12

"Make sure to keep to the back trails."

The two men on horses nodded at their king. Glen stood there with his hands on his hips, watching as they readied themselves. He'd made the decision not to send Ollie out with him men for the simple fact that her back pained her too much for the long ride. And also…he didn't want to chance her getting caught out by Dimitri again. Michael knew where she'd been found and he led the other man in preparations.

Ollie had told them exactly where the book had been. She'd been very quiet that morning after the directions, looking down at her hands in her lap. Glen would cast her worried glances from time to time, but she did not seem to notice. She'd picked at her food, not really eating breakfast. Even Tavia noticed, but for a wonder said nothing about it, choosing instead to wait until she could get their guest alone.

"We will expect you back in two days at the most." Glen continued.

"We will return tomorrow night, sire." Michael smiled. "I have no intention of stopping for more than a few minutes to rest the horses."

Glen nodded. "That would probably be wise. Be careful." With that he waved the men off. Michael led the horses to the gate and out into the forest that surrounded the castle. With a sigh, Glen went back into the castle proper. The night before he'd sent scouts out to check on Dimitri's whereabouts. Glen was worried about them. Dimitri and his followers would be on alert. It had taken time to get Michael and Tavia on the inside. And Dimitri would be even slower to trust outsiders after the destruction of the castle.

The sound of feminine laughter echoed through the open doors of the dining room. Glen had to smile in response. It was contagious, and it had been a long time since someone had found something so amusing. Curiosity got the better of him, so he poked his head through the door and looked around.

Tavia and Ollie were sitting at one of the tables. Ollie had borrowed a dress from someone…it was a pale yellow color that made her eyes look soft. Another woman stood next to them, talking animatedly, waving her hands in the air. They all laughed again. Then Tavia noticed Glen looking.

"Sorry to disturb you, sire." She said, giggling, trying to control herself. Glen realized that the third woman was one of the cooks of the castle, Penelope. She was a bit older than the other two and had three children of her own, but she seemed right at home with the younger women.

"It is all right, Tav. Laughter is music in this place." Glen said with a smile. "Would you like to share what is so amusing?"

The three women exchanged glances and cracked up again. "It is…nothing…sire." Tavia said gasping for breath. "Women talk. That is all."

"Ah." Glen raised an eyebrow. "In other words, I should mind my own business." He grinned as he said it. The women all smiled back.

"Yes, sire, that would probably be for the best." Penelope looked over her shoulder at a sound from the back of the room. Her young daughter entered, a tall glass balanced in her hands.

"Momma, I got the water!" She said excitedly. Penelope grinned and took the glass from her child, putting it on the table in front of her.

"Good work, Hope, sweetheart, but we have a guest, and a royal guest at that." Penelope nodded toward Glen, who had entered the room fully to study the women. Hope, the little girl, flashed a heart-melting grin in his direction and dropped into a curtsy.

"Good morning, sire."

Glen walked over to the girl and dropped to one knee in front of her so they were eye level. Hope was only just turned six, with her mother's dark hair and eyes. She was a very striking child, so delicate looking…but tough, as she had been dealing with two older brothers for her short life. She met his eyes directly, unlike some adults were able to do.

"Hope, I wish you good morning as well. You are looking very pretty today."

Hope's grin widened. "Thank you, sire." She ducked her head in mock modesty.

"Hope says she will one day work here in the castle, sire." Penelope said proudly. Glen smiled up at her.

"I do not see why she would not. Tell me, are you as good a cook as your mother?" Glen returned his attention to Hope. She shook her head.

"No, sire. I do not want to be a cook." She grinned again.

"Then what job would you want, little one? So I might want to leave it open for you when you turn a good age."

Hope smiled and would not answer. Glen chuckled and rose to his feet. "I suppose she needs time to think it over." The women all smiled at that.

"She will not tell. I have asked her on several occasions." Penelope made a clucking noise with her tongue. "Well, I suppose lunch is not going to cook itself. Come on, Hope. You can set the king's table, and give the maid a break, how about it?"

Hope grinned and turned to follow her mother from the room. Tavia rose to her feet. "Well, I suppose I should find something to occupy myself with. Idle hands do the devil's work. Sire." She said it as a goodbye as she left the room. Glen was left alone with Ollie, and had the distinct feeling it had been done on purpose. Curious.

He took a seat across from her and smiled into her eyes. Ollie smiled back. The distracted look she'd worn earlier had passed. She seemed comfortable, at ease. "How is your back?"

"Better." She raised an eyebrow. "Much better actually. It's freaking me out a little bit."

"Freaking you out?" Glen repeated, frowning a bit.

"Uh…making me confused?" Ollie tried. Glen nodded for her to go on. "I'm no doctor, but I know that it should take more than a day for welts like that to go away."

Glen smiled again, this time more sure of himself. "It is the salve. It is…a very strong healing tonic. On some it works amazingly fast. On others, just slightly. It just depends."

"On what?"

"I do not know." Glen shrugged comically. "It works well on Michael, but on Tavia it has no effect. I have used it myself, and it worked in a matter of hours. It is hard to explain."

"I see." Ollie picked up the glass that Hope had brought into the room and took a sip of the water. "Hope is certainly a lovely young girl."

"She is." Glen said.

"You were very good with her. Do you have any children of your own?" Ollie asked, looking down into her cup. Glen shook his head and chuckled.

"No. I have no children. Yet." He amended.

"Oh." Ollie set the glass aside. Glen studied her in the light that streamed in through the windows.

"Something is on your mind."

Ollie hesitated. "No. Nothing major. Just worrying about Abby."

"Sounds important to me." Glen reached over and took her hand. Ollie jumped at contact, but he did not let go, not just yet. "You have to hold on to your family, Olivia. In the end, they are really all you have."

Ollie made a face. "You should take your own advice."

"About my brother?" Glen said with a smirk. "Mark and I are a different story."

"If you say so." Ollie pulled her hand away. Then she met his eyes. "So since I wasn't allowed to go on the trip this morning, what do you suggest I do to occupy my time? Idle hands being the devil's work and all that."

Glen chuckled. He could think of several interesting diversions, but none he would mention in front of such a fascinating woman. He decided to go a decidedly more sedate route. "I suggest we wait a half hour and then eat lunch. You did not eat this morning. You should keep your strength up. After that I am going to take my horse out. I would like you to come with me…if you want to." He sounded almost shy when he said it. Ollie's smile was more genuine that time.

"I'd like that." She rose to her feet. "I'll need pants. I won't be climbing on a horse in this." She gestured at the dress.

"I am sure we can come up with something." He smiled. "Although you look perfectly lovely. It will be quite a loss." Ollie blushed at the compliment then waved it off.

"Flattery will get you nowhere." She smirked at his confused look. Ollie excused herself to wash up for lunch. She definitely felt better, and only wished her sister were there to talk to. That was her main problem. They'd been together so long, just them against the world, that this separation was like torture. She wondered if Abby felt the same way. With a sigh she climbed the stairs to the washroom. Michael had promised to find Abby, and Ollie knew that he was the type who would die before breaking a vow.

~~~

"We should stop for a while, let the horses rest."

David's voice drew Abby's attention from her comfortable position in front of Mark. She wanted to argue, but knew it was wrong. The day had come on hot in the afternoon and the horses were breathing hard, plodding along tiredly after the fast pace they'd set earlier in the day.

"There is a pool nearby." Mark said, his voice a low rumble, vibrating against Abby's back. "No more than a mile I'd say."

"I had forgotten that place." Firefly said with a laugh. She'd spent most of the ride talking to Abby about where she was from, where Abby was from, magic, the land, anything that came to mind. Firefly was a talker by nature. She loved the sound of her own voice. Abby supposed it wasn't a bad thing in the other woman, since her voice was very melodic. "Great Water."

"Green Water." Mark corrected. He shook his head. "You never got that right."

"King Perfection." Firefly said amicably. Abby laughed as the other woman urged her horse forward to fall in beside David.

"I guess she told you." Abby stated.

"She told me…what?" Mark asked, sounding puzzled.

"It's an expression." Abby laughed again, imagining his face as he tried to figure it out. "Forget it. It's not worth the effort of learning."

Mark chuckled. "Are there much frivolous things in your time?"

"Much frivolous?" Abby made a noise. It sounded like a choked laugh. "Just about everything in my time is frivolous. Words, money, cars, homes."

"Yet you miss this place so much." Mark said softly.

Abby hesitated. "It's not all bad." She finally said. "I miss my home, I guess. I grew up there. Mom and Dad had it built right after we were born. I think the longest I've been away from home was a week for camp when I was a kid."

"Well you have only been here a few days." Mark pointed out.

"But…it feels like so much longer." Abby heaved a sigh. "I'm not trying to insult you or anything, but I feel as if I have been here for years. It's strange. Like the days pass so slowly compared to what I'm used to."

"Perhaps they do without all your frivolity to distract you." Mark pointed out with a smile.

"Maybe." Abby sighed and shifted. Mark settled a hand against her stomach, holding her close.

"I could think of some very distracting things to do. To take your mind off being homesick." Mark ducked his head and spoke in a low tone that only she could hear.

Abby felt her stomach do a nervous, happy little flip at his words, his tone. The man could melt lead with that voice of his. "I think I would like that. If we have time."

"There is time if we make time." Mark said, his tone very serious. "We will not reach Glen's until tomorrow by any means. The horses are only slowed by the heat of the afternoon. I think we should make camp now. Get an early start tomorrow. We will be at Raventhorne before you know it."

Abby smiled and closed her eyes, leaning her head back against Mark's chest. "Do you really think Ollie is with your brother?"

Mark thought about it. It made sense. From what he'd heard, from what he knew of his brother, he knew it was true. "I would stake my life on it, Abby."

"So if she is…there…" She smiled slowly. "I suppose your brother will keep a careful eye on her, make sure she's taken care of."

"Definitely." Mark nuzzled her neck, pushing her hair aside with the hand that had been on her stomach.

"Then let's stop and camp. I could use the break myself. I'm not used to all this riding."

Mark stopped kissing her neck. Abby took that as surprise. She supposed he'd expected an argument. The truth was…her legs hurt. And even though she'd been riding with Mark, and he'd technically been doing all the work, her back was aching something fierce. It was the jarring of the animal beneath her, she knew it, she also knew that she needed a break.

"It is not much further. David and I will set up camp…"

"I'll help."

"You do not have to…"

"Yeah, I do." Abby shook her head. "You can't keep pampering me. I don't wanna be spoiled rotten."

Mark laughed. "I think I would enjoy spoiling you, Abby."

"Don't get any ideas." Abby warned as they moved through a gap in the trees. Her eyes widened at the sight of Mark's 'pool'. Lake was more like it. It was huge, the water a clear green color, the shores sporting sun-bleached sand. "Wow." She said softly as Mark climbed off the horse. He reached up and took her waist in his hands, lifting her easily to the ground.

"Beautiful as ever." Firefly said from the right. She and Dave had stopped but had not climbed off their horses.

"It's gorgeous." Abby eyed the water. She wanted nothing more than to strip and jump in. "Is it some trick of algae or moss?"

"No." Mark took her hand and led her to the water. He let her go long enough to kneel down and scoop some of the liquid into his cupped hands. Abby looked down and the water was just as green against Mark's skin as it was in the lake. "More magic, perhaps. Green Water has long been said to be healing water."

"Is it safe?"

"To drink?" Mark asked with a grin. "Of course. We have been drinking from it since childhood. It does take some getting used to." He made a face. "Not the taste. It tastes like water. You see the color and you…"

"Expect it to be different." Abby finished. She was of a mind to tell him about ketchup and how the companies had done strange things to their colors…with tepid reaction. Most people liked it red. No one could get used to green or blue goop coming from the edge of their burgers. Then she realized…she'd waste her breath. Mark would have no clue what she was talking about.

"That is right." Mark took a sip of the water from his cupped hands. Then he held the hands out to Abby.

She hesitated before taking a sip herself. The water was just that…water. It did have a slightly sweet taste to it, but she knew that was because it was fresh…not like the water that came from the tap back home. She grinned up at Mark.

David and Firefly had been talking quietly. Mark seemed to notice them there for the first time. David was shooting him a knowing grin. "Sire, Firefly and I would like to ride the lake…to scout around."

Mark nodded. "There is really no need of that, David." Then he smiled at the look David passed to Abby. "Although you may if you insist."

"We do." Firefly laughed. "Come David. Let us head to the falls."

Abby and Mark watched them go in silence. The sound of the horses faded. "What was that about?" Abby asked, taking the hand that Mark held out.

"I believe that is David's way of giving us some time alone." Mark said, humor in his voice.

"Oh." Abby looked at Mark and grinned. "Is that what this stop is all about?" She stepped closer to him, and Mark wrapped his arms around her.

"It is now." With a laugh, Mark ducked his head and captured her lips with his. Abby raised her hands to tangle them into his long hair, tilting her head to give him access to deepen the kiss.

"What about our tent?" Abby asked breathlessly when Mark finally broke the kiss.

Mark laughed. "We do not need it yet."

"I need to wash off at least, I smell like a horse." Abby said, grinning.

"You smell good, Abby. And there is no sense in taking a bath, since you are just going to get dirty again." Mark's eyes raked her body and Abby felt herself flush in response.

"Hmm…I guess you're right." Abby said, trying to keep a straight face. She took Mark's hand and pulled him off the sand and into the grass.

"Where are we going?" He asked, following with her easy enough.

Abby laughed. "I am not getting sand in strange places. The grass is good enough for me." She grinned, her eyes flashing wickedly. "How long will they be gone?"

Mark looked at the lake. "The falls are half hour away. So maybe two hours?" He asked it instead of answering her.

Abby nodded and pulled him close to her body. "Sounds like we have plenty of time…this time." With a smirk she pulled him down and kissed him again. Mark wrapped his arms tightly around her, shaking a bit at the feel of her in his arms, knowing that feeling the way he felt would lead to nothing but heartache. And then all thought was lost as she pulled him to the ground, and he lost his train of thought in the sensations of his body.