Cassandra paced back and forth across the room, her look distressed.

Halt couldn't blame her after the news they brought back. Knowing that a new and dangerous threat loomed on the horizon was not something any of them had imagined when Crowley sent them on this errand. They had all hoped it was a simple misunderstanding, that no one would be stupid enough to take over Morgarath's castle. He shouldn't have dismissed it, he knew better.

Cassandra stopped her pacing and fixed her gaze on Halt where he sat beside Will. "You're certain?"

He gave a slight inclination of his head to indicate a positive answer. She needed no more confirmation than that. He watched as she spun around and began her pacing again.

Her father, King Duncan, had taken ill recently and more of the daily responsibilities related to running Araluen were falling on Cassandra's shoulders.

"You have no idea why this man believes King Duncan has wronged him?" Horace asked from where he stood, an elbow propped on the mantle of the hearth. His brows were drawn together in a deep V.

"No, I'm afraid we don't know who he is. Holly didn't see his face and his man never spoke his name."

Crowley's brows rose. "Holly?"

Halt blew out a long breath and shot his daughter a small angry glare before resettling his eyes on Crowley. "Holly took it upon herself to sneak into the mountains and enter Morgarath's old lair in search of anything that might help us in our quest to gain information. She's the one who acquired those plans."

Cassandra's pacing came to an abrupt halt when he had begun speaking. "You went in there alone?"

Holly nodded. She had the feeling if she tried to expound on her little adventure her father would have some sort of a fit. She remained silent while the princess gave her father and Will a lecture on keeping their apprentices safe. Apprentices which included her son.

Will held up a hand to stop her tirade. "Whoa, hold up, Evanlyn, Holly slipped off after the rest of us were asleep. We had no idea what kind of plot she hatched. None of us knew her plan, if we had you know we would have put a stop to it. Do you honestly believe that Halt or I would send any of the kids in there alone or even at all?"

Cassandra slumped into a nearby chair while rubbing at her forehead. She looked exhausted. "No, Will, of course not. I apologize to both of you for my reaction. I simply do not know what to do about this. I wish my father was well enough to handle this."

Horace moved to stand behind her chair, dropping his hands to her shoulders, and bent to place a brief kiss at her temple. "You'll handle it perfectly fine, sweetheart."

Crowley smiled warmly at her. "Yes, you will and you'll have the lot of us to help you along should you need it."

Cassandra returned his smile. "Thank you, all of you. I might need that help."

"Now, let's have a closer look at those plans and see what we're dealing with," Horace said with a bright smile as he rubbed his hands together.

They spent nearly two hours pouring over the parchment that Holly had written out containing the plans of the mystery man occupying Morgarath's castle in the Mountains of Rain and Night. Though the plan seemed straight forward, Halt felt caution was called for since they didn't know whom they were dealing with.

Cassandra agreed although she did feel they needed to warn the fiefs of the possible danger and prepare them for battle. It was only a matter of time before this new enemy moved forward with his plans.

He wouldn't wait forever to seek his vengeance.

***

Deva flexed her arms and winced. Their fathers seem delighted to torture them with endless practice at their bows, knives and anything else they deemed necessary to the life of a Ranger.

She groaned at the pain of her protesting muscles. "I'm not really certain I want to do this anymore."

Holly chuckled while flexing her own arms. "Too late. I'm not going to let you quit and leave me to do this alone."

"It will get better, trust me. Once your muscles get used to the training you'll be fine," Logan told them both, his head lying on his hands folded beneath his head.

Holly gave his shoulder a shove. "Right, sure, and you're the perfect Ranger. Right? You think you're so very smart?"

Sitting up, he grinned at her. "See you do understand! After all, I know so much more than you."

She leapt at him but he fell to his back and rolled neatly away from her. "Get back here, Logan!"

Deva sat and watched as Holly dashed after Logan as he ran across the small clearing. She tipped her head and grinned as she watched Holly make a grab at Logan's cloak and miss. He laughed loudly as he reached up, grasped a low hanging tree branch and swung his body upward into the tree. There was a grin splitting his features as he waved down at Holly where she stood beneath the tree.

Holly stamped a foot like a small child. "Get back down here!"

Deva was so busy watching Holly and Logan that when Mitchell dropped down beside her, she gave a small shriek of surprise. "Don't sneak up on me, Mitchell!"

"I didn't sneak. That's your department, Ranger," he said with a smirk. "What's going on?" he asked, watching Holly and Logan.

She gestured at them. "Holly's trying to get the better of Logan and as you can see, she's not doing well." She slanted him a look. "What's the news, how's it going?"

He drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out before answering, "Not well. My mom and dad want to do one thing and the Rangers want to do another. It's a lot of arguing back and forth. I don't even know why my mother wants me there to witness a bunch of adults bickering."

"I doubt it's the arguing she wants you to learn anything from."

His head tilted back until it rested against the trunk of the tree they sat beside. "Then why am I there?"

Deva shrugged, still watching Holly yelling up at Logan in the tree. "To see how decisions are made. How the kingdom is run. To learn from that. You're going to be King someday, Mitchell."

He groaned and squeezed his eyes tightly shut. "Do not remind me. Can we go back to Redmont where I'm just a plain old Battleschool apprentice?"

"At some point I'm sure you'll be allowed to finish your training, but right now Araluen needs you here." She turned her gaze to meet his when he tipped his head forward with a sigh. "We need you here."

He cocked his head slightly to the side and the corners of his lips raised slightly. "We?"

Deva turned her gaze away slightly embarrassed by the implication behind his simple question. "Yes, of course. We all need you here. You're not only the Prince but you're good with a sword."

Mitchell heaved a sigh and sent a quick glance to where Logan was climbing down from his perch while Holly continued to hurl abuse at him. They were both smiling. Reaching out, he grasped Deva's hand, lifting her to her feet, dragging her away from the clearing and further into the trees.

"Mitchell, what on earth are you doing?" She tugged her hand firmly until he stopped and turned to her, dropping her hand.

"I wanted to speak to you and I didn't really want an audience."

She crossed her arms over her chest and stared up at him. Damn, why did she have to feel so small beside him. Their difference in height was a disadvantage, it made her feel as if she could never be equal to him. Not because of the differences in their stations in life, but because he always seemed so much larger than life. He seemed so prepared to do whatever he needed to do to get through things, despite his uncertainty at times, he always pulled through. She both admired that about him and hated it all at once, because she felt insignificant when they stood side by side.

"So talk then."

His fingers dragged through his hair and he seemed to have forgotten what he wanted to say for a brief moment. He finally focused on her face and seemed to find the words he wanted to say. "I want you to know that no matter what happens after I'm done with my training ... I'll never forget you. This, the time we've spent together. It has come to mean a lot to me. You've come to mean a lot to me."

Her jaw dropped open. It did it on its own accord, she couldn't seem to stop it. "Wha ... what exactly are you saying?"

He stopped forward and took both her hands in his. "I like you, really like you. Spending time with you, even if we're silent. Talking, laughing, everything. Even arguing is pleasant if I'm doing it with you."

She stared up at him slightly stunned. "You're the Prince and I'm ... well I'm nothing."

A scowl pulled at his features. "I don't ever want to hear you say that about yourself again. Understood?"

Pulling her hands from his, she turned away. She couldn't stare into those eyes of his, see the truth of his words, and crush any hope he had that there could be more between them than friendship. "We can't do this. We can't, you know what my life is going to be, what I've chosen to be." She shook her head and stared out into the trees. "I'm going to be a Ranger and someday you'll be King. There is no future for a Ranger and a King. It would never work. Ever."

He moved to stand just behind her. "There's no future if you won't let there be one. Look at my mother and father. A Princess and a lowly knight. They love one another to distraction and they make things work."

She spun to face him. "Stop, Mitchell, stop. It won't work. I'm sorry, but it won't. Let it go and please don't mention it again." She pushed past him and headed not for the clearing, but back to the castle where she could lock herself in her room and be alone.

Mitchell didn't go after her. He knew she wasn't going to listen to reason. Not now. His fingers dove through his hair once again and he groaned. "Why must things be so difficult?"

A chuckle behind him drew his attention. "Holly thought you two were going to sneak up and ambush us. I came to search you out and make certain you weren't up to something." Logan sighed, eyeing him. "I told you she wasn't ready to hear it yet."

"You did but I thought for sure—" He stopped talking abruptly, unable to finish. He'd been confident Deva had some feelings for him beyond friendship. He'd wanted to show her that he felt the same. He had asked Logan for advice when he decided to tell Deva and the other boy warned him it was too soon to tell her. That Deva wasn't ready to take that step yet. It appeared as if Logan was correct. He sighed. Logan seemed to know about these sorts of things better than he did. For now, he would defer to his friend.

Logan slapped him on the shoulder and grinned. "Let her be for now, my friend. I've seen the way she watches you when you're not looking. It will come in time. Give it a chance."

With a small nod, he followed Logan back to the clearing. He didn't remain long, he felt more than a little dejected after his talk with Deva and wanted to be alone.

***

"It's not a sound plan, Halt. I won't go along with that."

Halt remained calm in the face of Cassandra's anger. "I'll agree it isn't the best idea in the world but it does have merit, even you must admit that."

"I'll admit no such thing."

"Mom, come on we need to know who this enemy is!" Mitchell shouted.

She glared at him, eyes flashing with anger. "I want you to observe, Mitchell to learn what your future holds once you're here in my place. This is not what I wanted."

"What do you expect me to do then?" He waved his arms around in the air. "Sit at the back of things and observe the battle as it happens. To watch our men die while I do nothing to assist!"

Her anger dimmed and she shook her head. "No, not at all. You're too much like your father to accept that sort of role in the coming battle. But slipping through the forest to spy on the advancing army? It's much too dangerous. You're not a Ranger, son."

He drew himself up to his full height. "I'm not a fool either. I can take care of myself. That is something I learned from you. I've also gained things, not only from my father, but from Halt and Will and others around me as well. I can do this without bungling it."

Cassandra turned away and sat down. She looked back to stare at her son. He'd matured, grown up so much in a very short time. He'd never before stood up to her this way. Never once raised his voice. He wasn't her little boy any longer. It was the truth and she'd have to accept it. Her gaze cut to Halt and Will where they stood beside Mitchell. "You'll take every precaution?"

Halt inclined his head to her and sent her a small comforting smile. "We always do. You have no need to worry, Princess. Your son is indeed his father's child."

She waved them from the room. She needed some time alone to think on things.

Mitchell turned to the two Rangers once they were outside the room. "Thank you for backing me in this. I knew she wasn't going to like it very much."

Will grinned. "Halt is right, you'll do fine. Things can always go wrong, but it won't be because you don't know what you're about. Your training is there to back you up."

He smiled his thanks before he took himself off to his room.

Tomorrow they would head out and try to find this army. There was no date written on the plans Holly had found. They didn't have any idea when the threat would begin to move toward them. They would wait however long it took to find them and see what they were about, once they managed that, maybe they could identify the man leading them.