With the help of the transportation device, Kaizen and his two dozen men accompanying him had passed the border and were only a mile or so away from the Irisanni castle.

      Rowan sat atop Sandy, stroking the beautiful palomino's ears, "You're such a pretty horse," she said, smiling as the horse's ear twitched in response. Aliyah was riding beside her on Dust, and Kaden had gotten a black horse to ride along beside them.

      Kaizen was riding an impressively large horse that Rowan had instantly adored, and he led the group. "I sent a message on ahead to your parents," he told her as he fell back from the lead to ride alongside her, "They know you're coming."

       "Thank you," she smiled at him, "I owe you so much."

       "It's been a pleasure," he assured her, "And if you need anything else from me, all you have to do is ask."

      "I appreciate it," she nodded, "And same thing goes for you. I'll help you too."

      Kaizen gave a brisk nod in reply. He looked up at the blue sky above, tilting his head back so his black hair fell out of his eyes, "And I'm sorry about your stepmother. It's horrible, how she treats you, and that she tried to get you killed."

       "Well, either way, it's not going to matter," Rowan ducked her head, "I suppose someone told you about my curse?"

       "I knew from the moment your name was discovered," he replied, and his gaze clouded as he faced her, "When does the curse come in to effect?" He cleared his throat quickly, "Assuming you don't mind me asking."

        "It's on my eighteenth birthday," Rowan said quietly, her eyes falling to watch the bobbing of her horse's head in front of her. She curled her fingers through its dusty, white mane.

      "When is that?"

       "Too soon," her voice was barely a whisper, and he had to lean forward to hear her.

        "Oh," Kaizen said, not sounding certain how to reply. He held her gaze, though she wanted to look away, "I'll do everything in my power to make sure you wake up. And I mean this. Somewhere in this world, there is a cure, and—"

        "No," Rowan gave a small shake of her head, "Don't waste your time. I'm fine with it. It's just... peculiar to know exactly when you're going to die."

        "Sir!!" A soldier in the front shouted, and they all looked up to see a huge boulder flying through the air towards them. It landed with devastating impact, and the horses reared up in panic.

        The boulder had wiped out several soldiers, and Kaizen yanked on his horse's reigns to halt it, "Catapult fire?!"

          "Watch out!" Aliyah screamed as four boulders followed behind the first one.

        "Scatter!" Kaizen ordered, and the horses didn't hesitate to race off with their riders still on their backs. He held his own horse steady, looking with bewilderment to Rowan, "Why are they attacking us?"

        "I-I don't know!" Rowan shouted back, trying to keep her anxious horse from bolting with a reassuring hand on its head. A second barrage of rocks barreled down toward them, and Kaizen pulled the reigns to steer his horse out of the way.

        The air filled with arrows from the distance, arcing towards them. Kaizen leapt off of his horse and tackled Rowan off of her own. They landed hard, but Kaizen used his sword to slice off Sandy's saddle as the horse bolted past them, and he pulled the saddle over both of them for shelter as the arrows rained down.

     Once the sounds and the shuddering of the thick, leather saddle stopped, Kaizen kicked off the saddle, which had been peppered with arrows. He cursed, pulling Rowan to her feet. She was forced to tackle him backwards to avoid a boulder as it shattered the ground beside them, the force knocking them farther away.

      "I'm going to see what the hell's going on," Rowan stuck two fingers into her mouth and let out a deafening whistle. Her horse galloped towards her again, and she swung onto its bare back, "Regroup your men. Something's really wrong here."

      "Wait!" Kaizen shouted, but she kicked her heels into her horse's flank. It raced off before Kaizen could stop her.

        Sand drifted up from around her horse's hooves as she ran forward, and Rowan looked up to see more boulders arcing overhead. They passed her, but the arrows were still a danger. Sandy reared up as an arrow sank into her shoulder, but Rowan urged her on.

        "It's okay, it's not deep," Rowan said breathlessly, pulling her horse behind a tree to avoid another arrow. Then they burst out into a clearing to see five catapults lined up, being loaded.

       She slowed her horse to a halt, standing up on the wounded palomino's back, "Stop!" She shouted so loud her voice tore at her throat, "I order you all to stop!"

        "Rowan?" She saw her father look up in shock.

        But the men loading and firing the catapults didn't seem to hear her. Rowan leapt off of Sandy, snatching a sword from a man's belt as she ran past, and she sliced a rope steadying the catapult. It swung to the side just as it launched a boulder, and the boulder was thrown left instead of straight.

         She ducked underneath the arms of a man trying to stop her, slicing through a second rope, then a third. She kicked a man in the face as he lunged at her, and she disabled the last catapult, "Stop firing, you idiots!!" She stabbed the sword into the ground in front of her, "Why are you attacking?"

       "Rowan!" her father ran towards her, but she shoved him away, crossing her arms and tapping her foot on the ground expectantly.

       "They were attacking us," her father said, looking upset she'd pushed him away, "One of our guards saw them advancing with a battalion, so we came out to stop them-"

        "Kaizen was returning me," Rowan said, staring at her father with a mix of horror and relief, "He sent a note up ahead to you guys saying he was bringing some men to escort me home!"

         The King looked shocked, "Oh Lord save me." he said, realizing what this meant, "How many people did we-"

         "At least five," Rowan said through gritted teeth, "How could you be so stupid? We weren't carrying any war weapons, we didn't declare war yet, and Kaizen told you he wasn't planning to attack until the week was up! That man may not be the best king on the planet, but he's trustworthy!"

         Her father stepped back, horror lighting his eyes, "Rowan, I..."

         Her shoulders slumped, and her fiery gaze softened, "I'm sorry. You didn't... I just... you scared everyone." She climbed back onto Sandy, tearing off her sleeve and the strap of her satchel to bind the wound in the horse's shoulder after gently pulling the arrow out. She dropped her strapless satchel onto the ground beside a crooked tree, then steered her horse back towards the Tiberians.

       When she reached them again, they had been regrouped as she had requested, and she was relieved to see Kaden and Aliyah beside Kaizen.

       "They thought you're coming to start a war," Rowan said to Kaizen's back, and he whipped around to face her. He gripped her wrist, pulling her into his chest. She was startled by the embrace, but he stepped back quickly.

        "You're okay," he gave her a relieved grin, "But why would they possibly think that we were coming to attack? We made no declaration, and we weren't carrying any large weapons."

         "Someone said you were leading a battalion," Rowan rubbed her horse's shoulder beside the wound, "So my father panicked."

         "Seven men died," Kaizen said stiffly, the grin gone from his face, "And five horses."

         "This is my fault," Rowan realized, stepping away from him. Her mouth went dry, and she felt sick. Her heart pounded in her chest, "You wouldn't be here if I-"

          "None of this is your fault," Kaden slid off of Dust, and she noticed the bandage lapping around his left arm, stiffening its movement, "It's the idiot who told the king we were armed for battle. You came to my brother because Adeline was trying to kill you. This is Adeline's fault."

        Rowan knew he had a point, but she sat down hard on the ground. She felt a knot twist in her stomach, but Kaizen pulled her to her feet.

        "Hey," his voice was suddenly soft, "I don't blame you. It's your deranged stepmother's fault. And we're going to make sure she can't do anything like this again. You're home now, and you're safe. You stopped this battle for us, so we owe you," he curled a strand of her dark hair behind her ear, "It's okay now."

        Rowan pulled away from him, giving her head a shake to clear her jumbled thoughts.

        "Lord Kaizen!" King Alden strode out of the forest with his men following behind him, and Kaizen faced the other king with a face of stone. Alden bowed respectfully, "My sincerest apologies, I swear I was not intending to destroy your men for no reason-"

        "Who told you?" Kaizen said coolly, his arms crossed stoically over his chest, "Who told you we were armed for war?"

        "My wife told me that a guard reported to see you crossing the border armed for war," the King sounded anxious, "I don't know how they could say that unless—"

        "-unless they were trying to get you to attack," Rowan finished for him, "But whose idea was it to use catapults? That way you couldn't see me or tell for yourselves we were unarmed."

       "I-" Alden broke off for a moment, seeing in the logic for her statement, "It was... Adeline."

       Rowan, Kaden, and Kaizen all exchanged suspicious glances, "So Adeline told you that we were attacking and to use the catapults," Kaizen said, "And it didn't occur to you that maybe you should check before you started trying to kill us?"

        "I should have," Alden said, "I know I'm at fault. And as an apology, I'll add two million credits onto the original price of returning my daughter."

      "I will accept it," Kaizen nodded stiffly, "But I have reason to believe your wife intentionally set up this situation. According to Rowan and this man Kaden, he was sent by your wife to kill her or suffer pain of execution."

       "Th-that's an outrageous accusation!" King Alden spluttered, looking from Rowan to Kaizen in turn, "I would trust Adeline with my life!"

       "Are you doubting my word?" Kaizen's eyes narrowed, but Alden refused to back down.

       "My wife would never do something like that! Besides, what would she gain from killing Rowan? She is a perfectly trustworthy woman. Sure, she has her moments of... well, rage, but she would never hurt my daughter!"

       "Let it go," Rowan told Kaizen as he opened his mouth.

        His lip curled in disapproval, but Rowan didn't want to force this accusation onto her father without sufficient proof, "We need to get back soon. Right, father?" She looked to the king, "After all, we haven't much time left."

       King Alden blanched. Then in one swift movement, he pulled his daughter into a hug, stroking her hair, "It's not over. I'll send more men out to look, I-"

        "It is over," Rowan told him quietly, "But it's okay. It's all okay," she wrapped her arms around her father, burying her face into him. Her voice was muffled, but he could hear her whisper, "I've accepted my fate. And you should too."

        "Rowan," Aliyah approached from behind her, and the princess turned to look at her, "It's soon, isn't it? Your birthday."

       Rowan gave a small nod. She cast her gaze to the final rays of sun slipping behind the darkening horizon. She inhaled deeply, holding her breath as she did the math in her head. Her legs felt like lead. It was closer than she'd thought.

        "When?" Kaden demanded, using his good arm to grasp her shoulder, "Tell us when it's going to happen. Please."

         She swallowed hard. "T-tomorrow."

         They all froze, staring at her with a mixture of shock and horror. Even her father looked petrified as if even he hadn't realized how close it was.

        Rowan attempted a shrug, noticing her bag under her father's arm, and she took it from him. She tucked it under her arm, giving him a small smile, "Hey... Dad?" She ducked her head to the side to catch her father's gaze, "It's okay. You'll have Quinn. And Elena. And... and Adeline."

        "But Rowan-"

        "I said, it's okay," her voice hardened, but she swung onto her horse's back, "Now let's go home, you can give Kaizen his money, and we can make a treaty. That way, at least, I can die saying I helped make peace between our countries." She cracked the reigns, and her horse galloped away.

       Aliyah nudge her horse with her heels, and Dust sprinted after her.

        Kaizen let out a deep sigh, looking to the king, "We have two extra horses. Feel free to use them."

         Kaden galloped away on his horse, following Aliyah and Rowan.

      "Also," Kaizen said to Alden as the king swung onto one of the horses, "I think I might be in love with your daughter."

       Alden nearly fell off his horse.

       "I just thought you'd probably like to know," Kaizen flicked a hand to indicate to his men to follow, then clicked his tongue. And his horse raced after the others.