Derae sighed, looking out at the sunset. It was day three of their journey and they were still a day away from Hyrule Castle. The past three days went by without so much as a hint of any creatures, except of course for the horses and Kou. They were making camp for the day and Derae waited for Levi, her designated caretaker, to take her off the horse and untie her so she could eat and go to sleep. They still didn't trust her at all, but she hadn't made any trouble so she had hoped they would softened up a bit. She'd grown quite found of Levi. He was fun to talk to and seemed to love what he did.

"You ready?" Levi asked, walking up behind Derae.

"Like always." She answered and smiled at him. He reached up and pulled her off the horse. Kou jumped down and waited for Levi to untie Derae so she could pet him.

-For a guardian sent from the Goddess, you sure act like a spoiled pet.- She teased him.

-It's not my fault it feels good.- he muttered, and she thought she caught him blushing. She laughed, making Levi look over with a funny look on his face.

"Sorry. Was thinking about something." She lied. She didn't want to tell anyone about Kou again for fear of being ignored like with Mamoru…

"And what would that be?" Levi asked her, genuinely curious.

"Well, my father used to make faces at me as a child and I was giggling at the thought of it. I miss him…" She half-lied. She was thinking about her father a lot lately.

"Sorry. I know how you feel. My father was killed by rebels when I was 10." He spoke softly, trying not to show his face.

"Ah... Well, let's go eat!" She exclaimed. She didn't want to talk about depressing things like death. He finished untying her and she finally reached down to pet Kou. She gave him a big hug and stood up, nodding towards Levi. The trio walked towards the campfire where everyone was waiting. They sat down next to the usual group. Derae sat next to the only other girl in the group, Marita. Her blond hair was pulled up into a tight bun and her camo suit fit her well. She stood out among the men, but was a bit of an introvert. Derae spoke to her frequently, but never got a reply. The men called her foolish because no one could make Marita speak. They thought she must be mute. Still, Derae spoke to her.

"Good afternoon, Marita." Derae greeted her smiling. She sent her a look and then went back to eating her food. Sighing, Derae sat next to her. Levi brought Derae's food and the group ate in silence. Derae hated this. They didn't trust her so when she came to eat they all stopped talking. Kou put his nose on her knee, procuring a small chuckle from Derae.

-Mind giving some of that to me?- he pleaded. Derae chuckled again and put a hunk of meat on the ground. She could feel the men's sharp looks as Kou silently gnawed at the meat. Derae wasn't much of a meat eater anyway.

"Why do you waste our food like that?" one of the men came over and asked.

"You give it to me, therefore it is mine. And Kou needs food too. Besides, I don't like meat, so just give my share of meat to him. He needs it more than I." Derae explained calmly. The soldier just huffed and walked off.

-Well, atleast I can defend Kou.- Derae thought.

-You don't need to do that. I'm here to defend you.- He told her in return.

-I want to, Kou. You're my friend.- She smiled as she explained herself to him.

-Suit yourself.- he huffed and sauntered off.

She sighed, looking at her food. She wasn't particularly hungry and didn't think she could keep anything down. She wasn't particularly worried about what the king would do to her. She was more worried about her0 friends and loved ones. Would they be okay? Her thoughts drifted from place to place; memory to memory. Suddenly a loud sound interrupted them.

"Tie up the girl! You, go find whatever the hell made that sound!" She heard the Commander say to a few of his men. Levi walked over and tied her hands up again.

"Something has infiltrated our area. They just want to make sure it's not your doing or anything. You understand right?" Levi explained. It was sort of sweet how he was trying to defend his friends.

"Yes, I understand." She answered.

After a moment, She saw a man in the shadows; dagger in hand. He was coming for Din. She had to tell him! The man lunged for Levi. Shit, there wasn't enough time! There was a flash and suddenly Derae felt the release of pressure on her wrists. She grabbed her dagger, not really thinking about what she was doing and slide behind Levi. She hit the man's hand with the hilt of my weapon and his own dagger went flying and
landed off to the side. Derae advanced on him and pinned him down pointing the dagger at his throat.

"You!" the man muttered. He knew her?

"Do I know you?" She asked, glancing at the frightened Levi behind her.

"No. But I've heard a lot about you. Derae, daughter of Link." he said. Why does everyone seem to know her father?

-Your father was a great man. The hero of time. But now is not the time for that. Find out who that man is!- Kou told her.

"Kou, bring me a stick and light it with fire." She ordered Kou as she continued to watched the man under her dagger. "Move and die." She explained, a cold tinge to her voice. Kou came back with the stick and she held it up to the man's face. Bright blue eyes shown back at her; fierce and unwavering. His hair was unkempt but clean and bright blond. He had no scars and was cleaner than most of the soldiers. He didn't seem like a thief. He seemed like royalty…

Xander sighed as he looked through the trees towards the setting sun. He had been travelling for the last four days trying to get back home to the castle, but the way things had been going it seemed as if the Goddesses themselves were playing some kind of joke on him. "Three days lost in the woods is three days to many!" He called out looking up towards the darkening sky. "Can't you just show me the way to the road?!? I swear I'll never take another survival lesson from the crazy old coot for granted again!" He pleaded with the heavens, only to have silence his only answer. He couldn't help but feel like the butt end of cosmic joke once again as he returned his attention to the ground in front of him as his horse plodded on. If I keep traveling in a straight line I've got to either get to a road or the end of the forest. I can just sleep in the saddle tonight and by the time the sun has rose I'll be out of these damn woods!

"Yeah, right!" He let out another sigh as his gaze drifted up to the sky again. "I'll be stuck in here forever!" He cried out as he shut his eyes to try and think for a moment, trying to remember some of what that old coot had said. It did little to help but make him drowsy, and the memories of his sleeping through lessons was the last clear thing he could remember.

Only maybe an hour had passed since he had passed out in his horses saddle, and would have probably remained asleep, until an owl had flew past his face screeching as it went for a mouse scurrying across the forest floor. The sudden jolt from Xander waking and the screeching owl didn't help with the horse's nerves, or Xander's for that matter. The sudden jolt awake caused him to spur on his already startled horse and the two began a headlong dash into the dark forest ahead. Still groggy he was holding on for dear life as the horse dodged from left to right attempting to get out of the way of any tree that came into it's field of view. The further the horse ran though the thinner the trees became, and the higher Xander's hope rose. By the Goddesses! The road! His hope was quickly dashed to the ground as he became the butt of the Goddesses joke again and a rather large tree limb suddenly came into view. He knew he needed to duck under the limb, but still half asleep the limb struck him in the chest knocking him off his horse and into some brush by the tree.

The whole commotion had only taken moments, but had created a tremendous racket as the horse continued to barrel through the woods creating even more noise. Still half asleep and with his breathe slowly returning to him he heard someone on the road. "Tie up the girl! You, go find whatever the hell made that sound!"

A damsel? In distress? A smile crept across his face and just like that the cosmic joke he had been apart of for the last four days seemed more like it was his destiny. What luck that a Prince happened to have been traveling along to rescue her from these ruffians! He thought as he reached for his sword that was already at his side, only to find it missing, and once again he was part of a joke. Curses! I left it on my damn horse! He rolled over onto his stomach and crawled his way through the brush until he could see the group of people camped along the road. He couldn't tell who they were, but could just make out the silhouettes of people at they drew weapons and began to fan out along the forest, heading towards the way he had last seen his horse traveling, as he saw another with rope tying another's hands and leading he away from the other group that was searching the forest. Aha! The damsel! And only one guard? What luck! He reached for his dagger, luckily it was still there, and pulled it from his sheath as he continued along the brush making his way towards the two that were separate from the group.

He waited until the man's back was turned and sprang from the bushes brandishing his dagger ready to take down the man and release the girl but things took a turn towards the cosmic joke as his dagger was knocked from his hand, as he watched it spin through the air as if in slow motion, before he knew it he was down on the ground staring up at the sky and the girl he had been about to rescue with a dagger pressed against his throat. You have got to be kiddi- His train of thought was quickly cut off as he the face of the girl over him was somewhat familiar to him. "You!" He muttered, he could only see part of her face in the moonlight but he was sure it was her.

"Do I know you?" She asked as she looked back over her shoulder towards the man he had been about to attack.

"No. But I've heard a lot about you. Derae, daughter of Link." He had heard about her from his mother before he had left the castle some time ago. It had only been during the previous week that he had heard of Link's passing. He was on his way home to see how his mother was taking the news. And now I'm here with Link's daughter pressing a dagger to my neck?

"Kou," He looked over and saw a wolf nearby, it seemed to be who she was talking to. "Bring me a stick and light it with fire." He was right, it was the wolf she was talking to. as it went off an grabbed a stick on the ground. His attention was brought back to Derae as she told him, "Move and die." The wolf had lite the stick and came back over holding it over Xander to light his face up in the night.

The man he had been about to attack let out a gasp at the sight of Xander. "Xa-Xa-Xander!"

Derae looked over to the man with a quizzical look and Xander could see that she didn't even know who he was. "You've got to be kidding! You don't even know your own prince!" Now he just felt like an even bigger fool in the Goddesses cosmic joke that he was apart of.

"Xa-Xa-Xander!" Derae heard Levi shout, wide eyed. He rushed over to try and help the poor fellow up. She blinked for a moment, looking at him. Yep... Definitely royalty.

-You've seriously done it this time, Derae.- Kou spoke to her, bemused by the entire situation. He knew she was in no real harm.

-Oh, hush...- She returned, still staring at the prince. "Ahh... So... You're the brat that ran away from home, eh?" She teased him, a hand on her hip. "You know, everyone's talking about it. Foolish Prince runs away. Queen Zelda left in tears." She continued, a smirk on her lips.

-I wouldn't do that, Derae.- Kou chided, brushing his nose against her leg. She knew...

She let out a small sigh before continuing, "But ah... Thanks for trying to save me, I suppose." Her eyes stayed towards the ground, now suddenly unable to look at him.

"I'm very sorry, your highness! We were taking this prisoner to Hyrule Castle. Would you like to join us back to the castle?" Levi asked the prince, bowing towards him. Derae simply stared at him, unaccustomed to royalty of any kind. She first raised a brow at Levi and then at Xander.

But... This was Queen Zelda's son? He looked a lot like her father... a bit too much like him in fact. Her eyes narrowed at him, a bit of a glare. She did not like him, not at all.

"Prince Xander!" the Commander shouted as he rounded the corner of the encampment. "Your Highness, please forgive the rude treatment! She'll be tied shortly, even if I have to do it myself!" He explained, already headed for the rope. Derae raised her brow as he grabbed her arms rather roughly and began tying her up. Black hair fell out of it's ponytail, causing her further irritation.

"You know, the least you could do is let a girl tie her hair up before you subdue her, yeah?" Derae spoke, rolling her eyes. The Commander, who was now done with tying her turned to look her in the eyes.

"I can help with that." He told her. Something in his voice sent her nerves on end. W-What?! She turned sharply to watch him as he reached for his sword. She screamed and turned away as he snatched her hair and quickly sliced it off, leaving her with short jagged hair.

"N-Nooo!" She screeched, staring down in disbelief at her hair on the ground.

-Derae...-

-Leave me alone! You could have stopped him!-

-And what, endanger both of our lives? Your hair will grow back.-

It was a harsh truth, but still Derae couldn't shake the feeling in the pit of her stomach. The entire situation had left her drained and she didn't speak a word as Levi led her to her tent for the night. She sent one last glance towards Xander as she was ushered inside her tent.

Kou stared at the Prince as well, before huffing and walking into the tent as well to sleep by Derae's side.

The shouting man, that Xander still needed a name to put with the face, rushed over and pulled Derae off of him and helped him up. It was the first time in the last several days that he had actually felt like he was royalty. I suppose being lost in the woods alone will do that to a someone. He thought as he and the shouting man brushed the dirt, small twigs and leaves that were stuck all over him from his joyride through the woods.

"Huh?" Xander turned his attention to Derae as she spoke about him running off from the castle. "Is that what the rumors are going around? Well the truth will get sorted out soon enough." He said as he finished brushing the last of the dirt from him and looked around the encampment he had stumbled upon. "I suppose I should say you're welcome, but then again I didn't know that I was attempting to rescue a prisoner of the Hylian Army." He said turning back to look at a smirk plastered across her face. "And I suppose I should apologize to you," He turned to look at the soldier he had been about to attack before Derae had disarmed and pinned him to the ground.

"Levi, Sir!" The man quickly answered, snapping his heels together and saluting Xander.

"Right, Levi, well sor-"

"Prince Xander!" Xander's apology to the man was cut short as the Commander shouted his name as he rounded a corner of the encampment. "Your Highness, please forgive the rude treatment! She'll be tied shortly, even if I have to do it myself!" The Commander said as he made his way towards a length of rope nearby.

"Wait, Commander, why is she even being held?" Xander asked, although the Commander seemed to be lost in the moment trying to impress the Prince that he hadn't heard a word Xander had said as the Commander grabbed Derae by her arms and began lashing the rope around her hands.

In the struggle to tie her hands together some of Derae's hair had come loose from her ponytail. "You know, the least you could do is let a girl tie her hair up before you subdue her, yeah?" She said rolling her eyes. While the Commander had seemed not to hear Xander he had heard Derae well enough that it had caused a hint of anger to seep out.

"I can help with that." He told her. Xander could see in Derae's face that her nerves had been sent on end and he couldn't blame her as the Commander's tone sent a chill down his own spine. Before Xander could move to stop the Commander he had drawn his sword and cut through the remainder of Derae's ponytail leave her hair short and jagged. For a moment it seemed as if time stood still only to be broken by Derae's piercing screaming as she stared down in utter disbelief of the remained of her hair the Commander let fall to the ground.

You damn fool! Xander thought as he stood just as shocked as Derae by the events that had just transpired. It still felt like time was moving slowly to Xander as the Commander turned away from Derae, returning his sword to it's sheath, as Levi ushered Derae towards a nearby tent, but not before she shot one last glance at him. "Commander," Xander could feel the eyes of the wolf on him for just a moment before it followed Levi and Derae into the tent.

"Terrell, Sir." The man had answered although Xander had not been asking for his name. The events that had just happened before him did not sit well and left a poor feeling in the pit of his stomach.

When he looked back at the Commander's face, a self satisfied smile plastered across his face it made Xander want to vomit when he realized the man was want some form of commendation for his actions. It was then that Xander fully remembered how it felt to be a prince and decided to throw his title around. "Right, well, Sergeant Terrell,"

"It's Lieutenant, sir." Terrell corrected, the smile still on his face, as he turned slightly to show the mark of his station with the army, but Xander was in no mood to deal with the man.

"My mistake Private Terrell." Before Terrell could interrupt him again Xander glared at the man silencing him as his smile slowly left his face. "Now, then, I'm assuming, since I do not know you personally, that you were raised to treat women with respect, correct?" Xander asked he man. Terrell said nothing but nodded his head slowly, he still seemed to be confused that he was being rewarded for his action. "Then why," Xander began again, his voice slowly rising the more he spoke until he was yelling at the man. "In the name of the Goddesses did you just treat a woman like that!" Xander refused to give the man a moment to speak and continued on his rant, his yelling causing a crowd to gather just beyond the tents around them not wanting to interrupt or be caught up in the rant Xander was delivering. "You wouldn't have done something like that to your mother, or wife, or daughter nor would you want that done to any of them would you?" The man furiously shook his head no, but remained silent. "Then why would did you do such a thing to a prisoner in your care?!"

Xander wanted to hear the mans answer now and remained silent until Terrell realized that he was suppose to answer. "I...I don't have an answer, Prince Xander. After the events that had just happened I was just in the moment, I suppose, sir." Terrell refused to look up at Xander as he answered and looked at the ground.

"Well, Private, that is a piss-poor excuse." Xander said glaring at the man. Terrell glanced up for a moment to meet his glare but quickly returned his gaze to the ground. "Now, I do believe that you are in dire need of a haircut yourself." That caught Terrell's attention and he met Xander's gaze, a shocked look on his face. "You two," Xander pointed at the first two soldier he saw. "Take the Private here and shave his head, and make sure that tomorrow when we resume marching that he remains off his horse and at the rear of the march. I want the only thing that he sees tomorrow to be the horses lifting their tails to shit on him! Now get him out of my sight." The punishment had had doled out to Commander Terrell may have seemed harsh to many of those watching, but to Xander it wasn't nearly enough.

He took several deep breaths to try and calm himself and once he had finally calmed down he caught sight of Levi waiting nearby. "You," Xander pointed at the man. "Just got a promotion." Xander turned from Levi's shocked face from his sudden promotion and began to walk towards the tents. "Now, someone go and find my damn horse. He's lost in the woods somewhere," As he passed soldiers they each went off to do as he had asked fearing all to well to receive a punishment like Terrell's. "Levi," He looked over his shoulder at the man "Go untie Derae. See if there's anything she needs and make sure she has it. And post guards around the tent, she's our prisoner but she deserves to be treated with respect like anyone else." He turned his attention back to the path he was following among the tents. "And someone point me in the direction of the former commander's tent! I'd like to get some sleep tonight!"

Derae sighed, sitting in her tent, her eyes trained toward the ground. She honestly wanted to disappear right now... She could feel the tremors in her body and she watched as she lifted her hands, the tremors that shook them.

"You know... I've always liked your long hair. Reminds me of your mother."

She clenched her teeth, anger slowly replacing fear and shock. How dare he!

-I know you don't want to hear it, but you did ask for it. Stop egging them on.- Kou spoke finally, sauntering over to the other side of the small tent.

"I don't care!" She shouted aloud and looked over at Kou, only to see him staring at the other end of the tent. She stopped for a moment and turned slowly to see Levi staring down at her. Ahh... That had to be a bit awkward...

"Stand up, please." Levi asked, watching her with concern in his eyes. With a glare in her eyes, she did as he asked, no longer wanting to piss anyone off. She could feel the pressure release yet again as the rope was cut from her wrists.

"What?" She asked, turning around.

"Xander's orders. They'll post up guards around your tent, but you'll be treated better from now on. Is there anything I can get you?" Levi explained.

"I wouldn't mind a better hair cut." She replied, chuckling despite the anger she still felt towards the damned commander. Levi simply nodded and soon returned with a mirror and a sharp knife.

The next morning, Derae woke with better hair than she would have otherwise, but it was still sticking up in all directions. She sat up as the morning sun shone on her tent and ran her fingers through her hair. Pursing her lips, she ruffled her hair a bit, attempting to get it look at least a bit decent before getting dressed. They weren't too far out from Hyrule Castle so they'd probably get there that day... Hopefully.

Patting Kou on the head, Derae crawled her way towards the exit to her tent only to be greeted by guard ass. "Ahh... Not that this isn't a lovely site but could you... uhm... move... please?" She asked, waving up towards the guards. This was a bit of an awkward position to be in.

The guard looked down at Derae waving up at him from a rather awkward position. "What are you crawling around for? Your legs don't work good anymore?" The guard asked as he moved to the side, moving the tent flap aside so she could walk out. "The Prince has ordered a horse be ready for you, from what I've heard it seems like the former commander will be taking your place at the rear of the march."

A small chuckle escaped the other guard at the front of the tent as he remembered the events of the previous night. "Right? What was it the Prince said? He wants the commander to see a horses ass all day, right?" He asked as the two guards that had been stationed at the other side of the tent made their way around to the front.

The first guard snorted. "No, no, no. He said," The guard paused for a second and cleared his throat as he attempted to impersonate Xander as best he could. Which wasn't very well. "I want the only thing that he sees tomorrow to be the horses lifting their tails to shit on him." The impersonation brought a round of laughter from the other guards, but quickly died down as Levi made his way towards the tent.

"Levi, sir," The first guard said saluting him. "I still don't know what to call you after your new promotion last night."

"Neither do I," Levi said looking from Derae to each of the guards. "I still have no idea what I've been promoted to! Xander says he's gonna be speaking with the General once we reach Castle Hyrule so I suppose I'll find out then. In the meantime," He looked back to Derae. "It's time for breakfast. The rest of the men are packing up the camp so while we wait I thought we could get you and that wolf of your something to eat before we start traveling." He looked to the two guards that had been guarding the front of the tent. "You two come with us, the other two start helping with the packing."

---Inside the Commander's Tent---

Xander sat up in the bed and yawned. "That has probably got to be the best sleep I've had in weeks." He said to himself as he set his feet on the ground and stretched his hands over his head listening to his joints pop as he turned this way and that, pausing every now and again as his muscles tensed up from the sudden movement before relaxing again.

Satisfied with his stretching he gathered his clothes and dressed before leaving the tent to find his horse staked outside. "Oh, good. They found you." The horse turned it's head to one side and looked at Xander. "You know it wasn't very funny, you leaving me on the ground like that." The horse simply returned to grazing on the grass near the tent. "Since you're so insistent I'll forgive you. Now I'll find the cooks tent and see if I can't find you an apple or something." Xander said patting the horses neck and retrieving his sword from his saddle before going to look for the cooks tent before it was packed like the others.

"My legs work just fine" Derae murmured.

"The Prince has ordered a horse be ready for you, from what I've heard it seems like the former commander will be taking your place at the rear of the march."

"Oh? Hehe... Well then. Maybe this Prince isn't so bad after all." She responded, chuckling to herself. She stood up between the two guards and watched with a brow raised at their banter about the prince. She chuckled at the guard on her left who'd just come from behind the tent, a small smile on her face.

She turned when one of the guards greeted Levi. She smiled and waved at him before he continued talking with the men. "It's time for breakfast. The rest of the men are packing up the camp so while we wait I thought we could get you and that wolf of your something to eat before we start traveling." She watched as he looked to the two guards that had been guarding the front of the tent. "You two come with us, the other two start helping with the packing."

Derae smiled and nodded silently, turning to see if Kou was coming.

-I'm coming, I'm coming. Just... a bit more stiff than I used to be in the mornings. Plus, you kept kicking me all night long.-

-I did not...-

She flinched slightly at the look Kou gave her but sent him an awkward smile and shrugged her shoulders. Done making sure Kou was following, Derae turned to Levi and smiled. "We're ready. What's for breakfast?"

"Well, it's not exactly fine dining, but the cooks have some fruit and sausage for us." Levi replied, already walking towards the only tent not currently being broken down. Derae turned around to find the two guards from before breaking down the tent she'd been staying in. She smiled, yet again, and turned back around to follow Levi.

"So, Mr. Promotion man. What sort of things do you think you might be doing later on?" She asked him, running over to walk next to him, which caused the guards to move towards her but a wave of Levi's hand made them relax.

"I'm... I'm not entirely sure. I wasn't really expecting it and I don't feel like it's my place to really wish for any rank in particular... Though... It'll be nice to be able to write to my mother about this. She'll be so proud..." Levi replied, his cheeks growing red as he walked. The reaction managed to get a bright smile out of Derae who lifted a hand to place on Levi's shoulder.

"You'll be a great 'whatever-they-give-you,' I'm sure. Prince Xander has a great eye for good men, it seems." She told him, flashing him a toothy grin. Levi nodded and then moved his arm to point towards the cook's tent.

"It's over there." Levi told her and the group walked over to the tent. However, Derae stopped when she saw Xander walking over as well.

"Well, if it isn't the knight in shining armor himself. I do say, I like the way you do things." She chuckled, thinking about what the guards had said before.

-Don't push it, Derae. Besides, I'm hungry. I'll be inside. Please... don't get in trouble.- Kou told her cooly before heading into the tent himself which caused one of the chefs to gasp and start trying to shoo him away. Levi interceded however and told the cook to let the wolf eat something.

"Just give him a sausage or two. Prince's orders." Levi told the chef, poking his head inside the tent. "Oh, and I'd like two sausages and an apple if you can." He added, walking into the tent fully.

"You getting some breakfast too?" She asked, smiling over at Xander.

Xander made his way around the camp after leaving the former Commander Terrell's tent, mostly because he was completely lost in the camp and didn't want to let anyone know. He eventually found a pair of guards chatting as they walked through the rows of tents being packed for travel, and upon following them found that they were heading for the mess tent themselves. Success! He licked his lips as the mess tent came into view, only to feel slightly foolish that he hadn't found it earlier. Of course the mess tent would be the only tent that wasn't being disassembled. As he neared the tent a steady stream of white smoke from the cook fires only proved how foolish he was with navigating. Not to mention the smoke from the cook fires. I've really got to pay attention to the old man's lessons on navigating.

A woman's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. "Well, if it isn't the knight in shining armor himself. I do say, I like the way you do things." Having no idea what she may have been speaking of or what she may have heard about him he simply smiled back at her as she chuckled at him.

"Well, I just try and be who my mother raised me to be." He said as he watched the wolf with Derae move into the mess tent only to be received with a clamor from the cooks, which made Xander stifle a laugh. It was a good that Levi was escorting the two as he interceded on behalf of the wolf before entering into the tent himself for breakfast.

"You getting some breakfast too?" Once again his attention was pulled to Derae and he finally took notice that her hair had been shaped up from the hack job that Terrell had performed. I'm certain she is still angry about losing her long hair, but she does looking quite well with short hair too. And did I really just think that about a prisoner? I have gone crazy after being lost in those damn woods!

"Well, I promised my horse an apple," He could hear his stomach growl and feared that anyone around could hear it as well. "But since I've been thriving off of jerky and whatever I could get my hands on in the woods I would certainly enjoy something for breakfast." He stepped to the flap of the mess tent and held it open as he looked back at her and smiled. "If you'd care to join me, you can tell me more about how great I am." He joked. "And again, I'm sorry about what happened last night." He looked inside the tent for a brief moment before looking back at her. "I assure you he has been punished, although not severely enough for my taste."

Derae chuckled as he offered for her to join him and tell him how great he was. "Now, I think I've given enough compliments for one day. That's not really my style, usually." She explained, following him into the tent. "But I would like to talk to you about your mother." She added, the expression on her face suddenly serious. She knew the relationship between her father and the current queen but didn't know too much. She just knew they were friends but somehow she felt there was something more than what she'd been told. The expression her father had when the Queen mention wasn't a face you could make at the mention of a friend.

She shook her head when he apologized for the man from before. "Don't worry about it. You've done enough already. It's good enough to know he'll be getting his just deserts. Though, I feel like there's much we need to talk about once we get to the castle. Something tells me there's more where that guy came from in the royal guards. Have you heard the stories?" She asked, leaning over to grab an apple and handed it to Xander. "For your horse." She explained curtly, grinning at him.

The smile faded however as she turned to grab herself something to eat. "I've heard from the men in my village that the royal guardsmen and soldiers have been really cruel as of late. Many villagers have been injured and some have even died because of their antics." She explained as she grabbed some grub. As she moved to find a seat, she continued, "I hear they've been killing people in the name of the queen, calling them traitors to the crown."

She pulled over a crate and two stumps and sat down on one with her silver plate full of food, sausage and bread mostly. "Mr. Korane told me that he heard a soldier saying something about the Moon Mother. Do you know anything about that?" She asked before chomping down on a piece of bread.