By the time they woke up in the morning, it was obvious that Reign had come back to her kingdom. A light drizzle of snow had fallen during the night, turning to a glistening sheen of ice wherever it touched. It was as cold as winter, every trace of summer vanished. The mountain peaks were covered in white, and Kara shivered, wrapping her red cape tighter around her body.

M'gann rekindled the dying fire, mixing up a thick, warm porridge for breakfast. They ate in silence, their teeth chattering too hard for much conversation. While M'gann had been getting breakfast ready, J'onn had cut a long, thick pine branch and stripped off the needles to serve as a cane. Thankfully, his wound seemed to have healed enough to handle walking with the help of the branch, something they were all relieved to see.

As quickly as possible, they were on their way. It was Brainy who took the lead now, since he still hadn't given them a name for their destination. Kara almost wanted to ask more about Lena, or about the "powerful magical friends" he had mentioned. But he was so serious, so focused- she didn't know if he was the type for casual conversation.

Their usual group dynamic, however, didn't change much with the addition of their newcomer. Because while Kara, Alex and J'onn left Brainy largely to himself as they grew used to his presence, Winn and M'gann took the opposite approach. M'gann seemed to understand Brainy a little better than the others did, since she had been almost as reserved herself, at least at first.

And Winn? Well, Winn had never been all that good at reading people. He was just as cheerful and exuberant with Brainy as he was with everyone else. Brainy...didn't seem to understand him. His responses to Winn's many, many questions were mostly one or two words, as noncommittal as possible, and he looked at Winn with a slightly furrowed brow as if the other man mystified and maybe even slightly aggravated him.

Thankfully, though Reign's kingdom was dangerous, it was also small, and by the end of the day they had passed through it. The transition when they crossed the Daxam border was jarring; it was as if an invisible barrier divided winter from summer, divided the North Kingdom from the rest of the world. One minute they were shivering, and the next they were perfectly warm.

"We'll keep off the main roads," Brainy said. "No sense looking for trouble if we can avoid it."

To Kara's relief, they had now changed direction. While they weren't exactly getting closer to Kryptonia, they weren't getting farther away from it either. If whatever disaster Cat had foreseen decided to make itself known, it wouldn't take them any longer to return home.

(Kara ignored the little voice in her head that insisted they were already too far to do much good).

As dusk began to fall, Brainy pointed out a range of mountains that had just become visible on the horizon. "That's where we're heading," he said. "It's easy to get lost in those mountains if you don't know the way."

"But you do," Winn said. Brainy shook his head.

"Actually, I don't. We'll have to find someone to guide us, but we'll cross that bridge once we come to it. I only made it the first time because I've earned the trust of those who live there. It's not an easy thing, not by any means, but I managed."

Once again Kara found her curiosity piqued. She was bursting with questions, wanting to know everything about their mysterious new companion, but she knew it would take time for him to feel comfortable in their group. With an effort, she restrained herself, filing away her questions to ask later.

For the next few days, they did as Brainy had suggested and kept away from the main paths, avoiding the people of Daxam as much as they could. They couldn't avoid them entirely, and there were a few icy stares from those who recognized the Kryptonian princess, but Kara ignored them.

Daxam was prettier than the North Kingdom. Not as pretty as Kryptonia- Daxam was still rocky and treacherous- but not as harsh and forbidding as Reign's domain had been. On their fourth or fifth day in the country, they found themselves deep in a thick oak forest. The shade and beautiful surroundings revived them all, and soon they were chatting and laughing as happily as they had at the beginning of the quest, before the curses, the dragon and all the other complications that had arisen. Even the horses seemed happier, no doubt appreciating the feel of soft leaves under their feet. "It's just like the forests back home," Alex sighed, in a rare show of sentiment.

"Be on your guard, though," J'onn warned. "A place like this, as pretty as it is, is an excellent place for an ambush. Daxam's got more than its fair share of highwaymen, mainly because the royals are too drunk and self-absorbed to do anything about them."

As if on cue, an arrow sliced through the air, whizzing between Kara and Winn, who had been riding next to her. Winn yelped, and Kara jumped, pulling her horse to a stop as a cheerful male voice rang out from somewhere above them.

"As a matter of fact," the voice announced, "this is an excellent place for an ambush!"

"J'onn," Alex complained, "why are you always right?"

J'onn didn't answer, swiftly drawing his sword. Kara and M'gann had done the same with their weapons, and even Brainy, to Kara's surprise, produced a dagger. The invisible voice laughed.

"Those won't do you much good, I'm afraid. Arrows are faster. Besides, the odds are six to twenty; you can chance it if you want, but I don't advise it. Don't worry, though. Just cooperate with us and you'll go on your way unharmed."

"Why don't you show your face first, and then we'll talk cooperation," M'gann challenged. There was a rustling in the leaves, and suddenly a tall, handsome man dropped out of a tree ahead of them, sweeping off his hat and making a low bow.

"Certainly," he said.

Kara blinked, more than a little taken aback by the outlaw's easy, fearless confidence. As he straightened up, she got a good look at his face. He was dressed entirely in green, which made sense for the forest he apparently lived in. He had a scruffy, roguish look about him, with bluish-gray eyes that glimmered cheerfully. All in all, he looked nothing like an outlaw should look, not threatening or intimidating in any way except for the longbow he held in one hand. And obviously, judging by the shot he'd taken a minute ago, he was no stranger to using the weapon.

"Who on earth are you?" Alex demanded. The man's eyes widened.

"A frog just spoke to me," he said. "Magic, right? Alright then. In answer to your question, folks around here call me Robin Hood."

M'gann's brow furrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, originally it was the Robber in the Wood, but it's mutated over the last year. I like it, actually. Very dashing. Gets the point across. And I'm not actually a robber. I do relieve unsuspecting nobles of their worldly goods, but it's not for my own sake. I do what I do to help the poor people of Daxam. They've gone unnoticed too long by my par..." He corrected himself quickly. "Uh, by the king and queen."

"Who are obviously your parents," Brainy spoke up. "You're Prince Mon-El. I know every royal family from here to Metropolis going back three generations. And what's more, our odds aren't six to twenty. You're alone out here. The trees aren't moving, there's no sound- twenty men wouldn't be that quiet."

The outlaw's eyes widened, obviously a little taken aback. "You're...just as smart as you look. Alright, so maybe I'm out here by myself and I'm only doing all this because I was tired of knowing what my parents were doing to our people and not lifting a finger to help. But regardless, I'm still the one with the bow and arrows and you're still nobility, so...I'm still robbing you."

Alex snorted. "Be my guest. You're obviously not the observant type. Do we look like your typical rich vacationers?"

Mon-El opened his mouth to reply, then closed it again, tilting his head to the side as he took in their travel-worn clothing. "Now that you mention it," he said, "you most certainly don't."

"Right," J'onn said. "That's because we're travelers. We've been on a quest for months. Most of us may be nobles, but at this point we don't have more than a handful of coins between us."

"A quest, you say?" Mon-El glanced over them again, and his gaze landed on Kara. "Of course! I should have known. The great Sleeping Beauty, Kara Zor-El of Kryptonia. I have absolutely no idea who the rest of you are, but I'm honored, Your Royal Highness." He bowed again, and Kara stifled a giggle. Obviously this outlaw prince was still figuring out the way things worked outside of the palace, but he seemed to have his heart in the right place. And it couldn't have been easy, turning his back on his family and his luxurious royal life in order to help the downtrodden peasants of Daxam. It was a brave decision, and one she could respect.

"Yes, that's Sleeping Beauty," Brainy said, barely able to contain the annoyance that clearly simmered under the surface. "And our business is a very urgent matter, so if you're through wasting our time, we'll be on our way."

An idea sprang suddenly to Kara's mind, an idea as improbable and risky as the wild shoe chase she'd started so many weeks ago. She liked this outlaw and found herself strangely drawn to his cause, even if she didn't necessarily approve of the way he went about it. Maybe, just maybe, there was a way she could help while also aiding the quest.

"Wait a minute, Brainy," she said, pointing her finger at the distant mountain range. "Mon-El, would you happen to know those mountains?"

"Of course."

"Well enough to guide someone through them?"

"Princess, I've lived in Daxam my whole life. It'd be as simple as picking daisies."

"Kara, what are you doing?" J'onn asked.

"I'm making a proposition. If you really can guide us through those mountains, Mon-El, I'll pay you handsomely once we're back in Kryptonia. More than you can steal in a month. I'll even talk to my cousin, see if he can put a little pressure on your parents to make some real changes in this kingdom."

Mon-El looked first startled, then hopeful. "Really? You would do all that? Just for guiding you through the mountains?"

"We need to get through them quickly. We don't know how much time we have before I fall asleep again. I should warn you, there might be a visit or two from a very unfriendly dragon."

"So I'll bring my bow."

"Good idea."

"Well then, princess," Mon-El declared, a wide grin spreading over his face, "I think we have a deal! I'll just drop by my campsite and get a few things and my horse and meet you back here in a few minutes. And then we'll be off on our adventure!" Without waiting for an answer, he strode off into the trees, whistling as he went.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Kara," Alex muttered. "Sure, he's nice enough, but I've never seen a bigger buffoon. Are you sure he won't just get us hopelessly lost and then leave us high and dry? We literally just met him five minutes ago."

"I don't know for sure, no," Kara replied. "But I don't think he would. Besides, the last bargain we made was with Lex Luthor. Compared to that, how bad can this one be?"