It was not long after leaving Reaver's Manor that the Princess and Page heard about a speech that Logan was going to give. Page said to meet up with her when it was finished. Rheesa agreed and went to the castle gates, where she found Ben waiting.

"There you are! I knew you'd come to this. That was not nice leaving me behind like that!" the blonde joked, "Anyway, we should go in. This whole thing gives me a bad feeling..." He grabbed her hand and led her into the courtyard. They pushed their way through the crowd to get a good vantage point of what was going on. Logan stood at the top of the balcony, staring down at the crowd disdainfully. Below him, on the second tier, were a few of his elite guards standing around a man whose head was covered. Logan finally began to speak.

"Yes. Traitors walk amongst us. Traitors plot to end us. Traitors would have you believe their cause is noble." he said, "They wear many masks. They may look like your friends. They may even look like your most loyal servants." He nodded down to his guards, "This, this is the face of a traitor." They pulled off the hood of the man and Ben gasped. It was Major Swift.

"Swift!" Ben moved as if to go to him but Rheesa held him back, shaking her head softly. The captain looked back at her helplessly then his head snapped around when Logan began speaking again.

"Major Swift, a respected member of the army and sworn servant of the kingdom, has plotted against us all." the King sneered, "He was apprehended attempting to turn loyal soldiers against us, and is thus charged with espionage, treason and conspiracy." He paused, "Yet there are still others darkening our land with their betrayal. We shall hunt these traitors down, wherever they may be. And they shall suffer the same fate as Major Swift. The fate of all enemies of the crown." With that he nodded again to the guards and one of them raised his pistol to Swift's head. Ben reached out again but it was far too late. The gunshot reverberated through the courtyard. There were muffled gasps and a few sobs as Major Swift fell to the ground, dead. Rheesa felt anger and hopelessness wash through her and her knees began to buckle, but she forced herself to stay standing. The princess gripped Ben's hand and pulled him away.

"Come on, Ben, we need to get out of here..." Her voice cracked, "We have to go, please, Ben." The man allowed himself to be pulled away, reluctantly. After they got off the castle grounds they ran back to the Resistance headquarters. Walter and Page were waiting there, Walter, sad, while Page had a hard, guarded look. Once the door had shut behind them Rheesa let her tears flow freely down her face.

"DAMN IT!" She slammed her hands down on the center table, "I swore... I swore to myself that he would not murder anyone in front of me again!" she sobbed.

"We heard what happened. He died like a true soldier." Walter said, comfortingly.

Ben scoffed, "A true soldier? Let's not pretend there was anything noble about the way he died. He was tortured, humiliated and murdered."

"And he didn't give Logan anything or we'd be dead now. I call that noble." Walter said. Ben started to say something more but stopped himself and turned away.

"I just... I need to be alone." He walked to the door.

"Ben-!" Rheesa called after him but he was already gone. She turned back to the others, pleading, "I'll talk to him." She followed Ben out when the other two stayed silent.

The princess found Ben just past the headquarters in a side tunnel. He was sitting with his arms rested limply over his knees and his head hung low. She hesitated for a minute, wondering what she should do. Finally she decided to go over to him. She sat down beside him without saying a word, just trying to give the man comfort. He didn't acknowledge her, merely sat. After what seemed like an eternity, he spoke.

"How did you deal with Elliot's death?"

"Oh, I threw a few things, ripped a few fancy curtains, smashed an inkwell on the floor."

"Did it help?"

"No."

Ben sighed and raised his head, but he still didn't look at her, "You'd think I'd be used to this by now... There's been so much death. I... watched both my parents and one of my brothers die. Don't get me wrong, I loved my family, but this... hit me harder." He paused, "Swiftie was the reason I joined the army. And the old bugger's saved my ass more time than I can count since." he chuckled sadly, "Made me captain, even though I'm rubbish when it comes to tactics. I owe him so much."

"Ben..." Rheesa shifted and put her arms around him, letting him rest his head on her shoulder, "I'm so sorry..."

Ben reached up to encircle her and pulled her closer, "Princess..." He choked and a few tears dripped down his face. Rheesa moved back slightly and wiped them away with her thumb. Her face was only inches away from his now, "Princess..." he whispered again and kissed her, softly. Rheesa didn't pull away, didn't resist. Somehow it felt... right. Wrapped in his arms, she forgot the world around them. All the pain, all the sorrow. What seemed like all too soon to Rheesa, he drew back. Smiling that devilish smile of his, "We should... probably get back to the others..." he chuckled. Getting up, he stood Rheesa up and kissed her again on her forehead, "And... Thank you."

They went back to the headquarters, hand in hand. Page was talking to Walter as they entered.

"-we have to fight back." she finished.

"We're still not ready though, we need more allies. And thanks to Swift's efforts we know exactly where to look..." Walter said then noticed the couple, "Ben, Rheesa, we just received this from a soldier still loyal to the old guard, at great risk to his life. It's from the Major." He held out a folded up note to them. Rheesa took it and opened it up.

"'You will find allies in Aurora.'" Ben intoned, reading over her shoulder, "Huh, straightforward. That's Swiftie for you." he laughed.

"I still don't understand how anyone there could help us. Aurora is a dead land. There's nothing there." Page put in.

"Or at least that's what we've been told. It's still the only lead we have anyway. Keep reading Rheesa, there's a note at the bottom for you." Walter said.

Rheesa unfolded the last section of the note and saw;

Princess,

King Logan appears well, however, it seems like he has a heavy burden on his shoulders. It's dragging him down. He will also often touch the scar on his lip, does it have meaning? He is always overcome with a hopeless look when he does so. The man is troubled but physically well, I fear the weight of the crown was not meant for him.

Swift

She felt tears sting her eyes as she refolded the letter carefully. She could have gone without that information and Swift had died getting it to her. Logically, she knew it wasn't true but she still wished the man himself was there instead of just a note.

"What was that about his scar?" Page asked, "Sorry, I read it too."

"Logan's scar is a reminder. A reminder of a promise he made. A promise he's breaking. If you really want to know, I'll tell you later, but right now we have more pressing matters to attend to." Rheesa explained, "We need to get ahold of a ship. Ben and I will see to that while Page, you and Walter will make sure the rest of the fleet doesn't follow." she ordered, straightening her back and looking each of them in the eye.

"Right."

"Of course."

"Yes, ma'am."