Sam had very little to say on whether or not the Shades had been Dorothea's father's former soldiers and August's former comrades. She had never even seen the King of Eldonia, so for all she knew he had declared war on fairies. She decided to take no side on that debate. She took that time to finish getting her breath back. Her hand rubbed her side lightly, the stitch that was there fading with each breath until she could breath without that stabbing pain.

When she did look up it was when August started speaking about the dwarves. She nodded, feeling slight relief at the thought that the Shades had not bothered with them. That they might be alright. She just hoped they hadn't gone back to look for them. At the suggestion that they keep moving Sam nodded again. "Yeah. Give me a minute." She was rubbing her legs now, as they were aching from all the running she was doing on uneven ground in inappropriate shoes. She glared pointlessly at the black boots for a moment before shaking her head. How could she have predicted this when she had slipped them onto her feet, anyway?

Dorothea demanded that August give up his sword again. That made Sam's head lift and peer up at him once again. He made a rather good point, that he could protect them from being eaten, before meeting her gaze. She was silent for a moment, looking at him, considering him. She had trusted him so far... And there was something in that gaze that told her if she wanted him to be unarmed she would have to take the sword from him herself. She didn't think she was up for that. Sam looked down at Dorothea and shrugged. "You can't expect me to be able to wield that thing. I'm good at a lot of things but sword fighting isn't one of them."

She finally pushed herself up and onto her feet. Sam stretched her arms for a moment, grateful for the moment of respite, then looked back at August. She was prepared to follow. "Do you know the way? Or have a good idea of what the way is?"

~~~

Narissa was livid. When Marshal Derrick hadn't returned during the night she had told herself to remain calm, but in the morning he had still been no where to be found. And the prince's company was gone. Derrick should have been with them, she had instructed him to go with them. She didn't think he would have been so foolish as to disobey her. About this.

Thankfully the caravan wasn't entirely empty. Raquellle had gone with them, at least. But still...

The queen stormed through the secret archway and into her hollow. She was greeted by disaster. There was a gaping hole where the door should have been and debris covered the floor. She could tell that it had been blasted open at some point during the night. The Marshal was no where to be seen, and she couldn't sense a living soul anywhere in the old fortress. Except for some rats in the dungeon and her cages of ravens upstairs, including Darius, her familiar.

She quickly swept through the place, not leaving a single room unsearched before returning to the front room. Her face was pale and she was seething. Someone had gotten in. Someone foolish. The worst part wasn't the hole in the wall, either. It was the cage on the table. The empty cage. Dorothea was missing again.

Unable to bite back a shriek, Queen Narissa seized an empty glass vial and threw it against a stone wall. It shattered into tiny pieces, but that still wasn't good enough. screaming with rage, and looking quite hideous while she did so, Narissa threw more things at the wall. Books, vials, ingredients for spells. She faced the large mirror and hard up a stone orb to throw and shatter the thing. But she stopped herself. Even in her rage she could not bring herself to destroy such a rare and powerful thing. The consequences might be most severe. And the sight of the mirror made her remember the mirror she had given Derrick. She could communicate with him if he still had it. Or use it to see where he was, or had been. But there was still the matter of Dorothea, as well...

She stormed up the winding stairs to the top room of the old fortress. Her gaze softened a little as she looked at her beautiful black birds, but she had eyes for only one at the moment. The biggest of the ravens, the most intelligent, and the only one in a cage of its own. Her familiar. They shared a link. He could understand her perfectly and she him. She opened the cage door and Darius stepped lightly onto the edge of her hand. She stroked her feathers for a moment, a very affectionate gesture, before whispering to him. "Find her." She did not need to specify who.

Darius took flight with a flap of his back wings, and Narissa watched the large raven soar out of the open window and above the trees like a shadow.

She was going to trust him? August gave Sam an uncertain look, waiting for the catch, waiting for her to declare the terms under which he might be allowed to keep his hands free. When no stipulation came, his expression turned solemn. Damn her. She trusted him just when he planned to betray her. His gut wrenched; he sneered and looked away.

The forest was dappled with sunlight and thick with quivering green and warbling birds. A creek gurgled nearby. Nowhere was there a sign that anything dangerous could possibly jump out of the shadows -- but the trees themselves sometimes ate passersby out of boredom. August glanced in the direction of the King's Road, where he knew Liam and his parade were clanking on their way to the capital. Straight ahead, through a small clearing and past a darker part of the forest, would be the farm the dwarves had been leading them to. Horses.

August took a slow breath, frowned in decision, and set off purposefully through the brush. "This way," he commanded gruffly, falling into old habits now that he was in the lead.

Dorothea jumped onto a low branch, and then dropped onto Sam's shoulder, shifting warily. "Sam..." she said hesitantly, quietly. "You know something about him that you're not telling me." She was very aware of the weakness of her form, and she was genuinely afraid. "Please, Sam. The queen would see you dead. He could kill you here and take me, too easily, so why?" Her voice shuddered. "I feel as if we're following him to our graves."

August reached into his pocket and wrapped his fingers around the small mirror there; he glanced up at the sky now and then, looking for ravens. It would be inconvenient if the queen found him here, at a time it would be difficult to explain what, exactly, he was doing.

Sam started following the Marshal, keeping a bit of a distance but not enough to loose him. She knew that she probably hadn't had much of a choice in letting him walk with his hands free. She couldn't have fought with him and tried to take the sword away from him herself. She didn't try to fool herself into thinking that it could have been a battle that she could have won. But he was free now and the part of her that didn't trust him remained wary, ready to attempt an escape if it became necessary. It had been so much easier to think he wouldn't betray her when the two of them hadn't been alone with him and when he was at least a little secured... Fear nipped at her, making her stomach ache a little. What if he had taken her for a fool? What if she had let him get into her head?

She felt something light land on her shoulder and she knew if she glanced over she would see Dorothea there once again. Sam was becoming used to having the princess perched there. Dorothea whispered to her and she could hear the fear in her voice and Sam bit her lip, uneasy and a bit guilty. She looked over and met the princess's yellow cat eyes before looking away, back at where the Marshal was walking in front of them. Sam thought about telling her what August had confided to her the previous night, and the words were on her tongue before she swallowed them back.

There were a few more moments of silence as Sam considered her response. She opened her mouth as though to respond a couple of times before closing it again, as though she had decided that wasn't the best thing to say. She finally let out a sigh and looked back at Dorothea. "Look...what I know is that there are things out there. Things that I can't protect myself from, let alone you. He could. Maybe." Sam shook her head, obviously uneasy about it. "To be honest I don't have a very good reason. I know it's a risk. And it'll probably blow up in my face. But he could have taken you and had left me behind with the Shades and the Jockal? And he didn't? I don' know..." She sighed again. "We need his sword in this forest, and I don't have the skill to use it. But be prepared if we have to make a run for it." Sam doubted if her words provided any comfort to the other girl at all.

~~~

Narissa;s eyes were closed but she could see. Looking through Darius's eyes all she saw was treetops. The forest stretched on and on for miles like a giant blanket at covered the eastern portion of the land. All she could see were trees, trees, and more trees. Past Eldonia and into Verinia. Eventually Darius flew over the King's road and she could make out the shapes of Prince Liam's caravan as the journeyed deeper into the woods and father away from Eldonia's capital. Narissa willed her familiar to continue the search before opening her eyes, leaving the raven's mind and returning to her own.

The queen swept down the stairs and back into the front room and she knelt beside a cabinet and eased a drawer open. She searched the contents before producing another hand held mirror and held it gently by the silver handle. Beyond the handle and it's larger size it was identical to the one she had given the Marshal. These mirrors had come from her home, her childhood in Verinia. Narissa remembered a time long ago when she would use the mirrors to contact Isabel in the middle of the night. But much had changed since them.

She gazed down at her reflection and swiped her hand down the smooth surface. It did not leave a streak and the reflection was replaced by darkness. Wherever Derrick's mirror was it was dark... Perhaps he had lost it or he was being held somewhere by whoever had broken into her hollow, in a cave or underground. Or perhaps the mirror was in the man's pocket. 'Derrick?" she whispered furiously, taking care not to speak too loudly in case there were any others present, if Derrick still had the thing at all.

The Marshal jumped like he'd been stung at the sound of the queen's voice. He quickly glanced back, but Sam and Dorothea seemed to be engrossed in a serious conversation. At least they hadn't noticed. Yet.

Shit. He tightened his grip on the mirror and scanned the immediate area for somewhere he could have some privacy without causing the girls to search for him. He ducked behind a tree, leaned his back against the trunk, composed his expression to one of stony ruthlessness, and withdrew the mirror from his pocket.

He looked into the queen's face without the slightest indication that anything was wrong, though he braced himself for the verbal lashing of a lifetime. "My queen," he spoke before she had a chance to open her mouth again, and he made a point to keep his voice down, "I have the princess in custody and am on my way to the King's Road. I will join Prince Liam's party within the hour. I must report a break-in by three bandits at the fortress. They had stolen the princess, but I have reclaimed her in your name and intend fully to carry out your command."

Dorothea sighed; there was little else they could do, and again she relied on Sam to calm her nerves. It seemed every conversation they had now was exactly the same. Oh, how she couldn't wait to get to the capital, to tell her story, maybe get one of their wizards to break the curse and return her to her human form. To have hands again! She relaxed (though somewhat forcefully) and tried to think of other things. "So what is it like, in your world?" She realized she had never really asked. "I only ran through it once, and that's hardly a pleasant experience. There's so much stone and concrete. And lights. How do you tell day from night?"

"My world?" Sam asked, looking over at the cat with a raised eyebrow. Her lips spread into a small smile. "Hey, the sun comes up during the day and the moon at night there, too. We can tell the difference." Sam wondered where she could possibly begin. "My world is different. So, so different. In just about every way. Like I'm not sure how to begin to explain it to you..." She bit her lip as she thought about it for a minute then laughed softly. "There's no...at least where I live we don't have kings or castles. People don't ride horses except for, like, recreation? There's aren't any fairies or monsters or Prince Charmings where I live." She looked back over at Dorothea and shrugged. "There's no magic in my world. Until yesterday I always thought that magic was just something out of a fictional story. A fairy tale."

Sam took a breath before continuing. "My world's so big. There are all of these different continents separated by oceans and on each continent there are all of these other countries that I've never been to and each of them are different. But where I live, it's called New York. That's my home. And it's really fast? And noisy and crowded and huge. It's a little bit like the forest, except there are skyscrapers instead of trees. It's easy to get lost in if you don't know your way around. And it's always...alive. Things are happening in the city all of the time and there are so many things to do and place to go, even at night. That's why there are so many lights." Sam smiled fondly, and also with a hint of sadness. "It's a loud and busy place at any time of the day, but I like it. And I miss it. I'm just afraid that I'll never get back home. And if I never get back home then everyone I care about on the other side, my family and friends, they'll have no idea what happened to me. I'll just have disappeared. Gone without a trace. I can't put my parents through that."

~~~

Narissa's eyes were fixed upon the image of Marshal Derrick and her expression had turned dark and almost hideous. She could feel the livid rage welling up inside of her as he spoke. Not that she had any reason to doubt him. She was just tired of all of these delays. When she spoke her voice was soft, yet tense as she held back anger. "I've grown weary of these surprises, Derrick. No more. No more hiccups, no more delays, no more surprises. No more excuses. Complete the task that I have given you. Without further flaw. If you do not join the caravan within the hour I will know. I will be watching." Narissa smiled through her steely glare. "No more surprises. Do not let the girl slip though your clumsy fingers again. One more mistake, August, and I will retire you from my services." She felt like threatening him, telling him what would happen to him if he should fail. But he knew already. She regained her composure instead and give him a final look. "One last chance, Marshal Derrick. Do not be a fool and waste it." She shoved the mirror back into the drawer and closed it. She turned her back and leaned against the table, trying to take deep calming breaths. She could not fail, now. But if she did she took comfort in the fact that she would drag August Derrick down with her.

Dorothea listened with perked ears and bright eyes, just trying to imagine all the mystery of Sam's world, of living without a trace of magic, all the sound and energy and buildings and horseless carriages. By the end of Sam's descriptions, at her expressions of worry for her parents, Dorothea purred gently. "My father knows now that I've been kidnapped -- he sent Liam and his men to search for me. My father is the king, and he's brave and strong, but his heart never healed after my mother died. Losing me must be destroying him. I couldn't let your parents go through that kind of loss, and you belong with them. You will get home, Sam." She grinned, which looked peculiar on a cat. "And then I think I should like to take a proper tour of your world, if only for a day. It sounds fascinating."

August held the mirror long after it had gone dark, and he consciously controlled his breathing. He wasn't afraid of Narissa's fury -- he knew going into this that he had little chance of making it out alive -- but if he was killed too soon the kingdoms would be left to ruin. Now he had to even be careful of what he said to anyone, for the queen could simply be listening in with the help of her mirror. It was a miracle she hadn't heard his explanations to Sam the previous night, which could have meant the collapse of all his efforts. He took a slow breath, retained his impervious expression, and set off again.

"Hurry up, this way," he called, glancing back at Sam. The mirror was back in his pocket -- and he led them straight toward the King's Road. The raven was overhead, and there was no possible way they would ever make it to the horse farm now.

Sam smiled gratefully at Dorothea as she voiced her confidence that she would get home.She had determination of her own but at the same time she could't help but feel that getting home successfully was a long shot. Sam had never been much of an optimist. Still she was glad for her friend's confidence. It gave her hope when she desperately needed it. "Thanks, Dorothea." She smiled at the thought of Dorothea actually getting a good look at her home, rather than sprinting through it as a cat to escape soldiers. She supposed when Dorothea took this tour of her world she would be human again. She tried to imagine it but it was difficult to when she had no idea what Dorothea really looked like. "I'd be honored to give you this tour. I could take you to the top of the Empire State Building. And Time's Square. They'd blow your mind."

Laughing a bit she looked ahead and raised an eyebrow. "Where'd the Marshal go?" He immediately reappeared, calling to her and beckoning her to follow. Sam quickened her pace, trying not to stumble on rocks and falled branches. "Um, Dorothea?" she said, looking a bit guilty as she considered her question. "I was wondering about your mom. You mentioned her before, but, um, what was she like? And...I don't want to sound...inconsiderate, but how long ago did she die?" She winced a little after asking the question. "If you don't want to talk about it that's fine. I was just...wondering."

She stepped out of the trees and glanced around. She may have never seen a road like this one before but she knew a road when she saw it. She looked over at August. "This is the road the prince will be traveling on, yeah? Which way to Verinia's capitol?" She thought of the three dwarves, Alphonse, Coralie, and Florian. She wondered if they had made it to the horse farm without them and if they were currently looking for them. She looked up the road again, brow furrowed. "Do you think the company's passed this way already?"

Dorothea hummed quietly, and she noted that she felt strangely at ease despite their immediate situation. Laughter helped very much. As did memories. "It's all right. My mother died when I was six, so I don't have many memories of her beyond the way she smiled and the smell of her hair. She was gorgeous, though -- inside and out. The kingdom adored her, and my father most of all. She was always patient -- well, most of the time. My father says she could be rebellious when she had a point to make, and that I take after her that way. She grew ill one winter, and was gone by spring. That was ... sixteen years ago. The next year there was a small conflict with Verinia -- and I guess that war with the fairies the Marshal talked about. My father married Narissa at the end of it out of a political need to secure peace with our neighbors. She's the sister of the current queen of Verinia. I don't think he ever loved her, not really, but he's asked me to be kind. He's always been kind." Her tail swished, she sighed, and she tickled Sam's cheek with her whiskers. "You would like my father, he's curious about everything and everyone. I'll warn you though, he tends to fill up all his guests with sweets and pastries and milk-tea til they pop. Sugar cures all ills, he says."

The Marshal stepped out onto the King's Road and tipped his head back, scanning the sky for dark wings -- and then he cast his eyes each way on the bleak road, then back toward Sam. He was wearing the same shadowed expression he'd had when he first knocked on her apartment door. "We should be ahead of them," he guessed. "But I don't know when they left or how fast they're moving."

Dorothea's ears flicked, and she pointed with an outstretched paw. "Verinia is this way. It's still a long way off, but I know this part of the road." She peered at the Marshal. "I thought we were going to the horse farm. We can't outrun them on foot."

"I don't know the horse farm," the Marshal said gruffly. "That forest could keep us walking in circles forever and you know it. We'll just have to walk quickly." He turned in the direction of Verinia and began walking, occasionally casting his eyes to the sky. Liam would catch up to them soon enough, and the queen would keep her peace for the moment.

As Dorothea described her mother and father Sam felt herself smile. It was nice. Talking and getting to know one another. It was a lovely way to distract herself from all of the danger they were in and she felt a little at peace. The smile slipped a little when Dorothea told her how young her had been when her mother ad died and Sam looked over to her. "I'm so sorry," she told her softly. When she learned that Narissa's sister was the queen of Verinia Sam's face contorted in confusion. "So wait, Narissa's trying to start a war with her sister?" She let out a low whistle. "Must be a hell of a story behind that."

When they reached the road and Dorothea pointed out the way to Vernia she turned her head to look. It would probably take them ages to get there on foot. Sam had been looking forward to riding a horse the rest of the way, even though she didn't really know how to ride a horse. But August, sounding more like the Marshal at the moment, insisted that they just walk as he did not know the way to the farm. He started walking away, in the direction of the capitol, and Sam pursed her lips.

She didn't like this, how the plan had changed. She missed the dwarves. Despite of the trust she had extended to the Marshal she still felt wary of being alone with him. But she knew they didn't have a choice except to follow him. So she started walking and carried on the conversation she had been sharing with Dorothea. If for no other reason then to help keep the other girl's morale up. But Sam had also been genuinely enjoying the conversation, as well.

"Your mother sounded lovely," she told her in earnest. "And your dad sounds nice. I hope I get to meet him sometime. I think our fathers would get along." Sam smiled. "My dad has a bit of a sweet tooth, too. But my mom is a nurse so she's a bit obsessed with health. They used fight about it sometimes." Her tone had gotten a little sad. They had fought about it a lot. Back when every little stupid thing one of them would do would set the other off. "And when I lived with my mom I'd eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, but when I lived with my dad he'd give me sweets." She looked over at Dorothea, suddenly feeling like she had to explain. "My parents are divorced. It happened when I was eight. And I have stepparents, too. But they aren't evil, of course." She laughed a bit, feeling a little awkward and decided to change the subject to something lighter.

"So...tell me about this Liam guy." She smiled. Sam had never been into this kind of talk before but this time she felt genuinely interested. Plus she was looking for anything to help pass the time. "I've been hearing his name for the past two days, but I don't know anything about him. Are you two, like..." Sam hesitated a little, like she couldn't believe a cynical girl like her was going to say the next two words. "In love?"

Dorothea was quiet a moment. "So ... your parents, they fell out of love with each other, they divorced and moved apart, but they both still and always loved you so you shuffled between them like a rooly ball. And they both are married again to other people, and oh your world just sounds so complicated but so full of people and emotion and life and freedom. Why, if people could live in that way -- your life, so upside-down -- then they could live in any way they very well pleased." No one in the kingdoms would even consider the concept of doing anything but what was expected of them, usually (except perhaps in Verinia). What seemed normal to Sam was very strange to the princess.

The mention of Liam, however, made her shift a bit on Sam's shoulder, and she laughed. "Liam and I have been head-over-heels in love since we were nine years old. He'd fallen out of a tree and scraped his leg, and I -- being a very solemn and strict little girl, so unusual for me -- I kissed his wound to make it better. Naturally he stopped crying immediately, and that was that. Fate sealed. He might tell you a different story, though." She giggled again, just remembering all the ways Liam had twisted that tale around to make himself seem like the hero. "He is incredibly kind and incredibly noble, but he's not fake like all the pompous aristocrats that try to impress everyone they meet. Liam wears his heart on his sleeve, he wants to help people, and he doesn't mind if everyone knows the Prince of Itelia is human like anyone else. And I love him absolutely to the bottom of my soul." She paused, and shifted quietly. "I'm not sure I've ever really told him." She only hoped she would have the chance.

After a moment Dorothea stepped over to Sam's other shoulder and leaned her head down mischievously. "What about you? Is there a boyfriend back home worrying himself crazy for your safe return?"

August was mostly tuning them out, half-listening whenever Narissa or the Prince were mentioned, but mostly he watched the skies and the forest on either side for signs of potential danger. The Shades were an indication that the fairies were stirring, and that was never good news for travelers on this road. He set his jaw and walked a bit slower, hoping Liam would hurry the hell up and overtake them.

A smile spread across her lips as Sam listened to Dorothea talk about Liam. She had never thought much about love, finding the idea of true love to be rather ludicrous. But listening to this girl talk about this boy, listening to her giggle thinking about him...even a cynic like her couldn't deny the utter surety and honesty in Dorothea's voice when she told Sam that she loved Liam. Maybe in this world love was more than just a dream. "If that's how you truly feel about Liam then I'm sure he knows," Sam told her softly, offering her a reassuring smile. "And I'm guessing the feelings are completely mutual, too."

Dorothea's head leaned down and Sam glanced over to see a mischievous gleam in her eyes as she asked if Sam had a boy of her own back home. She smiled wryly in response. "Me?" Sam shook her head, laughing a little. "No. There's no one. I don't have a boyfriend." She was quiet for a moment, thinking about her past "love life," if that was the proper term. Her mother had told her once that she was a bit cavalier about her social life. "Not currently, at least. I mean I've had boyfriends and been on dates before, but they were never anything...special. Nothing like what you have with your prince. I don't think I've ever really been in love." She shrugged her shoulders. It wasn't that big of a deal for her. At least she didn't think it was. "Maybe someday, though."

~~~

Liam's caravan had been moving rather swiftly for most of the day, but the prince had slowed the pace when he and Will had noted that they did not want to tire the horses. Besides they had made good time already on their first day. Liam's agitation was slipping away with every mile that brought them closer to Verinia. And they had only paused once to refill the water skins that the queen had provided them before they had set off, and the prince now took a swig from his.

Unbeknownst to Liam the queen had slipped her blue potion into each of the skins. It was a potion to could the mind when faced with an enchanted object or human. When something or someone was enchanted into something else there was always a sign, some proof that the enchantment was there. That was why Dorothea was able to speak, even in the form of a cat. Narissa had known that she wanted the Marshal to bring the girl when he joined the caravan, so she had brewed the potion as a precaution. Even if the girl was able to slip away and try and seek help from her prince or any of this men then she would be unable to. The potion would turn her voice into simple purrs and meows when heard by the men of the company. To them she would just be a regular stray cat until the enchantment itself was broken. Or unless another person was able uncloud their minds and convince them of the enchantment's existence. That would be nearly impossible to achieve, though. The potion was very strong. However Narissa had no idea that Dorothea had made a friend.

Will's eye were sharp and he noticed two figures on the road a distance ahead of them. "Sir," he said, catching Liam's attention and pointing forward. "Two people on the road ahead."

Liam squinted as he tried to get a better look, but they were far away and he could not make out any distinguishable features. "Could just be two travelers, but bandits are common in the woods. Be on your guard everyone." It was several more minutes of riding before Liam was able to see the figures better. He looked at them hard, unable to recognize one at all, but there was something familiar about the way the one in front walked. It took a moment for him to realize who it was. "It's the Marshal!" he exclaimed, looking over at Will in wonder. "Marshal Derrick! What is he doing out here?"

The prince spurred his horse forward and he accelerated to a quick trot. "Marshal!" Liam called out, not too loudly though. He wasn't ignorant of the dangers these woods hid in their trees. "Marshal Derrick!" He pulled back on the reins and the horse slowed as he approached the Marshal and his companion, a girl with a cat perched on her shoulder. Liam didn't take the time to give the young woman a good look just yet and note her strange attire as he had eyes only for the Marshal. "Marshal, where have you been? We searched everywhere in the castle last night. Do you know what's happened to Dorothea yet?" Liam was smiling genuinely for the first time in what felt like ages. Finally they had found the Marshal. Perhaps they had some luck on their side after all.

It wasn't until he heard the clank of armor and the clop of hooves behind him -- the echo of Liam's caravan finally approaching from behind -- that it occurred to August that he had absolutely no good excuse for being alone in the woods halfway to Verinia. He'd been so preoccupied with joining up with the troop that he'd neglected to think how it would look to Liam. He'd have to think fast.

At the prince's call, the Marshal stopped and turned around promptly, his spine straight as an arrow. He bowed his head slightly in greeting -- and when he looked up, his eyes were flared with anger. "I had chased a witch into the woods," he said gruffly, "and was ambushed by three Verinian agents and a Jockal. I've been captive since last night, and only now gave them the slip. I'd heard through their conversation that there was an ambush on Princess Dorothea's caravan to Itelia, and that the princess was captured. I wouldn't have believed it except there was no way for them to know Dorothea was traveling yesterday unless they were involved. They had mentioned your caravan headed toward the Verinian capital on the King's Road -- they'd kept off the road to avoid you -- I escaped and hoped to meet you on your way. I hadn't wanted to believe that Dorothea has been abducted, but seeing you here must mean it's true."

He paused a moment, and he turned to the side and motioned to Sam. "This is Samantha Shea. She had also been a captive of the bandits, and requires escort home. With your leave I request that she join us to Verinia for the time being."

Sam turned at the sound of a voicing calling out to August and saw a striking young man riding up to them. A ways behind him was about twenty or so more people on horseback and a few more horses carrying supplies. As the brown haired, brown eyed young man drew nearer Sam studied his face a moment more and knew, without needing to be told by Dorothea or August, that this was Liam. Dorothea's prince.

Her heart seemed to skip a beat and she wanted to speak, to say something. Tell him everything. That Dorothea was right in front of him, that this was all a trick. But when the prince stopped in front of them and she was faced with proper royalty for the first time in her life, Sam felt rather intimidated. She had no idea how to act in front of and speak to royalty. She could speak to Dorothea with ease but because the princess did not look like a princess. She was a cat. Much more approachable than this handsome young man who seemed to radiate nobility. He was dressed in chain mail and light armor and the colors and crest of his kingdom, and he sat tall and proud on his horse. But there was also kindness in his eyes, and she remembered what Dorothea had told her about him. Sam opened her mouth as though to speak, but then August started talking and the words faded from her before she had a chance to speak them.

~~~

Liam nodded as the Marshal spoke. He didn't feel the need to ask for more explanation, nor did he feel like he need to question his account for where he had been. Liam didn't have any reason to doubt the man at all. "Yes. It is true. I saw what remained of her caravan myself." It took all of his self control to keep his voice from cracking, to keep it from betraying to amount of pain and desperation he was feeling. "But I'm glad to see that you're still in one piece. And that you'll be joining us. It's good to have you on my side, Marshal. I may need you."

He finally gave the girl the Marshal was traveling with a proper look as sh was introduced. Liam looked a little taken aback as he studied her rather peculiar and ragged appearance. Her red hair was tangled, her pretty face exhausted and smudged with dirt, and she was wearing the strangest garments. Including pants. She also stood rather awkwardly, as though unsure of herself or what to do. She hadn't bowed. Not that it mattered much to him personally, but he was so used to people bowing. However when the Marshal stated that she had been held captive Liam's face changed from puzzlement to sympathy. And understanding, as if the explanation explained everything that was peculiar.

"Of course, Marshal," Liam said before looking at Samantha Shea with a smile. It was kind and generous and genuine. "I'm so sorry that you had to go through that ordeal, Miss Shea. But you're safe now, and I would be honored if you joined us."

"Thank you," Samantha said, finally bowing. Although the movement looked foreign to her.

Liam gave her another smile before looking back to his caravan, which had gotten closer. "Will! Send up a free horse!" He looked back at the two and smiled apologetically. "We don't have very many extra horses, I'm afraid. You two will have to share one." Will arrived, pulling the other horse alongside him. The rest of the caravan had approached close behind and Liam looked at them all. "You all know Marshal Derrick. And this is Miss Samantha Shea. They will both be joining us to Verinia," he announced clearly as Will handed the Marshal the reins to the horse he had to share with Samantha.

"Very good, Your Highness." The Marshal bowed again to the prince, and without another word he walked over to Will and accepted the reins. So far, so good. Except --

"Oh, Liam!" Dorothea cried. She could no longer contain herself, for she'd been fidgeting on Sam's shoulder ever since they'd heard horses on the road. "Liam, it's me! It's Dorothea!" The princess gave a great leap, knocking Sam back, and she landed on the saddle in front of Liam, scuffling for balance on her little paws. "Liam, you've got to turn around, you've got to go back to the castle and arrest the Queen Narissa! Oh, you see what she's done to me -- Liam, say you understand me, say you believe me!"

But to Liam, of course, all that came out of her mouth was an incessant caterwauling and yowling. She pressed her paws to his stomach and yowled up at him desperately. "I'm Dorothea! I'm your Dorothea!"

The Marshal glanced in a moment of worry at the cat, and then at the prince -- but when it was clear that Liam did not understand a word of what she said, he ignored the scene and hefted himself up into the saddle of his own horse. Only then did he look down at Sam, with narrowed eyes in warning, and he reached down to help her into the saddle behind him.

Liam leaned back a little in shock when the meowing cat suddenly leaped from Samantha's shoulder and onto the saddle in front of him. His lips parted in a surprised little "Oh," as the thing, wavering for balance on the spot, continued making it's little cat noises. Liam looked over at Samantha, who had stumbled back from the force of the cat's leap and was now gazing wide eyed from her pet to his face, and he managed a surprised laugh. "You have a very excitable cat, Miss Shea."

Sam had been watching the prince carefully when Dorothea started crying out to him, studying his face for his reaction. He had been surprised at her outburst and fidgeting antics, but it was a rather tame sort of surprise. There was no complete shock in his expression, no evidence that he had had a life changing experience like she and the dwarves had had when Dorothea spoke to them for the first time. He did not react at all when Dorothea told him that it was her, nor when she said that Narissa had done it to her. He...couldn't understand her. She was just a cat to him. Sam's crestfallen face met his when he spoke to her and she was silent for a moment. Her eyes flickered to where August was sitting on the horse that they were to share and saw his warning eyes, and then Sam looked back at the prince. She could not say anything that would make her appear insane in front of Liam. "Yes, she is. I'm so sorry about that."

Liam smiled and shook his head. "It's fine. Don't worry. What is her name?" He reached forward to stroke the cat in a friendly gesture.

"It's, erm, Lea," Sam said, picking the first name that came to her head. She gave Dorothea another look, one that clearly stated "I don't know what to do," before looking back to Liam. "Should I take her...?"

"No," Liam responded, though he wasn't sure why. "She can ride with me for a while. If that's alright with you?" He saw her nod and gave her another smile before looking back at the Marshal and Will. "I hope we can ride a little while longer before looking for a place to camp." He nudged his horse forward and the caravan started moving again.

Sam was suddenly faced with the big animal she was meant to ride and hesitated for a moment, feeling rather intimidated. She looked at August's outstretched hand, then up to his face, and took a breath of courage. Sam took his hand and with his help managed to climb up into the saddle, sitting behind him in a relatively sturdy position. She was suddenly aware that there was nothing to hold onto, at least nothing beyond August himself. Sam bit her lip, feeling rather reluctant but knowing there wasn't another option. She looped her arms around his waist and held to him, anchoring herself and immediately feeling much more secure and unafraid of slipping off and falling. She was quiet for a moment, just holding him for security, then she leaned a little closer to him and whispered into his ear. "She was speaking to him, was standing right in front of him, and he couldn't understand a word she said." She realized that they had been surrounded by people and no one had reacted to Dorothea's words. "Nobody did." Sam looked at August, feeling suspicious. "How is that possible?"

Dorothea had been expecting this, though she had hoped against hope that the queen's words hadn't been true. She whined in despair, staring up at Liam who didn't recognize her at all -- who couldn't understand her, didn't realize she was anything more than an animal. He was laughing and smiling at her, but not with the sort of eyes he had always looked at her with -- not with the love and adoration she was accustomed to. He would never know how he broke her heart, and it wasn't at all his fault. Her whiskers drooped and she made a terribly unhappy noise -- but when Liam announced that she could stay at his side her ears perked again. At least she had him, at least they were together, even if he didn't know it.

She leaped onto Liam's shoulder, purring like a lawnmower, and she rubbed her head in his neck and licked his cheek and kneaded his shoulder with her paws, and she thought about what agony he was in because of her loss. If only he knew! There must be something she could do. She was a princess, after all, and Liam knew her better than anyone. For now she remained quiet, snuggling close to her beloved, wary of making him uncomfortable or he might trade her off to Sam again.

August waited until he felt Sam's arms around him, then nudged the horse into a trot to keep up with the rest of the company. At her question he took a slow breath and let it out quietly. He turned his head to speak low. "The queen has poisoned them all," he explained. The Marshal's gruff was gone from his voice -- it was unnecessary to keep up appearances where only Sam was concerned. "Not harmful, but they're deaf to the voices of enchanted beings. Something like that, anyway. She wanted to make sure there was no chance Liam would hear Dorothea's story."

He glanced up at the sky between the trees. "We're being watched," he informed her, frowning. "The queen's spy watches my every move. She expects a report on Liam's intent to wage war on Verinia." He narrowed his eyes, still watching the sky. "She'll have seen you by now."

Sam felt her heart skip a beat when he used the word "poison" but her panic was brief and subsided after he explained further. His tone was soft, not rough like it had been all day. It was the same tone he had used when they had conversed the previous night. Her eyes wandered, looking at a few of the men, the men who would no doubt help Dorothea in a heartbeat if they had any idea she was there and what had happened to her. Her allies were surrounding her, but Dorothea was alone. Beyond her, that is. Sam supposed that she could try convincing Liam on her own but she thought that she might come across as a mad person, and she doubted that August would aid her. He had to keep his cover. "Your queen is thorough. I'll give her that," Sam said, her voice toneless.

He told her that they were being watched and she looked back to see him staring up at the sky. She followed his gaze and saw a black bird circling the sky above them. Her eyebrows furrowed as she studied the thing a bit more. It looked rather large, though it was hard to tell from the distance, and if she had to guess a species she'd say raven. Not that she was a bird expert. "The bird is the queen's spy?" She shouldn't have been surprised. When he told her the queen would have seen her by now Sam felt a chill come over her and she shivered. The queen knew she existed now. A woman who would have her killed without a moment's thought, as she had been told multiple times. "But she doesn't know I'm from the other world, right?" Sam looked at him, leaning forward to see as much of his face as possible. She needed this reassurance. "She might think that I'm just a girl you found lost in the woods. Or with the bandits, like you told Liam. Not a threat."

She was quiet for a moment, looking at him like he was a puzzle that she was trying to solve. "Are you really going to help her start this war?" Sam asked. She shook her head a little. "I mean I know you told me that you're working against her, but isn't there any other way to defeat her? A way that doesn't involve betraying the trust of everyone you know? You stood back and let Narissa do this to Dorothea, to her father, to Liam. Isn't it...hard?" She felt a strange sense of concern for him, and wasn't sure where it had come from. "You can't do this on your own, August. You'll die."

Liam's eyebrows rose slightly as the cat leaped to his shoulder and began licking her cheek, as though she were kissing him, and nuzzling against him. Her purrs filled his ears and her warm fur provided a feeling of comfort. He felt himself smiling as he reached up and stroked the fur along Lea's back. "Nice girl," he said, his words rather fond despite the fact that he had just met the cat. And her owner. He turned to tell Samantha that her cat was very friendly but he saw that she and the Marshal were farther back and he decided not to call out to her.

"Think she likes you, sir," Will said, smiling cheerfully as he nodded to the cat on his shoulder.

Liam smiled, giving the cat a glance. He thought he could see adoration in those yellow eyes. And intelligence. Human intelligence. But he must have been imagining it. "Well of course she does. Everyone likes me," Liam joked and he shared a laugh with Will. "I'm just glad the Marshal is finally with us. Maybe we have some luck after all."

"And it might be nice to have another lady in the company, too," Will said thoughtfully. "Not only for appearances. So these scoundrels can mind their manners." He smiled, joking. "For Princess Raquelle, too."

"Perhaps," Liam said, thoughtful, and he turned to see where the other princess was.

August shook his head slightly, returning his attention to Liam and Dorothy far ahead. "No. The queen might be curious about you and your ridiculous costume, but I'll bet she'll assume you're just some Verinian misfit caught up with the bandits. She might ream me out for letting you tag along, but I don't think she'll care much in the end." And then Sam pointed out the gravity of his own situation, and August stiffened, his mouth set grimly.

"I'm not going to tell you I don't care about dying," he admitted after awhile. "Idiots throw their lives away for the sake of being a hero. Besides, I've got those two to look after." He nodded slightly toward Liam and Dorothea, who was happily tapping her tail against the prince's back. "But you don't know what the queen is capable of. I've only seen the tip of the iceberg -- it's obvious she has more power than she's letting on. For all I know, at the first sign of trouble she'll tear the castle apart -- kill the king at the very least, take the kingdom by force. She's being subtle now because she wants the continent to fall into her lap." He took a breath, and paused to force himself to calm down. "If there's a quiet way to destroy her, with as few lives lost as possible, I'll find it. But if this does come to war with Verinia, I'll have failed." He smirked a little. "I'm telling you I have no idea what to do. If I betray the queen to Liam she'll kill me on the spot -- and probably the king too, or take the kingdom hostage. If I follow her orders, we go to war -- but war takes time." Time was precious when the queen was a powder keg ready to blow.

Raquelle was, of course, just behind and beside Liam, where she had brought up her horse as soon as he was back with the company. She had smiled appreciatively to the Marshal, but he'd seemed too busy paying attention to that strange girl with the red hair and trousers. She wasn't a part of her mother's plan, that was clear. Raquelle spent a few minutes hanging back and listening with all her might, but the clank of armor and the clop of hooves all around made it impossible to hear anything at all of what the Marshal and that Samantha girl were saying.

She heard her name, however, being spoken by Will just ahead, and she smiled sweetly and came up closer to Liam. She caught the cat glaring at her hatefully -- Dorothea rumbled a growl in her throat -- but Raquelle only tossed her golden curls. "Liam," she chirped, "are you certain that cat isn't diseased? It's a stray out of Verinia, and you know everything out of those woods is poisoned or enchanted." At this Dorothea belted out a terrific yowl of agreement, that made Raquelle jump in surprise at the noise. "Oh my goodness, my dear Liam, please get rid of it -- look at its fangs!" Dorothea was indeed baring her teeth like a vampire, braced over Liam protectively, coiled as if any moment she might leap upon Raquelle and tear her ears off.

"Aw, you think I look ridiculous?" Sam asked in mock hurt. "Sorry I left my corset and gown back home." She stuck her tongue between her teeth for a moment. It would take a miracle to make him smile. But it wasn't like she had a lot to do before they stopped for the night, or many other people to talk to. "Seriously if you think I look strange then you can imagine how all of you people look to me. I feel like I'm in a never ending renaissance fair."

Her cheeky expression faltered a bit as he went on. She shook her head slightly, trying and failing to understand. "If she's so powerful how can you willingly go against her on your own? I mean there has to be a way where you can keep up appearances with the queen, but let all of these people, your friends and potential allies, what you're doing, and who the real enemy is. Where the danger really lies." Sam gazed at the side of his face that she could see. "You care about them." She gestured towards Liam and Dorothea. "Don't you? And by the time this is all over they're both going to think the worst of you. Dorothea already does. Doesn't that bother you? To save this land you're basically going to destroy yourself. And your reputation. And your relationships with everyone you know. Because...you did all of these things to gain Narissa's trust. All of these horrible things. And yeah you did them because your ultimate goal was to stop her, but you still did them. You still killed all of Dorothea's guards, you still kidnapped her, you still dragged a girl from another world into this conflict, you still...I don't even know what else you did for Narissa. You're going to have hurt so many people by the time this is over. And even if you succeed I can't imagine that everyone is just going to be okay with that." Sam pressed a bit closer to him. "I just think this whole lone wolf thing is wildly unnecessary. You need friends, allies, people you can trust."

Liam looked at Raquelle with a raised eyebrow before looking at the cat. Then he let out an amused little laugh and shook his head before looking back at the girl. "Raquelle, honestly. She's not a stray. She's a pet and she belongs to Miss Shea. She has a name and everything."

He went silent when the cat yowled loudly, jerking his head around in shock to see her crouched on his shoulder, teeth exposed in a silent hiss as she stared at Raquelle. At the girl's words Liam stared uncertainly at Samantha's cat before shaking his head a little at her antics. "Calm down girl." He stroked her black and white fur soothingly before looking back at Raquelle with a humorous glint in his eyes. "Perhaps you shouldn't insult her right in front of her." Then his tone went serious. "Raquelle, this cat is not mine to get rid of. As long as Miss Shea is with our company then her cat will be with us, too. The Marshal told me Miss Shea had been through quite an ordeal when he found her, and I'm sure the cat is just agitated after being held captive with her owner." That appeared to be all he had to say on the matter and he turned away to look at the road again. He carefully moved the cat from his shoulder to the saddle in front of him after a short while, as it was easier to stroke her fur that way.

August was quiet while she spoke, and he kept his expression carefully neutral, staring out at the trees beyond the road. Her quiet voice sank in, and he was uncomfortable and warm and confused -- until she finished, pressed close against him, essentially calling him a fool.

For a moment he scowled, while something dark bubbled up out of his memories -- the look on his comrades' faces when he struck them down for the sake of appearances, for the sake of taking Dorothea alive. There was blood on his hands that would never wash away. He sighed wearily, glanced back at Sam, and he gave her a small but honest (if saddened) smile. "So what you're saying is I'm a victim of my own ego. Don't need anyone else, I can save us all alone, is that it?" He paused a moment -- then snerked as a thought came to him. "You make it sound like I'm playing the martyr." He paused again, and groaned quietly. "I am, aren't I? Hell. But hey, it's not that simple. You tell me I should trust people, but who would you trust? The queen could have got into the heads of everyone here, and one false word from me could send my head rolling. So all I've got to trust in is you." He flashed her another smile, a bit kinder. "Are you saying that's not enough?"

While Raquelle sat with a prim frown and a puffed chest, Dorothea stuck her tongue out at her half-sister and proceeded to bask in Liam's attentions.

"I'm sure you're right," Raquelle said prettily, with a smile to match. "The poor dear has had such a trial. Did the Marshal say why he was captured? And how did those Verinian bandits know about my dear sister's capture? Why, they were on the opposite side of the kingdom! You don't think they were involved, do you?" It was becoming apparent that the Marshal was going to be preoccupied -- and though Raquelle had heard only very little of her mother's plans, she knew enough to be aware that war with Verinia was a very good idea indeed.