He smiled and it changed his face for the better, despite the sadness in the gesture. A smile him look like a younger man, and he already wasn't that old to begin with. Probably only a few years older than her at the most. Sam could feel herself staring and forced herself to stop, focusing on his words instead. Sam gave a sympathetic smile when he realized that he was, in fact, acting like a martyr. "Afraid so." But he did give her a pretty good reason for why he wasn't trusting anyone else with his secrets and mission. She bit her lip as she glanced back up at the sky, where the bird was still circling, and then at the soldiers of the company. Could the queen really be anywhere and everywhere?

He told her that she was the only he he could trust and Sam looked back at him in time to see him smiling at her again. There was genuine kindness there, something that she hadn't seen on his face before. Before he had been scary or rough or steely or or dangerous or calculating or smirking. As she saw the way the smile seemed to lighten his features Sam could see for the first time that he was a handsome man. Her heart seemed to skip a beat and she took a breath, trying to shove those distracting thoughts out of her head as he asked if trusting her wasn't enough.

"I don't know," Sam said after a moment of thinking it over. "I mean...I guess it is. You can trust me. But there's only so much that I can do. For you." A thought came to her and she looked at him seriously. "Besides I don't think me being a person for you to trust and to help you fight the queen was your motivation for bringing me here in the first place." Sam felt herself smile a little, and there was sadness in it. "But I guess that doesn't matter now. I'm here and we can't change that." She hooked her fingers together around his waist and sighed softly. "I know what you told me last night. About how I'm the strongest asset and my words are more deadly than an army, or whatever. And I can't let Liam start a war with the king and queen. When we get to Verinia I'm going to have to tell everyone about Dorothea. About the queen's plans, and about me. About everything. I know I promised that I wouldn't tell anyone about you and what you've really been up to, but if I don't tell then you'll be...everyone's going to think you're a monster. They'll lock you up or they'll kill you. And you won't be able to help anyone." Sam paused and her expression became a grimace. "I guess I'm not too sure what to do, either."

Liam listened to Raquelle's musings and a slight frown came across his face. What she was saying about the bandits...how they knew about Dorothea and they were no where close to where she had been taken... Verinia was large and confusing and word couldn't have traveled that kingdom...no. He mentally shook his head. King Tommen had told him not to do anything rash, and if he started thinking these things before finding any proper evidence... "It's unwise to start jumping to conclusions without any concrete evidence," he said to Raquelle, looking over at her. "We can't make any accusations against Verinia with theories rather than facts." He glanced back to where the Marshal was riding, and he seemed to be conversing with Samantha. "As for the Marshal, I think his story enthrall us all when he make camp for the night."

August was quiet a moment, listening to the soft clop of hooves on the only safe passage through the forest. He tried not to think of how comforting it was to feel Sam against him and unafraid, to have someone to confide in -- he felt relaxed for the first time in years. "Keep talking like that and I might start to think you cared." His smirk was small and fleeting -- and then he had an idea.

"The queen of Verinia." It dawned on him while he watched the princess Raquelle making sweet hollow smiles at Prince Liam. August laid his hand on Sam's arm for her attention, and he turned his head, brows furrowed. "Narissa is trying to start a war with Verinia -- her sister's kingdom -- there's got to be bad blood between them, right? If the Verinian queen were in on this plan, she would've kidnapped Dorothea herself and had an actual reason for war, instead of relying on me to convince Liam to believe a lie. No, I don't think the queen of Verinia knows what Narissa's up to -- and she sounds like a powerful ally, don't you think? Maybe as powerful as Narissa herself, if power runs in the family. She'll know Narissa better than I ever could -- maybe even the way to defeat her."

His grin turned a bit dangerous, but he remained guarded -- there was a chance this could backfire severely. "She has every reason to ignore whatever I say -- but she might trust you. What do you think, Otherworlder?"

Sam smiled wryly when he commented on how it sounded like she cared. "Don't get your hopes up." It was half a tease, but she felt confused. Yesterday she had hated him. But she could feel herself seeing him differently now, after these private conversations of their's. Seeing him without the dangerous expression, hearing him speak without the rough tone. Maybe this was the real man, and the Marshal was just a facade. She was frowning to herself a little. Maybe she did care.

He touched her arm, pulling her away from her musings and back to reality. She blinked, having been staring off into space absently, and she looked over at him and saw that his expression was pensive. He spoke, about Narissa trying to start a war with Verinia, her sister's kingdom. She was trying to go to war with her sister. Sam nodded a little when he mentioned that there had to be bad blood, her own expression turning thoughtful as she listened. This other queen did sound like their best possible ally. She was being targeted like Dorothea had been, which meant she couldn't have a strong sisterly bond with Narissa. She couldn't be in on this plan, could she? She was a queen, had power and influence that they might need as well as an army. If it came to that. Not only that but she was Narissa's sister. August was right, she would know more about Narissa than anyone.

She felt her own smile dance across her lips and she looked back at him when he asked her what she thought. "I think...that your logic is pretty sound. And that it's worth a shot?" Sam nodded, feeling a bit more confident. "I think I could try. And it's not like Narissa could have slipped her sister some magic potion from miles away, right? Dorothea could help me." She nodded again, taking a deep, determined breath. "Now we just have to get there." She looked up to the front of the company where Liam was riding. Beside him was his friend Will and a beautiful young woman with golden hair that Sam hadn't notice before. She watched Liam send Will and another guard behind him up ahead, presumably to look for places to camp. She nodded towards the blonde young woman and looked back at August. "Who's that girl?"

August didn't bother looking up to know whom she was talking about. "That's Princess Raquelle," he said in a flat voice. "Narissa's daughter and Dorothea's half-sister. I don't know how much she knows -- we should probably keep an eye on her." He hadn't expected Raquelle to be among Liam's party, but he supposed it made sense -- especially if she was aware of her mother's goals. He doubted Raquelle had been trusted to play any important part in Narissa's goals, however -- the princess was far too flighty. "Part of getting Dorothea out of the way was to force Liam to marry Raquelle, thus giving Narissa a direct line of power to both Eldonia and Itelia. Raquelle herself is notoriously lacking in just about every social skill."

"Oh, Liam!" Raquelle was halfway standing up in her side-saddle, precariously balanced among her flowing skirts, and she pointed into the woods. "There's a path just there -- do you see it? I spotted it not five minutes ago, just there by that knotty old tree. I think I see wagon ruts. That means there must be some kind of dwelling on the other end of that path, right? The wagons have to go somewhere." She smiled, extremely proud of her logic, and she bit her knuckle in excitement. "Maybe there's an inn! Oh, let's go down that little road for awhile, and see if someone there will give us beds and hot soup. You look weary and irritable, dear Liam, you could use a better rest than a tent could afford you." She brought her horse close to Liam's, and she leaned forward to look into his face worriedly, while Dorothea stiffened and contemplated how many times she could sink her claws into Raquelle's pretty face before Liam could stop her.

Sam watched Raquelle with casual interest as August explained exactly who she was. "Uh huh," she said in understanding as she watched the girl balancing precariously on her saddle. she looked very much in danger of falling. "I see..." She looked away from the girl and back at August with raised eyebrows. "Well I don't know what you're talking about. She seems completely lovely and full of grace." Sam was smiling, teasing, and she looked back at Raquelle thoughtfully. "She does seem to be fawning over him, doesn't she. I take it Raquelle is nothing like her mother, then?"

Liam glanced towards the path that Raquelle was indicating. There were indeed trakes in the dirty road, not only from animals but from wagon wheels, as well. He sighed, considering it for a moment. Perhaps there was a inn out here for the people traveling along the King's Road. A soft bed would be nice, and no doubt the inn wuld have better food than what they had brought with them. She commented that he looked weak and irritable, and he was in fact. Weak from the traveling and irritable for numerous reasons. He hated to think it but Raquelle was one of those reasons, herself. He didn't say anything to her, though, and he spared her a glace. "I think we all could use better rest that what a tent can afford us," he told her diplomatically. "But it might be a farm, or a dwelling? They might not have enough food or space for all of us. Besides it could take us too far from the road." Liam looked at Raquelle and silently knew that he would not be able to deter her. "But I suppose we could look into it. Oi! Will!" He turned to call towards his friend, who pulled on his reins and turned to look back. "See that road close by? Can you follow it? See if there's a dwelling close?"

"Yes, sir!" Will and the other guard turned their horses onto the path and trotted off, out of sight. Everyone slowed, to give them some time to look around, and every several moments Will reappeared on the path. "There are lights up ahead and some sort of building. Not too far along the path. Should we see if we can rest there for the night?"

Liam didn't take too long to decide. He knew Raquelle would never let him hear the end of it if they didn't at least try. "Yes. It might be an inn. We could all use a proper hot meal." The other members of the party seemed to perk at the idea, so Liam started leading them down the path, Will and the other guard's horses falling into step beside his.

Raquelle rode with a straight spine and a winning smile, proud of herself for finally turning Liam's mind -- it was evidence that he was noticing her, that he did care about her health after all. Dear, dear Liam! Truly, he had been secretly in love with her all along, and only Dorothea had been so adamant and cruel and sharp-tongued that he merely bent to her will. In Raquelle, however, he would find safety, kindness, comfort and beauty. She was determined to drive this point, to show him what he had been missing all those years under Dorothea's thumb.

The company bumbled down the ditched path, stumbling sometimes and rocking constantly over uneven rocks and soil, but Raquelle merely straightened her hair every five seconds and smiled on. Ahead, finally, was an open field with low fences and rock walls and whitewashed stables and a barn. At the far end of the path was a squat but reasonably wide house, its windows glowing by firelight within. It wasn't an inn.

August scanned the fields and the stables, and he snarled. "Shit, we can't be here," he hissed, and he kicked the horse forward with no warning for Sam. He brought up alongside Liam, squeezing between the prince and Raquelle, his expression grave.

"Your highness," he addressed Liam crisply. "Need I remind you that we are presently in the kingdom of Verinia, whose subjects were the cause of my and Princess Dorothea's abduction. The people here are loyal to the Verinian throne and may be hostile to our regiment -- especially in the dark we have the appearance of sieging this place."

August was almost certain this had to be Doc Jolly's horse farm -- and those three dwarves might be here or nearby. Their story combined with Sam's testament would completely destroy Narissa's plans.

August had suddenly kicked the horse forward, and a surprised gasp emitted from Sam's lips. She felt her arms wrap tighter around him, clinging to him more firmly to keep herself from slipping off and falling to the ground. It was a stupid though, probably, but she thought it looked like a long way down. "What's going on?" she asked, peering over his shoulder to see the house and barn at the end of the path ahead. She remembered how the dwarves had been originally leading them towards a horse farm, ad she wondered if that could be it. From the way August seemed to be hurrying to the prince she guessed that it was.

Liam looked over as he heard the sound of a horse fast approaching and saw the Marshal slide up between him and Raquelle. Samantha was sitting behind him, her arms wrapped firmly around his waist. The prince listened to the Marshal's comments and frowned a bit. He didn't like the thought that all of the people of Verinia were enemies or couldn't be trusted, not when it was likely the the people behind this were not acting in the name of the kingdom, but independently. But his points about how it would look for another kingdom's regiment to approach a far, a home, at night... If it had been an inn it would have been different.

"You're right, as usual Marshal," Liam said agreeably, bringing the company to a halt. "I'm sorry, Raquelle. But I'm going to trust the Marshal about this. If this was an inn we may have been able to find shelter here. But at a farm... We can't appear hostile, nor can I ask the family who lives here to provide for us. We will camp, as originally planned." The guards looked slightly crestfallen at the lack of a proper meal, but they were prepared to camp if necessary and were agreeable.

"I saw a clearing a little further along the main road," Will said, and at Liam's nod of approval he led the men who were carrying the camping supplies and set off back towards the King's Road to set up their camp.

The prince busied himself with getting the party turned back around and trotting off away from the farm. "Raquelle," he began, almost hesitant to ask the question. "Would you mind if Samantha shared your tent? I can't just make her sleep in the tents with the guards."

Raquelle was livid -- in other words, she was holding her chin so high she could barely see over her nose. "You certainly can make her sleep in the guards' tent," she said crisply, "but I don't intend to sleep in a tent at all. Not when there's a perfectly reasonable house not fifty paces away."

"Raquelle," the Marshal snapped, "the Verinians in this area may very well be hostile --"

"I assure you they're nothing but farmers and peasants," Raquelle interrupted him. "I will go myself." She gave Samantha an appraising look. "And Samantha will go with me. Won't you like to accompany me to the farm house and beg a proper meal and a bed?"

August knew very well that Doc Jolly would probably welcome the entire caravan with open arms, given the assurances of the dwarves -- feed them and all -- but it was out of the question. He wasn't sure what, exactly, would happen if Liam were made to believe Dorothea had been turned into a cat, but the queen might just show her fangs earlier than expected. It wasn't worth the risk.

"Princess," the Marshal growled. "I forbid it. Even if those people are friendly they have no obligation to house royalty of a kingdom that is not their own! It is an act of impropriety to --"

"Marshal." Raquelle gave him a cruelly sweet smile. "I order you to shut up." She looked over at Liam, and decided she must have been defeated after all. "Ah, well, if I must sleep in a tent, there will be no room for ..." An idea occurred to her, and she looked Sam up and down. "Well, wait, sure, all right, she can share my tent. Yes, excellent! She could use some grooming, too -- and I've brought the most wonderful servants. We'll have a grand time, won't we?" She giggled, leaning toward Sam, while August stiffened with silent rage.

Both Sam and Liam were silent during this verbal sparring match between Raquelle and August. Sam had been going to respond that she didn't mind camping when Raquelle basically stated that she would accompany her to the farm. If the knowledge that she was the queen's daughter that was going along with her mother's plans wasn't enough to make Sam dislike Raquelle, then this little tantrum would do it. But she didn't get a chance to respond before August responded in a rough growl. Sam had seen the way his two henchmen from the day behaved after being on the receiving end of one of his growls, but Raquelle didn't back down. She literally ordered him to shut up.

That was when Liam couldn't stay silent anymore. "Raquelle!" he snapped, eyes flashing.

Sam had no idea if his outburst affected the other girl at all, but she seemed to resign herself to camping. She looked away from the other princess, hiding her expression until Raquelle said that she could stay in her tent. Sam turned her head with her eyebrows furrowed a little as she looked at Raquelle. At the promise of grooming she forced her expression to remain passive (Sam was not fond of makeovers) and the idea of having servants was almost too unthinkable for her. She leaned back from the giggling girl and forced a smile. "Yeah, it sounds great. Like a sleepover. What fun." She didn't want to be left alone with this girl. She'd sleep with the men if she had to. But she didn't think openly saying so would be wise.

Liam watched the exchange a bit nervously and he managed to laugh, though it sounded hesitant. "There now. I'm glad that's all settled. Marshal, ladies, erm, shall we?" He started off again, leading what remained of the party to the clearing Will had spotted, and where he and the rest of the company were setting up tents and starting a fire. Liam dismounted and handed the reins to the man who had been put in charge of the horses. He picked up Samantha's cat and carried her until the girl had been helped down from the horse she had been riding. "You have a very friendly cat, Samantha," Liam said with a smile as he handed her back to the girl. "Is it alright if I call you Samantha?"

Sam had taken Dorothea back, though she suspected that she wouldn't want to be separated from Liam. She wanted to tell him that she preferred Sam, but she remembered how August had told her the fact that the short version was considered a man's name. She didn't want to draw too much attention to herself. "Yes. Samantha's fine."

The prince nodded, his smile cheerful. "Good. I should go see about getting some dinner started. Excuse me." He nodded before turning and going over to the fire.

"Liam!" Dorothea whined, wriggling pitifully even as she was handed over to Sam. She yowled dejectedly, staring after his back, though she knew that there would be plenty of opportunity to be close to him as the night progressed. There was one thing about being a cat: she could go where she pleased and no one would look twice. It horrified her to realize she was starting to think of herself as a cat.

She sighed heavily and looked up at Sam with big yellow eyes. "Isn't he amazing?" She blinked. "Don't get any funny ideas about him -- he's charming and handsome and wonderful and he's mine." Her eyes narrowed in fleeting suspicion -- Liam had been rather friendly with Sam just now -- but it didn't last. Surely Sam was completely not his type. "I don't think I have to worry about Raquelle, though," she said her sister's name like it was a vile thing, "Liam can't stand her and he never will. He has excellent taste." She laughed quietly, so very much in a better mood after spending a few hours with Liam.

"Hey, I'm sorry you're going to be stuck with her all night, but I really can't sleep in there too -- I really will claw her eyes out, and then they'll blame you and it won't be very good for anyone." She spoke logically, without the slightest hint of a joke. Of course, she assumed Liam wouldn't mind if she happened to curl up in his bed roll tonight. "You'll be all right," she continued, "just smile and nod, she'll talk herself to sleep eventually. And by the way, do you think that's the horse farm Alphonse was taking us to? You know, if you and those three dwarves got together, you could convince Liam that I'm not a cat. He might think you're crazy, but four of you would be hard to argue with." She paused, and her ears pressed back. "What were you and the Marshal talking about?"

The Marshal, meanwhile, dismounted and went to reclaim his status among the other soldiers, who he felt had become lazy under the good-natured prince's lax orders. Within a few minutes the campsite was running like clockwork: the tents were set up precisely, the supplies were set out in a simple organized fashion, and a watch perimeter was maintained in case of attack by human or otherwise.

Raquelle waited impatiently for her own tent to be built up (by her own servants, of course, for she didn't trust those soldier boys to touch her things) and she spent a good hour setting up her sleeping space -- with an extra bed roll, reluctantly, for Sam. As soon as she was finished she glided out of her tent and attached herself to Liam's side, with the purpose of soothing his worries and his weary head.

Sam let herself smile, amused at Dorothea's suspicious squint. "Don't worry, Your Highness. I'm not going to steal your boyfriend." Anyway what good would taking an interest in a young man from this world do? It wasn't like it could possibly work out. She wasn't supposed to exist here, and she would have to go back to where she belonged. Ideally, anyway. Sam knew that she had a long way to go before she could go home again, and despite Dorothea' assurances she still felt like she could be stuck here forever. She didn't let her worries show on her face. "But you're right. He is something. I'm saying this in a completely platonic way." She was teasing the girl, of course. As if she would actually try anything with Liam. Sam didn't see herself ending up with a Prince Charming type.

Dorothea herself was noticeably happier after spending time with her love, even if he hadn't known it was her. Sam glanced over to where Raquelle was overseeing her tent as Dorothea talked about her. "Yeah your sister seems like a real peach." At the mention of spending a night with her Sam just shrugged. "It's alright. I can handle it. Even the 'grooming.'" She shuddered to think what that would mean for her. "But I'm sure we'll have so much in common and so much to talk about." At the mention of the farm Sam just turned her head to look in its general direction. "Maybe? And maybe we could convince him. But we don't know where the dwarves are anyway. I think I might have an easier time doing the convincing in Verinia. Where we won't be surrounded by people who have been bewitched to not hear you."

She asked about the Marshal and Sam didn't respond for a moment. Her eyes sought out where August was giving some sort of orders and she took a breath. She wanted to tell, but she had promised to keep his secrets and be his confidante. "Nothing much. Small talk mostly. Don't worry about it Aug -- the Marshal didn't have a lot to say. I wouldn't have spoken to him at all but we shared a horse. Mostly I just berated him for kidnapping me in the first place." She smiled, as though it was nothing, and she wasn't sure how convincing she was. But when Liam announced that stew was ready she hoped that she could get Dorothea's mind off of it. She paused by where the prince was sitting on a blanket by the fire with a bowl in his lap. His friend Will was on one side and, naturally, Raquelle was on the other. Eyes sparkling at the added bonus of irritating Raquelle, Sam asked the prince if he would like to watch her cat for a while, since Lea (she had nearly forgotten the fake name she had given Dorothea) had taken to him.

Liam was glad to accept, setting the bowl aside to take the affectionate fur ball. He smiled, barely noting how much better he felt when the cat was near, and, after nodding to Samantha when she walked away, he went back to conversing with Will. Will was doing a much better job at soothing his worries than Raquelle. Her constant attention was making him noticeably uncomfortable.

Sam, meanwhile, was not feeling particularly hungry. She had a feeling that stew was going to be a common meal while on this journey and she didn't want to grow tired of it too quickly. She wandered for a bit, eyeing the strange faces. They all nodded respectfully to her, but there were too many new people at once and she didn't feel up to making friends just now. Sam found herself coming to a half beside August as he stood watch. She had her thumbs hooked into the pockets of her jeans and she was silent for a few moments, glancing over at him a couple of times. "Looking for any trouble out there?" she said in a conversational tone. She glanced over to where Raquelle was hovering next to Liam and made a face. "I'm concerned about the trouble in there. Tell me honestly. Would it be horrible of me if I tried to escape the tent sometime in the middle of the night?"

Dorothea was satisfied with Sam's answers, and more than satisfied with her decision to hand her off to Liam. She was more gentle with the prince this time, less exuberant and more concerned. It seemed she would have to wait until Verinia for a solid chance at making him understand what had become of her -- but he deserved better. He deserved to know, before they got to Verinia! She had to prevent this war, and she had to get Liam back to the castle as soon as possible so they could expose the queen.

She stood in his lap with her paws on his chest, watching him talk with Will, her ears perked while she thought. She couldn't talk to him, and she couldn't put Sam into the awkward position of arguing for her (especially if the Marshal would confirm that Sam was crazy for doing so), but there were other ways of communicating besides talking.

Dorothea glanced around the camp -- she'd been there when the queen had told the Marshal to keep her away from Liam -- but the Marshal was on lookout duty, and wasn't paying attention. Dorothea crawled out of Liam's lap and grabbed his spoon in her teeth. She dragged it over to a clear spot on the ground and placed it carefully -- then she bounded over, grabbed Will's spoon, and put it down at a right angle to the first.

Raquelle noticed that the cat was doing something peculiar -- whatever it was, it couldn't be good. She laughed and suddenly scooped a surprised Dorothea up into her hands. "My, what a precocious little kitty!" Raquelle cooed. Dorothea's ears pressed against her skull and she hissed a deep fangy threat. Raquelle only laughed. "Should probably keep a hold of this one or she'll have collected all our spoons!"

The Marshal remained rigidly stoic, focused on the darkness and on the reflections of moonlight on the thick trees and shrubs. He spared a glance to any sign of movement. When Sam came up beside him, he ignored her in favor of his post, knowing well that very dangerous beasts -- or worse -- could appear in the time it took to blink.

At Sam's proposal of escape, however, he laughed suddenly out of surprise. "It's just one night!" He grinned, still watching the forest as he spoke. "The princess can't be that bad. She might curl your hair and put you in a dress and whine until dawn about how awful her life is, but you'll be safe and it's a place to sleep." His grin turned to a smirk, and he finally spared her an amused glance. "But if you did escape, you wouldn't be horrible, to answer your question. You would be enormously ungrateful -- most women in this country would kill to have an invitation like this -- but not horrible." He thought a moment, humming to himself. "Where would you intend to sneak off to? You're not getting past my guards into the forest, if that's what you're thinking."

"Ha!" Sam exclaimed in a triumphant voice as he laughed, turning around to look at him with a smile on her lips and a gleam in her eyes. "I did it! I knew I could make you laugh." She stuck her tongue between her teeth for a moment before laughing herself. "But seriously," she continued, in a tone that indicated she wasn't being serious at all, "putting me in a dress is going too far." Sam chuckled for a moment more before looking away from him and back to the trees. When he told her that she would be "enormously ungrateful" rather than horrible she started smiling again. "Oh yeah. That's me in a nutshell. Especially if you ask my parents." When he mentioned that most women in the country would love to receive this invitation Sam shrugged. "I'm not from this country," she reasoned in a casual tone.

At his insinuation that she would try escaping if she were to sneak out of the tent that night Sam scoffed. "Yes, because the last time I tried running through the creature filled forest at night with no sense of direction worked out so well for me." She smiled wryly. "No, that wasn't what I was thinking. Besides I couldn't leave Dorothea and I don't think she's going anywhere." She glanced back at where Dorothea was purring on Liam's lap and smiled fondly. "I was just thinking of sneaking off to find another place in the camp to sleep, like another tent or something. I don't think she really wants me there anyway." She glanced down at the ground, folding her arms over her chest and shaking her head gently. "Would hate to be be any place where I'm not wanted." She fell silent for several moments, just staring out into the dark trees her eyes slightly narrowed pensively as she chewed on her lip. Sam was brought back to reality when she heard Raquelle's laughter and looked back over to the campfire to see the girl holding Dorothea. Who didn't look happy. "Yikes. Looks like I have to go save the princess." She paused after a couple of steps to glance back at him. "Goodnight August."

Liam was watching Raquelle cooing at the cat with a somewhat perplexed expression and glanced down to where the cat had positioned the spoons into a right angle. He tilted his head slightly. A right angle? Or an L? Before he could delve deeper into this thought Samantha appeared. "Thank you so much for looking after for me, Your Highness," the red headed girl said, smiling at Liam and then at Raquelle as she pulled the black and white cat from the princess's arms. "But it's getting late and it's been such a long day. I think it's time that we got some shut eye."

Clearing his throat Liam stood and brushed dust from his clothes. "Couldn't agree more, Samantha. We all had a long day and tomorrow might be even longer. I think I'll turn in for the night, as well." He nodded to Will, who rose up beside him, and then smiled at the pair of girls and the one cat. His smile to Raquelle was slightly more stiff, though just as polite. "Goodnight Samantha. Raquelle. Get some rest." With another nod and smile he turned and left them Will nodded respectfully at Raquelle and Samantha, the latter of whom he smiled at, before turning to follow his friend to the tent they were sharing.

While August remained on guard outside -- as he would until the small hours of the morning -- Raquelle paused awhile at the fire. She was looking after Sam, and Dorothea. The princess could understand the cat's speech perfectly well, and she also understood that Sam was on friendly terms with both Dorothea and the Marshal. Her mother hadn't mentioned anyone else traveling with the Marshal. Her mouth thinned and her eyes narrowed: this Samantha girl could be nothing but trouble to her mother's plans -- to her plans of marrying Liam.

After awhile, Raquelle followed Sam into the tent, and though she smiled sweetly her eyes were full of venom. "Well ... Samantha ... I'm sure you and your feline are tired from your journey. Here is a bed roll for you." Where the princess had a passably comfortable mattress rolled out on a rug, what was left for Sam was little more than a blanket on the ground. "Good night," she said quickly, and, leaving no room for Sam to get a word in, she blew out her candle and laid down, fully clothed, to sleep.

When Dorothea was finally let down to the ground, she shook herself all over. "I'm really beginning to dislike being carried," she whispered. "When I have proper legs again I will walk across the kingdom before I will submit to a horse or carriage." She gave an awful look to Raquelle's back. "I can't sleep here, I'm sorry. Maybe that poison will wear off soon and Liam will understand me." She had very low hopes of that happening, but she couldn't give up. It wasn't in her blood to give up. She would go out to Liam's tent and watch over him, and think. There had to be a way to get her message across.

Sam eyed her "bed roll" before looking at Raquelle and matching her sweet smile, though there was contempt in her gaze. "Your Highness is too good and kind," she said, biting back the sarcasm at the last moment. But she didn't think Raquelle cared much anyway since she immediately wished her good night and blew out the candle before settling down onto her mattress and blankets. Sam made a face as she considered the girl and noted that she was still in her fine dress. But she decided not to say anything about it.

She knelt down on the blanket she had been given ad set Dorothea back down on the floor. The princess stated her distaste for being carried and Sam felt herself smile just a little. "You have to keep up one way or another," she replied in barely a whisper. There was no way that Raquelle could have fallen asleep that fast. She rubbed the blanket between her fingers as Dorothea spoke and stated her intention to sleep elsewhere. She nodded in understanding and cast a glance over her shoulder to where Raquelle was lying on the other end of the tent before looking back at Dorothea. "Just be careful," she said quietly and gave her another smile.

When Dorothea left the tent Sam tried to make herself as comfortable as possible. It was a struggle. The ground was hard and the night was cold, which the blanket did little to protect her from. Sam looked over at Raquelle with an annoyed expression but did not say anything. She wouldn't give the other princess the satisfaction of her complaints. So Sam bundled up as much as she could under the blanket, rested her head on her arm, and closed her eyes despite the fact that she doubted she would fall asleep anytime soon. It was going to be a long night.

In the middle of the night, Raquelle sat up and peered through the darkness at Sam -- and she was still for a few moments as she decided whether the other girl was asleep. The only sound was the breeze in the trees outside.

Satisfied that she was the only one awake, Raquelle gathered her skirts and crept out of the tent. The fire had burned down to a dull glow and a wisp of smoke. No one was around. The princess tiptoed across to Liam's tent, careful not to wake anyone. She knelt beside the tent flap and peeked in.

Dorothea was curled up on Liam's bedroll, carefully out of his way but as close as she could be, as if to take comfort in his presence, fast asleep, her furry chest rising and falling. But Raquelle could care less about the cat at the moment.

Raquelle withdrew a vial of greenish liquid from her skirts, and she paused in consideration, her fingers on the stopper. She closed her eyes, took a breath, and pulled out the stopper. She found Liam's water skin near the tent flap, and she quickly tipped a few drops of the liquid into it. She gave it a quiet shake, replaced the cap and put it back exactly where she'd found it.

With a small smile she leaned back, replacing the stopper, and she dropped the vial back into a pocket in her skirt. As she stood and turned around to return to her own tent, she caught August's eye.

The Marshal was standing at the edge of the trees, watching her with a silent stare.

Raquelle gave him a pretty smile, knowing that he answered to her mother and he could not -- would not say a word. Confidently, she crossed the rest of the way back to her own tent. She kicked off her shoes and laid down again to sleep deeply.

Sleeping was next to impossible on the hard ground and with the chill nipping at her through the blanket. Even though she was tired, and all she wanted to do was close her eyes and drift off, Sam remained stubbornly awake. She just laid there, lying as still as she could and trying to make herself as warm as possible. Perhaps it was a good thing that she couldn't sleep. Because she was awake when Raquelle rose and slipped out of the tent into the night.

Sam's head rose from where it was resting on her arm, her brow furrowed slightly in suspicion. After a few moments she considered getting up to follow and see what the girl was up to, but then she saw motion at the flap and put her head back down. Raquelle entered the tent and laid back down on her bedroll, like nothing had happened. Sam considered pretending to be asleep but she was too cold and this was too uncomfortable. She sat up and looked over at the girl and knew she couldn't possibly be asleep yet.

"Have a nice little stroll?" she asked casually before rising to her feet, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders, and strolling outside. Sam spared August a glance before kneeling by the fire and adding some more wood to the embers until small flames flickered to life. It worked wonders on her cold skin and she let out a relieved sigh as she hovered close to the small fire.

~~~

A few moments after Raquelle left his tent, Liam was roused from sleep. Only half awake, his head rose from his pillow and glanced groggily around. Maybe he had only dreamt of another presence in the tent. Will was fast asleep on the other end of the tent, and it took a few moments for him to realize that there was a small, furry form curled up beside him. He looked down and smiled in amusement when he saw the cat. He stroked her fur a few times before settling back down to go to sleep. But first he realized how dry his throat was from sleep and reached for his water skin. Liam swallowed a few mouthfuls, not tasting anything strange and suspecting nothing, and sighed contentedly before laying his head back down and closing his eyes.

~~~

"Derrick?" Narissa's voice hissed from the mirror in August's possession. She had slipped into her private quarters while Tommen had been fast sleep, and even though it was the middle of the night she still managed to look flawless. Not a hair was out of place.

She had seen the Marshal join the prince's company earlier that day through the eyes of her familiar, but she still wanted to get a report from him personally. Besides there was the matter of the spare. Narissa had been shocked by the appearance of the girl when Darius had seen her. She hated surprises and she wanted an explanation. "Marshal Derrick!" Her voice was wavering on impatience, and when he answered she would look at him coldly. "Who is she?" Narissa demanded, "Who is that girl?"

~~~

It took a few moments for Sam to see it. She had been so focused on getting warm by her tiny fire that she barely look up from it. And when she had first seen it she had been glancing about the quiet camp that it had hardly registered. When she realized what she had seen she looked back at the trees, but saw nothing. Sam's mouth parted and her gazed around the treeline in confusion. Perhaps she had only been seeing things...

But then a soft melody, like bells, filled her ears and she saw it again, suspended in the air a little ways off into the forest. A tiny little form that was glowing with blue light. Sam's eyes widened as she gaze at it, and the rational part of her brain was trying to warn her. She didn't notice it, though.

All she could think was that it was beautiful. And mesmerizing. And she had to go to it.

Sam moved like she was in a dream. She wasn't aware that she had stood, that the blanket had slid from her shoulders to crumple on the ground, or that she was moving until she was three steps away from the fire. It barely mattered to her. She only had eyes for the tiny glowing thing, like a lantern in the darkness. Sam walked though the trees, unaware that this was blind spot in the camp's perimeter and the guards couldn't see her. She reached up to touch the blue light when it vanished.

Blinking her eyes, Sam looked around, almost frantically, until she saw it again. It had reappeared a little ways further into the woods and she started walking automatically. This would continue whenever she caught up to the light. It would vanish and reappear and Sam would follow it as it led her further and further into the forest.

Raquelle knew what was potentially in store for her sarcastic little tent-mate -- and so she smiled, her back to Sam, and didn't bother responding or acknowledging the other woman's existence. Sam would get what's coming to her. Raquelle waited until Sam had left the tent, and she shifted her skirts and rolled onto her back, able to sleep soundly. Her dress would be completely ruined -- but she'd brought enough of them that it didn't matter. She must look her best if they happened to be attacked, after all.

---

August took a slow breath, his expression unchanged and passive, and for a moment he pretended he hadn't heard the voice in his pocket. Finally he set his jaw, glanced back at the fire (where he saw that Sam had reignited the embers, unable to sleep as he'd expected) and moved silently out of Sam's line of vision before he withdrew the mirror. He'd been waiting for a message from Narissa -- but her voice still made his blood run cold.

"She's Samantha Shea, a Verinian," he replied crisply, all business. "The bandits that blew down your door had previously taken her hostage. She is no friend of Eldonia. She has expressed to me her desire to see Eldonia burn. She is an exceptional liar: she has lied her way into the princess' trust, and Samantha in turn trusts me. I believe she could be useful to you, my queen."

He thought he heard movement in the forest, but he dared not look away from the queen until she gave him leave.

And there was, indeed, movement at the edge of the forest: three very short, masked bandits crept between the shadows with sure footing, each with a hatchet held ready above his head.

Narissa listened with narrowing eyes. She was clearly not pleased by this sudden new element in her plans, a girl that she did not know. She was an unknown, unplanned, and if she was such a great liar how did the Marshal know for certain she had not lied to him. Narissa did not like this, and she didn't hide it from him.

"I don't like her," she said bluntly, "I don't know her and I don't like her. We have no idea what to expect from her. She could ruin everything for us, everything that I've worked for. This girl is an uncertain variable and I. Don't. Like. Her." Narissa took a breath and fixed a steely glare on the Marshal. "But on your head be it. I'm holding you responsible for this girl, Derrick. You watch her, keep her in line. If she turns out of be useful use her. But if she sows any sign of betrayal, or becoming a liability or a loose end... I expect you know what do do. Take care of it. Thoroughly and permanently."

She didn't want to hear anything else from him. She ended the contact with him, and stared at her own reflection in the mirror for a few moments before using deciding to use its power again. She reached out to the third little mirror, the one she had entrusted to her own daughter. She only hoped the girl wasn't fast asleep. "Raquelle. Raquelle!"

~~~

Sam had no sense that there was anyone else in the forest with her. In fact she had almost forgotten about the people in the camp she had wandered out of. She only had eyes and thoughts for the shimmering orbs of blue light. Everything else was hazy, unimportant, and her feet seemed to move on their own accord. Looking at the lights seemed to fill her with a sense of peace, unlike anything she had felt ever since arriving in this land. The lights were like beacons that would lead her to safety. To home.

She emerged from the trees and found herself in a clearing, a perfect circle of grass and flowers surrounded by a wall of trees. The moon hung directly above, large and bright in the sky, and it illuminated the clearing with lovely, pale moonlight. A faint sound of music and laughter filled her ears, but she must have been imagining it. There were no signs of the little orbs at the moment and Sam blinked her eyes, her sensed coming back to her slowly. She peered around the clearing, a pretty and tranquil place, but felt a sense of unease creep up inside of her. She shouldn't have left, shouldn't have wandered out here alone to this place. And why exactly had she come here?

The answer was suddenly suspended in the air at the center of the clearing. The little orb. Sam's gaze went glassy and mesmerized as soon as she saw it, and she immediately began moving toward it. There were more orbs surrounding her in the treeline, identical to the one in the center, but she only had eyes for the one. It disappeared as soon as she had reached it, but Sam hadn't been aware of the circle of mushrooms and toadstools on the grassy floor, nor that she had stepped right into the center of it.

Raquelle jumped at her mother's voice and she sat up, her hair askew, eyes big and searching for a mother-shaped shadow among the shades and folds of the tent, her heart pounding -- but after a few painful heartbeats it was clear that it was the little mirror in her handbag that was blaring angrily. She sucked in a breath, dove for her handbag, and tore out handkerchiefs and perfumes and dyes before she found the mirror. The princess cleared her throat, patted down her hair, rubbed her eyes, and put on a glowing smile before she turned the mirror -- and her mother's frowning face -- toward her.

"Hello, Mother," she greeted the queen in all respectability. "You're looking particularly gorgeous tonight." It wasn't at all untrue: a scowl had a way of defining the dangerous beauty of Narissa's face. Raquelle did her best to appear innocent and eager to carry out her mother's inevitable command.

---

The Marshal had known this command was coming -- the queen never tolerated surprises, and she never exercised trust. He clenched the mirror in his palm, set his jaw, and decided that he would only make this decision if and when he came to it. Killing Sam was out of the question -- but so was blatant disobedience to the queen.

He pocketed the mirror, laid his hand on his sword, and returned to his post, rigid and stoic. It crossed his mind to simply disregard the warning, but the raven and Raquelle were watching him steadily, judging his worth in the queen's absence. He closed his eyes and let out a breath; the moment -- the very moment Narissa learned that the Marshal had betrayed her was the moment the kingdom would fall into turmoil.

When he opened his eyes, he realized Sam had gone.

At first, he only walked slowly around the campfire, scanning the ground and the tents. He heard Raquelle's voice, speaking in that way she had only when she spoke to Narissa -- of course, Sam wasn't with her. Maybe she'd gone to relieve herself -- but as time passed and there was still no sign of movement, August's fingers tightened on the hilt of his sword.

Finally, he broke his post and checked the perimeter of the camp, circling wider, peering through the gloom between the trees, quelling a panic that threatened to swell in his throat. He walked faster, primed for a fight. He thought he caught a glimpse of something blue and sparkling -- just before a dwarf leaped in front of him with a blade thrust high to his chest.

"Not so fast, knave!" Alphonse struck a pose, his feathered hat quivering, while the dwarves surrounded the Marshal. "Our dear Sam has only just made her escape from your foul shackles, and you will not pursue her. Lay down your --!" The Marshal yanked his sword out of its sheath, and Alphonse raised his own blade just in time to prevent himself from being beheaded.

The Marshal shoved his foot into Alphonse's chest, sent the dwarf sprawling into the brush, and he spun around to clash swords with Florian and Coralie, who ambushed him like a whirlwind. In a few quick strokes the dwarves were left groaning in the leaves, and the Marshal sprinted through the pitch-dark forest, stumbling over stones and through mud and still water, following the direction where he'd seen that shimmer of blue light. Behind him, he could hear the dwarves giving chase.

There was another blue light -- and another. August tripped and skidded down an incline, hissing in pain, but he stumbled and broke into a run, throwing himself forward with hands against the dark trees.

He'd seen those lights before. A dozen men had disappeared that night.

He broke suddenly into a clearing and skidded to a stop, breathing harsh, his eyes wide and reflecting the blue orbs that floated before him. Gentle music and children's laughter filled his ears, but he chose to ignore it, closed his mind against it ferociously, savagely. Sam was there, and for a moment he was relieved -- until he saw where it was she was standing. His heart stopped.

"Sam!" he called harshly, snarling, and he reached a hand toward her, beckoning her without taking a step closer. Getting caught in this with her would do nothing to help her. "Sam get away from there! Sam! Snap out of it!"