After several weeks of quiet, with no word from Morgan and no sign of the man returning, Crowley cleared them to return to Redmont. The Ranger Commandant was certain Morgan was either gravely injured and it was preventing his return or he was dead.

Back at Redmont, the apprentices' training continued. Their days were long and exhausting.

It made Holly's determination to question Logan more difficult. She was still convinced he was hiding something. She didn't have an idea how to ferret out his secret.

"Would you like to tell me why you're staring so intently at Logan?"

Holly sent Deva a guilty stare. "No reason in particular."

"Liar."

She shrugged. "He's been training longer than we have, I just figured if I watched him I might learn something. That's all."

Deva snorted out a laugh. "Yeah, I don't think that's the reason you were staring."

"It is!"

"Mmmhmm." She rose and strode off before Holly could protest further.

Holly ground her teeth. She knew making any further protests would only encourage Deva into thinking she had some sort of deep feelings for Logan when that wasn't true at all. She just wanted to get to the bottom of what he was hiding.

"Stop lazing about and get over here!" Will called from where he stood beside her father.

With a grumble, she pushed up from the ground and started over to where they stood. So much for observing.

***

Mitchell sucked in several deep breaths as the instructor called a momentary halt to their practice. They'd been at it for most of the afternoon and it was nice to have a short breather. He sent a quick glance in the direction of Griffin and his friends.

Rodney had made certain the instructors knew to keep them separated as much as possible. Despite that, the boys had been sending him glances all day. He didn't like the way they were looking at him. There was a dark meaning behind those looks.

He had the feeling Griffin and his buddies were burning to confront him. It was something he knew he wouldn't like. Griffin was brewing some sort of a plan. Despite being a basic sort of bully, depending on brute strength rather than his brains, he was smart. However he was also lazy, he would rather have others do things for him. It was one of the reasons he kept the other, less intelligent boys around him. They were more than willing to do things for Griffin.

The instructor kept them working another two hours, whacking away at the practice dummies before they were released for the day. He was on his way back to the barracks when Griffin and his cohorts intercepted him, drawing him aside.

"You and I need to have a little chat."

He eyed Griffin. "You know what will happen if we're caught together."

Griffin shrugged off his words. "Let's make it a very quick conversation then. You see, you and I are going to be best friends and you, Mitchell, are going to do a few things for me."

He allowed himself a disbelieving snort. "And why would I do anything for you?"

Griffin poked him squarely in the chest. "Because I know your secret. I know who you are." He grinned and pointed at Robbie. "My boy here overheard you and the Ranger girl talking.

Mitchell felt a stab of panic at Griffin's words, but he managed to keep his expression bland. "I certainly have no secrets. I don't know who you believe I am, but I can assure you that you're probably wrong."

"Is that so, Your Highness," Griffin drawled out slowly.

Mitchell felt the blood drain from his face as he went pale. He opened his mouth to respond but nothing came out.

"There's no need to respond to that. I can see by the look on your face that I'm quite correct. Now, if you don't do everything we ask of you, I'll make certain everyone, and I do mean everyone, knows exactly who you are."

He could only nod.

Griffin patted him on the arm with a fat grin. "Good boy, we'll talk later about details. I suggest you tell Sir Rodney that we've patched things up and we're good pals now."

Mitchell swallowed hard around the lump in his throat as he watched Griffin walk away, heading for the barracks. What did he do now? As badly as he wanted to avoid becoming Griffin's personal servant, he didn't see any way out of the situation. Not if he wanted to keep his identity a secret.

With a small groan of defeat, he turned and headed for Sir Rodney's office.

As he exited Rodney's office, he found Griffin waiting for him. The second he spotted the other boy, his fingers curled into his palms. Beyond that, there was no outward sign of his anger.

"So, we're all good now, right?" Griffin asked.

"Not in the least. Sir Rodney believes that we are however." He shoved past Griffin and headed for the barracks.

"Hey, not so fast there, Mitchell."

He froze in his tracks but didn't turn to face the other boy. He remained where he stood until the other boy came to stand beside him.

"I've been sooo very busy today, I simply don't have the time to finish all the work we were assigned in class this morning. Finish it for me, will you? I left it on your bunk for you." He didn't wait for an answer, simply gave him a pat on the back and moved away.

His eyes remained on Griffin's back as he strode away. His friends melted out of the shadows to join him as they headed for the village. They would most likely spend the evening drinking the night away. While he would be stuck finishing Griffin's work. With a grumble, he stalked off toward the barracks and sat himself down to finish Griffin's map work.

***

Deva stepped into the barrack and spotted Mitchell hunched over papers spread out over his bunk. She smiled as she watched him work for a minute or two. He was going to be an exceptional knight. A great King. She could see it in the way he concentrated deeply on his work. Her head tilted and a small smile lifted her lips when she heard him curse softly as he shifted some of the papers around as if he were searching for something. So, he wasn't perfect all of the time after all. Not that she'd actually believed he was perfect.

She walked further into the room, crossing to where he sat and dropped down to sit on the end of the bed. "Lot's of work?"

He quickly shoved all the papers into a pile and stuffed them beneath his pillow. "It's nothing. Just something I'm working on in my own time."

Her eyes narrowed on him. He was actively avoiding her gaze. "So, you draw elaborate maps in your spare time? Interesting hobby."

He shrugged. "Well, you know ..." He trailed off and sent meaningful looks around the room.

She sighed. Maybe he was working on something for his parents. Mapping something that had to do with Morgan. Though, he could show her that quietly without tipping off the other students who were in the room and he was still avoiding her gaze.

When his eyes skipped around the room again, she lunged forward, reaching past him and making a grab for the items he'd shoved under the pillow.

"Deva, no that's mine!" He grasped her wrist, throwing his body over hers as he attempted to keep her from getting a hold of the papers.

She wiggled out from beneath his big body and landed on the floor with a thump. She jumped to her feet with a triumphant shout, waving the papers in the air. It wasn't until she looked at them that her triumphant grin faded slowly away to be replaced by a dark scowl.

"Outside. Now Mitchell." She tossed the papers at him before she turned and stomped from the room.

He winced when he heard some of the other students giggling. He raked a hand through his hair with a sigh and rose to follow her while trying to ignore the stares and sniggers of the other boys. He found her standing outside around the side of the building in the shadows, her cloak blending with the darkness

"Explain to me why you're doing Griffin's work?"

He folded his arms over his chest. "No."

She glared back at him. "No? That's all you're going to say about it?"

"Yes, I don't need to explain myself to you."

She stepped closer and shoved him. "No you don't, but I thought we were friends. I thought we could trust one another. If something was wrong, I thought we could trust each other to have the other's back. I guess I was wrong about that."

He hated the way her voice had gone quiet at the end. The disappointment he could hear in her voice. "Deva, I'm sorry but you wouldn't understand."

She shoved him again before turning away. "You're right, I wouldn't. Do you know why, because I trust my friends to help when I need it."

"I don't have any friends," he replied.

She spun to face him, ready to deny his claim but he'd left her standing there. With a small, choked sob, she turned and ran, heading home to the small cabin in the woods. She shoved the door open and ran past her startled parents where they sat at the small table sharing a meal and went straight to her room. With a small cry, she threw herself across her bed and let herself cry over Mitchell and the friendship she'd lost that apparently had never been real in the first place.

She didn't hear the door open or know that her father was there until he took a seat beside her and placed a comforting hand atop her head.

"Deva, sweetheart, do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head while keeping her face buried in the blanket. Despite her denial, she tried to speak through a giant sob. "Mitchell is a big idiot."

Will allowed himself a smile only because she wasn't looking at him. "We males do tend to be a tad thick headed sometimes. Do you want to tell me what he's done?"

She sniffled loudly and curled onto her side so she could look up at him. "I thought we were friends, Dad. I thought we could tell each other anything and if it came down to it we had one another's backs when trouble pounced." She broke down, sobbing again.

He didn't like seeing her so broken up, didn't like seeing his little girl crying as if her heart had been broken. The fact that it was Horace's son that caused her heartbreak made him frown. He liked that thought even less.

"And what makes you believe Mitchell wouldn't have your back?"

"He told me he didn't have any friends."

Anger flared inside Will at her words. Mitchell should have known he had friends here. He, Halt and Horace had been friends for a long time. He shook his head. Mitchell should consider all of them friends. He should never feel alone while he was here in Redmont. "Why do you think he would say such a thing?"

She dragged the back of her hand across her eyes and sniffled loudly. "I don't know. He was angry and defensive because I caught him doing Griffin's school work."

Will straightened. "He was doing another student's work?"

"Yes, that beastly boy that keeps getting him into trouble. I don't know what's going on but Griffin has obviously done something to get Mitchell to cooperate. Threatened him somehow. Mitchell would never do someone's work for them without good reason. He refused to tell me what's going on. He told me it wasn't my business."

"Give him some space for a bit. If he doesn't come to his senses then you'll simply need to give him a bit of a nudge," Will told her with a small sigh.

"You really think so?"

He rose and headed for the door. "He's a boy, Deva, I think I understand boys much better than you do. Trust me, he will either come to his senses or you'll need to knock him upside the head. I'll warn you now, it will probably be the second one. Now, come and see your mother. She's only home overnight before she must leave to give Cassandra a report."

"All right, I'll be right there."

With a smile for her, he turned and left the room.