Jace stared out at the sea of competitors on the lawn in front of her viewing box. She couldn't help but roll her eyes as another clownishly dressed lord stepped up to the shooting line and tried to hit the bull's eye of a target. Several had claimed it impossible and if she had one more complain, she was stepping onto the pitch and shooting the target herself, just to prove a point. She picked at the cloth on her dress that was starting to stick to her leg, the pre summer heat wasn't being particularly tolerable today. Jace had barely registered that the three arrows the lord was allotted had hit the target everywhere but the bulls eye. Jace leaned back and resisted the urge to ask her mother how many more she had to sit through. But the lord on the pitch began to complain and that was enough for Jace. She stood up and began tying up her dress. Her mother knew better than to question what came next, so she simply sat quietly and do whatever Jace had planned on doing to the poor man. She looked down at the guard standing in front of her.

"Joseph, I do recommend you move unless you want me to land on you." She said. He looked up at her.

"Your highness, I must advise against this," he started to say.

"Just move, I have a point to make." Jace said with a tone that indicated that she wasn't budging on the issue. Joseph reluctantly stepped aside, which left room for Jace to launch herself over the railing of their sitting box and onto the green space. With her dress tied for battle she strode over to the quiver of arrows and placed her hand out. "The bow being used?" she asked. The lord, slightly in shock handed the bow over. Jace rolled the grip in her hand and put it in her left hand. Grabbing an arrow, she notched it and aimed, firing at full force. Bulls eye, another arrow, another bulls eye, and once more with feeling, another bulls eye. She set the bow against the quiver and glared at the field of competitors. "It can be done." She said with such force it terrified some of the other nobles. She strode back over to the viewing box and pulled herself back into to it. She untied her dress and smoothed it down before sitting down, putting her glare back on. Her mother looked over at her with only a hint of exasperation.

"Was that necessary Jace?"

"Yes mother, they were getting on my nerves." She said as her eyes didn't leave the green.

"Well, if everything and everyone that got on your nerves got the classic "Jacelyn show up" treatment, then our kingdom will never know peace under you." Her mother stated. Jace knew she wasn't wrong, but it was an unfair point.

"Mother, you know I only use the show up treatment on the petty things. Things where the biggest thing at stake is a damaged ego." Jace clarified. The castle crier claimed that this particular part of the festivities was over. Jace stood up and left their box, greeted immediately by her two Wolfhounds who hadn't been allowed in due to how small the box was. They danced around her and Jace chuckled at their antics. "Alright, you two calm down!" She said through her laughs. One immediately sat on her right and one immediately to her left. She scratched the head of the one on the right. "Hello Leviathan," then the left, "hello Valhalla." After both received their attention, Jace walked and they trotted at her side. She came up to one of the girls who worked in the kitchen who today was running a cookie stand.

"Heard the commotion from back here, what'd you happen to do this time your highness?" She asked. Jace chuckled at her exaggeration.

"Ruby, I just showed up a couple of noble men, who really needed showing up anyway." Jace said. Ruby chuckled.

"Your highness, I don't understand how you plan to run a country."

"Magic, adhesive, and a shit ton of luck." Jace answered. The girls laughed at this when Jace looked over at a little boy sitting on a rock. He didn't seem to have anyone actively looking for him and he didn't seemed troubled by being on his own. Jace tilted her ears to the trees as she listened closely to them. She focused in and heard whistles. Two short and a long. "Ruby do you hear that?" She asked. Ruby listened carefully.

"The whistles?"
"Yeah." Jace said. She looked back to the boy and noticed he was eating one of Ruby's cookies. "The cookie, did he pay for it?"

"Yeah, actually gave one of the castle's coins for it, I thought it was a little weird, but money's money and he's like what? Six?" Ruby said.

"Can I see the coin?" Jace asked. Ruby dug out the sack that kept the money of the stand. She pulled out the coin and handed to her. Jace rolled it over her fingers and looked at the insignias. Sure enough it was her family's coin. Typically, the only people who had these coins were those employed by the crown. Jace faintly remembered one of the foresters saying he had been robbed, saying men dressed in all green had robbed him. She thought nothing of it at the time, despite the mass amounts of messengers who had come on King John's behalf asking her and her mother to watch the woods to their east for a man who was calling himself Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Jace chuckled quietly, the boy must've been one of the group members' kids and they gave him the coin to buy something for himself while they were here. "I'll go talk to him."

"Are you sure that's a good idea your highness?"

"No, but it's worth a shot." Jace said. She returned the coin to Ruby and walked over to the boy, the dogs trotting at her side. She kneeled down to his level and gave him a smile. "How're the cookies?" She asked. The boy looked slightly frightened at her presence. Though that might've also partially could be attributed to the two massive dogs currently trying to investigate him and his food.

"They're good your highness." He said. Jace smiled at him. Leviathan decided he was bored and sat down next to the rock the boy was sitting on, while Valhalla kept trying to lick the poor kid's cheek. He didn't seemed to mind all that much.

"That's fantastic to hear, I'll pass word along to the cook." She looked around and faintly heard the whistles still coming. "You know, I believe that there's someone looking for you. Two short whistles and a long one." The little boy stood up at this. This shocked Leviathan and Valhalla into standing next to him, the dogs nearly taller than the boy.

"Your highness I must go!" He said starting to run off.

"Wait!" the boy stopped briefly. "What's your name?"

"Will,"

"Will, tell your band that the forester deserved it." Jace said with a smile. The boy nodded and ran off into the trees. Jace and the dogs walked back over to Ruby's stand and leaned against it.

"You don't believe him about his name?" Ruby asked.

"No, I have a feeling he gives it to everyone who asks. No hesitation giving it. Must be a middle name or a frequent alias." Jace said. She turned to see her mother looking at her. "I have to go, good luck Ruby." She said walking over to her mother, Leviathan and Valhalla trotting next to her.

"Hello mother," She said with a nod.

"Jace, I'm sorry to tell you that we're hosting King John and his Sheriff for dinner." Her mother said. Jace knew that she was genuinely sorry, her mother disliked the King as much as Jace did. She was just less vocal about it.

"Then since I'm most definitely needing to go on a forest run, I should go now?" Jace said trying to finish the rest of her mother's proclamation.

"Yes, that would be best. I'll need you back by the time the last light of the day is gone." Her mother said.

"Will do, I'm taking Calypso with me." Jace said.

"Is Fantasia not feeling well?" Her mother asked.

"No, it's just been a while since Calypso's been out, I figured she could use the exercise." Jace replied. She made her way to the barn, Leviathan and Valhalla quick on her heels. She entered and quickly grabbed her saddle. Leviathan picked up a quiver of arrows in his mouth with Valhalla carrying the bow. As Jace approached Calypso's stall, she unlocked it and slid in, making the dogs wait outside. She placed the saddle on Calypso's back and slid out of the stall to put the quiver and bow on her back. She quickly walked over to in front of Fantasia's stall where her sword laid against the door. Fantasia quickly looked up from his dinner and snorted at Jace. "I know boy, tomorrow I promise." She said. She went over to Calypso's stall and after attaching the sword to her hip, she tightened the girth on the saddle, swung the door open, got the horse out of the stall and popped on. Quietly, Jace and the dogs walked out of the stable before they got to the tiny courtyard that led to the woods. With a smirk on her lips, she kicked Calypso on and they all took off into the woods.

A/N: For those who have done this rodeo with me before, welcome back, to those who haven't: welcome! My update schedule is non existent and my canon is nowhere to be found, I strongly dislike Outlaw Queen (no offense to you if you do, just not my speed) so voila, OC centric fic. Have fun see you in CH2