Zia glared at her opponent, snowflakes falling down all around her. The steam coming from her exhalation marred her vision slightly, but she remained focused on the tall, armored figure before her. His sword was in his hands, his feet shoulder length apart, mirroring Zia's own stance. He was loose and comfortable, almost lazy in his position, but Zia didn't let that fool her. She had been trained to size up her opponent quickly and accurately, and she did this now. She was confident that she could hold her own against this man.

Heath watched from the sidelines as Jay and Zia circled around each other, each looking for a hole in the other's defense. The wait was beginning to lengthen, and Heath knew Zia well enough to know that she would attack soon if Jay hesitated much longer.

True to Heath's prediction, Zia took advantage of Jay's prolonged hesitation to make a speedy attack. Quick as thought, she lunged her sword out at Jay, and the Captain responded just as quickly, blocking her swing with one easy motion. He responded with a swing of his own. The blade moved faster than Heath could see, but Zia blocked the blow that would have taken her head from her shoulders as easily as Jay did hers.

From that moment there was no longer any hesitation. The blows went left and right, back and forth, to and fro faster than Heath could comprehend. He wasn't all that skilled with a sword, so Heath couldn't fathom how the two could keep up with each other.

Lunge, perry, swing, block, swipe, perry, lunge, block, block, swing. Even the Guards, who were no slouchers in the art of sword fighting, could barely keep up with the moves done by both Zia and Jay. It could not be denied that they were both excellent with a blade, but who would pull through as the victor was the real question. That's the question they were trying to answer. The lack of activity among the company had driven the two swordsmen to agree to a duel to see who could trump the other. Bets had been made among the company as to who would emerge victorious.

Zia fought like an animal, but every move she made toward Jay was blocked with what seemed like ease for the young man, but she was satisfied that she had presented the same challenge for him. Her defense was solid, and her attacks were quick, hard. The sword seemed to merely be an extension of her arm.

Swipe, swipe, block, feint, swing, block, block, swing, stab. Attack, attack, block, block, attack, block, jab.

It was indeed a beautiful fight, for those who could appreciate the exactness and grace in each and every one of the duelers' moves. A fanciful person might describe the fight as poetry, music, or some other form of beauty and dedicated preciseness.

The snow fell lightly around the spectators. The wind whistled through the Pass. The harmonious sound of steel on steel, sword on sword, rang through the frigid air.

Jay feinted a left swing at Zia's head, then quickly switched into a series of deadly blows that rained down on Zia. She blocked each and every one with a parry; Jay was much stronger than Zia was, and she had found out the hard way that blocking his attacks full-stop would just numb her arms.

Zia's breathing came harder and harder with each passing moment. The cold air stung her lungs and she was so concentrated on keeping her balance, blocking Jay's attacks, and making a few attacks of her own that she was quickly draining her reservoir of energy.

On the receiving end of Zia's would-be deadly blows, Jay was experiencing similar effects of their duel. The sword became heavy in his hand, his moves became less powerful and more sluggish. His breathing came hard and fast, the cold air stealing his breath. He knew he would have to end the fight soon or both he and Zia would be too drained to move for the next three days, even as in shape as they were. They had been fighting for a long time now. How long had it been exactly? Half an hour? An hour? It was hard to tell.

Zia's thoughts were identical. She posed her sword for a charge, the tip aimed at Jay's stomach. She ran at him, but before he could sidestep or her sword could pierce his metal chest plate, Zia lowered the sword tip and threw her body weight onto Jay. Zia was small of stature, and didn't have a lot of body weight, but the ground was icy, and Jay's foot slipped, and they both went tumbling in the snow.

Zia leaped back to her feet as quickly as she could, for she knew that Jay could have her pinned in an instant and she would be helpless to do anything to stop him.

Jay also regained his footing, taking a moment to catch what little breath he retained. He was about to charge at the small girl once more, but he was stopped when Archibald's voice rang out, "Wait!"

Jay halted his attack, and both he and Zia lowered their swords. All eyes had been glued to the match, but now they all turned to face the red-haired Scullin man. "Do ye 'ear tha'?" he asked.

Everyone stopped to listen, their nerves taut. Some even reached for the weapons at their hips, for they fear Archibald had heard attackers. They strained their ears. Not one among them moved. Hard as they tried, they could hear nothing but the heavy breathing of their companions.

When no one had discovered Archibald's findings, he voiced them himself. "The wind's died down. And the snow's stopped."

Just as he said this, the sun poked out from a break in the clouds for the first time in days, and its welcome rays felt like a warm bath in the frigid cold.

"We can leave," Jay panted happily. "At last."

"How exactly are we going to defeat this army when we meet them?" Ryker's now ever-present voice rang through the Pass. Ever since his twenty-four hours of silence had passed he had taken every opportunity to say something, whether it was relevant or not. "A whole army against thirteen people- few of which can actually fight- isn't exactly what I'd call even numbers."

"Took you this whole time to figure that out, did it?" Zia muttered so that only those immediately around her could hear. Heath just so happened to be one of those people, as he was riding right next to her, and he gave a soft snort. Ike, with Elaina's arms wrapped around him, rode behind them, taking up the rear. There had not been enough horses- the two extra horses the company had brought were pulling the supply wagon they got from the smugglers- and so Ike had volunteered to allow Elaina to ride with him on his horse.

Ike looked suspiciously between Heath and Zia, trying to figure out what was underneath their exchange, but after a few moments of scrutinizing, he concluded that it was just simple and friendly.

"Do you really think we would come all this way without a plan?" Percival said disdainfully in answer to Ryker's question.

"Well, you didn't feel obligated to share the plan with us," Zia pointed out. She herself had also been wondering what the plan was, but had just assumed that the Guards would tell them when they deemed the time appropriate.

"We're not obligated to share anything," Percival told her.

"I disagree," Heath said. "If we're going to be attacking an army I think it's only fair that we know what we're getting ourselves into."

"You knew what you were getting into when you agreed to come," the Guard pointed out.

"Oh, enough already," Zia burst. "Just tell us the plan."

"That's not up to me," Percival said, tilting his chin towards Jay. "It's the Captain's. Truth be told he's the only one among us who knows the full plan."

"Well, why didn't you say so before?" Heath said, his eyebrows scrunching together.

"Like I said, I'm not obligated to tell you anything."

Zia resisted the urge to roll her eyes and groan.

After two days of travel and no luck in getting Jay to reveal their plan to defeat the army, Zia used her free time to keep a close eye on Elaina, looking for the tiniest hint of pretense in her, but hard as she tried, she could not find anything to explain why the Skilaen girl sent chills down her back. Elaina was plain, but she was also very happy, kind, compassionate, and was always smiling, despite her circumstance of being with a party on a quest to wipe out an entire force of her country's army. It was as if her experience with the smugglers had never even happened.

With each passing hour, Zia found herself growing to like Elaina. She could begin to see why Ike liked her so much and why she made him so happy. Elaina was quick to smile and was more than willing to help with gathering firewood or clearing up camp. With each passing day, Zia felt her suspicious feelings about Elaina disappear.

At long last, she had to admit that her previous suspicions of Elaina came purely from the girl's familiar eye color, and she finally convinced herself that her uneasiness was purely imagined up. It wasn't long before she did feel the dread she had felt before when she saw the Skilaen girl.

Heath, however, remained wary. He didn't smile when Elaina made Ike laugh, but scowled and turned away. He didn't laugh when Elaina told stories of how her father ones tripped and fell down a large hill, but merely grunted and kept riding.

"What happened that made him such a grump?" Ike questioned Zia after another failed attempt at trying to get Heath to smile. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Do you think perhaps he's been spending too much time with Percival?"

"I heard that," Percival's grumpy voice said.

Ike smiled. "Just checking that you weren't going deaf."

Percival mumbled something about, "Kids these days," and Ike turned back to Zia, eyebrow raised in question.

What should she tell him? They had both agreed that they wouldn't let Ike know about their unease about Elaina. But now that Zia's unease was gone, would it be wrong to voice her former fears?

"He's upset with me," Zia lied. "He issued me a challenge to see who could find the most birds, and he claimed I cheated and he's been upset ever since."

Ike raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "He's upset because of a game? That doesn't sound like Heath."

He was right. It didn't. But it was the best lie she could come up with off the top of her head.

"I think he's just having a hard time adjusting to Elaina." It wasn't the whole truth, but it was most of it.

"Oh," Ike said quietly.

"He'll come around, though, I'm sure of it," Zia said to get his spirits up.

"He wasn't this moody when Pa and I took you in," Ike said thoughtfully.

"He was younger then. He probably didn't fully understand what was happening. Do you think he is just jealous that you've been spending an excessive amount of time with Elaina?"

Ike stiffened. "I-I wouldn't say I've been spending an 'excessive' amount of time with her," he said quickly.

"A substantial amount, then," Zia said.

"I-I-I wouldn't say it was that much. Perhaps... a slightly- slightly- more than moderate amount of time." Ike's cheeks turned the brightest of reds and he refused to look anywhere but at the ground.

Zia couldn't help but laugh at his embarrassment. "It's alright if you like her, Ike. There's no shame in fancying a girl."

"But she's not just some girl. She's a Skilaen. She's from our country's worst and most hated enemy!"

"Who cares where she comes from?" Zia said defensively. "I was raised by an abusive drunk for six years, but no one holds that against me."

"Well, because you can't help that your father's a child-slapping drinker," Ike said.

Zia resisted the urge to say "Daxtor's not my father," but she refrained. Instead she said, "And Elaina can't help that her King holds a grudge about the war we won against them over a thousand years ago."

Ike considered her words, and when he decided that she was right, he lightened up greatly. "You're right, of course."

"Of course," Zia agreed.

"It's not her fault she was born where she was," Ike continued, warming up to the idea. "After all, she had no control over that!"

Zia nodded, not sure how to reply.

Ike went on and on about it, as if trying to convince himself, and Zia tuned him out.

Zia caught her breath. "That's a big army."

Jay, who was lying behind the shrub next to her own, nodded. "Much bigger than our sources said it would be."

"Who are your 'sources,' exactly?"

Jay shook his head. "I can't tell you that."

"Do you think I'm going to track them down and demand information?" Zia scoffed. "I lived as an abused slave for six years and twelve hidden in the forest. The only connection I have with the world outside of the Thieve's hideout comes from tales from the men who come and go, most of which I wouldn't trust further than I could throw them, so do you really think I can do anything with any information you give me?"

Jay considered it for a moment. Then he said, "He's a young villager in the capitol of Skilae. His mother is a serving girl at a local tavern there, which just so happens to be the rumored favorite tavern of the Skilaen King's General. He visits there frequently, and doesn't have a very good head for alcohol. He's let a lot slip through the years and our spy has been sending his reports to us."

"I see," Zia said. "And what exactly is our plan to eliminate an entire army with only thirteen people?"

"I do believe it's time I revealed our plan. Come, we should get back to the others; there I shall reveal the plan."