Captain Russell watched the throne room through a small telescope on top a hill. He spied ruefully as the elfian girl and four others ran to the gate and were let in. His men stood behind him in silence as he put the small telescope back in his cape pocket and stood.

“Bloody elves.”

He then signaled his men to saddle up. They needed to get to Westova before Charmont sent a troupe after them.

~*~*~

“You haven’t the slightest idea of where you’re going, do you?”

Téa wished Hayden would shut up. His constantly being right as the voice of reason was getting on her nerves.

“Why can’t you go away, Hayden? You’re becoming a nuisance again.”

“Didn’t know I stopped.”

Téa’s horse remained at a steady trot, Hayden’s right alongside hers. Once he had caught up with her he had continuously trying to persuade her into going back and had done everything but pull her off the horse, which he looked like he was about to.

“I’m sure you would be a tad pissed off if someone murdered your parents, wouldn’t you?” Her words were pure venom, but he didn’t seem intimidated in the least.

“I know you’re angry Téa, but getting yourself killed isn’t what I call vengeance.”

“Who said I was going to get myself killed?”

“That little dagger you carry.”

Her hand absentmindedly stroked it, not many would choose it as their weapon of choice, not if they had something else equally as handy to go with it. But she had been known as the best knife fighter in her tribe, why quit on something that worked?

“Look, all I’m saying is, these people would probably just kill you right away rather than have a fair fight.”

“I’ll deal with ‘the people’ later. All I’m after is Harloe.”

“What makes you think he won’t just kill you on the spot?”

Her voice softened a little, “If he is still anything of the friend I once knew, he’ll fight.”

“Obviously he didn’t consider that when…”

She shot him a lethal look.

“Never mind.”

They went on in silence for a while. Hayden wisely kept his mouth shut while Téa thought about how she was going to find Harloe. She searched her mind for every possible place that Harloe could be—

Hayden yelled, and Téa turned her head just in time to see him jerked off of his horse. She stopped immediately when she saw that a strange man was holding a cord tightly around his neck. She could only stare, while slowly reaching for her dagger.

“Move your hand towards that knife and I’ll end him now,” the man tightened the cord slightly to show that he wasn’t joking. Hayden didn’t move, he only mouthed the word “Go”.

“Get off your horse and put your weapon on the ground slowly.”

She obeyed, “What do you want?”

“The documents.”

“I…don’t have them any more.”

The cord tightened.

“Don’t! I’m telling the truth.”

He tilted his head and looked at her, “Not good for you, is it? Turn around.”

She did so and something hard struck the back of her head, turning the world black.

~*~*~

Namian slowly opened his eyes to examine his surroundings. After the man hand hit Téa over the head he had pulled the cord so tight that it wasn’t long before he passed out himself. Now they were in some sort of shack. Looking around, he saw the man rifling through Téa’s sack. Her dagger along with his bow and arrows were lying on a table on the other side of the room. Trying to move his arms, he found that he couldn’t, as they were tied to Téa’s. She sat on a chair behind him. He tried to rouse her,

“Téa?” She was still unconscious.

“Perhaps this might help,” the man was now standing in front of them. He threw a cup of water in her face, causing her to jolt awake. She struggled against her bonds for a minute before looking up,

“Who are you?”

He didn’t answer, but he did show off Téa’s dagger in his hand, “Where are the documents?”

“They’re at the bottom of a river,” she tried not to think of what he might do to them later on, but then another thought came to her mind.

“You were the one who killed my parents, weren’t you?”

The man threw the dagger at the floor and walked out the front door for his answer. It was sometime before they realized that he wasn’t coming back. Namian was open mouth,

“What? That was it?”

 “I guess so. That slimy—”

“So how do we get out of here?”

“I’m working on it.”

Namian waited patiently while Téa contemplated. But something caught is eye down where the floor and the wall met. Smoke was beginning to rise out of a crack.

“Uh…Téa?”

“Not now Hayden.”

He paused and watched as the smoke grew into tiny flames.

“Téa?”

“I said not now, Hayden.”

“The floor’s on fire.”

“What?!”

Smoke started coming in on all sides now. Téa was mad now,

“He set the shack on fire?! Just perfect!

“Can you reach your dagger on the floor?”

“Can you?”

“No.”

“Well I doubt I can.”

Flames could clearly be seen now, and the room was rapidly increasing in temperature. Namian moved around uncomfortably and felt something shift in his boot. The man had forgotten to take his dagger!

“Téa, I still have my knife in my boot.”

“Good for you, captain.”

“I was thinking we might…Oh, I don’t know…use it?”

“And how were you planning on getting it?”

“Well, if I can take my boots off…”

“Look, even if you do get it anywhere closer to the rope there’s still the whole problem of getting it into your hand and then…”

An old rug next to Téa’s feet caught fire.

“Okay, try it.”

Namian slowly took off his boots so he could keep the blade in place, then he used his foot to grasp it and toss it on to his lap.

“I’ve got it on my lap.”

“Now what are you going to do?”

Silence.

“That’s reassuring.”

Then Namian noticed something outside the only window, “Hey, what’s that?”

It was rain, but it wasn’t normal rain, it was raining hard.

Téa started coughing, and he realized the smoke was getting to him to. It wouldn’t be long before they would both be gone. He used his elbow to get her attention,

“Téa, try and tip us over.”

“What, (cough) so we can burn faster?”

“If we keep on the ground we can stay below the smoke. I think that the rain outside might put the fire out.”

“And you want to break our arms in the process?”

“If we fall to my right we’ll land on that rug over there and it might cushion it. It’s our only chance.”

“Fine, let’s do it.”

Shifting their weight, they landed on the rug with a thud, but they could breathe again.

“Well, this is just how I imagined my death to be,” Téa’s sarcasm could be found even in the worst circumstances, “Burned on a rug. Thanks a bunch, Hayden.”

“Téa?”

“What?”

“Shut up.”

Namian looked out the window again. It looked like the entire shack was under a waterfall. Then the sound of wood breaking could be heard, and the front door flew open. It was Bowen.

“You two all right?” He shouted as he rushed over to cut their bonds. They got up quickly and rushed out of the burning shack, but not before grabbing their supplies.

The rain had stopped, and the four of them stood outside to watch it burn away. Namian shook soot out of his hair.

“Where did all that rain come from?”

The two gypsies didn’t speak for a moment, but Tania finally spoke up.

“Well, the flames were too big for Bowen to get inside so I…uh…took the liberty to…well…”

It started to make sense, “Lift up your skirts, I want to see your feet.”

Tania looked over at Bowen, who gave the okay, then lifted her skirts to reveal two incredibly tiny feet.

“You’re a fairy!” Téa exclaimed.

“Fairy in exile,” Tania corrected as she covered her feet again.

“You were banned?”

She nodded.

“What did you do?”

“I cast a spell that I wasn’t supposed to.”

Namian spoke up, “Like Lucinda?”

She shook her head, “Worse, two children died. I really don’t want to say any more.”

Bowen got on his horse, “I think we had better get moving before your gentlemen friend realizes that you weren’t burnt to a crisp. We can discuss Tania’s little fairyisms later.”

With the exception of Bowen pointing them in various directions, the group remained fairly silent as they walked along in the dank forest. The discomfort of knowing Tania’s secret kept them at bay, and she kept her head down and had the oddest sort of look upon her face – half regret, half concern.

Téa brushed a strand of red hair out of her face and looked up at Bowen, who was the only one riding a horse. She had no idea what that hunter (and murderer, she fumed) had done with their horses after he had knocked them both unconscious.  Hayden still had a red welt on his neck from the cord, but after the incident with his ear, she was certain he wouldn’t complain now.

“Bowen, where are we going?”

“I found a camp up a ways. We’ll stop and gather our strength before I take Master Hayden home.”

This seemed to startle Hayden, who looked up,

“Why? We still haven’t found Téa’s sister yet.”

“When we get back to Frell we’ll ask King Jerrold for help. They seem to know what to do when it comes to…” he cleared his throat, “…finding hostages.”

[[A/N: If you had read my first story then you should know what I’m talking about]]

“Why are we following your orders, anyway?” Téa stated in an irritated manner, “You must be two years younger than me.”

“I was sixteen and a half, the last time I checked. And I also seem to be the only person in this group who doesn’t get in a sticky spot every hour.” A ghost like smile crept on to his face, which Téa didn’t find very amusing.

“Don’t make me slap you, gypsy.”

The smile remained, “Oh, I have a feeling you’ll be hugging me in a minute.” He pointed to somewhere off in the distance and they all turned.

The camp he spoke of was just below, in a field. Téa squinted so she could see better as she took a few steps closer, then she shrieked.

~*~*~

Namian looked down at the camp.  A small bonfire stood in the middle of a cluster of tents with lots of people walking around, but what were interesting were two colors that stood out…

Téa shrieked so loud that they all jumped. Tania ran to her,

“What’s wrong?”

Téa looked like a child on her birthday, “It’s the Tribe of Emen! It’s my tribe. I’m home!” she turned to Bowen, “How did you know?”

He shrugged, “It’s not often you come across so many heads full of blue and red hair.” He indicated her own hair, and she smiled broadly. It was the happiest Namian had seen her since he met her.

Bowen offered her his hand and helped her on to his horse. He looked back at him and Tania,

“Mind if we both arrive first?”

Tania gestured, “Go ahead.”

They galloped off towards the camp, leaving the two behind. Namian emptied his lungs,

“I am in so much trouble.”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing.”

~*~*~

“State your business,” one of the Watchers called out when they approached.

Téa waved, “Ne nîn veleth. Gerich meleth dinteast!”

Her call in the tribe’s language had surprised the Watcher, but upon further scrutiny he grinned,

“Arleta! Han nostan, ĭ amar prestar anenth!”

He helped her off of the horse and gave her a big bear hug, not noticing Bowen who was patiently waiting to be acknowledged. She returned the embrace then introduced Bowen and Hayden and Tania who were walking down the hill.

“This is Eamon, a friend of mine,” she switched back to Kyrrian, indicating the Watcher standing next to her. She turned to him, “where is Emen?”

“In his tent, I expect.”

“Will you tell him I’m here?”

“Of course, I can’t wait to see the look on his face.”

The watcher strode off just as Hayden and Tania caught up with them. Téa was so happy to see her old home that she almost forgot about everything that was happening—almost. She gestured to them, “Follow me.”

They all walked into the camp, and it seemed as if all movement had stopped. Each person in the tribe had halted their doings and stared at the newcomers, especially Téa.

Do they even recognize me?

“Arleta? Min lû pennich nin i aur hen telitha. Han bâd lîn!” An old man with a long white beard, blue robes and beads in his hair came walking out of a tent. She embraced him,

“Gerich meleth nîn, Emen. It’s good to see you again.” She closed her eyes and hugged him tightly.

He gently let go of her and held her out at arms length, “Something is wrong.”

She hated how well Emen could read minds so easily, “Yes, can we go into your tent?”

He nodded and gestured for her to follow. They both walked silently into the largest tent in the camp, where she quietly told him of Hannah’s capture and her parent’s murder.

~*~*~

“What are you looking for, Hayden? You’re fidgeting.”

“Nothing, I’m fine.”

Tania put her hands on her hips, “You most certainly are not. What’s the matter?”

“I told you, nothing.”

She threw her hands up, “You’re impossible.”

The people around them stared, and it suddenly struck Namian that there was a possibility that they recognized him. No, he thought, people in Frell hardly recognize me, let alone a wandering tribe. There was only one person he really worried about, but he didn’t seem to be there.

Téa and Emen walked slowly out of the tent. Emen seemed in a state of shock, and Téa wore her usual blank expression. The people eagerly watched him to see if he was going to explain what was going on, but he seemed to only want to sit down. It was some time before he stood up again,

“My people,” he called the attention of the camp, much like D’arvan had done. All was totally silent.

“It appears that we have some unexpected guests. Daughter Arleta of Aden…”

The crowd cheered, Téa smiled.

“Two gypsies, Master Bowen and Lady Tania…”

Applause.

“And,” he paused, glancing Namian’s way, “…Master Hayden of Frell.”

 Namian looked at Emen, who had averted his gaze back to the crowd.

“I think a celebration is in order for the return of our daughter and her friends.”

There was an uproar this time, and people hurried away to prepare. Namian stood next to Téa,

“Your people love celebrating, I take it?”

She chuckled, “Are you kidding? We have one celebration a month and one for everyone’s birthday, including Emen’s, which is always the biggest. Did you know he turned one-hundred and two last month?”

“No kidding?” said Namian with feigned interest, he was more concerned with how Emen had recognized him. Téa clapped her hands together,

“Well, we should go get ready? Don’t you think?”

“What, we can’t go like this?”

“Not here.”

~*~*~

“Your gentleman friend is quite interesting, Arleta. Where did you say you found him?” Emen looked down at her as she was sitting in the woman’s preparation tent.

“We started traveling together in Sheree, but I first met him near Frell.”

“Really? And he said his name was Hayden?”

She started to brush her hair, “Well, at first he called himself John, but he told me his real name when we met again in Sheree,” she turned in her chair and looked at him, “Why are you asking so many questions about him?”

He smiled, “Nothing, my dear. I’ll see you at the festival tonight.”

He left, leaving her to shake her head. In his old age she feared that Emen was starting to forget his wits. Still, she turned back in her chair and returned to fixing her hair.

~*~*~

“Enjoying our camp, your highness?”

Namian spun around to see Emen standing by the flap of his tent.

“How did you figure it out?”

“I may be old, but not forgetful. Your mother was a guest of mine several years ago, and you have so much of her in you that it wasn’t hard to tell.”

Namian smiled a little, he should have known, “You won’t tell Téa, will you?”

“I can see your reasoning, Arleta can be quite ill-tempered. But I advise you to watch yourself and remain with the name you have.”

“I got this far, didn’t I?”

Emen nodded and left the tent.

Namian looked over the clothes that had been given to him. It was a blue doublet with pants and boots, nothing too fancy like Emen was wearing. He stood and walked to opening of the tent, just at the same time Téa was emerging from hers.

At first it didn’t look at all like her. The woman who stood before him now was wearing a long red dress with sleeves as long as her elbows. There were blue beads in her hair and along with her makeup there were what looked like tiny crystals that lined her bottom eyelids. She was, in a word, stunning.

He opened his mouth but she held up a hand,

“You say one word relating to the way I look and I’ll cut that ear completely off.”

It was definitely Téa. He tried to hide a smile but failed miserably, and soon she was smiling and laughing.

“You stick out like a sore thumb.”

“Shut up.”

He offered her his arm. She took it and they both walked to the bonfire together. The music had already started and some of the people were dancing.

Namian nudged her, “If you’re expecting me to dance you’re insane.”

“Oh, won’t the ladies be disappointed,” she tugged him over to where Bowen and Tania stood; both were dressed up as well.

“Wow! Téa…” Tania began, but Téa shushed her.

“You’re the fairy, Tania, you look better than all of the girls here combined.”

“Shh!” Tania began, but smiled too. Namian spoke up,

“I always thought that fairies looked like normal people.”

“Most of them do, but I am much younger than most of the fairies that attend weddings and births. We’re usually beautiful when we’re still young.”

“I still have no idea what Tania considers old,” said Bowen, “she told me last month that she’s one-hundred and fifty.”

“Good grief.”

“Indeed.”

“No more talk of my…background,” said Tania, “Just because you know of it does not mean you can speak of it as often as you wish. I don’t like it.”

They all respected her wishes and turned the conversation to what they would do next.

“Find my sister, of course.”

“Téa, we have to get you somewhere safe,” said Namian.

“That doesn’t matter now. When that huntsman gets word back to Russell I don’t know what he’ll do to her,” Téa shuddered, “Whatever I do, I do tomorrow and alone.”

“You will not.”

“Who’s going to stop me?”

“I’ll tie you to a tree if I have to,” said Bowen, “Russell would kill you the moment he lays his eyes on you.”

“Trust me, I hunted deer when I was eight years old, I know how to remain hidden.” She looked ready for a fight, but Emen walked up just in time.

“Will you not dance, my friends? The celebration is for you.”

Tania smiled, “We were just about to join the festivities.”

Emen smiled and gestured to them, “Come, come.”

The group walked towards the center of the camp. The fire was roaring and the music was beating fast. Some of the people stopped and applauded, but resumed their dancing. Namian sat down on some pillows and watched, but soon Téa came up and sat down next to him.

“Dancing was never really my style either,” she told him, “I knew all the steps but I would just sit here the whole time, like you’re doing now.”

“Nice to know that we have something in common,” replied Namian with a smirk. She playfully shoved him and smiled.

“I haven’t been this happy in a long time, even though Hannah…,” she paused and quickly changed subjects, “you go home tomorrow, yes?”

“We’ll see.”

“What do you mean by that? Don’t you want to go home and see your family?”

“More than anything, but I can’t leave you like this.”

She looked at him, appalled, “Last time I checked I wasn’t a child.”

“Last time I checked you would be dead if it wasn’t for me.”

She turned at him and he braced himself, “And how did you decide that?”

“The ogre, when you tried to drown yourself, the fire in the shack…”

“And you think that you’re some high and mighty--!”

“Is everything alright?” Emen walked up to them, “why are you not dancing?”

Téa looked up with surprise, “You of all people should know that I am no dancer, Emen.”

“But you have guests. I should think that you were brought up better than that.” He took her arm and pulled her up, and then did the same for Namian. He was surprisingly strong for someone his age, something that he proved again when he shoved them both towards the circle of people around the campfire. Téa shook her head,

“We may as well do it.”

“What am I supposed to do?”

She gave him a look like a teacher would give her pupil, “Put your hands on my waist and you lift me up when the music starts. Then you just sort of go with it.”

“If only it were that simple.”

The music started and Namian lifted Téa into the air. The music was incredibly fast and it was hard to keep up, but it wasn’t long before they were having too much fun to care. They both linked arms and then with others, working their way around the bonfire until they got back to each other. There was laughter everywhere, including theirs.

The dance lasted for several minutes and finally stopped. Both of them breathless, they both laughed.

“I don’t think I’ve ever looked more like a fool then when I was out there,” Namian panted. He felt her hand on his shoulder, probably to steady herself while she caught her breath, but for some reason he put his hand on top of hers. Their eyes met but neither one moved.

“Téa, I…” He wasn’t quite sure what to say, he felt as though he were about to fly apart and he couldn’t understand why. He had never felt that way before.  

“Namian?”

 Namian spun around to see the face he dreaded the most. It was Will and his wife Kara. Will had been the one who had rescued his mother way back when he was a baby and had visited them often ever since. He was the only person that was sure to recognize him. Every hope that Namian ever had of disguising his name now shattered.

Téa looked at him, “What did he call you?”

Namian didn’t speak, but by then Will and Kara had come up to them,

“Namian!” Will embraced him, followed by Kara, “What are you doing here? Is your mother and father with you?”

“I—“Namian choked, but Téa was quick to pick up.

“Why is he calling you Namian, Hayden?”

“Hayden?” said Kara, looking confused. Namian wished that lightning would strike him.

Taking a deep breath, Namian looked into Téa’s eyes, “My name isn’t Hayden. My name is Prince Namian of Frell.”

“You—“Téa stuttered, anger rising in her eyes, “Y-you’re royalty?!”

He nodded. Will and Kara looked speechless.

Téa looked as though she were about to strike him, but instead ran out of the camp. Will touched his shoulder,

“What’s this all about, Namian?”

“I’ll explain later,” he told them, running after Téa.

“Téa, wait!”

She ignored him and hiked up the hill. How could he do that to her? The past few weeks had been nothing but lies and deceit. He didn’t want to help her; she was probably just some little game to him to help him escape the pressures of palace life or something dim like that.

He caught up with her and forced her to stop, but she violently yanked her arm away,

“Don’t touch me! You stay away from me!”

“Téa, I couldn’t tell you who I really was—“

She threw her arms in the air, “Will I ever know who you really are? First it was John the hunter, then Hayden the noble, and now you’re the damn prince of the largest country in the world! Who will you be next, The Creator? Was I just some sort of sick source of fun for you?”

“No—“

“Do you realize what could have happened if you had been killed? I would be hung for kidnapping and murder, and then Hannah would have died as well.”

“I only wanted to help, Téa.”

“No,” she pointed at him, “you wanted a little adventure so you could go home and tell your family and friends about that great time you went slumming!”

“Would you shut up?” she could see that he was angry now, but she didn’t care, “you want the truth? The first time I followed you was to make sure that I hadn’t just let some hardened criminal go free.”

Téa glared.

“But,” his tone was softer now, “that’s not what you are. Téa, if I had never met you my family and I would have been dead.”

“Whereas my family is.”

“That wasn’t my fault and you know it.”

“I know,” she crossed her arms, how dare he make her feel guilty about this! “But I could be tried and hung as a kidnapper! Did that ever cross that royal head of yours? Do you realize that your family is probably taking desperate measures to find you by now?”

“I’m aware of that, but my father would never hang you, I would make sure that he knew the truth.”

“Very touching, but I’m told parents get very angry when their children go missing. I’m sure I’ll have a lovely time explaining how your ear was nearly cut off, and how you got that red welt on your neck, or how we almost burned to death, got eaten by ogres, going for that little swim in the river—“

She didn’t get to finish, Namian had grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her.

Téa had only been kissed once before in her life. She had had plenty of opportunities, mind you, but she had never allowed them to happen. She had kissed Harloe once when they were both younger; just to see what it was like. That had been sweet and exciting and fun.

Kissing Namian was none of those things.  She could feel three weeks of pent up frustration and anger, fear and malice coursing through the kiss. It was a little like a fire raging in her head. She felt herself clutching at Namian, feeling as though she was going to fall backwards. Namian gripped her arms with a force that was painful, but she didn't care.

She was a little stunned when he let go of her and stepped back. She saw that his chest was rising and falling rapidly as if he had been running. She was utterly at a loss for words, her mind was racing.

“What—what just happened there?”

He emptied his lungs, “I’m sorry.”

They both stood there, silent. She tried to think of what to do next, but nothing came. Then an image of Hannah appeared in her mind, of all the times for that to happen. Then she knew what to do, words came but she couldn’t control them,

“Your highness, you’re going back tomorrow, and if you don’t leave then I will.”

“Téa—“

She held up a hand, “Don’t,” she said flatly, “you can’t change my mind about this. I don’t want to see you anymore, do you understand?”

She didn’t mean it; at least she didn’t want to mean it. She couldn’t go trekking off to what could be her death with a prince accompanying her. It wasn’t right, in her heart she knew she couldn’t let him go with her.

He didn’t say anything. Téa turned around and walked back towards the camp, not bothering to look back to see if he was following her.

~*~*~

Namian watched the back of her hair as she walked back to the camp. The moon was high overhead by now. The strange feeling that he had felt before was still there, but now he knew what it was.

He was in love with her.

Namian sat calmly on the hill until Téa was completely out of sight. So this is what it felt like to be in love? It wasn’t like in the books he had read or like the poets would recite in the streets, it felt more like a cold slap in the face. Of course, she did just leave him. The winds caressed his face as he sat crisscrossed on the grass, chills running up his spine. It wasn’t until he heard a twig snap behind him that he even moved.

“How long have you been standing there?” Will had been standing behind him. He must have come up the other side of the hill.

“Only a few seconds,” Will sat down next to him. Though he and his wife were seldom at the palace, Namian knew them as well as his own parents, “I must tell you something, Namian…”

Namian waved his hand, “No need, I’m going back tomorrow.”

“That’s not it, Namian. Something’s happened.”

            He looked at him, “What is it?” Anxiety was building up in him and all thoughts of Téa and what had just happened left his mind. Had Sir Russell found another way to attack his family?

            Will took a deep sigh, “I don’t really know how to say this—“

He hesitated and Namian had to shake his shoulder.

“Tell me, Will!”

“Namian—your grandfather is dead.”

~*~*~

            Pieces flew everywhere as Téa threw a dish at the floor in her tent. She desperately wanted to hit something or, more preferably, someone. Raking her fingers angrily through her crimson hair she grabbed a cup and threw it as hard as she could. It broke neatly into two halves, which didn’t satisfy her so she proceeded to break those as well with the bottom of her heel.

She could still feel his kiss on her lips and wiped her mouth. Her sister probably would have asked for every detail, being the romantic that she was. Téa grabbed another plate and threw it at the tent pole, sending showers of broken pottery everywhere. The tribe’s potter would probably murder her for doing so, but she didn’t really care at the moment.

“Have you everything you need your highness?” It was Emen’s voice outside her tent. She walked over and slowly pulled back the flap.

She could see Namian sitting on a horse in the center of the camp. Will was putting bags on the horse while Emen and the prince shook hands.

“You have been more than kind, thank you.” Namian smiled at Emen and then looked at Will, who was also mounting his horse. Apparently they and several other men were riding.

She stared at Namian. She didn’t think that he was actually going to listen to her and now he was leaving her, probably forever. She kept staring at him and they made eye contact.

Namian’s face was perfectly blank and emotionless. He nodded a silent goodbye in her direction and gave his horse a kick, riding off with the other men. She watched until they were out of sight, and then emerged from her tent. Kara walked up to her.

“He’s done as you have asked,” said her cousin, eyeing the mess she had made in her tent, “angry, were we?”

“You can tell?”

Kara offered her the barest of smiles and stroked her hair. The two women standing together looked very much alike indeed, since both had the same color hair. After a long silence Téa saw a tear course down Kara’s cheek,

“Emen told me of what has happened. My poor, beloved uncle—“

Téa held her cousin as she cried into her shoulder. Her own eyes, however, remained dry. A stone wall had formed around her heart. It would never crack again, not for anyone.

Emen approached the both of them. Kara quickly wiped her eyes.

“His highness has set off for Frell. Our men will return within a few weeks. Terrible thing that has happened—“

Téa knew that he was purposefully provoking her, “Fine, I’ll bite. What happened, Emen?”

“The King of Kyrria has past away.”

Kara gasped while Téa gaped. Now Namian was suffering from his own loss, it was almost as if heaven above was trying to punish her for being so selfish. Curse him!

As suddenly as the conversation was started, Emen switched topics,

“Now, my dear, what shall we do about your hair?”

“My hair? What about it?”

“According to this,” Emen pulled out a piece of paper with her picture on it, “they’re looking for a red headed bandit.”

“But the dye isn’t reversible; it would take years for it to fade out.”

“No, it has never been said that it wasn’t reversible. There’s a very handy dye in the women’s preparation tent if you would care to follow me.”

~*~*~

“IDIOT!! IMBECILE!!”

Sir Russell threw a candleholder and narrowly missed the huntsmen’s head, but he didn’t flinch. Russell, Victor, and the huntsmen were all standing in the tree fort. Russell drew his knife and grabbed the huntsmen by the throat, but he still didn’t move,

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you now. Thanks to you, our plans have been utterly destroyed!”

The Huntsmen lowered Russell’s knife away from his throat and spoke calmly, “They are still alive, sir.”

Russell’s eyes were wide, “You told me that you burned them alive.”

“I burned the shack, yes, that was my mistake. But they were both rescued by a gypsy and a fairy.”

“A gypsy and a fairy?”

“I was watching from the woods. I even know where they are now.”

He handed Russell a piece of paper from his pocket, indicating where the tribe was located. Russell’s knife was back at his throat, “And why, pray tell, are they not with you now?”

“I thought I might give your excellence the pleasure of taking care of the woman yourself.”

“What of the Prince?”

“He is returning to Frell as we speak, sir. They assume that you have gone into exile and that there is no possible way for you to get to them now.”

Russell smiled evilly, one that made Victor shudder.

“You are right, Master Huntsman; I believe I would like to track the girl myself. However,” he slit his throat, “I do not take failure lightly, as you can see.”

The huntsman fell to the floor, dead. Russell grabbed the end of Victor’s cape and wiped the blood from his knife.

“What a pity, I was told that he was one of the best.” Russell turned to the door, “Gather a troupe of knights and have them meet me in Amynn, we’re going hunting.”

~*~*~

“Namian, we thought you were dead!” The princess Ella embraced her son tightly.

“I’m sorry I worried you.”

Prince Charmont was the next to grab his shoulders and give him a fatherly hug. Mandy was weeping as she took her turn as well. Namian smiled softly, it felt so good to be home.

It had taken them three weeks, but the men and Namian had arrived finally to the gate of the castle earlier that evening. Even though he didn’t like it, there was a lot of commotion once he had arrived. The guards and servants had started cheering at the sight of him, and now his family was making quite a fuss.

He gently pulled away from Mandy and looked at his father,

“Father, there is something I must tell you about Captain Russell—“

The Prince held up a hand, “There is no need, son. You were right. Russell is nothing more than a murderer. He is now in exile and if he sets one foot in my kingdom he will be executed.”

“You know then?”

“Yes, all is right. Our allies have a price on his head as well.”

Namian sighed with relief. His grandmother finally stepped forward.

“My son, in light of our Namian’s return, I have decided to announce my decision.” Namian’s father shook his head,

“You don’t have to say anything now, mother. There are still things to sort out—“

            “No, I have made my decision.” The room was dead silent. The Queen emptied her lungs and composed herself, “I will abdicate.”

            “I’m not asking you to. You’re not obligated.”

            “I do this by choice, my son. I know nothing of running a country. You’re practically doing that now.”

            Namian breathed in deep. So many things were happening at once that his head was spinning. Silently he hoped that Téa was keeping herself out of harms way, but he highly doubted it.

~*~*~

            Téa looked at her reflection in the lake. It was remarkable! Her hair was now an incredibly dark brown with just a hint of the red that used to be there. It had taken three days and a lot of scrubbing, but it had all finally come out. She barely recognized herself!

She stood up and made sure that everything was in order. She wore a dark blue dress with a dagger in her belt. Her waist pouch was in place and the bag that Sheila had given her was slung over her shoulder. On the other side of the lake was a town, it was here that she would begin her search. Harloe had stayed here for a few months years ago, and if she found him, she could find Russell, somehow.

She walked into the entrance of the town and headed straight to the building where he had stayed: The Blue Centaur. The Innkeeper nodded a greeting as he walked up to her.

“Mornin’, milady. Come for a room?”

“A person, actually. Have you or are you letting a room to a man who goes by the name of Harloe?”

She described him, and the innkeeper rubbed his chin to think. He snapped his fingers,

“As a matter of fact, there was a gentleman who matched that description. He left a week ago.”

“Any idea where?”

“I saw him leave the town to the west. Don’t know why, nothing that way for at least a hundred miles.”

Fenin! She had just missed him! She thanked the innkeeper and sat at the bar. She ordered water and sipped it quietly, trying to think of what she would do next.

A few men by the table near her began started to get noisy,

“—Quiet, you idiot! You can get hanged for even saying things like that!”

Téa turned her ear towards the conversation. They were whispering now.

“Sorry, Earl, but I was told to get as many as possible.”

“For one girl?”

Now she was fully paying attention. The men were definitely not sober, she could tell, they might say more.

“Yep, take a look at this.”

“Is that red hair?” They started laughing. Téa nearly fell off her seat from leaning back. They were talking about her! She silently thanked heaven that she had changed her hair color when she did.

“Some sort of tribal wench, I think. Russell’s got some kind of bone to pick with her. We’re supposed to meet him tomorrow morning.”

“Where?”

Téa listened as hard as she could --if that was possible--, but she was distracted by a hand sliding over hers.

“Well, ain’t you one of the prettiest things I’ve ever seen!”

She glared at the drunk and withdrew her hand. She didn’t have time for this!

“You leave right now or you can kiss your manhood goodbye.”

He laughed as a drunk would, “Oh, she bites! And what exactly do you mean by that?”

In the blink of an eye her dagger was between the man’s legs.

It was late at night when the five finally decided to stop and make camp. At first they had traveled a few miles in a completely barren land, making it hard for Téa to follow them. She was forced to hold Calla back just enough to make out their outlines on the horizon. It wasn’t long before they entered a dense forest and she was able to follow more closely, but she made sure to keep back enough so they wouldn’t hear the sound of Calla’s hooves.

Now that it was night, she knew that she would have to hide her horse. A white horse would be easy to spot, even at night. Slowly and quietly dismounting, she took Calla to a thick patch of bushes and tied her to a low branch. The horse didn’t like this very much and began to whinny with frustration.

“Shh,” Téa said as quietly as she could. As if reading her thoughts, Calla immediately silenced. Téa stroked her neck and quietly assured her that she would come back. Calla bobbed her head and took a small carrot Téa handed to her, even chewing it quietly. Téa couldn’t help but smile, what a horse!

The men were about a hundred feet away. Making sure that her knife was securely in place Téa took tiny steps towards them. She recalled the days when she had gone hunting with her father and the tricks he had taught her. Scan the ground before you take a step for twigs and leaves. Always stay in the shadows. Breathe through your nose. Find a good climbing tree to watch from.

Téa followed her father’s instructions as if he were right beside her. She spotted a tree with low branches some fifteen feet away from their camp and began to climb it as slowly as possible to avoid any noise. She tied her hair in a knot to keep it from getting in her face and inched her way onto a high extending branch. She lay on her stomach and watched. They seemed to talk about meaningless things, and it wasn’t until twenty minutes later that their conversation sparked her interest,

“What does the lady want her for now?”

“Don’t know. Russell won’t tell us anything. It’s beginning to get on me nerves, actually.”

Téa inched a little more on the branch. Lady? What lady—

One of the men took the parchment with Téa’s likeness on it and studied it, “I thought we already caught this one.”

“Naw. You thinkin’ of her cousin…or sister, I think. She got blue hair.”

“Isn’t she ‘spose to be dead?”

Téa held her breath.

“You’d think so, but she’s still alive. Why is that, Earl?”

Earl scratched the back of his head, “Not sure. Probably won’t till we meet with Russell tomorrow.”

Téa almost shouted with joy and had to clap a hand over her mouth. Hannah was still alive! She had secretly started to despair that Russell might have killed her after finding out about what had happened to the documents. But now that she knew for sure that her sister was alive she had reason to keep following them, so it would probably be good to maintain her distance until the proper time.  She slowly began to inch her way back to the base of the tree, but heard a sound that couldn’t have come at a worse time,

Crack.

It was like hearing a death rattle.

“What was that?” she heard one of the men say, but she didn’t really care at the moment. Her branch was about twenty feet off the ground and she could feel it bending under her weight. She looked heavenwards and whispered,

“This is because I stole, isn’t it?”

SNAP! The branch gave way and Téa plummeted to the forest floor. She yelled out a curse as she landed on her hands and knees. Pain shot up through her left arm and she fell over on her side. By now all five of the men were on their feet, swords drawn, walking in her direction to investigate. Her arm screamed in pain as she got to her feet and drew her knife. When they finally saw her they started to laugh,

“Well, well, well,” Earl shook his head in a mocking way, “it’s the wench from the inn! Mind telling us what you’re doing here, my dear?”

Téa twirled her knife expertly show that she wasn’t afraid of him but sighed inwardly. She may as well have been one of those completely helpless girls. Four against one were not very good odds, and she had no idea how she was going to fight them off with her arm the way it was.

Wait a minute! Four? There were only four of them, where was the fifth?

A hand grabbed her broken arm and twisted it behind her back. She nearly screamed but instead let out a strangled gasp.

“Drop yer knife, now!”

At first she refused and tried to fight against him, but the pain was so great that she had no other option but to drop it. One of the three in front of her picked it up and put it in his belt. Earl studied her for a minute and then nudged the man next to him.

“Balin, give me that paper.”

Balin handed them the paper with Téa’s likeness and held it up to compare the two. She cursed under her breath, but surveyed her surroundings to determine how she was going to escape. Calla wasn’t to far away, but the man still held tightly on to her broken arm. Breaking away was going to be painful, but what choice did she have? She could see Earl figuring it out. A smile crept onto his face,

“Well, milady, it seems you’ve saved us the trouble of trying to find you. Much thanks.”

Téa took her cue and elbowed her captor as hard as she could in the stomach. He let go on reflex and she sprinted away from them, clutching her left arm as she ran.

“After her! She’s the girl Russell wants!”

She could hear her pursuers close behind her. Just like old times again, she nearly laughed, but one of them dove and grabbed her ankle. She fell to the ground and kicked at him. He let go when she kicked him in the face and struggled to get back on her feet. The rest of them had caught up by now and grabbed her by her waist and legs. She kicked as hard as she could to get free but they held on tight. At one last attempt she put her lips together and whistled as loud as she could. Calla must have heard her because she heard the horse trying to break away from where she was tied. Earl looked up,

“Hey! That’s my horse.”

“Correction,” said Téa, “that’s my horse.” She punched him in the stomach with her right arm. It wasn’t long after that she felt the haft of a sword strike the back of her head. Her world turned black.