeping pace as we quickly took the halls on.

The adrenaline coursing through me made me giggle. It felt so good to be this excited to do something. I had hit quite the block in joy but Technoblade came around just to fix it. Maybe he wasn't so bad.

"Through here," he said gesturing to a side door. It was small, and made me think it was a servant passage. I took a step through, and felt a hand on the small of my back, guiding me in. I felt my cheeks flush at his contact. I couldn't help the feeling of butterflies in my stomach at such an intimate act.

His hand dropped as soon as we were both in the tunnels and we walked along the path he set. It wasn't long until I saw the light of the exit in front of us. It was unlike anything I had expected to see in the Nether.

When we stepped out of the hall into the open environment, I was surrounded by a gorgeous blue view. It was breathtaking and beautiful and by far the best thing I had ever seen in this dimension.

"This is the Warped Forest," I heard his voice say nervously behind me. I turned around and became aware of the bright smile that was radiating off me. Technoblade met my eyes and smiled a deeper smile than I had ever seen from him.

"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," I said breathlessly. I couldn't believe I was here. That this place really existed in a place like the Nether. It was such a dramatic change from the normal overwhelming red everywhere around us. The shroom lights made this place feel magical.

"Hey take this," he said pulling his cape off and handing it to me. "The Warped Forests are much colder than the rest of the Nether. You must be freezing."

"Oh no!" I said handing it back to him. "The End is naturally cold. This is actually an amazing feeling. This place reminds me so much of home."

"Oh," he said with a slight blush atop his cheeks once again. "I didn't know that. You must have been miserable in this heat."

"I'm able to keep my rooms cooler. Other than that, I can manage the heat in smaller bursts. I know it'll get better with time," I said in my best attempt to reassure the embarrassed man in front of me.

"Maybe we could try to find a way to make it easier. I'll have some people look into ways to make portions of the palace cooler for you," Technoblade said strolling past me to a tree that rose high into the sky. It looked incredibly tall compared to the Nether roof seemingly closing in.

"Does the Nether roof ever make you feel trapped? The End is a void. It feels like everything is endless. Like anything is possible," I said blurting out a silly question as he leaned up against the tall tree.

"I used to feel that way," he said with a small smile. He looked up to the Nether ceiling above us. "The ceiling can feel like it's closing in sometimes, and there's a lot of talk in the Overworld about how we are practically the remake of hell, but it's my home. I struggled with living here for a long time. I hated that I had been born into a family that everyone else looked down on, but I learned to love it. I learned that this is who I am. I'm proud of everything about this place."

His eyes lit up when he talked about the Nether. It made enough sense to me, I felt that way just moments ago talking about the End. We may be entirely different people, but we come from the same place. Two children of royalty, who just desperately want to do what's best for their home. It felt relieving to finally connect with someone here over something so important to me.

"Thank you for bringing me here, Technoblade. It has really meant everything to me," his eyes met back with mine, and I felt the heat in my body rise under his gaze.

"It really was nothing. I love it out here," he said looking around the Warped Forest around us. "And please, just call me Techno."