"Castiel! Castiel!" The voice echoed through the halls in a hollow and empty note. Castiel pulled his covers over his head and groaned to himself. No doubt, Gabriel would ask for his help evading the guards again. Castiel was not quite keen on that since the last time he'd helped Gabriel, he'd ended up covered in honey and wheat meal. It had taken weeks to get it all out of Castiel's hair.

Regardless of Castiel's reluctance, his brother burst into the room, franticly out of sorts. Rather unusual for Gabriel who was almost always suave and smooth. He didn't bother closing the door, and instead looked around the room hurriedly. Dashing over to the wardrobe, he began speaking, but in such a way that his tongue tied itself in knots. Castiel shuffled himself farther under his blankets, hoping his brother would get whatever it was he needed and leave. Almost as soon as the thought had gone through his head, Gabriel was shouting nonsense and pulling Castiel out of bed by the arms.

"Gabriel!" He grunted as Gabriel dropped him and raced back to the wardrobe, pulling things out and stuffing them into a bag Castiel did not remember his brother bringing in with him. "Gabriel what is going on?" Gabriel stopped his ridiculous show of packing to glare at his little brother. The only answer Castiel got was a pair of trousers and a silk shirt thrown in his face.

"Put those on. Grab anything of sentimental value and get yourself to the stables as fast as your ass will carry you. Understand?" Castiel nodded, but in reality, he did not understand. Gabriel was acting strange and packing Castiel up like he was going on a trip. Alone. That did not bode well, but before Castiel could ask any more questions, Gabriel disappeared back out the door. Castiel sighed to himself and began pulling on his trousers.

They were the plainest pair he owned, yet the most difficult to put on. Anael had made them for him when she first learned to sew clothing a year or two ago. Once the ties that crisscrossed on the outside of the legs were secured correctly, he struggled with his waist cincher and undershirt. He absent-mindedly wondered where Inias was. As many times as he'd refused his servant's help in the past, shirts still gave him an inordinate amount of trouble. He untied the black ribbon around the neck and forced the bottom hem over his shoulders. He noted that this too was one of his less extravagant articles of clothing. He re-tied the throat piece and grabbed a blue brooch. His mother had given it to him on his birthday last year, and he considered it to be "sentimental" as Gabriel had mentioned.

He didn't have many sentimental items, if he was completely honest. Most of the things people gave him were trite and held little value in his mind. They were usually fine pieces of armor or yet another piece of jewelry with his family's crest on it. He glanced around his room once more looking for anything else that he had an attachment to. He felt no surprise when nothing in the dark room caught his eye. This room wasn't even his, not really. It was a room in the castle that happened to have all his possessions in it, but other than that, it looked just like any other of the larger bedrooms. Same mahogany wardrobe, same towering four-poster with heavy white linens, same smoke-tarnished candle holders, same vaulted ceilings, and same basin in the corner. There were no other personal touches.

He grabbed his riding boots and smiled a little to himself. These were much easier to put on than the shirts had been. He knew how these worked. Once he was all done up, he spared a glance out the window and groaned at how early it was. Then he turned towards the exit, blew the candles from last night out, and shut the door as he left his room for the last time.

"Dammit, Gabriel, just tell me what's going on," Castiel pleaded. The sun was just stretching its fingers into the sky, and Castiel tried to make his yawn as angry-sounding as possible.

"No time, Castiel. Oh God, where's Anael?"

"Anael? What's she doing up?"

"She's going to lead you to the gates while I hold them off for a few hours."

"Hold who off?" Castiel had noticed that Gabriel was dressed in his armor, but hadn't said anything. "Did Dema finally declare war? Gabriel!"

"Don't worry about it Cassie," Gabriel said with a tight smile, "Ana will explain it all after you head out. Right now it's just important to get you out of here. Where is she?" He was pacing frantically and muttering to himself. He wasn't wearing the armor's ceremonial wings, and Castiel tried to stop him. He wanted to ask who Gabriel would be "holding off" again, but Anael came running out to them, red hair covered by her hooded dark green cloak. She held a large wicker basket off her left arm and rolled up piece of parchment in her right hand. Their mother would have a conniption if she saw Anael wearing pants and running at the same time. Running was fine, according to Mother, as long as it was in a dress; pants were fine as long as one walked. Mother was strange sometimes.

Castiel snapped himself out of his reverie as Anael approached, shoving the basket into Gabriel's hands and stalking into the stables behind them. Gabriel had already suited both horses up with saddles and bridles. Swinging herself on, Anael spoke with absolute venom.

"How could father do this? He knew they would react violently, yet he still did it! Had it drawn up as an official document, sent down to the archives before either of them had a chance to dispute it!"

"I know, I know, I'll take care of it Ana," Gabriel grumbled. Castiel was completely lost. How his father had the strength to even sit up, let alone write an official decree was beyond him. Their father had the wasting disease, and was slowly sinking into Death's grip. He had maybe a few months left at most and had trouble eating. The people had already begun to mourn for him and hung black banners around the market places.

"Who reacted violently? What official document?"

"Shut up and get on your horse, Cassie." Gabriel used his magic to kick Castiel in the rear, pushing him toward the horse shuffling next to Anael's. Gabriel handed the basket back up to Anael and she shifted it to hang like her saddlebags. Gabriel tossed Castiel a small coin purse and winked before shouting "Hiya!" and magically smacking both horses on the flank. They whinnied and raced out of the stable. When Castiel looked back, Gabriel stood by the swinging doors waving at them. Castiel lifted his arm to wave back before whipping his reins to catch up to Anael.

The cobblestone streets of the market place passed quickest. It was a blessing that they'd started out so early. It was the first market day, so there were no stands in the street yet. The residential area was almost as easy. The only ones awake were the maids and cooks of the wealthier houses, and they mainly stayed inside. It was difficult once they reached the manufacturer's district. The black-smiths woke up early, apparently, as did the tanners and weavers, but they knew to stand back from two racing horses with royalty (or at least nobility, if they couldn't tell that Castiel and Anael were son and daughter of the beloved King).

The real difficulty was the lower quarter. The whole place smelt like smoke and dirt and feces. It was brown. Everything about it was brown. Many of the houses looked about to fall in on themselves, and the "roads" consisted of mud and tree branches. Some homes were black and missing paneling, like a fire had stripped them bare. Women in rags stood on corners either begging for money or offering themselves. Castiel heard Anael click her teeth in frustration as two dirty children with dusty faces raced out in front of her. They had been forced to a slow trot along these places, and garnered many strange looks from the population. These people had no respect for the horses, and Castiel knew it made Aneal upset. It wouldn't have bothered Castiel in any other situation, but knowing now what he did, he was also in quite the hurry to flee.

He wasn't exactly thrilled about where he was headed, but he'd rather the Between Woods than what would be brewing back home at the castle. It must have been about mid-day when Aneal and he reached the Sentries' outpost. They stopped their horses, dismounted, and asked entrance into the large stone façade. One of the lower pages opened it for them and looked completely amazed. He announced their arrival in the common room and a rather lanky man with a protruding nose jumped up and flashed a lop-sided grin at them.

"Gareth of Lower Town," he bowed to them, his scabbard clanking to the floor. He glanced up in embarrassment as he scrambled to retrieve and reattach it to his belt. Anael rolled her eyes and pushed on.

"Anael and Castiel of the Crown. I need you to open the gate."

"O-open the gate, you grace?" Garth gaped, "You know how dangerous that is right?"

"Yes, Gareth of Lower Town," Anael hissed. Castiel gulped at her tone. She could be positively terrifying, and right now she had no patience. "I understand how dangerous it is. I also understand that your princess just gave you an order." Gareth bobbed his head once and scurried off. Anael sighed rubbed her forehead in a gesture of exhaustion.

"It's not every day you pull out the "princess" card Anael," commented Castiel. He did not look at her as he said it, deciding instead to take account of the various members of the sentry instead.

"Today isn't just any day, Castiel, as I believe you understand." Castiel nodded as one of the larger sentries threw a small roll of bread at a page. The page cringed and the group of knighted sentries laughed uproariously. Anael said under her breath, "Disgusting," and Castiel had to agree. He understood living next to the lower quarter must have had some adverse effects, but the way these men treated their subordinates was absolutely deplorable. Gareth, the Main Sentry, seemed nice enough. Castiel figured he must be a push over then. Unfortunate, really. Gareth returned, a scruffy dog following at his heels. He bowed again before reporting.

"It's going to take a while to open the gates. You can wait here or in the hall if you'd like, your majesties."

"How long is a while?" Aneal questioned in her scathing tone.

"Uh," Gareth faltered, "ten to twenty minutes, your grace?"

"Fine. Show us to the hall. I'd rather not take my meal in front of these…" she broke off as one of the armored men burped loudly, "…common folk."

"Yes your grace." The dog barked once in a cheerful manner and followed his master through the common room and into a quieter hall with simple gray arches and a long table.

"Thank you, Gareth. Please retrieve us when the gate is open."

"Of course your grace." He bowed a final time and started toward the exit. When his dog sat next to Castiel, whimpering and tilting his head, Gareth mad a clicking noise and called for him. "Lord Fizzles! Leave the royalty alone. C'mon." The dog whimpered at Castiel once more before turning and trotting back into the common room.

"What an odd man," Castiel said quietly.

"Just another sentry if you ask me," Anael said as she pulled the basket out of nowhere. Castiel sighed in frustration and watched her place dried meats in front of him. He waited until she'd assembled a nice dish of bread, cheese, apples, and beef slices for both of them before beginning. They didn't speak during their meal. There was too much to say.

When Gareth returned, Anael did not even let him speak before rushing out of the hall and through the common room. Castiel glared at all the men brash enough to watch after his sister as he followed, ignoring the ones who looked after him. Gareth had pulled fresh horses for them and a squire was in the process of saddling the second one. Anael shoved him towards the one already prepared, so he mounted and started towards the gate. Anel caught up to him just as he reached the large wooden doors that stood at the same level as the highest turret in the castle. Legend said that the doors had stood since the kingdom was founded, but Castiel doubted that was true. Just another one of those old fairytales.

The two stood in silence looking out at the terrifying expanse of forest that lay only a quarter of a mile away. Castiel had only been out of the city once before to visit his fiancé, one of the princesses of Dema, but there had been a large assembly or guards surrounding the carriage, and his father had been well enough to protect against any of the nasty creatures that lived in the forest. It was daunting and ominous and Castiel had wanted to spend his day researching the well behind the castle and reading about King Raphael. He had wanted to sleep in and eat breakfast late with Gabriel. He'd wanted to listen to Aneal sing after supper and visit his father after coffee. But because his brothers couldn't think rationally, he was now on the run from his own family. The only thing keeping him from getting an ax to the throat at this point was time.

"You remember what I said about your name?"

"My name is James."

"Good. And where are you headed?"

"To find an old friend named Rufus."

"And how long will you be spending there?"

"One week. That will give Gabriel enough time to diffuse Michael and Lucifer."

"Where will we meet?"

"The Roadhouse Tavern, on the first market day of next week at sunset."

Anael handed him the basket, still brimming with food, along with the map that she had drawn on. It would take him the rest of the day and night to reach Old Knight Turner's home. He was about to head off when she turned to him. Her features were soft for the first time today. "Oh, Castiel, I am so sorry this had to be done." Castiel could only nod. It had been a long time since he felt like the little brother. "You had better go, brother. The guards will have spread the word that you are wanted. Go Castiel!"

Castiel pounded his heels into his horse's side twice as she reared with a whinny. Then before he could say goodbye, she darted off through the meadow. Castiel hunched down and waited for the cover of the trees. It didn't take long to reach the Between Forest, but Castiel immediately regretted this plan. There was a strange feeling about the leaves, like the wind was missing. The branches moved on their own, it seemed. Castiel gave it as little thought as possible, focusing on following the red line Anael had drawn. He needed to get to Old Knight Turner's as quickly as he could. The horse jumped over two streams and a felled tree before Castiel met any trouble.

He stopped his horse by a stream to get a drink when he first heard it. The noise was somewhere between a wolf's growl and the rumble of the earth splitting. A tree fell to the forest floor with a crash only a few paces away. Both Castiel and his horse froze by the stream. Castiel stepped back towards his horse as quietly as possible before mounting and racing off again. Luckily the horse was so scared it needed very little prodding. Soon however, the noise came forth again, this time moving with them. Castiel hunched down as low as possible on the horse, hoping to God that he would lose whatever creature had caught hold of their scent. He scrambled with the map for a moment, knowing this would be the absolute worst time to get lost, but horse reared beneath him, and he found himself sliding off it back and onto the hard forest floor. The poor frightened animal neighed violently as it ran farther and farther into the forest. Then everything was quiet.

Castiel stood slowly, still gripping the map in his hand. As he cautiously straightened himself, a twig snapped under his boot and the low growl started up again. Of course whatever this thing was, it couldn't have gone after the horse. No, it had to want Castiel. It was perfect, really, in irony: only having just escaped a death by his brothers' hands, only to die in what was supposed to have been his haven. He took a step backwards. More twigs and leaves crunched underfoot and the growling doubled in volume. Castiel sprinted.

A huge black beast leaped after him from the brush. It was only a little smaller than a horse, but was covered in thick, scraggly fur and had terrible red eyes. It looked almost like a wolf, but Castiel had seen pictures of wolves, studied everything there was to know about them, and knew this was no wolf. Smoke rose off its hackles like they'd been on fire; its presence was almost ethereal shifting in and out as the light changed. It snarled behind him. He had to keep running, so he did. He was lucky, he guessed, with what happened next.

The sound of four bows being shot in unison, then a thump, a whimper and a crash. Castiel whipped his head around to see the creature in the distance had four arrows sticking out of its side and a trip wire caught on its back paw. It whimpered and struggled to stand and Castiel just turned around and kept running. He didn't know who had shot the arrows, or whether or not the wolf-beast would keep chasing after him, but he knew he needed to get as far away from it as possible, and that's what he did. Or at least what he planned to do.

Once he'd figured his new plan out, he felt something snag on his foot, and by the time he'd looked down to examine it, a sharp pain stabbed into his shoulder. He saw the strange contraption, some sort of knife on a long stick that went into the trees, and then passed out.

A/N: Updates every Saturday-Sunday! Reviews appreciated!