Randuil snickered silently, lurking in the bushes, watching the two lovers. Having silently followed Tauren and Celesil throughout the day, the traitor wanted more news to tell his lord, and what a wonderful uproar this would make. The Ethir prince had a lover! The like had not been heard of for hundreds of years with his people. However, deep down inside, no matter how much Randuil denied it, his heart was envious. Yet another "thing" Tauren had that he didn't.

Now, what should he do? Burst in on their love scene, with a "message" from Rauko? Oh, he would love to see the look on his prince's face then. Or, should he sneak away, back to the Ethir's camp? After a couple seconds of serious contemplating, the messenger decided that the former option would give him inner-pleasure and also get the prince in trouble. Randuil smiled, evilly. Sprinkling water on his face made him look sweaty, and adding dust to his clothes to look travel-worn, we crept back to his horse a couple hundred feet away. When mounted, the soldier spurred the animal into a gallop, and ran the next few feet back to Tauren's clearing. Leaping off the horse, he ran into the scene.

Surprised, Tauren and Celesil jumped off of each other. Celesil smoothed her dress while sitting down, and Tauren stood up.

"Aranle [my lord]!" Randuil gasped. "Noron lim aure o Rauko an pedo tiw [I have ridden fast all day from Rauko to deliver his message]."

Tauren glared at Randuil. "Una aur, Randuil [Now is not the time, Randuil]."

The messenger straightened his back. "Tiran [So I see.]," he responded, smirking. "Rauko pedo an ora firiel an im, nai noro an aran. Firiel unuva cu le. [Rauko says to give the woman to me, so I may ride her back to his lordship. Then the woman will not burden you.]

"Firiel na pedo im ghuldur, ar una cu im. Nai pedo ghuldur an Rauko anim. [The woman is giving me information, and she is not burdening me. I will deliver the information to Rauko myself.]

The Ethir Prince began walking towards Randuil's horse, and the messenger followed him. As he handed his subordinate the reigns, Tauren gripped his tunic's collar and whispered harshly,"Unalye pedo o hin ar adan, an cirai le dhol o mel [Do not tell anyone about this, or I will cut your throat with pleasure.]."

As Randuil mounted his steed, smirking, he replied, "Hiralye mel o firielle [Find pleasure with your woman.]," and galloped off.

Tauren ran his fingers through his dark hair, contemplating the past few minutes. Randuil was a traitor to his prince...but he himself was a traitor to his king! Tauren knew for sure that Randuil would tell Rauko about the affair, and perhaps he would soon be hunted by his own people. He walked quickly back to Celesil and lifted her on the feet.

"Melamin, we must leave now." Leading her by the hand, he headed towards their horses.

"Nauvar?"

"Please, no questions, my dear. Later." The prince raised the maiden up onto her horse and went swiftly back to the clearing, where he doused the fire and scooped up his belongings, shoving them into a saddle-bag. He tighten the girth and secured the bag. Then, motioning for Celesil to begin her horse, he spurred his own horse, and they were off.