(Above is just a song to listen to. It doesn't really go with the chapter, but I like it, so its their or you if you want it :)

It was a comfortable ride to the tavern. The seasons were changing, so the girls were glad they'd brought their warmer clothes. Jasper was surprised when he saw they were similar to what he was wearing, but let it go. If he were them, he wouldn't want to wear a dress the entire time either.

Clomp clomp clomp went their horses hooves, being slightly muted by the soft petals still cloaking the ground. As they were walking, Winter noticed something off about her horse. She gently pulled Iceblaze to a stop and jumped off, Arianna and Jasper following in suit. "Darling," Winter began, using her horses nickname. "is there something bothering you?" Darling tossed her head and snorted. Winter figured that was as good as a yes. She nodded and began to check her horse over. Darling, as she will now be known as, turned her head to watch her owner. When she checked Darling's hooves for stones, she saw their in lie the problem; there was a small pebble lodged in her front right hoof. "Oh, I'm sorry Darling, I didn't realize! I hope you'll forgive me?" Winter looked into her horses eyes to see if there was any reaction there. Darling blinked and shook her tail. Winter shrugged. That was good enough for her.

While she was removing the pebble, she saw Arianna and Jasper conversing in low tones and occasionally sniffing the air, worried expressions on their faces. Winter sniffed the air, but didn't smell anything unusual, so she went back to helping Darling.

Soon, the pebble was removed, and she was ready to get on their way, when Jasper turned toward her. He spoke, with a concerned light in his eye. "Winter, do you smell that? Its smoke," he added, glancing in the direction they were headed. This time, when Winter sniffed the air, she caught a whiff of it. Frowning, she tried to think if they had passed any campsites on their way back from The Wolves Tavern. Then horror struck her as she realized what it was.

The fire was The Wolves Tavern.

They all seemed to realize it at the same time. They leapt on their horses and urged them into a gallop. Arianna was terrified of what they might see. If the whole building was burning, what had happened to the poor people on the inside?

Jasper was having the same realization. If there was, a mess, he didn't want the princesses to have to see them. As the smoke smell grew stronger though, they could actually hear fire crackling. "Come on!" he shouted. "We might not be too late!"

As it turned out, they were. Coming around the last bend, Winter gasped at the sight in front of her. The only thing left in the clearing were some charred remains. The ground was ripped up and there were one or two shapes that looked awfully like bodies. Some of the wood was still burning, but as the wood had burned, the stones in the walls had fallen onto them, putting the flames out for the most part. There was nothing left.

Arianna stepped of her horse and slowly walked over to the building, tears running down her face as she silently wept. They may have only visited this place once, but it had still held important memories for her.  And she knew that, if this was burned on purpose, then Mega would have never given up without a fight. He was gone. And there was nothing she could do to change that.

Jasper watched as Arianna moved through the wreck and Winter just stared, as if in a trance. He knew that staying here longer would only hurt them deeper, and he didn't want to do that to them, but he also knew that he couldn't just take them away immediately. He had no real connection to the place, and so while he found it sad that it had been burned, he wasn't very emotional.

Suddenly, as he was staring at Arianna, he noticed her pick up something; it appeared to be a piece of paper. He watched as she studied it for several minutes. Then her eyes got wide, as if she had realized the importance it held. She ran back through the rubbish over to Winter and started talking and gesturing; like she was very worried. Winter clearly didn't get it for a moment, and then it appeared to sink in. Her eyes got wide, and they both looked off into the distance. Then Arianna said something and they both looked at Jasper. He shifted in his seat and smiled. Arianna blushed and Winter said something. Arianna swung her gaze over to her sister, horrified at whatever she had just heard. They then had a heated discussion about something, with a lot of gesturing towards him. Several minutes later, Winter threw up her hands, giving in. She jogged over to Darling and mounted up easily, riding over to Jasper. Arianna simply started walking over.

As he was watching them come, he had a feeling they had something important to say. Winter was still upset about their conversation and Arianna was taking her time getting over to them, obviously trying to stall whatever it was they were to tell him. He was getting impatient, as the sun was setting, and they now didn't know where they were going next, so as a result, he wasn't in the mood for stalling. "Come on Ari, let's go! We haven't got all night." She took the insult with barely a shrug and simply started walking a little quicker. Jasper grumbled something unintelligible and dismounted. Winter took the hint and did so also.

Arianna finally arrived. She looked at Winter, hoping against hope that she would tell Jasper, but it wasn't to be so. Winter ignored this hint professionally and simply examined her nails with a completely false interest. Arianna sighed irritably and turned back to Jasper.

She began, "I am going to just get right down to the point here, as I don't feel like taking the roundabout way. While we were being held captive, I saw a certain symbol on the desk Green Eyes was at."

Before she could continue, Jasper's furrowed his brow in anger. "Green Eyes? That's what you call him? Oh, I should have known he wouldn't give you his name, the little scum. Let me tell you this; he does have a name, and it's Zlo Mica." Before they could comment, however, he added. "Don't ask how I know that. Please." The sisters shrugged and Arianna continued.

"Anyway, the symbol, it was like criss-crossed lines in a circle. I didn't pay much mind to it, as I was in a terrified state, so I'm surprised I recognized it. But, as I was just going through the remains of the building, I saw a piece of paper. I knew that it had to have been placed there, as it was not burnt, and it was in a small circle or un-burned grass. So, I picked it up and studied it, knowing that I had seen it before, but not remembering where. The suddenly it struck me." Her eyes hardened as she thought about it again.

"It was his symbol. And he placed it there for us. He knew we would be back here soon, and he wanted us to know he had gotten to the ring first." She then looked up, fresh tears running down her face. "Jasper, he has the first ring. That forces me to think that, if he has the location of one of them..." She couldn't finish the thought. Jasper smiled sympathetically and gathered her into his arms. "Shh, shh, it's ok now, it's going to be ok." He looked up and noticed Winter was in her trance-like state again, and so he gently pulled her into his arms.

Together, they stood like that, arms wrapped around each other. They might have hit a wall, but they knew that together, they could do this. They had to. For their parents. For themselves. And for the world. So, with that realization, they hit the sack, ready to get some rest and start new tomorrow.

Sorry Ive been away for a while! Had some computer issues, and some procrastination trouble :P Anyway, hope you enjoy!

SkyBrid