The castle was in uproar. The princess was gone. Servants flew through the hallways in a panic, following the orders that the royals and court officials were barking at them. Linen baskets and food were forgotten and the hallways were much too condensed with rushing bodies to walk through. The only two who did not seem concerned were Rowan Whitethorn and Evalin Ashryver, though no one noticed in the frantic rush of searching for the missing princess. Alarm bells might as well have been sounding through the kingdom because by late morning, everybody knew. Aelin Ashryver had been kidnapped by pirates with a vendetta. She had been sold away to one of her uncles old enemies. She had fled the castle after an attempted murder. Some of the theories were pretty ridiculous. What almost no one assumed was that the princess had simply quit acting like a royal and reverted to her wild ways. Joining the war was exactly the kind of stupid thing Aelin Ashryver Galathynius would do. Even when her life was at stake. Especially when her life was at stake. Though there was another figure missing from the castle too, although no one knew or cared enough to notice.

Aelin:

The woods were playing tricks on her. She paced through, as silent as a doe and kept looking around. She hadn't stopped walking since she left the palace, only slowing once to grab a handful of berries off a nearby bush. She could only hope that they weren't poisonous. In the silent rustling of the leaves she could have sworn that she heard the sound of giant footfalls, like some enormous predator was stalking her. When she could no longer hear the burbling of the stream, she thought the wind sounded like the breaths of some huge dog. That was impossible of course. These woods were protected by the Lord of the North. No predators were allowed to roam here. She was tired and hungry and sore. And she was pissed. What had she been thinking? To disobey her uncle's order? Then she felt like slapping herself. This was exactly why she had left. She was becoming too passive. Too much like… like… It didn't matter. It was too late to turn back and she had no great desire to return to acting like a doll. Finally, exhaustion got the better of her and she slumped down on a low hanging branch to rest. She sat as the sun rose higher in the sky, filtering down through the canopy and creating tiny spots of warmth on her skin. Her eyelids began to close. She yanks them open again. Determined to stay awake, but eventually her body stopped fighting and she drifted off to sleep.

…..

When Aelin woke, it was to the feeling of sandpaper scraping over her cheek. The second sensation was that of slimy wetness. She sat bolt upright, her hand going to her face. She wiped the liquid away "Ugh." She blinked and squinted around. Stretching her sore stiff muscles. She yelped as a face loomed into her vision. Except, it wasn't a human face. It was that of a wolf with a coat the colour of fresh snowfall. Aelin went very still. The wolf cocked its head from side to side. Its tongue lolling out in a smug grin. She hardly dared to breathe. She watched the beast and it watched her. Aelin thought it looked almost as though the creature was rolling its eyes at her. She could have sworn the look on its face was...Cocky. There was no other way to describe it. Then she looked closer. It couldn't be… Aelin stood and kicked a clump of dirt at him. "Sod off!" The Fenrys/wolf huffed a laugh. "Joke's on you." Aelin told him. "I finally know what your Fae form is. All of your efforts of trying to hide it, all to waste." Fenrys lifted his shoulders and let them drop in a massive shrug. She sighed. " I'm not coming back if that's what you want. Dorian and Nehemia need me. There is even a rumor that Ansel of Briarcliff is joining the war effort." She stuck her nose in the air. "I have no intention to go back to planning weddings. Not when I am so much better at planning massacres." She picked up her satchel and started marching in the direction she hoped was Ardarlan. Which way was South? There came a cough behind her. She sighed and whirled around to face Fenrys. "What do you want now?!" He lifted a massive paw and pointed in the opposite direction. Aelin glanced up at the placement of the sun. Darn. "Thank you." She said stiffly and marched south in the direction Fenrys was pointing. He gave a wolfy chuckle, falling into step behind her. Aelin sped up her pace but he lengthened his strides to match hers. Who was she kidding, he could outrun her any day. She stopped and whirled to face him. "If you intend to come with me , forget it!" Fenrys raised a huge eyebrow at her. She glared at him and tapped her foot. She wasn't going to take another step until he left. Fenrys shrugged, turned and began walking in the direction of Adarlan. After a few steps he stopped and turned his huge head back toward her, dark eyes impatient. Aelin heaved a sigh and started after him.

Lysandra:

Dinner was a stiff affair. The courtiers were twitchy and tense. The whole table kept periodically glancing at the door as if they expected Aelin to burst in and plonk down in her seat. Her chair beside Elide was untouched. Nobody had moved it. Nobody had sat in it. Someone had even laid out cutlery and a china plate. It was actually rather depressing. Lysandra looked to her right. Elide was staring hard at Rowan. Her forehead crinkled . Her lips slightly parted. Lysandra elbowed her. "I know that look" She hissed. " That's your problem solving face." Elide glanced over at her. " He knows something." She gestured at Rowan.

"How do you figure?"

Elide shot her a despairing look. "Look at him! He doesn't seem worried at all. You would think he would be frantic, what with her being his mate and all." Lysandra snuck a glance at Rowan. He did seem supremely unconcerned. A worry line had developed on his forehead, but otherwise, that was it. In fact he looked happy and content for the first time in ages. He glanced up at the two of them, as if sensing their attention. Then he glanced down immediately. "He may be a damn good fighter." Elide muttered in her ear. " But he sure as hell is a crappy actor." Lysandra snorted. The sharp and abrupt sound caught the attention of the court. The whole table looked up at the two of them. Elide flushed a pale pink but Lysandra smiled a smile that was all teeth and vicious humour. Everyone immediately found somewhere else to look. The rest of the meal was eaten in silence with heads down, staring at plates. Every so often someone would glance up and then look quickly down again, bit still the only sound in the room would be that of clinking cutlery and rustling clothes. When the meal was done, everyone filed off to different tasks. The search for the missing princess. Consoling the townsfolk who lived in Orynth. Elide followed Rowan as he marched out of the dining room, dragging a startled Lysandra along with her. "Let's go." Elide hissed. She dragged Lysandra down the hall by the wrist. Both girls skirts swirling behind them. They followed Rowan into the training room, to which he left the door ajar. Elide yanked Lysandra inside and closed the door with the barest of clicks. Rowan whirled around, his Fae hearing alerting him to their presence. He relaxed when he realised it was the two of them. "Oh. It's you. What do you want?"

"Where is she?!" Elide demanded. Rowan ran a hand through his hair. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Lysandra scoffed. "You liar!" Rowan glared at her. "I'm not lying." He said with a hint of a snarl in his voice." Lysandra didn't back down and neither did the usually soft spoken girl beside her. The one who was currently fuming with rage. "Yes you are, you aggravating Fae bastard."

"You know where she is." The dark eyed polymath accused. " Don't even try to deny it!" She snarled quietly when Rowan opened his mouth yet again. "Where is she?!" Elide was practically shaking with rage. All the fight seemed to go out of Rowan in an instant. He slumped on the railing around the edge of the arena. "You know." He said quietly. Then louder. "You know where she's gone."
"Oh gods." Elide's eyes filled with tears. And Lysandra suddenly understood. Mala, she was stupid. How had she not seen it before? "How could you?!" Elide yelled. "How could you do this?" She was practically weeping. "You have sent her off to die!" The last word ended with a screech. Rowan's face screwed up in fury. "You understand nothing! You think I wanted to send her think that every second that we are apart, my heart doesn't feel like it was being ripped to pieces?"

"Then why?!" Elide half screamed back. She knew why Aelin had gone, of course. There was never a conflict she could refuse, but she was incredulous that Rowan had let her leave without a fight.

"Because she was dying!" All three of them fell silent. "What?" Lysandra's question was but a broken whisper. Rowan breathed heavily. "She was dying. All her repressed emotions, all the seconds of nothing cramped up inside her and they were feeding her fire. Her fire was eating her up inside. And seeing her wither away inside was killing me." His eyes softened. "She was born a free soul. Just like her fire. And you can't put fire in a cage, it is either going to melt the bars or snuff out completely." He sighed as if the weight of the world was crushing his shoulders. "So I had to let her go."

Lysandra turned on her heel and strode out of the room. Leaving Elide and Rowan. "Where are you going?" Rowan called after her. She didn't bother looking over her shoulder.

"To pack. I think you know where I am going."

"Wait." She felt Elide hurry up beside her. She raised her eyebrows at the other girl. And smiled.

Elide:

Elide folded a cream taffeta gown and slid it into a small satchel along with a few daggers and rations. She stripped out of the gown she was wearing and donned a brown leather tunic. There was a knock on the door and she opened it to find Lorcan on the threshold. "Hi." She said, a little breathlessly. "Hi." He said back. "I heard what happened."

Elide sighed. "Rowan filled you in." Lorcan rubbed the back of his neck. "Actually, they all did." He stepped aside to reveal Lysandra, Rowan, and Aedion on the threshold behind him.

"Huh." Elide retrieved her satchel off the bed. "Are you guys ready to go?" All nodded confirmation.

"Are you sure we won't be seen?" Aedion asked. Lysandra shrugged. "Most of the council members are in a meeting and I distracted Orlon and Rhoe by telling them that there was a brawl in the barracks. We have at the most, a five minute window to get out."
"What about Evalin?" Aedion asked. "What about me?" Asked a voice from behind him. Evalin Ashryver stood behind them all with her hands on her hips. The whole group jumped. "Its okay." Evalin said softly. "I know what you're doing. I know where you're going. Please, help my daughter and her friend."

"Who-"

"Fenrys." Lorcan cursed under his breath. "Of course."

Evalin laughed. "You better get going. Otherwise it will be too late."

So Elide stepped out of her room and shut the door.

And then off the five friends went to war.

Aelin:

There was a hole in her heart. A hole where Rowan used to be. But he wasn't here now. So she closed her eyes and tried to picture his face. The curves of his cheekbones. The way his eyes sparkled when he looked at her. They reached the glass castle in the wee hours of the morning when the sun was still stretching, the sunbeams only just peeking over the horizon, tinting the sun a rosy red. They crept into the palace grounds, ducking and darting through patches of shadows to avoid the guards patrolling the perimeter of the castle. They reached the bottom of a tower and turned to Fenrys. "Stay here." She warned. He whined but slipped backwards into the darkness of the tower. Aelin nodded. Slung her bag off her shoulder, and dug her feet into the cracks in the tower bricks. She began to climb. Her arms were shaking as she reached the top. Thankfully there was an open window and she slid her body through the space. Dropping silently to the carpet, she looked around. The fire was lit against the morning chill and around the room was scattered bookshelves and cushy armchairs. In one right beside the fire sat a boy with raven locks tumbling over his face as he turned the page of the novel he was reading. He sat with his legs crossed and his back perfectly straight. Some things never changed. "You read like a fine lady." She said quietly. The boy froze. He turned in his seat until he was facing her. A slow smile spread across his face. "It's about time you got here." Was all Dorian Havillard said.