Holly frowned at her father, then Will and threw a glance at Crowley and Cassandra. "Okay, why are you looking at us like that?"

"No one is looking at you in any particular fashion," her father answered.

She pointed a finger at him. "You're looking at us like you expect us to fail at whatever it is you're about to ask us to do. I've seen that look before."

"A lot," Deva muttered.

"Come now, Holly, I'm your father, do you really believe that I would wish for you to fail?"

She snorted. "As my father, no never. As a Ranger mentor, you expect it."

"Ah, yes, excellent point, however, I am not your mentor. Am I?" Halt pointed out.

She jabbed a finger in Deva's direction. "No, but you're her mentor. Will is mine and he's giving me the same look, so let's not split hairs, shall we?"

Will chuckled, dropping his arms from where they had been folded over his chest and gestured to Crowley and Cassandra. "We have been given a mission."

Cassandra nodded and allowed Crowley to explain things. He gave them the bare minimum of details. They were told they were going on a surveillance mission.

"Ohhh, the Mountains of Rain and Night, fancy!" Holly replied with a grin.

Halt rubbed at his forehead. "It is an observation mission only. We are not going anywhere near the mountains. Is that understood?"

Holly groaned. "That's no fun!"

"Go pack," Will ordered. "Don't dawdle either!" he called as the apprentices left to go get their things.

Deva sent him a wave over her shoulder. She walked beside Mitchell back in the direction of the cabin. He waited while she gathered her things and saddled and placed her things on Windy's back. The little horse seemed quite happy to be heading out on a mission. Well, if one went by how many times he passed gas while she was getting him ready.

"Right, that's everything. Shall we?" She grinned at Mitchell.

They left the cabin, Deva leading Windy as they walked to the barracks so Mitchell could gather his things.

"I could have packed my things while you went and packed your things. It probably would have been much quicker."

"I'd feel better if I didn't send you into the angry bear's den alone." She shrugged as they stopped outside the barracks. She dropped Windy's reins and followed him inside.

He chuckled, shaking his head. He heard the words she didn't speak out loud, he should know she wouldn't let him come alone. Turning away, he walked across the barracks straight to his bunk and began collecting his things. As he packed, he tried to ignore the looks Griffin and his friends were exchanging.

"They sending you packing back to your daddy, Alt?" Griffin rose from his bunk, favoring the ankle he'd twisted during their fight.

Mitchell ignored him and continued to pack. He felt more than saw, Deva as she moved across the room, taking up a position between where he stood and where Griffin had stopped. It irked him to have the Ranger as a bodyguard, yet he understood the reasoning behind the decision. It was an impossible situation to get around.

If he wasn't the Prince, he'd call Griffin out and forget the consequences.

He couldn't do that because he was the Prince. If he went and got himself killed over some stupid spat he knew his mother would find some way to yank him back from the other side so she could kill him herself for his stupidity.

He completed his packing, lifted his things and turned to Deva. "I'm finished." He threw a looking Griffin and sighed before looking back at Deva. "Let's go."

With a small nod, she turned and headed for the door, her cloak fanning out around her as she moved. She was nearly to the door when Griffin released a sound that was halfway between a snort and a laugh.

"Yeah, that's right, run away with your little protector. Go home to daddy. Hey, Mitchell, before you go, tell me something ..." He paused, waiting until Mitchell turned to him with a frown. "If the Ranger girl is protecting you, shouldn't you be wearing a skirt? I mean she's the one wearing the trousers." He began guffawing loudly, holding his stomach as he doubled over, entertained by his own joke.

Mitchell held out his bundle of things. "Hold this, would you, Deva?"

"Are you sure about this?" she asked as she took his things from him.

"Oh yes, very sure." He turned and stalked to where Griffin stood, still doubled over.

Mitchell remained before him waiting until Griffin wound down and straightened up. "I could care less if you toss insults in my direction because you matter very little to me. I will not stand by while you insult my friends." He threw a punch, sending Griffin to the floor. The other boy remained down, unmoving and silent. He didn't wait for a reaction from the other boys, he turned and walked back to where Deva stood, grabbed his things from her and headed for the door.

"Let's go before Will and Halt become angry with us for dawdling."

She grinned at him, shook her head and followed him from the barracks. "Yes, of course."

***

Logan looked sidelong at Holly where she rode beside him. "We've been riding for over an hour."

"I noticed that too." She grinned at him.

He sighed. "They haven't told us very much about what we're going to be doing, besides watching the mountains."

She stared straight ahead at the back of her father's head. It was like him not to let them have all the details. He, Will, Crowley and Cassandra probably planned it. Keep the apprentices on their toes.

They fell into a comfortable silence for a long while.

Finally, Logan spoke again. "You think either of them is ever going to tell us exactly why we're doing this?"

"The two of you might believe that we're old and deaf, but we can still hear you," Halt told them without turning to look back at them.

Logan winced in response to Halt's words. The last thing he wanted was to get caught complaining. Becoming a Ranger was something that meant a great deal to him. Impressing the senior Rangers was important to him too, he knew it would upset his father if he offended the two Rangers. A small sigh escaped as he thought about his father. He didn't want to disappoint his father. His becoming a Ranger was important to him as well.

"You look a tad on the scared side, Logan. Don't worry, if he's being mildly humorous, we're still good." Holly winked at him.

He sent her a weak smile in return. Keeping Halt in good humor would probably be a decent plan. He would remain silent until the senior Rangers decided to fill them in on the rest of the details of their mission.

The traveling was a bit unnerving, mostly because there were very long stretches of silence. Will and Halt didn't speak at all, seeming to communicate silently as they changed directions or stopped to listen for anyone else who might be around.

Eventually they stopped the procession and ordered the apprentices to make camp within the confines of a small clump of trees near the forbidding sheer cliffs of the Mountains of Rain and Night.

Deva stared at the dark, sheer granite cliffs across the Plains of Uthal. "Charming, we should build a country home here."

Halt sent her a look. "We are here to keep an eye on the pass, not have a holiday."

She eyed him for a moment. "Why exactly are we watching the pass? Is this some sort of test for us?"

"Sounds like a boring test if it is one," Holly chimed in.

Her father heaved out a sigh. "Crowley and Cassandra have asked us to do this. That is why."

Logan's brows drew together. "Is there a particular reason they want us to keep an eye on the pass?"

"Nothing gets by this one, eh?"

Will chuckled at Halt's observation. "Crowley has received reports of men leaving the pass. No one knows why they're here or if they're related to anything at all. He wants us to check it out."

"Has someone taken over old Morgi's place? Ooooh, does that mean we're going into the pass?" Holly looked between them hopefully.

"No, we are not. We remain here, watching the pass. Nothing more."

"How are we going to find out who those guys are if we sit here twiddling our thumbs?" Holly whined.

"The mountains are too dangerous. We stay here. This is a surveillance mission. That is all. Now, since you have so very nicely volunteered, you can take the first watch. Deva will switch with you in four hours. All right, everyone else get some rest." Halt sent them all stern looks before wrapping himself in his cloak and settling down to sleep.

Mitchell poked Deva in the arm. "Do we honestly believe someone has taken over Morgarath's castle?"

She shuddered at the thought. "Why would anyone want to do that? Those mountains are cold, damp, dark, and depressing."

He nodded in agreement with her assessment and settled down beside her, closing his eyes. In moments he was asleep.

Deva shook her head. She wished she could fall asleep like that. From one second to the next.

She woke a few minutes before the allotted time for her to relieve Holly from her watch. After a stretch, she rolled neatly to her feet and slipped through the darkness, heading to the spot where she knew Holly stood watch. It took her only a few seconds to realize she couldn't spot Holly and it wasn't because she was concealed in her cloak. It was because Holly simply wasn't there. With a silent curse, she turned and made her way back to camp.

"Halt, wake up."

"There had better be an exceedingly good reason you're waking me before it's time for me to take a turn at the watch."

"I can't find Holly. She isn't where she's supposed to be."

Halt moved quickly, bounding to his feet and disappearing through the small stand of trees, returning just as quickly. He was cursing quite fluently in several different languages. "I should have known she'd do something idiotic like this."

Will's brows drew together. Deva had woken everyone else while Halt had been looking for Holly. "Something like what?"

Halt waved a hand at the mountains. "She's gone and taken herself into the mountains."

"Why would she do that?" Mitchell asked incredulously.

"Because, my daughter is an idiot at times like this, that is why. She believes she's indestructible."

Will chuckled. "Much like her father."

Halt sent his former apprentice a glare. "I have no illusions about my permanence in this world. It's fleeting." Will held his hands up in surrender and Halt turned away as he began pacing. "We need to find her before she gets herself killed or worse."

"What could possibly be worse than getting herself killed?" Logan asked Mitchell quietly.

"I wouldn't ask him, I'm certain he has an answer ready," Mitchell replied.

***

Holly glanced at the sky, marking the time and sighed. She didn't have long before it was time for Deva to relieve her at the watch and discovered her gone. She needed to hurry up. On silent feet, she slipped down the corridor, avoiding the guards she came across. The delays were unavoidable, she couldn't just wander past them. Stealth was required. Voices from up ahead drew her attention and she moved toward them. Light leaked from a partially open door, drawing her closer. She ghosted over to the door, listening to the conversation inside.

"Keep the men training. I want them ready when the time comes to move. They cannot fail. If they do there will be suffering the likes of which you cannot imagine. I will make my father look quite tame by comparison. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"I will see Duncan and his allies fall. They will suffer for all they have done to me and mine. These plans have taken me years to perfect. I will see them come to fruition."

She could hear the sound of papers crinkling. She needed to get a look at those plans.

"Go now, I have much to do and you have men to train."

Holly slipped quickly away from the door, down the hall and into another room. She pushed open the panes of the window, yanked an arrow from the quiver at her back and took careful aim before releasing the arrow. A second and third were on their way before she stepped back, quickly closing the window before anyone below realized what was happening and spotted her.

Shouts arose from the courtyard below as the arrows hit their marks. She allowed herself a small smile. For several minutes she remained where she was. Movement in the hallway told her someone was running down the corridor. There was a shout and voices sounded loudly in the hallway outside the door.

"That is quite impossible. No one would dare attack this castle! No one knows we're here! Show me, now!"

Holly heard the men pass the room where she'd secreted herself. She waited another minute before slipping out and moving quickly to the room down the hall.

Her gaze passed over the papers littering the surface of the desk. "Ahh, here you are." Her fingers flattened the corner of the parchment so she could study it intently. Her eyes went over the parchment slowly, committing everything to memory. All it took was one look and she would remember it always, because she had an eidetic memory. She set the paper aside and glanced over the rest of the papers, dismissing them as unimportant. It was time to go before she was caught.

***

Halt led the group through Three Step Pass slowly despite the urgency poking at him. When he found his daughter the urge to strangle her would be as great as the urge to hug her tightly to assure himself that she was safe.

He held up a hand indicating to the others they should stop. His head cocked to one side, he listened carefully, certain he'd heard some sort of sound coming from ahead of them. Hastily, he gestured for them to move back and conceal themselves in the rocks. He nocked an arrow to the string of his longbow and waited. He was certain someone was coming toward them down the pass.

A cloaked figure moved almost silently through the darkness and around the slight bend ahead of them, keeping in the shadows. He lowered his bow, watching the slight figure for a moment before he returned the arrow to his quiver.

He stepped from the shadows. "You're in a great deal of trouble, young lady," Halt hissed at Holly.

"Gorlog's beard, you scared the life out of me!" The Skandian curse had become one of her and Deva's favorites over the years.

He snorted. "If you were paying attention you would have known we were here. Now, get your behind back to camp this instant. I want to know what in the blazes you were thinking about when you decided to go into these mountains alone!"

They trooped out of the pass as quickly as they could and made their way back to the camp. Holly ignored her father and went straight to her pack, pulling out parchment and ink.

Logan frowned at her. "What are you doing?

"Now is not the time to write a formal apology. We're all right here," Deva told her with a chuckle.

Holly waved a hand at them. "Shhh, I'm trying to concentrate!"

Halt scowled. "This isn't the time to knock out a letter to your one true love."

Holly sent her father a scowl. "Give me a moment will you? Not that I'd forget, but I'd like to get it down right away at any rate."

Halt dropped down to sit beside her, staring down at what she was writing. His eyes began to widen as he read the words she penned. "Holly, where did you see this?"

"Shush, Dad, and let me finish."

He remained quiet as she continued to write for several more minutes.

The others took seats and waited as well. When she was finally done, she stared at the parchment a moment before nodding in satisfaction and handing the paper to her father.

"I'm sorry I went without permission, but if I hadn't then we still wouldn't know what was happening. I slipped into the castle and saw that on the desk of whoever the man is that has taken over Morgarath's castle."

Logan stared at her. "You got into the castle?"

She grinned. "And back out."

Logan shook his head. "Who's the man in charge?"

"I don't have a clue. I never saw his face, I only heard him talking to one of his men. His man only called him sir, never by name. Whoever he is, he doesn't like Duncan much and he wants revenge against the King for some slight he believes was dealt to his family. He has an army of men training inside the castle." She nodded toward the parchment. "Those are his plans."

Halt's brow scrunched as he studied the paper. When he finished he gave his head a small shake, folded it up and tucked it away. "We need to get back quickly and inform Duncan of what's happening."

Mitchell's eyes went wide. "We're going to see my grandfather?"

Halt gave a quick nod. "Yes, indeed. Pack up, we're leaving immediately."