"What is going on here?"

"Really, my dear, I thought you were smarter than that. Surely you recognized the very same people who plundered the capital and killed your father and the king. They might not be the exact same people but, I think you get what I mean."

"But ... you're a close friend of the king. Saenar calls you uncle! How could you –"

"Save all that for someone who cares, my dear. I do not care about the prince. He's been dethroned, why should I mind what he thinks of me?"

Mynera frowned. Who was this man standing before her? Surely it could not be same Lord Ingstad that was bubbly and excitable and touching her every moment he got? This man was nothing like him. He was cold and his words could slice bread.

"Don't take this personally, my dear," Lord Ingstad drawled, taking a seat on a nearby white bench. "This isn't personal at all. In fact, I had been hoping that we would be able to ... get to know each other a bit better."

At her face, he grinned. "But alas! It wasn't meant to be."

"Why are you doing this?" Mynera asked him.

"Why? I'm sure you know why. The servants love to talk so I'm positive you know that I'm a bit low on funds. There's a pretty penny for your head, you know?"

"I am quite aware, my lord," she muttered. Her anger was building by the second. She knew coming here was going to be a mistake. Her instincts had told her so from the very beginning. She just wished she had continued to listening to her head instead of falling so easily for the comfort and 'safety' this manor offered.

"Are the claws coming out? Save it for when you return to the capital, my dear. You'll be needing it." He turned to the red enemies standing by the door. "She's all yours."

They started forward, grins on their ugly faces. They must be damned if she was going to let them just take her just like that.

Mynera turned around and sprinted towards the door at the other side of the courtyards.

"Get her! Don't let her escape!"

The unmistakable sound of footsteps sounded behind her making her pump her legs even more, pushing herself to go faster. Just a little more to go.

Suddenly, her dress caught under her feet and she fell, face first. The red enemies crowded her immediately and pulled her upwards

"Oh no, what have we here?" Lord Ingstad walked up to Mynera and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. He wiped her face, blatantly ignoring the glares that were boring holes into him.

"We can't have you going to Lord Gavin with a bloody nose, now can we? Or should I say, King Gavin?"

"You traitor!"

She lunged after him. The red enemies held tightly unto her arms, not allowing her to get very far but Lord Ingstad stepped back nonetheless. The glimmer of fear she saw on his face gave Mynera a bit satisfaction.

"Take her away," he dismissed with a wave of his hand.

"You can't do this! King Damon was your friend! His son ...! Saenar is –!"

"I will sell all my friends out for money. That is the world we live in. Money will always be more important to anyone over friendship."

"You sick, sick man."

"Didn't I tell you take her away?"

The red enemies started forward, pulling her with them. They still thought she was going down without a fight, did they?

Mynera stepped on one's foot, pushing her heel as far down as she could. He cried out in pain, releasing her instantly. As soon as he did, she turned around and elbowed the other in his back, grabbing his arm and twisting it behind him. She pushed him into the other, who had recovered from the attack on his foot and they both toppled over.

She faced Lord Ingstad, who gave a high girlish scream. Mynera punched him in the face, knocking the sissy man out cold. Then she sprinted for the door.

She was almost there. Almost outside where she could scream for help. Just about there.

But then something collided into the back of her head. She paused for a moment, a bit disoriented, before the darkness came to take over.

**

It was hours after Mynera and Uncle Ingstad had left the armory and Hale and Saenar were still at it. They had decided that they wouldn't be waiting for them to return to have their little sparring match. They were here now. Why wait for others to be around when he could just emasculate Hale right here, right now?

Saenar had thrown a sword at Hale saying best two out of three. That two out of three turned into best out of five, then out of seven. So far, he was in the lead with four wins. And relishing in the feel of it.

Hale lunged at him but he blocked the rapier, pushing him back then sending a barrage of attacks on him until he was finally able to knock the sword out Hale's hand.

Saenar leveled his sword. "Looks like I win again," he stated with a grin.

Hale sighed. "At least Mynera was not here to see me lose like that. I won't be able to look her in the eyes."

Yeah, too bad, Saenar thought snidely. For you, that is.

Hale picked his sword up from the ground. "You're good, my prince."

"I thought we agreed that we would call each other by our names alone."

Saenar turned and gave his sword to a young lad, who scurried away to have it cleaned. Hale did the same.

"We are safe now, my prince. There is no need to drop the titles."

"Well, there is to me. I don't want to hear you calling me 'my prince'. Call me Saenar."

Hale shrugged. "As you wish."

Saenar sat on a nearby bench, tired. After sparring for so long, his bones felt as if they would turn to jelly at any moment. Sweat ran down his face, escaping behind the covers of his clothes and sticking the cloth to his skin. He pulled on it several times in his effort to cool himself down. "How long have we been sparring?"

"Hours now, I'm sure. It might even be nearing night."

"I had thought they would return by now."

"They? Do you mean Mynera and Lord Ingstad?"

He didn't answer.

"They must be having a grand time with the guests." Hale chuckled. "I know Mynera probably is."

Saenar looked over at the blond man. "You have feelings for her, don't you?"

Hale didn't react how he expected him to. The blunt question was aimed at throwing him off but instead of being surprised and quickly denying the claim, Hale simply sighed. "I'm afraid I do, Saenar."

Saenar looked at him a while longer before looking away. He had to. It was either that or give in to the sudden temptation to punch his cousin in the face. He didn't even stop to wonder about his sudden violence. There was no time for that. Not when he had to keep himself from acting out on it.

"Why do you sound so apologetic? Are you sorry for loving her?"

Once again, Hale didn't respond how he thought he would. "Not at all. She's a wonderful woman. She's impulsive, infuriatingly independent, says whatever comes to her mind and has a wonderful humour. In addition, she's the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on. I do not feel sorry for loving her."

Saenar gritted his teeth. "Then why do you sound so sorry?"

"For saying such things before you, Saenar."

"Me? Why me?"

"You are her fiancé. I can also tell that you do hold some feelings for her."

"Who me?" he laughed, dismissing it immediately. That was preposterous. His heart only belonged to one woman. Of course, Hale could never know that. "I think not."

"Am I wrong?" Hale looked at him closely. "Then I guess there is no problem then."

"Hey, I didn't say –"

Hale jumped to his feet with a loud clap, cutting Saenar's words off. "Let's see what the others are up to, shall we? Feeling strong enough to get up?"

"I feel like I can run a mile and back," the prince replied, getting to his feet. He saw what Hale's question implied. He was trying to make him feel weak. That sure as hell wasn't going to work on him. He was the Prince of the Five Nations. The Prince of the Five Nations did not feel weak.

They exited the armory and headed to the courtyard. There they saw that it was empty. No dogs, no Mynera, no Uncle Ingstad.

"That's odd," Hale said. "Where do you think they could have gone?"

"Maybe Uncle Ingstad is in his throne room," Saenar suggested.

"What is it? Is no one there?"

They both turned around to see Madeline making her way towards them. She peeked behind the door then turned to face them, her face cloaked in confusion. "Where is everyone?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"The manor is empty. The servant who was with me completely abandoned me and left me to find my own way back. I hadn't even paid attention on our way there. Where is Lord Ingstad?"

"We're on our way to find him and Mynera right now."

"Mynera is missing too?" she asked as they started off in the direction of the court room. "I wonder where everyone could have gone."

"That's odd," said Hale. "It isn't even night yet. Does Lord Ingstad normally relieve his servants so early?"

"Not that I know of," Saenar answered, just as confused. Where had everyone gone? The manor was oddly way too quiet.

As soon those words left his mouth, two handmaids rounded the corner. They had their heads bent towards each other, clearly muttering to one another as if sharing secrets.

"Ah, here comes someone now," Hale said.

"Excuse me," Saenar called to them. Their heads snapped up and they looked at him with eyes filled with fear before looking away. He frowned slightly. "Do you know where Lady Mynera and Lord Ingstad might be?"

"Th-they're in the court room, my lord."

"Thank you. Um, excuse me, but are you quite alright? You look a bit on edge."

"I'm fine, thank you."

They scurried away.

"Do you think he knows?" one whispered, not far enough that her words wouldn't be overheard.

"Hush! Of course he doesn't know," the other whispered back. "His fiancée is giving her body to Lord Ingstad, do you think he would be okay with that?"

Their voices faded away as they turned the corner, but the effect it left was enough. Saenar's eyes burned into their retreating backs, wide as saucers. That couldn't be right, he told himself. Surely he heard wrong. Or surely, surely, what they said were all lies.

"That can't be right," Madeline said to his left, her voice high and thoughtful. "Mynera does has her faults but she does not look like the sort to do something like that. And in the court room, no less."

"It has to be a lie," Hale said. "Let us head to the throne room to see what's going on."

Saenar turned away from the direction the handmaids had went and faced the direction of the throne room, his hands clenched in tight fists. He struggled to hold back the desire to run forward and burst the doors down. Instead, he managed to steadily make his way to the door, pushing it open with as much control as he could muster. It couldn't be true, he chanted, Mynera wouldn't do that.

To his immense relief, Mynera was nowhere to be seen. Uncle Ingstad, however, was sitting on the throne, his head laid back and a cloth filled with something – he wasn't very sure what – was on his face.

"Uncle?" Saenar called, coming forward.

Lord Ingstad jerked in his seat, holding the cloth before it fell over. "Saenar, boy, is that you?"

"Yes, uncle. Uncle, where is Mynera?"

"Mynera? Oh! She retired to her room. It seems her ankle was giving her more trouble than she let on."

"Sounds like something she would do," Saenar muttered.

"My lord, why are you like that?" Hale asked.

"Oh, this? I like this position. Makes me feel relaxed. I'm quite weird you know."

"Oh come now, Lord Ingstad, I think the word you're looking for is unique."

Saenar looked over at Madeline as she smiled at Uncle Ingstad. Funny, she hadn't been saying that before.

"I'll got check on Mynera," he said turning away.

"Oh, Saenar!"

"Yes, uncle?"

"I have a bit of a problem. You see, I just sold something quite precious but now I fear that persons will come after me because of it. What do you think I should do?"

"What did you sell?"

"Oh, just something precious. I got quite a lot for it too."

"I think you should raise your defenses. If you think someone will come after you because of it, then 'tis best that when they do you have better protection."

"I'm glad you think that, Saenar."

Suddenly, the door burst open. Guards ran into the room like ants, surrounding the trio and forming a barrier between them and Uncle Ingstad. Instinctively, Saenar quickly pushed Madeline behind him, bracing himself.

"Uncle, what is the meaning of this?"

Uncle Ingstad took the cloth off his face and rose from his seat. "You're right, Saenar. Since I know that I'll have persons coming after me, I should just raise my defenses."

"You're face ..." Madeline pointed at him.

"Oh, this?" Uncle Ingstad made a harsh sound in this throat, filled with anger. "That little vixen did it. Punched me right in the nose, she did. Knocked me out cold too."

"Mynera?" Hale asked, drawing closer to Madeline and Saenar.

"Who else? After I set Lord Gavin's men on her, she attacked them, punched me in the nose and tried to run away. They got her back though. Plow! One quick blow to the head. Serves her right."

"What did you do to her?!" Saenar screamed.

Uncle Ingstad raised his hand, a look of patience on his face. "Now, now. No need to shout. I'm getting to that. You see, Saenar, I'm short on money. Very short. I blew through half my funds trying to find a cure for my daughter and wife and when that all went down the crapper, I was in so much grief that I began spending recklessly. Before I knew it, I was broke. I had to start laying off some of my servants since I could no longer pay their wages."

"But then Lord Gavin attacked the capital and sent out an order to everyone, saying to find Lady Antarian and bring her back to the capital. For a wonderful price of course. I thought 'Here was my chance!' but how was I was going to get to her? And then there she was walking right through my door. I thought the heavens must be shining down on me."

"Anyway, long story short, I sold her off and she should be on her way back to the capital now. It's been quite a while."

"But, you promised us shelter." Saenar couldn't believe his ears. "I trusted you. You're one of father's closest friends."

"Yes, yes. I'm very aware what I was to your father but your father is dead and isn't around to fix my money problem, so what can I do, huh?"

"So what are you going to do now?" Hale asked. "Kill us?"

"Why, yes of course I am. Lord Gavin wants you dead, he doesn't care how it's done, nor who does it. As long as you're dead and no longer a threat to him, it's good enough."

"Where will killing us get you?" As he asked the question, his eyes trained steadily on his Lord Uncle, his hand slowly edged its way up to his sword. "You seem to not care about anything unless it will benefit you."

"But this is benefiting me. Didn't you hear me the first time? I just sold your fiancée to Lord Gavin. Had I not called my guards before I told you, you would have had my throat long before I finished the sentence. I need to protect myself."

"You are an evil little man," Madeline muttered.

"Yes, yes. Tell me something I don't know. Now," he sat back down, "On with the killing."

Saenar pushed Madeline further behind him, shielding her between Hale and himself, just as the guards charged. He ducked under a blade, grabbing the guard's hand and elbowing him in the face. The guard released the sword which Saenar grabbed immediately and struck him down with. Then he whirled to strike down another one, grabbing his sword and swing them both around his body like a metal whirlwind, cutting two advancing guards down at the same time. Saenar kicked another in the stomach, pushing him backwards into the sword of another guard then blocked the attack from the one who had tried to sneak up on him.

Suddenly, Madeline screamed. Saenar spared a quick terrified glance and saw that she was alone, having tried to push herself away from the fighting and effectively cornering herself, shedding herself of his protection. Her eyes stared fearfully before her. Saenar followed her gaze and saw the guard coming straight towards her, moving as slow as a cat stalking its prey.

Saenar looked over at Hale, who was looking at the scene too. They nodded at each other. Hale ran forward, striking down whoever dared to stand in his way, while Saenar ran around, heading for the guards blind's spot. Hale came upon the guard just in time to grab Madeline away from the spray of blood that spurted from the guard's neck wound when Saenar's sword rammed itself through, dripping the poor man's life force.

"Stay behind us," Hale warned, pushing her behind him just as more guards approached. Madeline nodded mutely, clutching her hands to her chest as they shook uncontrollably.

They struck them all down, moving like lightning, and as swift as an arrow, and, soon enough, they were the only ones standing.

Saenar didn't stop to breathe a sigh in rest. He looked back up at to see the throne empty and his Uncle Ingstad attempting to sneak by. Although, how this pot-bellied man thought he was going to get by them was something he would have to inquire about later. For now, he just bottled up all his rage under pressure, then let it all loose.

"Hey!" Saenar threw the sword with as much force as he could and it embedded itself in the wall right before Lord Ingstad's face. He froze in terror.

Saenar stalked over to him, grabbing his clothes. "Which route did they take?!"

"I-I don't know. M-maybe, they went the s-same –"

"Tell me!"

"They're going back through Musk Forest! It's heavily guarded by Lord Gavin's men and they will be entering through the back, so no one will know that they're there!"

"How long ago did they leave?"

"About five maybe six hours."

He continued to glare into the sniveling excuse of a man's face a while longer. His fat pudgy face was now sporting a fitting black and blue nose. This man was who he called family. They may not be blood related but coming here so many times in the past and his friendship with his father made them family. To think that his father has only been dead a little over a month and he was so quick to betray him.

Saenar made a sound of disgust and threw him on the floor. Lord Ingstad scurried away like the rat he was.

"We have to go after her. Hale, you find any horses, lead them to the front. Madeline, you find us some more traveling clothes. If you can get some of that money Unc – that man – had been talking about then that would be great too. I'll bring some weapons to carry with us. Meet back at the front before the hour."

"Okay!" Madeline ran off, Hale right behind her.

And Saenar ran towards the armory. Hold on, Mynera, he prayed desperately. We're coming for you.