Ren

I looked over the ten people before me.

"What news do you bring?" I asked. My cloak was drawn over my head. The last thing I needed was to show up at the palace and have the guards arrest me. I leaned against the back of a tree, and surveyed the group. Most of them were very different from what I had last seen. Many had come in their more recent disguises, but a couple looked more normal. Still, in a rebellion group, you never knew.

"My sister," one spoke up in a raspy voice, "married a palace guard." He paused to cough, noisily.

"And?" I asked impatiently.

"He overheard the king talking about killing off all the magical creatures. He came home to snitch to his wife, and she told me." He grinned. So that's what the king was up to, and I had no doubts the prince was in cahoots with him. It was better I had ditched the prince back at the village. It kept our heads on our necks for a little longer.

"Well, I have his majesty," I sneered, "under my watch. He suspects something, but he isn't clever enough to figure out a thing. He takes after his father's brains." There were snickers and laughing among the group. I smiled, and then held up my hand to silence them. "Now, I best go check on how our own dear prince is doing."

I checked my cloak was carefully secured over my head, then began to walk back towards the inn.

Enyalius

The minutes were slipping by and still there was no sign of Ren. Enyalius had been cruelly ripped from his dreamlike state when the noise in the bar had reached fever pitch. Now, it was silent but for the regulars, who would sleep in their chairs.

With the swift movement of an elf, Enyalius rushed past the innkeeper, moving like a shadow in the darkness. This was what his father hated in him: the ability to move like a ghost, the enhanced qualities that Gryk himself would never have. Enyalius often wondered how a man who so hated anything supernatural had loved an elf, but Gryk had never spoken of his mother more than was necessary, and Enyalius had to content himself with the knowledge that Gryk was as prone to change as the leaves in autumn.

The village was sleeping, but for a lone figure, striding back towards the inn. Ren. Enyalius swore under his breath, but remembering her promise, he let her approach him.

"Weren't thinking of an escape, then, sire?" Her voice was as sharp as a knife blade. Any and all pretence of innocence had been dropped. A spy, for sure.

"I could still escape, milady," Enyalius pointed out. "I'm capable of outrunning you, and I think you underestimate me. I will not return to the palace against my will, and my father will not bring me back."

Ren looked temporarily confused, but quickly recovered. "I'm not a spy. Didn't we establish that already, or are you not keeping up? The palace is the last place you're headed now. But I don't..."

She stopped again. They stood, studying each other's expressions, until Enyalius broke eye contact. At least she was letting him talk. "Fine. I think you'll find if you want to ransom me, or whatever it is that rebels do, the king will be less than happy to pay for a criminal. I introduced myself as Enyalius; that's all I am right now. I'm sorry to disappoint you. Will that be all?"

Ren

"Fine. I think you'll find if you want to ransom me, or whatever it is that rebels do, the king will be less than happy to pay for a criminal. I introduced myself as Enyalius; that's all I am right now. I'm sorry to disappoint you. Will that be all?" His words shocked me. I smiled, though, this would make my life a lot easier.

"So we're on the same side, then, even if we have different intentions?" I folded my arms over my chest. I was still a little skeptic. I wondered suddenly how long it would take to access my knife if I needed it.

"It would appear so." he responded. It felt weird, being on the same side as someone I had always really hated. Mostly because he was related to the king, but it still didn't feel right. I pulled off my cloak, not feeling the need to hide my face. as far as I knew, me and Enyalius were both on the same side.

"Let me get one thing clear. I guess you know now about why I was out here in the first place. I lead one of the rebel groups; the biggest, to be exact. But we don't need ransom money, and where you got that idea is beyond me. But we do want your father dead, no offense, and all of his plans stopped." I really didn't care what he thought of me at this point. I had a knife in my dress, and a vial of poison on a chain around my neck (disguised as a necklace). If he pulled anything, he'd be sorry.

Enyalius

"Dead is a little harsh, don't you think?" Enyalius had never encountered someone quite so blunt. He felt like he was walking on thin ice and had been all his life, but Ren spoke as freely as a child. She didn't seem to appreciate his words, so he continued. "You're human, aren't you? What made you rebel against my father?"

"We're not swapping life stories here," she said. Enyalius could see her face clearly in the moonlight. She was even younger than he had thought.

"You're a little young to hate somebody you've never even met, aren't you?" Enyalius saw Ren's hand shift towards a spot near her waist. She was armed.

"You're not old enough to be lecturing me, either."

Enyalius just smiled at that, but quickly stopped when he saw Ren's cheeks flush with anger. As much as he enjoyed watching her lose control, he couldn't move fast enough to avoid a knife. "Well, what about after you win? What's happening then? Who's going to succeed Gryk, in the grand rebel plan?"

Ren

"You're a little young to hate somebody you've never even met, aren't you?" My hand went to my waist, just over where my knife was in my dress. I knew I had to be patient, but now I swear he was just testing me to see how long it would take me to try and kill him.

"You're not old enough to be lecturing me, either." I said, anger obvious as I spoke. I just waited for him to say something that would really get me going. I knew he was choosing his next words wisely, and that was a good thing for him to do. Maybe he did have some brains in that head of his.

"Well, what about after you win? What's happening then? Who's going to succeed Gryk, in the grand rebel plan?" He was mocking me, and it was ticking me off (well, that, and I hadn't really thought that far ahead). I hated being pushed aside or ignored because I was young, and even more because I was a girl. Who was he to mock my plans. At least I had some form of status. He was just an ex-prince.

The words came out of my mouth unwillingly. I hadn't thought before I spoke, and it was a mistake. "You can,"

Enyalius

"You can." Ren bit her lip, but she couldn't take the words back now.

Enyalius inhaled sharply. A part of him had expected her to give his name, but not as decisively as she had just then. After all, there was nobody else. If Gryk was to be overthrown, Enyalius would have to take up the kingship, and he had known that all along. Still, he staggered slightly as he walked past Ren and towards the forest.

"Where are you going?!" she yelled, as loudly as she could muster without waking the others. The result was a stage whisper.

"I'm going to find whoever leads this rebel group and tell him, milady, that I make my own decisions. I'll hear him speak and if there's any kind of plan that I think is worth supporting, I'll lend my name and resources to his plight." Enyalius heard Ren stop behind him then.

"His?" Her voice was lower now, dangerously so. "If you'd like to speak to our leader, I think you'll have to turn around."

Calligraphy, you can bring Elizabeth in by saying that the king called for her or something. Nobody is really in the castle right now.

Ren

That was the final straw. "His? If you'd like to speak to our leader I think you'll have to turn around." I could feel the anger boiling up inside me. That was it. Just because I was a girl, and young, didn't mean I was incapable of doing anything besides threading a needle.

"You lead the rebels? But you're just a..." he stopped short. I narrowed my eyes, and my voice came out like a hiss.

"Go on, say it. I dare you." I was threatening him. It was a challenge, almost a measure of his intelligence. If he had a head on his shoulders, he wouldn't bother finishing his sentence. He'd get smart, and draw his sword, and hoped he was a good fighter. I took my knife out of my dress pocket. Let's see if he got smart now. The corner of his mouth turned up in a smile, and I threw the knife. He ducked, at it speared the tree above him.

"I was caught of guard, that's all," he put his hands up, either in defense or surrender. I didn't care which. He turned around, and pulled my knife out of the tree.

"Give me my knife back," I wanted something sharp in my hands, just in case he tried anything again.

Enyalius

"Give me my knife back," Ren snarled, ensuring that Enyalius would keep the knife as far away from her as possible. He rarely made mistakes as cataclysmic as this one, and he had regretted his words the moment they'd left his mouth. Now he'd quite possibly made a lifelong enemy of Ren, just when he needed her on his side.

"It was unintentional, okay? I made a -"

"Give me my knife back," Ren repeated, and Enyalius sighed. Well, this was a surefire way to prove his trust. He walked up to Ren and extended a hand, surrendering the knife. She snatched it from him, but didn't sheath it.

"I'm sorry, Ren. I should have realised as soon as I met you that you weren't just another mindless lady of the court. I've clearly been spending too much time around them lately. If you permit me to follow you, as your prisoner, to wherever and whatever the rebel camp is right now, I'd be in your debt."

"You're already in my debt," Ren muttered, and sheathed the knife.

**Hey, I'm going to drop out. Sorry.**

Ren

"You're already in my debt," I informed him. The fact that he was alive proved it. I put away my sword, and put on my best fake smile. Someone tapped my shoulder. I turned around, careful not to make any offensive moves. I didn't need to hurt anyone else today.

"Where have you been?" Sera asked me, "And what are you doing in the middle of nowhere with his high-high-highness." She gestured to where Enyalius stood.

"Long story, none of your business. He's with us now," I added when I saw the tips of her hair light on fire.

"So, the spawn of the king is on our side. Isn't that just great," her voice was sarcastic. She was mocking my decision.

"You have a child with you," I pointed out, "What is she doing here?"

"Why don't we all get back to base camp, and then I'll explain." I watched a ring of fire come out of her hands. It spun around us a few times. I pulled Enyalius closer to the center, closer to me, when a spark came centimeters from lighting him entirely on fire. Just as I was about to say something, we were back at the base camp. It was in the far east side of the kingdom, in the opposite direction of the castle.

The little girl looked at Sera, "Wait, this whole time you could have just magiced us around, and you didn't."

"I didn't want to scare you," I heard Sera inform her. I was going to comment, but a spy of mine came up to me. He made a little bow, and then handed me a few pieces of paper.

"Captain, I have information. Look at these when there are not prying eyes. They are maps of the hidden passages of the castle. One even leads to the kings secret chambers," he seemed very pleased with himself. He looked the prince up and down. "Who's this?"

"An associate of mine. Give him the same respect you would give any of the other members." My voice was firm, and my spy knew this was an order. He did a little half bow to me, nodded at Enyalius, and then left.

Enyalius

"An associate of mine. Give him the same respect you would give any of the other members," Ren ordered, not even glancing towards Enyalius, who highly doubted that this "respect" was going to be forthcoming from either Ren or the new arrival, the fire maiden.

"Do I have the privilege of your name, milady?" Enyalius dipped his head to her, trying not to smile at the absurdity of it all. Ren was scowling at him again, while the little girl was merely looking up at him in confusion.

"You're the Prince," the girl said slowly. "What's wrong with the King? Why's he doing this?"

"Don't we all wonder," grunted Ren. "Right, we'll go to base camp, as Sera suggested. We can cut through the forest again, because I'd rather not travel on the open road, and the king's men won't be out until daybreak. Sera, watch Enyalius. I'll keep an eye on the girl."

"My name's Cassie." Ren nodded and pulled her to the side, whilst Sera smirked.

"First name terms with the rebel leader, then, Prince?" she teased, but there was a harsh undertone to her voice. "That'll go down well!"

Enyalius pursed his lips and didn't reply, following Ren into the forest as she had followed him out only hours before. How their roles had changed. She had taken charge without a moment's thought; if the rebels were to accept him, or Ren's plan for his future, he would have to fight for his chance to lead. It had never occurred to him that he would have to challenge for the throne, but as the foliage closed on the village behind him, he realised that he would have to. Essentially, he was trapped.

IGNORE!!!

((Um, Fox, I'm not sure what's going on. We were about to head to the rebel base camp (Cassie, Sera, Enyalius and Ren, that is) and now you're in the inn. I'm confused!))

Sorry. I got really confused, too. Just ignore that post. I don't really know what's going on.