So my sunburn has turned into a tan (for once) so now I am feeling oh so much better. Thanks Pollyanna24 for the sunburn care tips. And I got another chapter done. Yay for progress!

Kate499: Haha, I'm sorry, your review made me laugh. But do we really have to worry about Zev? He's a slippery fellow. And technically it would be the Crows who'd hurt Zev if they caught him. If.

csorciere: Oh Aedan will…in time. (And I purposefully didn't reply to your last suggestion of Teagan and Maggie because I have plans that I don't want to give away.)

LilysSong: Aw, why thank you! :D

mariarosa: Hahaha, that's actually what I had planned, give the crows a better reason to be tracking down our favorite elf assassin and end up in Kirkwall eventually. Oh, and about that triangle…yeah it's going to get bad soon.

CHAPTER TEN

Fergus saw little of Aedan during his weeklong visit, which he didn't mind in the least. The only time he saw his brother was when Aedan came to use the study for the documents it contained, during which Fergus would excuse himself so he could avoid his brother. At least Aedan did tell him when he was leaving, instead of making Fergus figure it out over the span of a few days. Teagan left not many days after Aedan as well, needing to return to Rainesfere. With Aedan gone, Fergus was okay with Dianna visiting at the castle again. When she first visited him after Aedan's departure, Dianna found Fergus quite irritable and quiet. He mellowed out after a few days, but it wasn't until another week later that he was back to himself and smiling again.

After the end of that week, Fergus decided it was time for another beach trip, which Dianna wasn't going to argue against, since the heat was again taking a toll. This time she decided to just wear a dress, for lack of chafing later on her way home. She and Fergus had gotten completely soaked within the first ten minutes, swam around a bit, before Dianna needed a break and headed to the blanket they brought down with them, laying down on it to let the sun dry her out. She knew her hair would dry into dreadlocks, but she hardly cared now.

"A bit waterlogged are we?" she heard Fergus ask a few minutes later.

Moving her arm away from her eyes, she looked up to see him approaching the blanket before sitting down next to her.

"Not anymore," Dianna replied, "It's hot enough I'm already starting to dry."

"It is hot, that I can agree to," Fergus said, reaching to the buttons on his tunic and began unbuttoning them, pausing a moment to ask, "You don't mind…do you?"

Dianna couldn't help but blush slightly when she replied, "No, I don't mind."

"Good, because it's sweltering out here," Fergus said, unbuttoning his shirt halfway.

Once Dianna started drying out more, she had to agree with Fergus and had to liberate a few buttons herself, but still stay decent. She had to admit, she was definitely more comfortable around Fergus now; they both were finally getting past that awkward stage. There were still awkward moments, but not nearly as many.

She laid there for quite a while with an arm thrown over her face to block the sun before she moved her arm again, due to feeling Fergus's gaze on her, which he was staring.

"Enjoying the view?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Why yes, I am," Fergus replied with a grin.

Again a blush stained Dianna's cheeks. She walked herself right into that one. From her perspective, she had a decent view of Fergus himself, with the wind blowing open his halfway unbuttoned shirt. Sitting up on her elbows, she squinted at him, to see if she really was seeing what she was seeing.

"Is it just me, or is that a nasty scar on your chest?"

Fergus looked down to see what she was talking about, "Oh, no that's not just you, it is a rather nasty scar. This happened over a year ago, when I was down in Ostagar."

"How did I not notice that when we bandaged you up after Aedan attacked you at my house?" Dianna asked. Really, how did she miss it?

"Well I'm sure your attention was focused on the fresh wound," Fergus said, "Plus, from what I remember, the bandaging covered most of my chest anyway."

Well that was true, and Dianna nodded in agreement.

"Don't think that this is the only scar," Fergus said, "I'm riddled with them. That's what happens when you go to battle."

And to show her just what he meant, opened up his shirt the rest of the way for her to see, and he was indeed painted with dozens of scars, some more prominent than others.

"Ouch," Dianna said as Fergus buttoned the bottom buttons once more.

"You have no idea," Fergus said, "But at least now I have a story to tell to go with them."

"And that's all that matters?" Dianna laughed.

"Well amongst other men, yes," Fergus replied, "Whoever has the most scars and best story wins."

"Wins what?"

Fergus paused before replying, "It's a man thing, you wouldn't understand."

Dianna rolled her eyes, "Whatever."

They were silent for a few minutes before Dianna couldn't help but ask, "So what was Ostagar like?"

"Cold…wet," Fergus said, "And I've never felt such terror as I did there. Darkspawn are… monstrous creatures. I was the only member of my scouting party that survived when we were attacked. Why do you ask?"

"My sister was there," Dianna said, "Unlike the rest of us, when she arrived here, she was in the forest there. Alistair was the one who found her."

"Wait…your sister was the 'witch' found in the Wilds?"

"She's not a witch."

"Well, that was the rumor," Fergus said, "Heard about it when I arrived there, shortly before heading into the Wilds myself with my party. Even saw her. Didn't look like a witch of the wilds to me so…you can stop giving me that look."

"Wait, so you actually saw her there?"

Fergus nodded, "She was doing some training with a Grey Warden."

"Huh…wow it's certainly a small world."

"That it is," Fergus agreed.

"Do you…ever regret leaving for Ostagar when you did?" Dianna dared ask. This was something that was seldom brought up, and for good reason, "Considering what happened…here?"

Fergus's face fell, "There were times that I wished I insisted on waiting for my father to accompany me, perhaps I could have made a difference, or died with my family…but considering where my life is going now…I don't regret anything."

Dianna smiled shyly as he gently caressed her face with his fingers. She couldn't help but feel timid and embarrassed from the compliment, but she was glad to hear that Fergus was starting to move past what happened to his family.

"Question is," Fergus continued, "Considering what happened in my past, and what my brother is like towards you and your family…do you regret ever meeting me?"

Her answer was easy, and she didn't hesitate as she replied, "Of course not."

Wrapping his hand around the back of her neck, Fergus bent down and kissed Dianna with a passion that was seldom used. Dianna's arms buckled, sinking down onto her back once more, Fergus following her down. Now that she didn't need her arms supporting her, she reached up to grab Fergus's face as she kissed him back with equal passion. She knew she was falling hard for him, but if she loved him just yet…she wasn't sure. But she knew she hadn't felt this way about anyone else before.

A tremor shot down her spine as she felt Fergus's fingertips tracing their way down her neck, her stomach doing a little flip as they venture lower and tickled across her collarbone. In the far back of her mind, she was freaking out a little from the touching and knowing where it was going, but it was nearly drowned out by the thrill and feeling a little drunk from the wondrous feeling it gave her combined with the kiss.

Fergus's fingers stopped when they hit the buttons to her dress, but they weren't halted for long as they moved to undo the next two on the dress. Dianna involuntarily gasped as his hand slipped under the fabric, sliding down to cup a breast. The sensations from the touch were completely intoxicating, and that voice in the back of her head was all but non-existent now. It felt like she had little control over her body, that it was doing things on its own, like her hands trailing down to Fergus's chest to run her fingers across the weathered skin over his rippling muscles.

It wasn't until Fergus started undoing more buttons and sliding his hand down across her stomach as he trailed kisses to her breasts that the forefront of Dianna's mind agreed with the voice in the back. From where she could tell this was going, she wasn't comfortable enough with it. Grabbing Fergus's hand, she pulled it away and sat up.

"I think we stop," Dianna said breathlessly.

"Did I go too far?" Fergus asked worriedly.

"I stopped you before you did," Dianna said, buttoning the front of her dress back up again, save the last two top ones, "I-I-I…I'm sorry Fergus but I'm…I've never been touched like that before, so it's…I'm not…oh I don't know how to say this."

"It's too fast, too soon?" Fergus asked.

"Yeah, a bit of that," Dianna replied, "I don't exactly know how far you were thinking of going… but anything further than what we were doing…I'm not entirely comfortable with that…I hope you don't think I'm not comfortable around you, because I am, it's just—."

Fergus placed a finger on Dianna's lips to silence her, an endearing smile on his face, "Dianna, I understand, you don't have to explain yourself."

"Okay…," Dianna muttered quietly against his finger.

Fergus moved his hand away from her mouth to cup her face, "I'm still allowed to kiss you though?"

"I don't see anything wrong with that," Dianna replied, a blush staining her cheeks.

When he pulled her in to kiss her again, she most definitely didn't see anything wrong with it.

Dianna had never felt happier in her life as she did for the next few weeks. Things were moving along quite nicely between her and Fergus, and every time she thought about him, or was with him, her heart just fluttered happily and she couldn't wipe the smile off her face. Maggie couldn't help but roll her eyes and make a face of disgust seeing her friend gush over a guy.

"You are so in love with him," Maggie told her one day.

"I wouldn't say love…," Dianna said, "I really like him…but I don't think I quite love him."

"Well, you're certainly on your way to that."

Dianna blushed sheepishly, "Maybe."

"Now the question is, does he feel the same way?"

Dianna's face fell, "I know he likes me…but I don't think he's ready to love me. You've heard what happened to his wife and son. Someone doesn't get over that quickly."

"Dianna…it's been a while," Maggie rebutted.

"Have you ever lost someone you loved?" Dianna asked, and when Maggie shook her head, "Then you wouldn't know how long it takes to get over a death of a loved one."

"Sorry," Maggie muttered.

Dianna opened her mouth to say something else when she was interrupted by Rosemary poking her head into the bedroom. She first looked over at Maggie, then to Dianna, "Mom says it's time for Maggie to go home."

"What?" Maggie asked, "But I've stayed longer before. Why am I being sent home?"

"Something about Dianna not doing her chores," Rosemary said, which Dianna knew was a lie, she did her chores this morning. So what was this really about?

"Oh, and Dad's back with the mail," Rosemary added, and it all clicked together why Maggie needed to go home. They got another letter from Olyvia.

"Sorry Maggie, I must have been daydreaming all morning," Dianna went along with the lie.

"And I believe it, oh well, there's always another day," Maggie said, getting up from her seat by the window and heading out, "I'll see you later."

Dianna said her goodbyes as well, and waited until she heard the front door shut before she and Rosemary went tearing back downstairs, sitting themselves down next to their parents on the couch in the living room.

"A letter from Livy?" Dianna asked.

Brenda nodded as she broke the seal to the envelope, "And now that Maggie is gone, we can read it."

Unfolding the paper inside, Brenda read it out loud, the first paragraph announcing Olyvia's big news. Rosemary let out a squeal which Dianna was quick to cut off with a hand over her mouth. Even that didn't stop Rosemary completely, who Dianna was sure was chanting something like "Livy had her baby" over and over. Their mom stopped reading after the news, her brow furrowing in concern.

"What is it Mom?" Dianna asked.

"The baby shouldn't have been ready to be born, she still had months left, according to my calculations," Brenda replied.

"Maybe…continue reading, to see if she explains that?" Dianna suggested, Rosemary finally prying her hand away.

Their mom did so, and Olyvia did explain why it seemed she had her baby early.

"'I'm certain you're thinking it is far too early for me to have the baby, but…I have a confession to make. I sort of waited longer than necessary to let you know I was pregnant because I already was when Alistair and I got married.' WHAT!?" Brenda screeched.

"WHAT?" Allen repeated in the same manner as his wife.

Rosemary's and Dianna's jaws dropped, both speechless for a few moments. Rosemary was the first to recover, "Ooooh, Livy is in so much trouble!"

After seething for a few minutes, Brenda was able to resume reading the letter, which Olyvia explained that Alistair had no idea she was pregnant until after the wedding, so he didn't just marry her because he got her pregnant, and that she didn't regret anything because they had a wonderful little family, which was all they wanted.

"I'm going to kill him," Allen growled.

"Dad…it's not like he knocked her up and left," Dianna said, "Olyvia said he had no clue she was pregnant when they got married, and weren't they engaged when we left Denerim? She wasn't pregnant yet."

"Or she could have been," Brenda said, "You never know."

Dianna just shrugged, "I'm just saying, he loves Livy and it's not like he didn't end up not being her husband so…everything's alright, right?"

"She still should have waited!" Brenda argued.

"Yes, I know, but I'm just saying don't kill Alistair," Dianna said.

"How about maim?" Allen asked.

"That you would have to get the okay from Livy," Dianna said, "Because maiming sounds like a reasonable punishment to me."

"Livy's had her baby!" Rosemary said happily.

Dianna looked at her sister in disbelief, "Have you missed the entire conversation just now?"

"I'm excited, I'm an Aunt now!"

"Right…I'm an Aunt too," Dianna muttered.

Brenda finished reading the letter, which there was little left, before folding it up again and sighed heavily, "I wish I could go see her. Help her out."

"Well…couldn't you?" Dianna asked, "Aedan is back in Denerim by now, if you travel under an alias, maybe make a few stops on your way…you could."

"I'd love to," Brenda said, "But I'm scared to, for her safety."

"I'm sure you can make a difficult trail to follow," Dianna said, "Livy would love seeing you."

"I wish I could go," Rosemary said forlornly.

"Only one should go," Allen said, "So Brenda, you best start packing."

A few days later Dianna was heading up to the castle to see Fergus again, and she was practically skipping the entire way. Life was good. She was seeing a wonderful man, Aedan was away again and not really bothering them, and her sister had her baby. When she found Fergus in the study, she practically leapt at him to hug him in her excitement.

"Someone seems happy today," Fergus said once he set Dianna back on the floor.

Dianna nodded, a grin still on her face.

"And just what happened? I don't think I've ever seen you this way."

Dianna wasn't sure whether to tell Fergus about Olyvia and her baby or not. It's not like he didn't know she had a sister, he very well knew Olyvia was her sister. Dianna doubted Fergus would tell anyone though that Olyvia had a child, or that she was in contact with her family here, meaning they would know where to find them.

"You promise not to say anything? To anyone?" Dianna questioned.

Fergus raised an eyebrow, "What sort of news is this that I'm being sworn to secrecy?"

"It's necessary," Dianna said, "And I trust you Fergus, so if you do divulge anything, it would mean the end of us."

"Well I don't want that," Fergus said, "You have my word, I won't say anything."

"My sister and Alistair had their son two weeks ago," Dianna said, "I'm an Aunt."

"They—they—they've had a child?"

Dianna nodded.

"Well, you'll have to extend my congratulations to them," Fergus said, "And now I understand your exuberance today."

"I'm happy for Livy," Dianna said, "She's very happy, with where she is in life, and I can't help but be happy for her too. Plus I'm an Aunt now!"

Fergus smiled, reaching out to gently caress her face, "Do you realize how beautiful you are when you smile?"

Dianna blushed, her happy smile becoming a timid one as she averted her gaze, "Um…no? Since I can't see my face most of the time, I'd need a mir—."

She was cut off as Fergus pulled her in close and his lips found hers. It was a few minutes before they broke apart for need of air.

"You are so beautiful Dianna," Fergus whispered, "You should smile more often."

"Well, I'm starting to find more things to smile about," Dianna replied, smiling lovingly up at him.

Yes, life was good indeed.

Zevran sat in a corner of the Gnawed Noble Tavern, keeping his ears open for useful gossip. After Aedan sent him off months ago, he didn't actually go anywhere, instead stayed in Denerim. He hadn't heard much, save the interesting rumor of a demon being cast out of his majesty, which Zevran wasn't sure if it were true or not. It certainly would explain things. Of course it was risky for him to stay in one place for so long especially Denerim considering the Crows had assassins and spies here, but he was good at hiding, none of the local crows ever noticed him.

As he drank his ale, he noticed a crow spy enter the tavern and head to the back room, where others usually were. So he stealthily moved closer to the room to overhear what was now going on within the Order.

"So now we have an official hit on him?" he heard one say, "Well isn't that nice, we'll get paid for hunting down a traitor."

Zevran's brows furrowed. Just who were they talking about? He had a gut feeling he knew whoever they were talking about.

"We have to get information out of him first," the other said, "The contract is also for the fugitives."

Ah so they were hired to either find or kill Alistair and Olyvia. Zevran guessed Aedan got tired of relying on him for that job. Wait a minute then, who else were they talking about…oh crap.

"I want at least five more assassins on this job," the first Crow said, "Zevran was one of our best, and he's a slippery one. I don't want him getting away this time."

Okay, he had heard enough. Turning around Zevran zipped out of the tavern and headed to the front gates. It was time for Zevran to get out of town, and lead the Crows on the biggest wild goose chase ever.

Dianna's mother had left at the end of the week on a boat that would first go to the Free Marches, stopping at each city-state there, getting off at one of those, and taking another boat to Antiva, or perhaps having another stop in between her destination. It wasn't until a month or so later that they received news that she had made it safely, and Olyvia was overjoyed to see her mother again, and to have her help. And from what Brenda was saying, little Kennic was absolutely adorable.

Summer was coming to an end, so that meant the end of beach trips, at least with the intent to swim. Fergus and Dianna would occasionally go down once the cooler weather settled in to just walk, talk, and Dianna would collect agates and/or seashells. With Dianna's mom gone however, she had to take over in a fair amount of her duties at the house so she didn't get as many opportunities to see Fergus during the time her mom was away. Fergus wasn't nearly as busy anymore, having gotten the bulk of his work done during the summer, so he didn't mind so much Dianna just showing up whenever she had the time, since that would be easiest for the both of them instead of trying to find a day to see each other.

Dianna could tell Fall was approaching as she walked up to the castle one day after finishing her household chores, shivering as a chill wind blew through the streets. She'd have to start wearing her heavier cloak to stave off the cold. Upon reaching the castle, she was grateful to have the walls around her. Taking off her cloak, she slung it over an arm and was about to head to the study when a soldier called out to her.

"Lady Dianna, you'll find his Lordship in the courtyard," he told her before she could slip away.

"The courtyard?" she had only seen the courtyard in passing, but at least she knew where it was, "Thank you for letting me know."

The soldier bowed his head and returned to his post while Dianna altered her course and made her way to the courtyard. Amongst the straw dummies, targets, and piles of extra straw were a few soldiers training, and Fergus dressed in his full set of armor, beating away at one of the dummies with his sword. Leaning against one of the stone pillars surrounding the courtyard, Dianna waited for Fergus to finish before she interrupted him. She figured it'd be safer anyway to wait until his sword was sheathed.

She had to wait quite a while before Fergus had either finished his exercise, or tired himself out, delivering one last blow to the dummy which cut off its head, straw exploding in a cloud around it. Dianna began clapping, and Fergus turned sharply to see who it was.

"Impressive," Dianna said, "Now what ever did that dummy do to you?"

"Dianna! H-how long have you been standing there?" Fergus asked, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Oh, just a bit," Dianna replied, "I didn't want to interrupt."

"It doesn't matter if my training is interrupted, but I appreciate the thought. I do wish, however, that I had some warning of your arrival," Fergus said, taking a rag from a servant who ran up to him with one, "I'm hardly in a state of being seen."

Dianna couldn't help but laugh, "Isn't a girl supposed to be the one concerned about her appearance?"

"Well, when a man wants to impress a lady he wants to look his best as well," Fergus said.

"Didn't I say I was impressed anyway?"

"That you did," Fergus replied.

A servant approached Fergus, distracting him for a few minutes, during which time Dianna entertained herself by picking up a longbow and fiddling with it. She was surprised by how difficult it was to pull the string back, even the tiniest bit. Professionally made bows were definitely harder to pull back than the at-home made ones with string from the cat food bag. Even the ones she had used during school or summer camp were easier to pull back. They were probably made that way on purpose.

"You look rather interested in that bow," Fergus said from behind her, startling her and making her jump.

"Oh, I've always been interested in archery," Dianna said once she whirled around, setting the bow back where she found it, "But I've only shot real bows only a few times. The tension is a lot stronger than the ones I had used, I don't know if I could pull it back."

"Want to give it a try?" Fergus asked.

Dianna scoffed and laughed, "And embarrass myself? No thank you."

"I'll help you," Fergus offered.

"Let me reiterate what I said earlier. I may be interested in archery, but I really do suck at it."

"And practice makes perfect," Fergus said, "I'm all for you learning some way to defend yourself, you could certainly use it, especially if you get into anymore situations like you have."

Dianna shivered as images from the night she had been nearly raped flashed through her mind. Yeah, if she had some sort of weapon and knew how to use it, things could have turned out much differently. At least she had gotten away in the first place anyway.

"My father always told me, that if he had had a daughter, he would have taught her how to fight, didn't matter she was a girl, and I share his opinion on that matter," Fergus said, grabbing the longbow and holding it out to her, "So what do you say?"

Dianna chewed on her bottom lip as she deliberated over options, before taking the longbow, "Okay, but you can't look for the first shot."

"Why ever not?" Fergus laughed.

"Because I told you, I'm horrible, I probably won't shoot it ten feet," Dianna said.

Fergus picked Dianna up, making her squeak in surprise, and carried her over to the targets before setting her down on her feet, "Then you can start out right here."

Dianna looked over to the targets, most likely ten feet away, before glaring at Fergus, "Ha, very funny. You still can't watch."

Fergus then handed her a small piece of leather, "You may want to use the finger tab."

Dianna took the finger tab from him, which he then helped her put on, since it had been a few years since she had used one, and one that was much simpler to put on. Once that was done, Fergus handed her an arrow, and Dianna just stared at Fergus until he turned around before knocking the arrow. Pulling back the string, her arm and hand holding the bow quivered from the strong tension, but she did manage to pull it back all the way, if only for a second before she couldn't handle it anymore and released the arrow. She didn't hit the target at all, but she did at least hit the straw pile the target was painted on, that way she didn't break or lose an arrow.

"See, told you," Dianna said.

"At least you hit the straw pile," Fergus said, "That's a lot better than some other attempts I've seen."

"You're just trying to make me feel better."

"I'm being serious," Fergus said, "And like I said, practice makes perfect. You're more than welcome to come here to do so, some of the archers could help you too, if you wanted."

"I'll think about it," Dianna said.

"Very well. So what shall we do today?"

Dianna ended up deciding to learn archery, since it wasn't like it would have any adverse effects on her. It'd be good for her to learn some sort of fighting, with the world she had been thrown into, not learning how to fight was just a death sentence. So when Dianna came to the castle, she would practice if Fergus was training, or busy, until he was available. During the month her mother was gone, Dianna had gotten to the point where she no longer had trouble pulling back the string, and was working on consistently hitting the target, where she wanted it. With her bad eyesight, that would be a problem, but she was determined to become good at this.

When Brenda finally returned home, she had a tan and gifts for the family. Dianna got some jewelry and pretty hair clips and pins, same as Rosemary though she got more hair items because she just had so much hair, and both got a dagger Alistair had made himself. For Allen, he got an individual letter from Olyvia, and a charcoal drawing she had done of her mother holding Kennic. He got a little teary-eyed reading the letter and seeing the drawing, and tucked them away in a safe place after Rosemary and Dianna got to gush over Kennic's cuteness.

During those two months that gone by from her mother's departure to her return, Dianna had fallen head over heels in love, but was too scared to tell Fergus how she felt. She would rather wait to tell him after he told her he felt that way, but that was if he even felt that way. Would he tell her if he did? She thought he would, since he had been fairly forward with his feelings toward her their entire relationship. Maggie of course was the one Dianna confided in about this conundrum she had as they walked about the city.

"I understand why you won't tell him, but…isn't it a bit cruel to hold that from him?"

"I don't want my heart broken when he tells me he only still likes me, and still loves Oriana," Dianna replied, "He was with his wife for years, had a child with her, you can't ever stop loving someone you've spent so long with, even when you meet someone new."

"I'm sure there's room in his heart to love you," Maggie said.

"I hope so," Dianna said quietly, her face solemn. Fergus hadn't even implied or shown any further feelings for her during these last few months, so all she could do was hope.

Maggie wracked her mind for something to say to cheer her friend up, something finally popping a few moments later, "Maybe he does love you and he's just afraid to tell you, for the same reason you're afraid to tell him. That's always a possibility."

"I guess you're right," Dianna said.

"Of course I'm right, I'm always—AAAAAH!"

Dianna whirled around to see what Maggie was screaming about to see her flailing feet disappearing into an alley. For a second Dianna thought that maybe the jealous locals were trying to mess with them, but she was corrected just moments later as she too was grabbed. The way they handled all her squirming and fighting told Dianna they were no normal street thugs, but trained men. What they specialized in exactly, she had no clue, but she was hoping it wasn't assassination.

She was dragged into the alleyway as well before being gagged and her hands and feet bound, a bag pulled over her head last, and tightened so it couldn't be easily pulled off before she felt her captor carrying her off a ways before being unceremoniously dropped onto something wooden.

"What should we do with the extra?" she heard a man ask.

"We'll just take her as well," another man replied, "Can't let her go or else we'll have guards on our tail real quick."

"Why not just kill her?" another, this time a girl, asked.

"It's the middle of the day, in the city, fool girl," the second man snapped, "And we were only hired to kidnap, not kill. Now let's get moving to get as much ground between us and our eventual pursuers. This one will definitely have Highever's best sent after us."

The man patted Dianna's head with his last statement, making Dianna feel a little queasy. Was she being kidnapped for a ransom? And poor Maggie, being drug into this mess, literally.

Whatever they were on, it surged forward, and judging by the creak of wheels, Dianna guessed they were on a wagon or handcart. She tried sitting up and finding her way to the edge, but was roughly shoved backwards into the middle of the cart again.

"Don't try anything stupid," another unknown man said, "We may have been told not to kill you, but there was nothing saying you'd have to remain in tact. Or one piece. Push your luck and we will have to deal with you in the manner necessary."

So Dianna stayed put in the cart, though she did move around a bit until she found Maggie, and stayed next to her. Just because they told her to behave however, didn't mean she wasn't concocting an escape plan.

Fergus woke with a start upon hearing the loud pounding against his bedroom door. Getting out of the bed, he first grabbed his sword before going to the door, unlocking it, and slowly opening it just enough to look through.

"My Lord, Lady Dianna's father, Mister Hamilton is here," the servant outside said, "He is very upset my Lord."

Fergus opened the door all the way, a look of confusion on his face, "Why would he be here? And at this hour?"

"He wouldn't tell me my Lord, he only insisted on speaking with you."

"Very well, take me to him."

The servant nodded and headed off, Fergus following closely behind as they made their way to the main hall. Mr. Hamilton was pacing back in forth in front of the main doors, looking anxious and worried.

"Mr. Hamilton, what brings you here at this hour?" Fergus asked as he approached the man.

Allen whirled around to face Fergus, "Where's my daughter?"

"Dianna? I haven't seen her at all today," Fergus replied, worry starting to eat away at his stomach. If Dianna's father was here looking for her, and she was undoubtedly in trouble. Again.

"You're not just saying that are you?" Allen questioned.

"I'm not, I haven't seen Dianna in a few days," Fergus replied, "What's happened?"

Allen explained to Fergus that Dianna had gone out with her friend Maggie earlier that morning, and when she hadn't returned home by supper, thought perhaps that she stayed at Maggie's house. A quick trip over to their neighbor though told them that neither Maggie nor Dianna had returned home. So Allen went to the one other place he thought his daughter would be.

"I want the guard searching the city now," Fergus ordered, panic gripping at his chest, "Search every street, alley, and question all the citizens, find out if anyone saw anything."

"All the citizens?" the head guard asked, turning a little pale.

"Yes, all of them," Fergus said, "I don't care if you wake them up, the longer we wait to find clues, the less chance we have of finding Dianna alive."

The head guard nodded, and hurried off to round up his men for their task. When Fergus turned back to Allen, he found his eyes glistening as he tried holding back his tears. Fergus placed a consoling hand on his shoulder, "Do not worry, we'll find her."

Allen merely nodded, too emotional to speak.

"Go home, I'll inform you the moment I hear news myself," Fergus told him.

Again, Allen nodded, and headed out the front doors. Fergus returned to his room and changed into his armor. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, worrying for Dianna, so he may as well help find her.