Merrigan knew she was being followed, she also had a decent idea who it was, too. She quickly turned a corner and wove her way through the crowds in the marketplace. She glanced quickly behind her, cursing when she saw the edge of a black cloak disappearing into the crowd.

Not good.

She cursed again, turned away and quickened her pace, ducking into a nearby alley. The moment she entered the alley, she came to an abrupt stop. There he was waiting for her, black cloak and all. The Captain of the Royal Guard.

How in the hell had he beaten her here? She drew both her knives, preparing for a fight.

His eyes flicked over the blades before he smiled, that smile didn't reach the deep green of his eyes. "I think it's time you simply gave up, don't you?"

She returned his smile. "Never."

With a shrug, he drew his sword and without hesitation, rushed forward.

She threw one of her knives, and spun away as he rushed her, preparing to throw the second knife.

He dodged the knife, and followed her when she spun as if he'd known she was going to make that move. "Nice try," he said with a smirk. He swung the sword in a graceful arc toward her right arm.

She ducked and pivoted, striking out at him with her remaining knife. It missed and she was forced to back away from him, giving up ground. She gave her wrist a flick and twist and lobbed a ball of fire at him. He dodged that too. The man was quick on his feet, she'd give him that.

The Captain charged forward again, sword raised. There was no time for her to dart away from him, her only choice was to defend. She raised her knife in a feeble attempt to block the blow. Their weapons struck together with such force she lost her grip on the knife, it spun from her hand to clatter against the cobbles beneath their feet. She was forced to retreat from the swing of his blade, ducking and weaving as he continued to strike at her. Her back hit a wall and she knew she'd lost this battle.

"That wasn't a very fair fight. Let's go for two out of three."

He snorted. "Not a chance. Do you believe I'd allow you the opportunity to use your magic on me?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, why don't we find out?" She raised a hand and wiggled her fingers at him.

He sheathed his sword quickly, grabbed her wrist and slipped a cuff around it, before securing the other one around her other wrist. "Try and flambé me now," he told her with a grin. He grabbed her arm and hauled her from the alley through the streets of Lothoria in the direction of the castle.

She glanced up at the Captain and realized this was the first time she'd seen him without the hood of his cloak raised. He was remarkably young to hold the position of Captain, maybe only a year or two older than herself, which would put him at nineteen. His dark red hair was tousled from the hood of his cloak giving him the appearance of a man who had just rolled out of bed.

His green eyes met her gray ones and he scowled. "Problem?" he asked.

She nodded furiously. "Oh yes, you ruined my perfectly good day, Captain."

He grunted, looking away from her. "Too bad."

"That's quite rude, you know, Captain."

He rolled his eyes. "Are you going to say 'Captain' at the end of every sentence?"

"Yes, I am, Captain." She smirked. Anything to annoy him."You do know, I didn't do anything."

"You have magic and you've used it, it's against the law. You have also assisted others escape justice."

She rolled her eyes, muttering, "It's a stupid law. And I didn't help anyone escape anything, I was merely allowing them the opportunity to see the world. You know, expand their horizons a little."

He ignored her and continued leading her through the streets to the castle. They were on the outskirts of the city and she knew it was going to be a long walk. She now wished she'd stopped to eat something before he'd caught her.

"I'm hungry."

"That's too bad for you, isn't it?"

She scowled at him but remained silent.

They didn't reach the castle until mid-afternoon. The two guards that stood outside the gates stood just a bit straighter when they spotted him. They saluted as he hauled her through the gate.

She slowed her steps, looking around the courtyard. Guards were everywhere, as they passed groups she picked up snippets of conversation.

"She couldn't have gotten far, she won't know how to survive alone."

"Scour the forest, she's bound to be close."

Her eyes skimmed over the groups of guards. Maps were out, horses were being readied and weapons gathered. A terrifying thought occurred to her, the rumors were true, the King's daughter had run away. If the King lost control of his daughter that didn't bode well for the kingdom. What else might he lose control of?

The Captain tightened his grip on her arm causing her to wince. "Keep moving," he snapped.

"I think you're cutting off circulation, Captain." She could have sworn she heard him mutter a quick 'whatever' under his breath but couldn't be entirely certain.

They continued their march through long, winding corridors until they reached the throne room. The guards at the door saluted before opening the doors for them. He barely slowed, hauling her with him into the massive throne room and up the aisle to stand before the throne where King Robertus Auro sat glaring at her. She gulped as she stared up into his cold, calculating eyes. The Captain finally released his grip on her arm, she rubbed at the bruised spot where he had held her so tightly. Now that she stood before the king the reality of her situation was beginning to sink in. She was well and truly trapped, there would be no escape this time. No more outwitting the Captain, she was never leaving this castle, at least not alive anyway. She sank to her knees before the king, her head bowed.

The Captain bowed low before the King. "Your Highness."

The King waved a negligent hand, indicating he could rise. "Captain Leydon."

"I've caught the sorceress, Merrigan Donoghue," the Captain told the King with a wave of his hand in her direction.

"I see that, it's about damn time you captured her," the King responded while looking her up and down as if she were something disgusting he'd discovered on his plate. "You couldn't elude us forever, witch. It was only a matter of time before we caught your treacherous hide." His gaze went to the captain. "Toss her in the dungeons, she'll be burned at the stake in the morning."

Tears flooded her eyes and she blinked them away quickly, neither the king or captain needed to see her tears. She was stronger than that. There was no sense setting the tears free, she'd known this day lay somewhere in her future. The king outlawed magic long ago and from the moment her abilities manifested it was only a matter of time before she was caught.

"Yes, Your Highness," Captain Leydon replied as he bowed once again before grabbing her arm, hauling her to her feet and dragging her from the room. "Let's go."

As he hurried her through the hallways she tried desperately to pay attention to where they were going and where possible exits were located. It didn't take long for her to give up the effort to memorize the layout of the corridors, it seemed as if the Captain was taking the most mixed up route possible to confuse her.

Her thoughts turned to the cat and mouse game she and the Captain had been playing until he finally caught her. She still had no clue how he'd found her, she was always very careful, it made no sense. She finally gave up the effort to figure out his ways, she had more important things to mull over, like her upcoming death.

He paused briefly at the top of the stairs down to the dungeon and she glanced at him, his hair was still mussed and those green eyes of his were bouncing everywhere as if he were expecting an attack to occur any second. His eyes stopped, resting on her and he frowned. "Why are you staring at me?" he asked as he began descending the stairs, dragging her along with him.

She fluttered her eyelashes at him. "You are very handsome, Captain Leydon. Aren't you used to ladies staring at your pretty face?"

He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I see you've progressed beyond calling me simply Captain."

She smirked but chose not to reply. He pulled out a key and opened her cell before giving her a little shove inside, removed the cuffs, and locked the door behind her. She spun a circle, staring around the tiny cell.

"Wow, thank you so much for the amazingly luxurious accommodations. I am so happy to be spending my last night in such comfort," she told him snidely.

His reply came with the same large dose of sarcasm she'd tossed at him. "You're so very welcome, do ring if you need anything, m'lady." He gave her an overly theatrical bow before turning to leave, he waved a hand at her. "Enjoy your stay!" Then he was gone, striding off down the hallway.