Evert and Wren rode at the front of the long three rows of scouts down the cliff side path as Miguel had instructed them, no one speaking. Out of everyone Evert felt the most strange, never having been in charge of anything before. He was use to taking orders, not giving them.

    "You look fine," Wren said, looking straight ahead.

    Evert, caught by surprise, jumped slightly in his saddle at the noise, looking over at his mentor questioningly.

    "You feel strange do you not?"

    "Well...yes..."Evert replied uncertainly.

    "Strange though you feel you do not look it," Wren explained further. "You are doing well."

    Evert kept a calm expression and looked straight ahead, but on the inside he was jumping for joy at the small compliment.

    After several minutes of riding in silence a loud screech split the air and Evert halted the long rows of men and they all stared up at the sky as dark storm clouds began to form, streaked with lightning. There was a loud roar of thunder and some of the horses reared nervously while others simply stomped their hooves.

    "What was that?" Evert asked no one in particular.

    "I might have an idea," Wren replied. "But it is not good."

    Urging his horse onward Evert and the scout troop road quickly down the path when suddenly a galloping horse came round the bend, Haldit sitting atop the back of it. Once again the scouts halted and Evert watched somewhat amused as Haldit recognized what was before him. Quickly the cieven steward reared his horse in, stopping just in front of Evert.

    "What is the meaning of this?" he said, a commanding tone in his voice. 

    "I do not understand," Evert replied, feigning innocence. 

    "Under my command these men are, as well as you. How dare you block my path!"

    "In such a hurry where would you be going?"

    Haldit seemed taken aback and looked at the young scout with furious eyes.

    "You arrogant-"

    "Use a civil tongue when addressing the Crown Prince," Wren said, his deep voice allowing no argument.

    For a moment Haldit opened his mouth to reply, but then the words 'crown' and 'prince' suddenly had an effect and he almost fell off his horse.

    "Cr-crown prince?" he whispered breathlessly.

    Evert stared Haldit down with a pair of green eyes that seemed to bore into him like a knife.

    "Yes. And, by order of the crown prince, under arrest you are," Wren said calmly.

    Two scouts quickly came forward and seized the reins of Haldit's horse, the other tying his hands together.

     "This...This cannot be!" Haldit said in astonishment.

     "Understand how you feel I do," Evert said understandingly. "Spies are so unreliable these days."

     And with that Haldit was dragged to the back of the line of men and secured to a tree with an armed guard at the ready.

    "Was that showy enough?" Evert asked Wren.

    Wren nodded solemnly.

    "I believe so...your highness," he said, putting emphasis on the last part.

    Evert gave an exasperated sigh and whined unregally.

    "Do not start that," he groaned.

    A ghost of a smile appeared at the edges of Wren's mouth but another loud clap of thunder brought everyone back to reality.

    "We had better hurry," Evert said, signaling the scouts forward.

               Adrastea lay in the boat, looking over the edge in despair. Daphne had been right. The rope was holding out with just one person inside the boat, but Adrastea did not care. She would stay there for the rest of her life and never leave.  

    "Oh why, why?" she sobbed, burying her face in her hands. 

    The rain was still pouring and it slowly began to soak through the seems in her jacket, but she barely even noticed. It seemed fitting that the sky should shed tears for Daphne and Adrastea would have hated it even more if it had been sunny. 

    It seemed ages before Adrastea finally pulled herself together and sat up in the boat, wiping her damp eyes with a wet sleeve.

    Daphne would not want this, she thought bitterly. You must get back.

    Adrastea did not know why she had to get back for she no longer wanted to kill Haldit. Nothing seemed important anymore except staying alive. Daphne had given up her life to save Adrastea and it would be a great shame to waste it.

    Looking up at the rope that still held and at the cliffs around her Adrastea could see no way back. She was suspended in mid air by a rotting boat lift and was not even close enough to the rock face to touch it. The only way up was by rope but Adrastea did not trust her strength nor the strength of the cord, both of which were soaked through to the bone. Sure it was holding out alright for the moment, but she was not moving about and struggling which made all the difference.

    Sighing Adrastea looked back down to the rocks and the rushing waves.

    Daphne would have found a way, she told herself. It was no use and Adrastea could feel the sting behind her eyes once more, pushing forward against her will.

    Sitting there for more long minutes the rain began to subside and Adrastea thought she heard voices coming from above. At first they were faint but when the rain died down to a drizzle she could clearly make out what they were saying.

    "...over the cliff?" she heard Evert's voice.

    A wave of relief surged through her body and Adrastea looked up at the sky, seconds later Evert's handsome face appearing over the edge of the cliff.

    "She's down here!" he called back and a moment later Wren's face appeared.

    "Hold on Princess," Evert continued. "Have you up in no time we will."

    Quickly Adrastea began to wipe her eyes as someone over the cliff began to pull on the rope and lifted the boat steadily upwards. A few short minutes later it came up over the edge and several men swung it over onto land, placing it softly on the ground.

    Adrastea stood up slowly and unsteadily, staring in half-shock at Evert who stood before her.

    "Are you alright?" Evert asked, seeing her tear stained face and puffy eyes.

    Adrastea nodded slowly but she felt a knot forming in her throat once more as the past events came back to her. Evert's eyes averted slightly over the cliff and he looked back to the princess with a soft expression.

    "Where is Daphne?"

    At the sound of her name Adrastea burst into sobs and buried her face in her hands, falling into Evert's outstretched arms.

    "She...she..." Adrastea tried to speak but she kept choking on the words.

    "Do not try and speak," Evert said quietly. "It's alright...Everything will be alright."

    The words were somewhat comforting but that did not stop the tears for many more minutes.

           The ride back to the palace was silent. Adrastea had cried until there were no tears left and now sat solemnly on her horse's back, staring ahead blankly.

    Evert and Wren knew better than to speak so they simply rode beside her down the long winding path back home. Once they were outside the gates Evert turned to the scouts and said, "Thank you men for escorting the princess and me. You have done well. Now go home and rest."

    All the men bowed and Wren looked at Evert, nodding approvingly.

    "You both did fine as well," he said, addressing both Evert and Adrastea.

    Adrastea smiled faintly but said nothing and the three of them headed up the walkway that led into the courtyard where everyone stood, watching them with curious eyes.

    "Some time it will take for everyone to get use to," Wren said once they reached the steps. "But that time will come and trust me when I say they are pleased, even if they do not look it."

     Evert sighed and looked about him.

     "It will take time for them? I do not think I shall ever get use to this," he said, scratching the back of his neck.

     Once they dismounted Corydon came riding up with Caelum on the back of his horse and two guards escorting Haldit behind them.

    "Ah yes," Evert said. "Almost forgot about him."

    Looking at Haldit's sullen face Evert almost felt pity. Almost. It seemed such a waste of a lifetime to go about trying to kill people.

    "Put him in the dungeon," Evert told the guards. "I shall deal with him at a later hour."

    "What about him?" Corydon asked, nodding his head back towards Caelum.

    "He can come with me," Adrastea spoke up, her voice more quiet than usual.

    Caelum looked at her with his dark eyes and smiled, a charming childish smile that only prompted Adrastea to smile back.

    "I feel as though I should have said that long ago," she said, grabbing his hand when he dismounted. "Come, you shall have a room and all the food you can eat."

    Caelum smiled again and the two of them walked into the palace, leaving the others behind.

    "That boy is very strange," Wren mused, fingering his beard.

    "Yes...But they are good for each other," Evert replied, not completely oblivious to how wise he sounded.

                 A few days later Evert called a meeting with all the trusted courtiers and counselors that the king and queen had listed in one of the mysterious documents and, as expected, everyone showed up right on time.

    Evert felt very strange sitting at the head of that long table but he showed no emotion except that of a ruler, and every person in that room, including Adrastea and Wren, were sure that he would make a great king.

    "Courtiers and counselors," he began once everyone had assembled. "Called here today you are to clear up a misunderstanding."

    Everyone nodded and looked at Evert expectantly, who took all the stares in his stride.

    "First of all, I am sure you all know by now that I am the crown prince," he said in a light hearted manner. "But how that came to be is slightly more complicated. A long time ago when I was born the king and queen, having known that someone was trying to grab the thrown, decided to hand me over to the scouts where I could stay near the royal family yet not be noticed. In my place they secretly adopted the son of two nobles from Hydria. He had the correct bloodline, but was not the crown prince. Several years later when we all grew up thinking that Teo was the crown prince Haldit somehow figured out that he in fact was not, but what he did not know that the heir was hidden in the scout regiments. He simply assumed that Adrastea was the heir."

    "Is he not doing wonderfully?" Adrastea whispered to Wren, her whole being filled with pride.

    Wren did not answer but smiled inwardly. He too was proud of Evert and could see in the faces of everyone their that they approved.

    "...Several years later when the time was right Haldit conspired with the humans and framed Adrastea and Wren for the murder of the king and queen, but he kept Teo alive. Why? That question bugged me for quite sometime until a human girl brought to my attention what was written on some documents hidden by the queen before her death."

    Adrastea looked up at the mention of Daphne and stared at Evert in confusion. What was he saying? 

    "There were four documents in all. Three of them the girl gave to Haldit who promised her something in return of which I do not know. The first document was an adoption certificate saying who Teo really was and who his biological parents were. The second was another adoption certificate, only this time it was for Haldit himself. Unlike Teo Haldit did not come from a noble family but from poor farmers who were dying. So as you can see, Haldit could not ever become king, even if he murdered the whole royal family. But, if he kept Teo alive and twisted him to his will, it would be a simple matter to put Teo on the thrown and work through him. 
    "As for the third document, that was a list the king and queen had compiled of all the reliable people in the palace and I am happy to state that all of you fall under that category," Evert smiled in a charming manner that Adrastea had never seen before.
    "Now the fourth document the girl decided to keep and later brought it to me along with her remembrance of the other three. This fourth document was my birth certificate, stating that I was the heir to the thrown. I had already known this, to be completely honest, for Wren Baines told me three years ago the day after the king and queen were murdered, but we had no proof so therefore stayed in the dark."

    "Who is this human girl, your majesty?" one of the counselors asked. 

    Evert paused for a moment and looked over at Adrastea who gave him a reassuring smile.

    "She was a good friend of the princess who unfortunately was trapped into spying for Haldit. In the end she sacrificed herself for the sake of the princess and the kingdom."

    Adrastea once again felt the empty ache inside of her and for the first time ever she sensed not the presence of something, but the lack of something that should be there. And that something was Daphne.

    "Hate to be the one I do," another counselor spoke up. "But how will you prove your story to the people?"

    "Well we have documents and the royal mark to prove who I am and Haldit is willing to testify in exchange for his life. The human Hammond will also testify as he was the one who carried out Haldit's orders three years ago," Evert explained.

    Adrastea was impressed. He had thought of everything.

    "Haldit will not be executed?" a counselor said, somewhat shocked.

    "No," Evert replied firmly. "He shall remain in imprisonment for the rest of his life but we will not kill him. Not if he testifies."

     "Good enough for me that is," one counselor said and several others agreed wholeheartedly. 

     After a date was set for the trial Evert adjourned the meeting and everyone left. That is except Wren and Adrastea of course. Once the room was empty they both clapped their hands vigorously and chorused, "Bravo!"

    Evert sighed and leaned back in his chair, breathing in deep.

    "That was terrifying," he said, laughing shakily.

    "But you did not show it and that is what counts," Adrastea said, slapping him on the shoulder. "However, I have been meaning to ask you-"

    "No," Evert replied quickly.

    "I have not said anything!"

    "Whatever it is, no!"

    Adrastea rolled her eyes and folded her arms.

    "You have gotten far worse ever since you gained a title," she said reproachfully.

    "Now you know how I felt for thirteen years."

    Adrastea thought back to all the problems she had caused when she was younger and decided not to the push the matter any further.

    "I simply wanted to know if what you said was true," she said softly. "About Daphne I mean. Did she really come to you with all that information?"

    Evert lost the teasing tone in his voice and sat up a little more straight.

    "Yes she did," he replied. "She also told us that you were being held in the palace, that's how we got Corydon in there. After seeing that boy was gone she took off."

    "I see."

    Now the small moment of betrayal seemed smaller than a grain of sugar compared to all the things Daphne had done to help. 

    "What of that woman, Demetria?" Adrastea asked.

    "When we retrieved Daphne's body there was no trace of anyone else. She must have been washed out by the tide," Evert replied.

    "Oh...There was something so strange about her. I wonder why she had helped Haldit?"

    "Then there is that boy," Wren prompted. "From what you said she clearly wanted him for something. He too is very strange. I would keep a close eye on him."

    "I will," Adrastea replied. 

    A few moments later a knock came at the door and a servant entered, bowing deep before speaking her piece.

    "There is a man outside for you, your highness," she told Adrastea.  

    "Thank you. I will be right out."

    When the servant left Evert got out of his chair and folded his arms.

    "What man?" he asked, an edge to his voice that Adrastea found all too familiar.

    "Remeber Evert, you are no longer my bodyguard."

    "No, you are right...I am Evert Zima, Crown Prince and future king of Arietes and most importantly, your older brother!" he added the last part jabbing a finger in Adrastea's shoulder.

    "I knew a title would make you cocky," she muttered. "It is only Miguel. I asked a favor of him."

    Evert looked down at her with suspicious eyes and twisted his mouth to the side with a small 'mhm'. Finally sighing he waved his hand in the dismissing her.

    "Well then go, go! You mustn't keep the man waiting!"

    Adrastea glared at Evert but did as she was told, hurrying out of the palace and into the courtyard where Miguel stood like a stone pillar.

    "Hello Miguel," she greeted.

    "Good morning your highness," Miguel bowed. 

    "Did you find her?"

    "Of course," Miguel answered, his expression completely blank. "She recently broke out Crow Haven."

    Adrastea smiled to herself. Sounds like Daphne all over again.

    "Any other news? What of the other kingdoms?"

    "I do not know of how much use it will be to you, but two Shefro brothers managed to steal fifteen wagon loads of supplies headed for Crow Haven and my men tell me that they worked for Berglund before that."

    Two Shefro brothers? Adrastea thought. Could it be them? She remembered the glowing blue eyes staring back at her through the opening in the crates and how they had never told on her. Did they really not see me? She could never figure it out but shrugged the problem off, realizing it never would be solved.

    "Anything else?" she asked.

    "Not much except there is an uprising in Nix and a royal half-blood is causing trouble in Salliet," Miguel replied.

    Adrastea marveled once more at the Pavia's endless well of information and she reminded herself repeatedly not to do anything embarrassing that they might report to Evert.

    "Thank you, Miguel," she said with a smile. "How is your sister and brother?"

    "Which ones?"

    Adrastea looked up at him startled.

    "You have more?"

    "There are twelve of us, not counting cousins."

    Once again the Pavia's managed to shock Adrastea beyond anything she had ever known to surprise her before.

    "Well, Didac and Abene," she corrected herself.

    "Abene is doing well and she misses you," Miguel said as if relaying a message, which he probably was. "Didac is still Didac and never tells me anything...And I do not pry."

    Adrastea smiled at Miguel. She knew behind that stone face that Miguel was just like any other Pavia and cared very much about family, but from what she understood both Abene and Miguel worried for Didac's sanity as well as his morality.

    "Well thank you again, Miguel," she said, bowing her head. "Please keep watch on Deirdre and make sure she stays safe."

    "We will try, your highness," Miguel replied, mounting his horse and riding off.

    Adrastea watched him ride and heaved a great sigh of relief, looking over at the stable. She remembered escaping through there three years ago and then, with an almost nostalgic air, she recalled her and Daphne's elegant entrance into the palace. It had only been a few days since then but it seemed as though ages had gone by. At any rate, Adrastea was glad it was all over but she still wished everyday that Daphne could be there with her.

    "Brothers can be ever so dull," she laughed to herself, quoting the wise words of Abene Pavia.