Just so there's no confusion: The Olivia in this story is OUR Olivia. Don't let the mark fool you. It's there for a different reason. Alt-Livia may or may not appear in this story but we shall see.

And when considering the medieval setting of this fic: think more along the lines of Lord of The Rings/Dungeons & Dragons/Fantasy game type medieval…you know the less dull type. Heehee

Keep up the lovely reviews.

PART THREE

"This doesn't look like the castle," said Prince Peter. Now he was starting to worry that Olivia was planning to take him to somewhere else. Perhaps she had been hired by one of his former "customers" that he conned in order to get revenge. The thought caused Peter to sweat. He even thought of jumping off the horse.

But then she stopped infront of the armory. He sighed in relief. Captain Broyles would sure protect him from this mad woman…at least he hoped so.

To his surprise Olivia yanked Peter off the horse and pulled him by the back of his robes into the armory. The soldiers who were in there could only stare at the intruding pair in shock and confusion.

Olivia then kicked down a door and entered the small "office" where Captain Broyles was resting.

"You?" Apparently the captain and this woman were familiar with each other.

"I come bearing a surprise," said Olivia and she pushed Prince Peter towards him.

"Prince Peter? You've returned?"

Peter grumbled "not by my own free will."

Olivia then said to the captain "I know you've been sending your own out to find him for months. I only began my search days ago. He wasn't that difficult to find. It seems 'beautiful women' do bring suckers like him out of hiding."

Peter could only sigh at the truth behind Olivia's words.

"Is this why you brought him to me instead of the King?" asked Captain Broyles. "I do admit, you would make a good soldier but as I've told you before, I can't take women into my army. That is a direct order of King Walter."

"I plan to stay rogue," Olivia assured him. "But you still have something that I want."

"Wasn't the sword enough for you?"

Olivia quietly said, "I want the shield as well. You promised if I could do again like I did bringing down that troll, you would give it to me. And I brought back Prince Peter, which is something none of your men could do."

Captain Broyles got up and went to the storage room leaving Prince Peter and Olivia alone.

"You killed a troll?" asked Prince Peter. "Seriously? When?"

"About a month ago," she said proudly. "And I did it with a single javelin."

Finally Captain Broyles returned with a gold plated-shield. Peter could see that when Olivia held the shield in her hands there was an unusual change in her eyes. The boldness that was there seemed to transform for a mere second into sadness.

"Thank you, Captain" she said softly. "I promise I won't bother you again."

She walked out of the armory with Prince Peter following her. "What was that all about?"

"Nothing of your concern," she said coldly.

"So you expect me to believe that you went through all of this trouble to find me in order to get some shield? I thought they would've at least let you in."

"Well, they are your father's orders." She pushed her current state of emotions behind her to deal with Prince Peter. "It's a long walk back to the castle. I suppose I would be an unloyal subject to not give you a lift, now wouldn't I?"

"Are we still going to the castle?" He asked nervously.

"Of course we are," she said smiling. "I still got to collect the King's reward for bringing you back."

The whole trip there, his worry of facing his father was replaced with suspicions that Olivia was not honest with everything she was telling him, which only made her that more intriguing than ever.

"More tarts! Where are my tarts?"

The cooks never had a day off while working under King Walter. Every hour or so, he seemed to be demanding something of a sweet nature. Servants were scared to go into his chambers knowing how trashed it was. The tables were swarmed with scientific gadgets, various ghastly potions, and uneaten meals that were never cleaned up. King Walter had not only gone mad…he seemed to have loss all sense of the outside world as he remained in his chambers all these years.

"And I want crepes: one plate with blueberries, one with strawberries, three with raspberries and one with peach topped in honey coating. All prepared in that order! Are you getting this down, Lady Astor?"

That wasn't really her name but she had no choice but to go by it. Lady Astor was Queen Elizabeth's lady-in-waiting until she died. Since then, she unluckily was appointed to become King Walter's 24/7 stooge.

She asked the king in a very dull tone: "Will that be all, sire?"

"And I want root beer! Yes! Plenty of root beer, with a tint of pure gruit and the foam must be an inch thick. Any less and I may have to order an execution!"

Lady Astor nervously made sure to triple the supply that King Walter requested considering it was his favorite drink.

As King Walter was chomping on a handful of licorice, William the Sorcerer had entered the king's chambers and bent down to kiss the man's hand. "My liege. I bring news…"

"Oh, come now William. Don't grovel infront of me. Has the new shipment of licorice come in from the Southern country yet? My current supply is starting to get dangerously low."

"But sire…Prince Peter has returned."

King Walter immediately leapt out of his chair like a grasshopper. "Peter? He's here?"

But William stopped him. "Yes, but you must listen to me, sire. There has been some unusual circumstances surrounding his return."

"What circumstances?"

"A woman is bringing him back, she bears the Gate Mark on her back. It has to be her, sire. A Gate Child. You remember our work with the Gate Children, don't you?"

"Can't say I have," the King said confidently. "Now if you'll excuse me. I'm going to see my son."

"Sire, please. If she is a Gate Child, then we may have a chance to finally end these wars. I implore you to do what you must to make her stay until we can perform some kind of test."

"Fine! Fine!" King Walter wasn't caring for much else other than to see his own son again. He shocked many of the castle residents as he ran out of his chambers and raced towards the castle doors for the first time in years, with Lady Astor hurrying to follow him.

At that moment Olivia and Prince Peter had passed through the gates and were arriving at the castle steps. King Walter came barging out of the castle and seemed to be skipping happily towards his 'son'.

"Oh Peter!"

Prince Peter pushed the King away. "Don't touch me, Walter. I didn't come back home by choice."

Lady Astor was shocked by Prince Peter's attitude. King Walter was a bit stunned but then said "oh, boy. The heat has surely exhausted you. You've seem to have forgotten whom you're speaking to." He then turned to Olivia. "Now, to whom do I owe my great gratitude of bringing back my son?"

Olivia bowed. "It's Olivia, your majesty."

"Oh quite charming you are. Lady Astor, we must have a celebratory feast right away for the return of my son, and dear Olivia you must join us as well."

Olivia cringed. She feared this would happened and now she had no choice. In this strange country when the King invites you into his castle for anything you don't dare turn it down for anything unless you want your head chopped off. Just one of many unusual and ridiculous decrees set in place as the rest of the kingdom was burning to cinders.

As they followed the King back inside, Prince Peter leaned over and sarcastically remarked to Olivia "prepare to have some fun."