Will stretched and turned his face upwards, letting the rising sun warm him. From the shade of the trees to his left, a bird chirped, and Will smiled. Some days it was so easy to be content, to just forget about the evil that had swamped his land. And other days, his hatred of the Lord Xax threatened to overwhelm all his other feelings. Without really thinking about it, his right hand clasped around the arrow that he wore on a leather strap around his neck. Bending his head, his blond hair falling around his face at the movement, he studied the talisman as if he were seeing it for the first time. In the shape of an arrow and about as long as his hand, Will could still remember the day Kalem had given it to him. His anger flared up as he also remembered that it had been the same day Xax had killed his parents.

"Will?" The soft voice broke into his thoughts.

Startled, Will turned and smiled when he saw the young Princess Vara, her long brown hair curling past her shoulders, standing at the doorway of the tent. "Yes, princess?" he asked kindly.

"I didn't mean to scare you." Vara made her way next to him. "I was just wondering what you were thinking about."

Will shrugged lightly. "My parents, Xax . . . " he trailed off, knowing that she would catch the connection between the two. He was not the only one to have lost his parents to Xax's cruelties.

Vara nodded and then turned away from him, studying the rich foliage that surrounded them. "Is it ever going to be over?"

"Some day, princess," Will encouraged. "Once we find the crystal arrow, Xax will rule no longer."

"Will?"

From the edge of his eyes, he caught sight of Aruna, the cat-like warrior, emerging from the tent. As always, her long hair was pulled back, away from her face.

"Yes, Aruna?" he wondered politely.

"Where are we going today?" Aruna asked, coming to stand beside Vara.

"There's a town down this road a little further. We need supplies and food. I figured we might stop there and stock up as well as listen to what the villagers have to say about Xax."

"Then we might as well get started." Leon's deep voice penetrated the conversation. The small group turned to see the blue-haired and deeply tanned man emerge from the folds of the tent.

"Where's Drogo?" Will wondered, asking after the last member of their rebel band.

"He went off earlier with Elvar," Aruna informed, mentioning Will's dog. "He said something about hunting up some breakfast."

"Maybe we should wait for him," Vara ventured.

"He can catch up with us," Will decided. "And if he has anything to eat, we can stop then."

* * *

A little over an hour later, Will, Vara, Aruna, Leon, Drogo, and Elvar entered into the town. It was a small town but full of bright colors. Around them, people haggled for various goods. They even heard a minstrel playing from somewhere among the crowd.

The group broke up, though not far enough away from them to lose sight of one another.

"I heard William Tell has red eyes and stands seven feet tall . . . "

Will couldn't help but smile. With descriptions like that being passed around, no one would ever think he was the rebel outlaw.

" . . . Xax will be here in three weeks?"

Will grimaced at that, but since they were only planning on being in town for a day or so, that little rumor didn't bother him very much.

" . . . Xaxian warriors . . . last night . . ."

That made Will stop. Xaxian guards had arrived in this town last night? That was definitely not good. They just might have to cut this trip a little shorter than they had planned.

Just then Will caught a flash of plaid from the corner of his eyes. He turned, startled, to see a plump woman carrying a small basket of vegetables. It wasn't the food that had pulled Will's attention, but rather, the plaid that held the exact same pattern as Will's own.

"Mother?" he whispered, staring at her as she disappeared around a corner. "Mother!" Then he was running after her, leaving the rest of his group to gape after him.

* * *

"Mother!"

Kreel heard the call and looked up from the book he had been searching through. With raised eyebrows, he made his way to a giant cauldron and waved his hands over the liquid within.

"Show me," he muttered.

The liquid immediately showed a picture of William Tell, frantically glancing around. Kreel couldn't stop the evil grin that crossed his face. "I have you now, William Tell."

* * *

"Will!" Leon yelled to his friend as the small rebel band ran after their leader. "What are you doing?"

Panting, Will stopped, letting them catch up to him. "I saw her, Leon. She's not dead."

"Who?" Aruna asked.

"My mother. Didn't any of you see her? She was standing right here."

Aruna and Leon exchanged worried glances. "Will," Aruna began. "You've told us that your mother is dead."

"But I never saw her die," Will argued. "Maybe she really is still alive. She could have gotten out of the house and escaped before Xax burned it."

"Will," Vara started softly.

"I know what I saw," Will angrily replied. "She was here, I know it. I saw her!"

"Then why didn't she stop when you called to her?" Leon asked, crossing his arms.

"She didn't hear me, that's all. My mother is alive."

He looked so happy that no one in the group wanted to dash his hopes. Besides, Will could be right, and there was a slim chance that his mother had not died. As he himself had said, he had not seen his mother be killed.

"This is crazy," Leon said. "If your mother was still alive, Kalem would have said something."

Will's head shot up and he stared at Leon. "Kalem, of course, she knew. And she didn't tell me because she figured I'd go home." There was a weird light in his eyes as he started searching for his mother. "Mother, where are you? It's me, Will."

Then he saw her again, turning another corner on the other side of the bazaar.

"Mother!" he cried and ran after her.

"Will!" Aruna yelled out. She would have followed her but Leon's strong arm held her back. "What are you doing, Leon?"

"I think he needs some time to himself. He'll come back to us once he realizes his mistake."

"Are we going to spend the night here?" Vara wondered.

"Yes," Leon said. "Let's get a little ways out of town and set up the tent. Will can find us once he's regained his senses."

* * *

"Mother?" Will stopped to catch his breath. "Mother, where are you?"

How did she keep disappearing on him like that? And why did she not stop for him? Maybe she was ashamed of him for becoming an outlaw, for stealing Princess Vara away from the Citadel . . . he shook his head. Those sorts of thoughts would not help him find her.

He thought he saw her duck into a tent a little ways down from him. Scrambling, he ran to the tent and pulled back the flap.

"Mother?"

All he knew then was blackness.

* * *

"Where is he? He should have been back by now," Aruna complained, looking out at the stars that were just now becoming visible.

"You're right, he should have been," Leon agreed. He turned to Drogo. "Can you find him?"

Drogo nodded. "Come on, Elvar." He snapped his fingers at the dog who immediately trotted up beside the young boy. "Find Will."

Soon the rest of the group could no longer see Drogo and Elvar.

"Do you think he's all right?" Vara wondered. "Kalem wouldn't let anything happen to him, would she?"

Aruna placed a friendly arm around the princess. "I'm sure he's fine. He probably just got lost."

Just then there was a bright light inside the tent. Immediately Vara turned and ran back to find Kalem stepping out the door.

"Where's Will?" the sorceress questioned.

Vara paused and then shrugged helplessly. "We don't know."

The beautiful woman frowned. "What happened?"

Aruna neared the two, studying Kalem, taking in her pristine white outfit. "He saw someone who looked like his mother."

"What?" Kalem's eyes grew wide. "His parents are not alive."

"That's what we tried to tell him," Vara said. "But he wouldn't listen to us. He said he saw his mother and took off running."

"How long ago was this?"

"About six hours." Leon entered into the conversation.

Kalem's face suddenly showed her worry. "This is not good. Come into the tent, everyone, and I'll try to find him." She shook her head. "When is he going to learn that he can't go running off every chance he gets? He is too important to the land. He has responsibilities that he must fulfill else all will be lost."

The four settled around the round table that sat in the middle of the tent. It was a magical tent that Kalem had created for them when they had first started the quest to look for the crystal arrow. Grabbing hands, they closed their eyes and silently let Kalem use her magic in search of Will.

After a few moments, Kalem shuddered, sighed, and opened her eyes. "Something's stopping me from finding him. It feels like there's a wall up that I can't penetrate."

"So what does that mean?" Aruna asked.

"It means that Kreel has him," Kalem sadly replied.

Leon jumped out of his chair. "We have to find him."

"Wait," Aruna interrupted. "We should stay here until Drogo returns. Hopefully he'll be able to tell us what direction they're headed in."

"They're going to the Citadel," Vara said. "Where else would they be going?"

* * *

" . . . Xaxian warriors left a few hours ago." Drogo overheard someone say. "Headed back toward the Citadel and Xax."

Drogo frowned. Will's disappearance and the simultaneous departure of the warriors seemed too close to be just coincidence. But what could he do to make sure? The warriors had a huge head start on him. There was no way he could follow them and be back at the tent before too much longer.

" . . . saw them leaving . . . carrying . . . huge sack . . . three guards . . . to hold it . . . "

Drogo growled. That was his proof. Now he could go back to the tent and tell the others what had happened to their leader.

* * *

Will groaned and tried to hold his splitting head in his hands. But strangely enough his hands wouldn't come apart. He opened his eyes but saw only darkness. For a heart wrenching moment, he thought he might have been struck blind. And then he realized that he could see little pinpoints of light, they were just coming through something. It was as if he was in a bag . . . Suddenly memory came rushing back. His mother. Looking into a tent and seeing only the black uniforms of Xaxian warriors. Someone hitting him in the back of the head. Only after he had remembered all that did he figure out he was tied and gagged, hidden from prying eyes in a sack.

"He's awake," he heard a voice call out.

Will was pulled out of the sack. His eyes widened slightly when he noticed it was dark outside. Had he been unconscious for that long? A strong hand forced his chin up so that he stared into the blue eyes of one of the warriors.

"Kreel will be happy to see you."

The warrior let him go but two other warriors who were standing to either side of him immediately grabbed his arms, pulling him up. Somehow Will managed to get his feet underneath him even though the world was still spinning. Then the leader, the man who had pulled him out of the sack, punched him in the stomach. Will sagged, the two warriors the only things holding him up.

"Bring him." The leader motioned that they should follow him. "We're stopping here for the night."

The two warriors half-carried, half-dragged Will behind their leader. Not far away stood a wagon, and the warriors pushed Will onto the wooden floor. One of the warriors climbed up next to him and looped a piece of rope between his already tied hands to underneath the driver's bench. Then the warrior tied his ankles together with another piece of rope.

Will silently sighed into his gag. This was not going to be a fun night.

* * *

"The warriors got him," Drogo announced as he burst into the tent. "They're taking him to Kreel." He stopped as he saw the look on Kalem's face. "You already knew that."

Kalem nodded. "Yes."

"All right," Drogo sighed and then sat down next to Vara. "So all of that sneaking around was for nothing."

"What are we going to do, Kalem? The warriors have hours on us. We'll never be able to catch up with them before they reach the Citadel." Aruna was pacing.

"Yes, you will," Kalem serenely replied. "I can take you to Will."

"What? How?" Vara asked.

"Will carries the talisman of the crystal arrow. As long as he wears it, I can physically find him."

Aruna turned toward the sorceress. "Great. What are we waiting for?"

* * *

Drogo peered at the small camp through the leaves. There only seemed to be a dozen warriors or so guarding Will, who was tied up in a wagon. Next to him, Aruna gave a frustrated sigh.

"Why does he always get into these messes?" she whispered to her smaller companion.

Suddenly they heard the call of nighttime bird. The guards, however, didn't think anything strange about the noise. They were in a forest, birds were to be expected.

"That's the signal."

Drogo nodded and took a few steps away from the cat warrior, Elvar at his side. Quickly Aruna raised her blowpipe to her lips and a small dart hit one of the warriors in the neck. Instantly the man collapsed to the ground without a sound. A few of the other warriors ran to see what had happened. But just then Leon ran into the camp, roaring and swinging his sword. In the midst of the attack, Drogo sneaked through the camp and cut through Will's bonds. Once freed, their leader swiftly rolled over and grabbed his crossbow. He fired off one shot that hit a warrior in the hand.

"Come on, Will." Drogo tugged on Will's sleeve. "Vara and Kalem are waiting for us back at the tent."

The four rebels seemed to melt in the darkness. Regardless of how hard they searched, the warriors could not pick up the trail.

* * *

"How did you find me?" Will asked as he walked into the tent.

"With Kalem's help, how else?" Aruna flippantly replied. "She's always getting you out of trouble."

"But I thought I saw . . . " Will began.

"It was an illusion," Kalem interrupted. "An illusion created by Kreel to draw you out of hiding. Will, you must be more careful. You can't let your heart rule your head."

Will sighed and fell into a chair. "Are they really dead?"

Kalem nodded. "As much as I would love to tell you otherwise, they are. You must learn to live with that knowledge, Will. Nothing can bring them back, unfortunately. I'm sorry."

Closing his eyes, Will mentally added another tally that he would repay Xax and Kreel for someday. Someday, when they had retrieved the crystal arrow, he would make them pay for everything they had done to this land and its people.

Someday it would be all over.