At the moment, the four of them, the Captain, the Princess, the Thief, and Lucas, the most normal of the group, were about halfway through the Enchanted Forest. Nobody knows why it has such a name. The forest itself is like any other really, tall trees, green grass, the occasional stump and/or stone, oh, and of course the song birds and foxes.

As they walked, Elizabeth had turned to Mai and asked her how everyone has been doing. She smiled, thinking over it before answering. "Well, Macy and Riley have become some of the castle's finest maids. Dust wouldn't dare float in their presence. Tyler was a maid, but...She decided she wasn't good at it, so now she's the kingdom's messenger." 

Elizabeth laughed, remembering how destructive Tyler was as a child. "What about you, Mai? Please tell me that you've been doing something more important than searching for me all this time." 

Mai rolled her eyes, knowing that Elizabeth only saw the search for her as unnecessary. She most likely blames herself for what happened, even though she was only a child at the time.

"I've...actually become Captain of the guard. Mostly to have the resources to find you, but also...because I want to be able to protect this kingdom." 

Elizabeth caught her honest gaze. "Mai..."

Mai laughed. "Believe it or not, Kevin and Matt have become my most trustworthy guards, but you know those two. They're unpredictable." 

Elizabeth laughed, recalling the two who use to pretend they were Sherlock and Watson.

Lucas and Zed had been walking behind them, silently listening in on the conversation. Zed's gaze had unknowingly fixed itself on the Captain. Lucas glanced over at him and chuckled. The great thief snapped out of his daze when he heard the laugh. He looked to the thug with narrowed eyes. "What..?"

Lucas only laughed. "Nothing, nothing at all." 

Zed turned his head with a "Tch..." Clearly annoyed by his friend.

Elizabeth glanced back at the two boys, then followed Zed's gaze to her best friend. A smile grew on her face as a plan started to form...but she needed help.

To get her plan going, Elizabeth asked if they could take a rest. So everyone found a nice tree to sit under in the shade. Even though she could walk more, a few hours had passed since they've left the tower. Resting was the perfect excuse to get everyone to stop for a moment.

Lucas sat next to the Princess, Zed took his seat next to him, and Mai sat on the other side of Elizabeth. Lucas and Lizzy watched Mai and Zed take glances at each other. That's when both the Princess and the Thug looked to one another, knowing what the other was thinking, and nodded with a spark in their eyes.

 ~ ✿ ♥ ✿ ~  

"I'm kind of hungry...Wish I would have brought some food from the tower." Said Elizabeth, glancing over to Lucas, who followed in tow. "Yeah, I kind of am too...I didn't even think about bring any."

Mai stood up. "Why don't the boys go and search for something? I could stay with Elizabeth." Mai looked to her only to flinch at her angry pout. "W-W-What?"

The Princess stood. "I told you to call me Lizzy! As punishment-" She took a hold of poor Zed, who had just stood up, and dragged him next to Mai by the arm. "You two must go find food together! Lucas will stay with me as company."

Before Mai could protest, Zed had grabbed her wrist. She looked up at him, a bit surprised by his action. He merely smiled. "She doesn't look like the type of person who would give in to argument."

Mai looked back to Elizabeth's stern look. She remembered how stubborn she could be as a child. With a sigh of defeat, Mai nodded. "Fine, but Lucas..." The boy looked up at her and was slightly terrified to meet her very calm gaze. "I expect you to be a perfect gentlemen. Anything less, and I will hunt you down and skin you like a fox. Am I understood?" The Thug could only nod as he felt a sweat coming on. The calm Mai was somehow more terrifying than the angry one.

So the two were off to find food, leaving the Thug and the Princess alone...Mai glanced back once before sighing. Leaving Elizabeth in Lucas' care wouldn't be so worrisome, really, she knew that. However she had just found her and didn't want to leave her side just yet. Now she was stuck with the Thief, though for some odd reason, that thought didn't bother her all that much. She blamed it on her worry for Elizabeth's safety. Her worry was distracting her so she wasn't thinking clearly. Otherwise she would be less nervous and more cautious around the tall young man walking next to her.

Yeah, that had to be it.