The large town welcomed them politely, as they dismounted, bowing and curtsying to Rolf, girls giving Pogue a good stare when they thought no one was looking. The Governor of the town, Lord August, came forward when he'd heard the Crown Prince and Royal Wizard had landed with a body and a baby. Rolf though Lord August should be fired because he was a weak, indecisive man, but King Glower was waiting for him to die because such a thing could cause political repercussions.

Rolf bounced the baby as she began to fuss, giving Lord August an unamused look when he raised his eyebrows at him. Bran was quick to show the Governor the body, asking him quietly if he knew of her. When he saw her face, he looked panicked, and quickly ushered them away from the quickly-growing crowd. Lord August, spry for his age and apparent illnesses, led them into his home, rushing upstairs into what Rolf assumed was his study.

"What is this about, August?" Rolf asked, trying to be patient. He kept trying to hand the infant to Pogue, or Bran, but she wasn't having it. "Can you send for a bottle?"

Rolf took matters in to his own hands, opening the door and calling to a maid below. He had thought about handing the child off to a nurse or a seasoned mother who probably knew more than any of them, but Lord August's reaction was a bit unsettling.

"That woman was banished from our town," Lord August said nervously.

Rolf sat down. Technically, August didn't really have the power to do that without a trial from the king, and Rolf could see he knew that. If it was because she had been rabidly killing people, there were stipulations to the law, of course.

"Why?" He asked, squinting at the old man.

Both Bran and Pogue were quiet, something Rolf could expect out of the knight, but was a little annoyed at Bran for. Bran was bossy enough at the Castle, that Rolf would think he'd have an idea on what to do.

"Because of her." Lord August pointed a shaking finger at the baby Rolf was holding, and he looked down, her blue eyes innocently looking up at him. "These people, they kept hunting her, and they wouldn't stop ransacking the village for her."

Rolf rolled his eyes. "Then why hasn't this been brought to the king?"

"Because, boy," Lord August spat, and Rolf raised his eyebrows at the disrespect. If they were Vhervhish, he could have the man hanged. "They won't let us."

As if on cue the door opened, the maid holding a bottle of milk. She wasn't alone, though. A very tall man stood behind her, a hard grip on her shoulders. Rolf's heart sank, and Pogue and Bran drew their swords. High forehead, dark hair and eyes. The man was Arkish.

Even the griffins recognized something. They pounced on him, Pogue quick enough to pull the maid out of their way. Rolf rolled his eyes at the Governor, wishing it was anyone else but him.

Bran was saying something that was probably magical, waving his arms, and the Arkish man fell asleep. He turned to the Governor.

"How many more of them?"

Rolf quickly stuck the bottle in the baby's fussing mouth, cradling her in his elbow. He felt rather useless, but they needed to get back to the Castle.

"Fifteen," Lord August said, quivering under their hard stares.

Pogue swore. "Had your soldiers no power?"

Lord August gave a thin smile, holding his hands up as if readying to defend himself. "I told them to stand down."

"You're fired," Rolf announced, considering he had the power to do such things since this was an emergency. He'd face the court when this was all over. "Bran, Pogue, ready the soldiers and find every single one of them, while I'll deal with this."

He turned to the maid. "Do you know how to ride a griffin?"

She shook her head, and then Rolf shook his. "I'll show you. The men…do they ride griffins?"

Lord August shook his head. "They came on horses."

"Good." Rolf led the maid towards the window, plopping the baby into her arms.

He picked her up by the waist, plopping her down on Dagger. She stared at him with fearful eyes. She was probably a little younger than Celie, but they were in dire circumstances. He instructed her where to hold on, and gave her a knife and some food.

"Dagger knows how to ride home," he told her gently. "I need you to get her to my parents and explain the situation. She'll probably cry for awhile, but we don't have a choice. Sleyne is counting on you."

Rolf smacked his griffin in the flank, and he took off through the window at Rolf's harsh yell, commanding him to go home. A prick in his heart nearly causes him to tear up. He hated leaving Dagger, and he didn't like this at all. But more than that, he felt as if he had a bond with the baby riding away, and it sort of hurt to see her go.

"You should've gone," Bran fussed and Rolf wondered why he was still here. "With a sword."

"A griffin is adequate protection," Rolf said. "And Dagger is more than capable. Now come, we have a village to take back."


There was already fighting by the time they reached the square, swords drawn. Rolf shouted at soldiers, and together they began fighting against the Arkish warriors. It was a hard battle; especially because it was probably their first one.

Sleyne hadn't seen war in seventy-two years, and that had lasted twelve days. While they soldiers were trained, they were just as young as Rolf. Rolf had certainly never fought in a battle before, and now here he was commanding one. He'd been trained for it, certainly, but he felt the heaviness of it as he carried orders.

The Arkish men were skilled, and seasoned. Rolf tried not to feel sick as he saw just one of them kill three men, one after another. Rolf and Bran had been tutored by many combat experts, and as much as he hated it, was trained to fight to the death in such situations.

If skill wasn't their strength, numbers were, and after hours of fighting, swords clanging and arrows flying, the three Arkish men surrendered. Not without a price, twenty of the men were dead, thirty injured. Rolf himself had gotten a nasty stab wound to the arm, and Pogue had a gnarly looked gash across his face. They were easily arrested and out in a prison, Bran carefully enchanting the cells after examining them for magical abilities.

Rolf was cursing that they were down to one griffin, when Dagger sauntered into the village, a fear-stricken maid and a screaming baby behind him. Rolf turned to Pogue and Bran who looked equally confused. The maid was shaking in fear, looking as if she thought one of them were about to hit her, which made Rolf ever more glad he'd gotten rid of Lord August for the time-being.

"She-she just-" the little maid burst into tears, and Rolf knelt beside her, putting both hands on her shoulders.

"It's alright," he told her gently. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just need to know what happened."

She took a shaky breath, swiping at her nose. Rolf tried to wait patiently, and he took the baby, who was nearly falling out of the maid's arms reaching for him. He could only hold her with one hand, and Pogue kept pressing something against his arm to keep the blood in.

"We were riding, and then all of a sudden, poof! We were back here," she said, and Rolf tried not to laugh. Poof? "It was her. I know it."

Rolf looked towards Bran who was just studying the maid. He was silent as he picked up the baby, ignoring her screaming and began speaking softly to her. Rolf took the opportunity to let the village physician remove his chainmail and tunics and clean and dress his wound. The baby was refusing to stop fussing, but she wasn't screaming anymore.

Rolf groaned as the physician wrapped his arm tightly, the adrenaline that had kept the pain somewhat at bay, fading, and coming in full. He slipped his inner tunic over his head, and quietly told Pogue he was going to consult the villagers about the whole thing.

Dagger followed him as he went to a group of women, staring at the body of the baby's mother. Rolf pushed through them, going to an older woman, who he thought was the wife of some noblemen who lived here. He'd seen her before. Emma? Elizabeth? Lizzie. It was Lizzie.

"Lady Lizzie," he said quietly. "What did you know about her?"

Lizzie clucked her tongue sadly. "She came when she was about to give birth to the child. As soon as it was born, odd things began to happen. Guards had reports of her being threatened by cloaked creatures, her sneaking about past curfews, and reports of animals and livestock going missing."

Rolf saw tears in the old woman's eyes. Lady Lizzie and her husband, Cenrid, were good, kind-hearted people. Rolf knew who he was going to leave in charge when they left for the Castle. And they would. Soon.

"August blamed Palise, because he swears that she had something to do with it," Lizzie continued. "Cenrid begged him not to banish her, but he did. Four days ago. She wasn't Sleynth; and she had no family here to name. She said she was all alone."

Rolf nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat. He dug around in his pockets, setting a pouch of coins into Lizzie's hands.

"See to it that she gets a proper burial. I need to go take care of some things."