Deva twisted this way and that in front of the mirror, looking at herself from every possible angle. "This looks really good. We are just perfect. This is a long way from those ugly little cloaks we made."

Holly laughed. "We are pretty darn good."

"Our mothers won't agree. By the time they see us it will be much too late for them to do anything about it! They won't embarrass Aunty Cassandra in front of all the guests."

"No they won't, but after the ball we might want to run and hide," Holly told her.

Deva smirked at her. "Good plan."

"I thought it was an excellent one!" She stood and stepped up in front of the mirror beside Deva. "We look fabulous."

Deva eyed her. "Are you ever going to tell me why I saw you coming out of Logan's room yesterday?"

"I told you that I wasn't in his room." Holly didn't want to admit that she was in Logan's room. Her best friend would jump on that fact and start in about how it was so obvious she had a crush on the other apprentice. If Deva started harassing her about having a crush on Logan she'd blurt out his secret just to shut Deva up.

"Mmmmhmmm, riiiight."

Holly grumbled. "I'm not having this argument with you. Let's get downstairs before our mothers come looking for us so we can make a grand entrance."

"Fine, but this conversation isn't over."

Holly opened her mouth to protest but Deva was already hurrying out the door. Fine, they'd continue it later, but she was certain Deva would hate the results of that conversation as much as this one. She glanced at the desk in the corner of her room and sighed. She'd begun the forgery of the marriage certificate. Logan had decided it was worth a try. The worst his father could do was say no and if he did, Logan wouldn't have lost anything except the chance to claim Crowley as his father.

She caught up to Deva at the top of the stairs and they walked down together. Luck was with them, they made it into the ballroom without seeing their mothers. They stopped and looked around, searching for their mothers so they could better avoid them for just a bit longer.

"Over there, across the room. They're standing with Aunty Cassandra," Holly said, pointing across the room as inconspicuously as possible.

"All right then, we stay here," Deva said with a small nod as she moved to stand near the wall while putting a post between them and their mothers.

"You look beautiful, Deva."

She turned with a grin to Mitchell. "Thank you! You look ... sparkly."

"Wow, thanks. I think." He grimaced and looked down at himself. "I hate this outfit."

Beside him, Logan grinned and gave him a little encouraging slap on the back before looking at the girls. "You both look beautiful, but I thought you had to wear dresses?"

"Yes, well, our mothers did have them made. We modified them to suit our needs," Holly told him as she did a little twirl.

"Clever. I suppose we should have expected no less from the two of you."

"Why, thank you, Logan!" Holly grinned at him.

Deva latched onto Mitchell's arm. "I think it's time we had that dance."

He frowned at her as she tried to drag him onto the dance floor. "You're in a hurry aren't you?"

Her eyes went across the room "Yes."

He followed the direction of her gaze and grinned when he spotted her mother and Lady Pauline making their way across the room in their direction. "Ah, I see, you want to avoid your mother." He chuckled. "And here I thought you were simply anxious to dance with me in all my sparkling glory."

She sent him a pleading look. "I do but ... please!"

He shook his head, patted her hand where it rested on his arm, and took a step toward the dance floor. "Shall we then?"

She sent him a relieved look as they made their way to the dance floor.

Holly looked ready to faint and Logan chuckled. "I take it you are not excited about the prospect of dancing?"

Her eyes were on her mother as she and Alyss drew closer. "No, not really but I'm thinking it might possibly be the perferable torture right now."

"How about we make a round and check the perimeter of the ballroom for any trouble?" he asked with a grin.

"That sounds like an excellent idea!"

They began walking slowly around the edge of the ballroom, heading in the opposite direction from her mother.

"Aunty Cassandra looks like she swallowed something that didn't agree with her," Holly remarked as they walked.

Logan glanced to where the princess stood. "I don't think she's happy that Mitchell is spending his very important socializing time dancing with Deva. He's supposed to be winning the attention of all the noblewomen so he can find himself a bride."

Holly snorted. "That's ridiculous, what difference does it make if he dances with Deva?"

Logan shrugged. "Maybe because he looks as if he's thoroughly enjoying himself."

Holly leaned around him to watch the couple dancing. Mitchell was smiling broadly and Deva was laughing at something he'd said. Overall, it did appear as if they were enjoying themselves. "I knew they were sweet on each other," she declared triumphantly.

Logan grinned down at her. "You rather enjoy being right don't you?"

"Yes, of course. Who doesn't?"

He shook his head at her as he slowed to a stop. "We've done a round. Now what?"

"I don't know. Let's stand somewhere out of the way and observe."

"We could dance," he suggested.

She looked troubled by that suggestion.

He sighed. "All right, guarding the wall it is then." He turned and strode away.

With a sigh, Holly followed him. It wasn't that she couldn't dance, she could. Her mother had made certain of it. It was just ... she felt that sharing a dance with Logan might change things between them somehow. She didn't know how, but she was still worried about it. She took a position beside him, folding her arms over her chest and leaning her shoulders back against the wall.

"Hello there you two."

Holly glanced at her father. "Hello, Dad. Uncle Will."

Halt looked her up and down, one brow arched. "Interesting outfit."

"Why thank you!" she replied with a grin.

He gave his head a little shake. "Your mother is looking for you."

"Mmm, I'm sure she is."

"Holly Caitlyn O'Carrick!" Pauline called as she stepped up beside Halt.

Holly winced. "Yes, Mom?"

"What have you done to your dress, young lady?" Pauline was sending her a disapproving look.

"I improved upon it."

Beside Halt, Will chuckled as Deva and Mitchell joined the group.

Cassandra stalked over, sending her son a glare. "Young man, you are supposed to be out there getting to know the young ladies from our allied countries. Not dancing with Deva!"

Mitchell gave a long drawn out sigh. "Mom, it was one dance!"

"I don't care. Go on, shoo!" She waved her hands toward the crowded ballroom.

Mitchell turned to Deva, bowed, brushed a kiss over the back of her hand and left before his mother could start some sort of a scene.

Cassandra turned a glare on Will once Mitchell was gone. "I invited you here to protect Mitchell not so Deva could keep him from his duties."

Will frowned at her. "What makes you believe it was all Deva's doing?"

Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Mitchell wouldn't disobey me."

Will went rigid. "And Deva wouldn't disobey me."

"Oh please, Will, Deva and Holly regularly disobey orders!" Cassandra insisted.

"Wait, how did I get hauled into this?" Holly asked.

"Mitchell needs to focus. He is supposed to be dancing with princesses. This is his opportunity to find his future bride and he can't do that if he's dancing with Deva!"

Will narrowed his eyes on her. "Are you saying that Deva isn't good enough to marry Mitchell?"

Cassandra scowled. "That isn't it at all, but she is a Ranger."

"And what exactly is your point, Princess?" he spat the word princess as if it were a curse.

Deva watched them with wide-eyes. Her father and Cassandra had been friends for as long as she could remember and she'd never seen them fight like this. Sure, they disagreed about things, but they never fought, never screamed at one another. She noticed people were beginning to look their way, taking notice of the loud argument.

She looked at Halt. "Uncle Halt, do something!"

He sighed. "Cassandra, Will, I don't believe this is the time or place for this discussion."

Cassandra squared her shoulder with a nod. "You are quite right, Halt. Will, keep Deva away from Mitchell and things will be perfectly fine." She spun on her heels and stormed away.

Will took a step forward as if he were prepared to go after her, but Halt placed a hand on his arm, stopping him. "No, Will, let it be. Now isn't the time."

Will took a steadying breath and nodded.

Deva slapped a hand over her eyes. This couldn't be happening. All she'd wanted was a dance with Mitchell, one simple little dance! Why did it make a difference if she danced with him? Her father and Halt were too busy discussing Cassandra to notice as she slipped away. She wound her way through the corridors of the castle until she found a quiet little alcove with a bench where she could be alone for a bit.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Startled by the sound of Holly's voice, she looked up. "No, not really."

Holly glanced at Logan. "Can you give us a minute?"

He nodded and wandered away from them, far enough to be out of earshot.

Holly took a seat beside Deva. "You like him a lot, don't you?"

Deva's shoulder slumped. "Is it that obvious?"

"Yeah, kinda."

"I didn't want to. I fought against it and I made the very same argument Aunty Cassandra did. He's a prince and I'm going to be a Ranger. We shouldn't even try to make it work."

"But the fact that Aunty Cassandra doesn't want it to work makes it real, huh?" Holly asked.

"Yeah," Deva replied quietly. "What do I do? Aunty Cassandra wants him to marry some boring princess."

Holly stared at her. "And what do you think Mitchell wants?"

"How should I know?" She sighed. "I mean, he did tell me he doesn't have anything in common with any of those girls, but what if he meets one that he does have things in common with? What if he likes her more than me?"

"And what if he already likes you enough that he'd never look twice at any of those girls?"

"And what if he doesn't?" Deva wailed, burying her face in her hands. She never felt so insecure in her life. For as long as she could remember, she'd know exactly what she wanted out of her life. To grow up and be a Ranger. The thought of boys and marriage never entered into it. The Ranger life was mostly a solitary one. With Mitchell though, she felt so uncertain about everything. She didn't know what to say to him or how to act around him. There were times she felt so tongue-tied. He was always so confident, so sure, and she felt so stupid around him.

Holly wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "We'll figure it out, don't worry." She called Logan over. "Logan, do you think you can find a way to let Mitchell know that Deva has feelings for him and she's good with it now?"

He chuckled at the way she'd worded it. "Sure no problem."

Deva turned a dark shade of red and buried her face in her hands. "No! Please, it's too embarrassing!"

Logan gave her a gentle smile and placed his hand over hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Hey, don't worry, he likes you a lot. It's going to work out. Don't worry, all right?"

She nodded. "Okay and thanks, Logan."

He winked at her, turned and walked away down the hallway.

Deva turned to Holly with a small smile. "Now I know why you like him so much, he's very sweet."

Holly released an exasperated snort. "I do not like him that way, we're only friends!"

"Whatever, Holly, I see the way the two of you look at one another."

"We do not look at each other in any certain way. Can you please just drop it?"

"Fine, whatever."

"Yes, fine, great, let's get back to the ball before we get into trouble." Holly stood and brushed at her little skirt to make certain it was straight.

Together, they wandered back into the ballroom. Deva's lips pressed tightly together when she saw Mitchell dancing with some girl in a gown she was certain should have its own continent named after it. It was huge and she wore a hat so big, Mitchell was standing at arms length from her to avoid being hit with it.

Holly giggled.

"What are you laughing at?"

Holly gestured at Mitchell and his dance partner. "Really, you have to ask? You aren't seeing this?"

"It isn't really polite to make fun of the idiotic," she replied with a fat grin.

Holly rolled her eyes. "Oh please, I'm fairly certain that girl is too brainless to know she's wearing enough fabric to suffocate an entire herd of cattle."

"I've taught you better manners," her mother scolded from behind them.

Holly turned a bright shade of red and turned to face her mother where she now stood behind them. "Sorry, Mother."

"Your father has been looking for you, the two of you are supposed to be looking out for trouble."

"Yes, Mother."

"Well, go on then, get to it." Pauline made a shooing gesture with her hands.

They moved quickly away, heading for the doors that led to the gardens, hoping to avoid getting into any more trouble with anyone. They patrolled around the gardens, looking for anyone suspicious. They spotted nothing out of the ordinary, unless you counted a few couples sneaking into dark corners to steal a few moments alone.

After making several rounds of the garden, they headed back inside, slipped past the refreshment table and swiped a few snacks before ducking behind a pillar.

Mitchell darted around the post. "Quick, hide me!"

"Jeez, you scared me half to death!" Deva whispered at him angrily as she peered around the edge of the pillar to make certain no one noticed him as he had ducked behind the pillar.

"I'm sorry, but I'm trying to get away from princess what's-her-name in the giant hat!" He replied in a hushed voice.

Holly chuckled around a mouth full of some sort of meat filled little pie. "The one in the giant pink frilly dress?"

He nodded his eyes were fearful. "Yes! She babbled the entire time about how she wanted a hat with lace on it or some nonsense and doves in flight to wear on her wedding day. I have no idea why she was telling me about her blasted wedding!"

Holly burst out laughing, spitting meat pie crumbs. "She's a female and you, Mitchell, are a male and a very eligible one at that."

He scowled at her. "I don't want to get married, not yet! I hate this stupid ball."

Holly shrugged. "Then tell your mother."

They both watched as he turned and pressed his forehead against the pillar with a groan. "I can't! You know that! I just ... I can't! You saw how she got about the one dance with Deva, if I told her I don't want to find a bride, especially one who's a princess, she'll kill me!"

Deva moved to stand beside him and patted him on the back. "I know, but if you don't tell her she'll keep doing things like this and before you know it you'll find yourself married to Princess Huge Hat."

He twisted his head to look at her, his forehead still pressed to the pillar. "I know, but if I tell her she'll be disappointed."

"You'd rather be miserable than let her be disappointed for a little bit? She's your mother, Mitchell, ultimately she wants you to be happy. She'll get over it."

He moaned and his shoulders dropped, hard to accomplish when he was already propped against the post by his head, but somehow he managed it. "Can one of you just kill me?"

Holly grinned, even if he couldn't see it. "Sorry, big guy, but no. You're the prince and you need to face up to your responsibilities."

Deva sent her a scowl before she turned back to him. "Most of the time I don't agree with Holly, mostly because she'd usually wrong, her plans stink ..."

"Hey!" Holly interrupted.

Deva sent her a look that clearly said shut up. "But in this case, she's right, you need to face up to things. You need to tell your mom what it is you want. You need to let her know that she can't run your life for you, not if she expects you to be King someday. You need to make your own decisions."

"Mitchell, where are you?" They heard Cassandra's voice calling from somewhere nearby.

Mitchell winced. "Can I do it tomorrow? If I try and talk to her about it now she'll argue and it will cause a scene."

"You're probably right. Go on and get back before she finds you hiding back here with us."

"You mean hiding back here with you," he said with a smirk.

"Yes." She sighed. "She'll accuse me of taking you from your duties again."

He chuckled, dipped his head and pressed a quick kiss on her cheek before he slipped back around the pillar.

"Ooooohhhh!" Holly fanned herself. "You two have got it bad."

"Shut up, Holly!"

Holly shrugged. "You do."

"Yeah and I know for certain I saw you coming out of Logan's room," she shot back.

Holly stuck her tongue out at Deva. From there it dissolved into a shoving match that ended when Holly kicked Deva in the shin and then tackled her to the floor before sitting on her. Which is the exact moment Halt stepped around the pillar and discovered them. He quickly separated them and sent Holly with Logan, who stood just behind Halt, to go and patrol.

"And you, go stand with the Skandian delegation. Keep an eye on Erak's son." He pointed and Deva dragged away.

Erak, the Oberjarl of the Skandians, had dragged his eight year old son with. The boy was somewhat of a handful, which was an understatement for a Skandian. The kid was a terror. Deva wanted to put an arrow in the boy five seconds after Halt sent her to help watch over him.

She was going to find a way to punish Halt for this.

So far the boy tried to get away from her no less than six times, hocked a loogie on her boots twice and had her bend down on the pretense of asking her something so he could look down her neckline half a dozen times. He was eight going on puberty.

Holly had definitely gotten the better end of this deal. She got to walk around with Logan. Deva ground her teeth as devil boy slapped her on the rear and grinned up at her.

"There was a fly," he told her cheerfully.

She smiled the fakest smile she could muster and used her most menacing voice. "If you do that again I swear to Gorlog I'll skin you alive, pour lemon juice over you, cover you in honey and find the largest ant hill that I can and bury you face down in. Understand me, boy?"

The kid paled slightly, but nodded and shot his father a sidelong look where he stood conversing with Sir Horace nearby. He seemed to have gotten the point that she wasn't going to put up with his nonsense any longer.

He sighed and looked around the room tapping his foot. The kid was bored and Deva couldn't blame him. This was boring for her, she could imagine for a child it was twice as bad. Her eyes narrowed when she spotted one of the palace guards making his way along the back wall and over to a door that led to the upper level balustrade that looked out over the ballroom. The man was more than a little scruffy looking for a guard. Something wasn't right about the man. It wasn't simply that he was scruffy, it was the way he moved, skulking around the perimeter of the ballroom. Her gaze flicked around the room until she spotted Holly on the opposite side of the ballroom.

Their eyes met and she tipped her head toward the guard as he pulled the door open.

Holly's eyes followed the direction she tipped her head and her eyes lit on the man as he stepped through the door.

Deva watched as she and Logan took off after the guard. She flicked her eyes to Horace and got his attention as subtly as possible. When he made his way over to her, she spoke quietly. "I need to go, there may be trouble."

He nodded and took her place beside Erak's son.

She hurried across the room toward the door, looking for her father and Halt as she went. In the crowded ballroom she couldn't find them. It looked as if they were on their own. Logan and Holly would need help in case the man had friends lurking around waiting for him. She reached for the handle and pulled it open carefully before heading inside.

They didn't have their bows, only their saxe knives because they wore their dress uniforms. It was going to be difficult to fight men dressed as knights, wearing mail, carrying swords, and other weapons. She and Holly should have carried their swords.

She didn't have any idea what she might be walking into. No clue what was waiting for her at the top of the stairs. It could be a single man or a dozen.

At the top of the stairs she paused, took a deep breath and then inched to the edge of the wall and peeked around it. She pressed her lips together to keep from crying out when she spotted Logan sprawled on the floor just steps from where she hid. There was nothing that told her whether he was alive, not from here. There was no sign of Holly or the man she'd seen entering the stairwell.

She pressed her head back against the wall, eyes closed, breath held until she grew dizzy from the lack of air and was forced to release the breath and suckin air. Now what did she do?

Holly, she needed to find Holly. They needed to stop that man from accomplishing whatever his goal was. Keep him from harming anyone else.

That was the goal and she was going to have to do whatever it took to accomplish it.

Even if it was already too late to save Logan and Holly, she had to keep moving forward. Even if she didn't want to. She was a Ranger and she needed to do her job.