OMG I haven't even looked at this fanfic in forever. I know I hate it when people don't update and here I go not updating for AGES! I wonder if any of my readers are still out there…anyway hope ya guys enjoy

Karigan's horse reared and she just barely managed to hold on as the ground mites surrounded the two riders as if to cage their pray. The Eletian in typical fashion seemed calm and aimed the arrow tip towards a split in one of the mite's natural armor. Karigan was busy trying to calm her horse who was dancing nervously in place. It was at this point that from the forest arrows flew in, hitting and killing three of the four mites. She felt at least 3 arrows zoom by her face and horse to safely hit the mite's. Karigan's Eletian made the killing blow for the final ground mite and the rest of the Eletians came out of the forest.

Karigan blinked and looked at them as they seemed to melt back from the forest trees and one of them came over to her and retied her arms to the saddle. She sighed and wordlessly they began to form the same line as before with her Eletian once again by her side and the rest moving ahead.

She could hear them talking their language and once in a while one or two of them would look back at her and her Eletian. She suddenly had the feeling that he was just as unwanted as she was.

"Not very friendly are they?"

He gave her a glare and then looked forward once again ignoring her. Fine, she could easily ignore him as well.

The next few hours passed silently with the most happening was a fight about something between the leader and another Eletian. It was over almost as quickly as it begun but Karigan had the feeling something monumental had been decided because the one who lost was giving the leader ugly glares behind his back. Did the Eletians have the same political fights that the King had to deal with daily? Thinking of Zachary made her think of Captain Mapstone which made her think of the green riders, including her friends and Alton and of course Condor. Did he make it back ok? Was he now lame because she had gotten him shot? A tear slowly fell down her face and she hastily wiped it away hoping no one had seen.

Lauren headed towards the stables the next day to first stop by Bluebird who was glad to see her and then to Condor's stable to find it empty. Turning around she found a sleeping Alton on a hayloft and moved to wake him up.

"Alton! Alton, get up!"

Alton moaned at being waken and sat up suddenly remembering where he was. Looking up to the captain and then the stall he blinked in confusion.

"Where did Condor go? He was right here last night!"

Lauren left him there and moved towards the fields when she heard sounds by the stable entrance and took off at a run. She heard Alton following behind her and came to a sudden stop to see Condor by the tack trying to grab his off the wall. He turned to Lauren whickered in greeting and then snorted at Alton before giving his attention back to getting his bridle off the hook.

"Oh Condor, you can't go off yet. Come on boy..." Lauren cautiously walked towards him and allowed her to put him but once she tried to pull him away from his tack he bared his teeth. She let go and sighed pulling the tack off the wall, resulting in him perking up, and walked back towards his stable. She was happy to see that he was limping a little but didn't seem to be totally lame. Condor followed until he saw that she was leading him towards his stall and moved away rearing a little. Hep has now joined them and Lauren could see that if this was a different situation he wouldn't be trying to hide the smile. Neither would Lauren but at this point Condor could not go out and if they didn't get him back in his stable he would try to follow Karigan and maybe get him self into worse condition.

"Come on Condor, you can not help Karigan if you're not fully well…" She could see him debate, as much as a horse can debate, the decision and lowered his head moved back into the stall with a snort. Both Hep and Alton looked on in shock as Condor calmly did as he was bid. Once since the stall he stood with his head lowered ears back and Lauren moved to scratch him on the head and neck whispering softly to him. She moved to his right shoulder where his wound was and was pleased to see it healing. The skin was slightly inflamed and when she pressed gently on the skin around it Condor pulled away and she sighed.

"I'm sorry boy but its going to have to be cleaned again," She turned to Alton "Alton could you please go find Josh and see if he can come clean out the wound and check on him."

Alton nodded and moved off without another word to anyone. She turned to Hep and smiled. "Just make sure he is comfortable." With another pat to his neck Lauren moved away and towards the castle where paperwork and meetings awaited her.

The weather dropped drastically that night. Karigan had nothing but the dirty clothes on her back and her all too thin cloak. She looked on in envy as the group enjoyed the warm fire while she froze on the outskirts. Oh well, it could be worse. At least they weren't starving her like the first time she had been taken all those years ago. To keep her mind off the coldness around her she looked back on the last years since her last time being a captive. She was nothing like the young girl she was back then. She had had more pain and certain things had become more important then others. And she had learned about her evil heritage. She wondered if the Eletian prince knew about her evil heritage and planned to use that against her when they finally reached…wherever they were going. Before Lil had gone off to the heavens she had told Karigan that Hadriax had become more a man then a monster after he had moved to Black Island. "His curse" she had said he called it. Was it doomed to be her curse as well? No, she wouldn't allow it to. She would never do anything to hurt her kingdom…or her king. She refused to allow herself to let her mind wander to Zachary and his impending marriage to Lady Estora. It was not her business and she could not let it affect her, it was done. Karigan closed her eyes briefly and felt her self drifting off into an uneasy sleep.

In her dream she saw figures weaving in and out of a long corridor with many different statues and figures on the side. It was a sort of warped version of the castle back at Sacor city. She saw Lil and tried to call out to her, only to have her face Karigan and then transform into another person. The person was an older version of a familiar face she had seen. Blinking a few times in confusion she came to realize it was a slightly older version of the Hadriax she had seen in the Mirror of the Moon. He looked right at her as if to see into her and appraising her for himself. He smiled and began to move towards her with a purposeful stride. Karigan backed away and turned to run, only to find her surroundings had now become a door-less room. Turning around quickly she tried as hard to evade him but there was really no where for her to go. In the end he stopped a few feet from her, a smile still gracing his face.

"Karigan Galadheon…we finally get to meet" At this point he frowned slightly "but unfortunately our time at the moment is short. As the prince had stated there are some Eletians who fear you, which can help us-"

"What us? How can you help me and what makes you think I want it?" She looked him straight in the eye "And my name is G'ladheon, I am not a betrayer."

He looked at her for a moment and then laughed, he laughed!

"What spirit! Lil was right about you. Just like me you are." It was at this point that Karigan's eyes widened and she shook her head in negation.

"Oh you defiantly are exactly like me, my own daughter was actually a green rider but enough about our heritage. We don't have time for this now, we can fight later all you want about anything you want. First you should know, the Eletian who stays to your side, you can trust. He works for the prince-"

"But why didn't he say anything?"

"And risk getting the anger of his companions? Use your brains girl" At that Karigan glared and crossed her arms and he continued "Stay as far away from the others as you can. Once you reach the Eletian capital the prince will get you away from them. He was right; you truly do hold power over the safety of the Eletians. I can not tell you how just yet but it will be revealed soon. Once you reach the capital I will contact you again and we will decide what has to be done. Do not fear she watches over you…to think one of mine receives such acolyte."

"What she?"

Hadriax just gave an enigmatic smile and reached out a hand to touch her face gently and Karigan was unable to move away.

"I will see you soon and we will talk."

"But-"

It was at this point that a bird gave a loud call and Karigan woke in a rush. Looking around in shock, her breathing slightly labored she slowly calmed and let her dream soak in. Was it real? Was she truly visited by her ancestor? And who was this 'she' that Karigan kept hearing about. This was the second time that someone had spoke of a she watching. First the Eletian and now Hadriax was talking about some woman. Turning to gaze into the forest she took a deep breath and turned to look over the small camp site.

All of the Eletians were asleep, even the one who was supposedly working for the prince. She could understand why he would not say anything, he could not risk his fellows finding out he was truly not on their side. Was he really a Tiendan? If so, were they a secret society for the others not to notice him as such? Or maybe the prince had other loyal subjects who worked for him in secret. It wasn't a surprising concept, considering the green riders even had some who worked in secret, like Lynx or Beryl. Taking in the words that were spoken was easy enough but taking in the fact that they had come from her betrayer of an ancestor was a little harder. He had said she was like him and that his daughter had become a rider. Even though she had been disgusted with her heritage when reading his journal, she could not help that she was interested in finding out about her family's past.

When she woke again it was a little later in the day and the rest of the company was all packed up. Her Eletian came, untied her and allowed her a few minutes of freedom to get ready for the day. As they once again began to mount up she turned to him.

"When will we get where we are going."

"By mid day you shall be the first mortal in hundreds of years to see the remnants of Argenthyne and within the next few days you shall be the first mortal ever to see Eletias capital. You should feel blessed Karigan Galadheon." And with that he left her with the other Eletians. Argenthyne? She was going to stand at the ruins of Laurelyn's castle…somehow she felt as if she was going home.