It was early in the morning when Kaetar was woken up again. It was Nicholas who nudged him awake and that was when he crawled out of his tent. Nicholas ended up being the one to wake him up lately since Loiya was leaving earlier than he used to. It wasn't like Loiya strayed from him – Kaetar often found him just outside the tent practicing with his lance until he was sweaty.

It was foggy outside.

Joel ended up sharing a tent with Nasir. He was sitting outside of that tent from what Kaetar could see, his eyes studying Loiya's movements. He didn't want to be involved in more drama involving those two, so he decided to move to someone else.

He first strayed to Makken's side. He was getting a lot of attention – there was Mike, obviously, who was getting his saddle ready for the day, then Zeke and Aletta. Aletta was probably Makken's biggest fan, on the count that he couldn't really judge her and her inability to fly if he had to guess. Though Darius and Chifee said nothing to her face, Kaetar could see why a branded would not find either of them to be initially appealing.

She had Makken, at least, and got along with Mike because of it. Or maybe for it.

"Can you fly without the saddle?"

"It wouldn't be very comfortable," Mike laughed, tightening a belt. "He's covered in spikes. Good for him but not for us. Oh, good morning Kaetar!"

"Good morning," Kaetar answered. "Are you going for another ride?"

"I'm just prepping Makken for anything. I don't think he really likes it but it's not bad for a saddle that one finds on the side of the road," Mike said cheerfully as he pulled back. His eyes scanned his partner and seemed satisfied with his handy work. Makken growled internally and Kaetar could feel his side rumbling when he placed his hand on his scales.

Mike chuckled a little. "He'll get used to it."

"So do you always find what you need on the roads?"

"Not always. But I'm the last person to complain about free stuff, even if it is something that someone threw out."

Kaetar was beginning to think he was one of the only ones in the group who never had to be stingy with gold. The only other person who could really think of was perhaps Joel, who would be supported by his father. Loiya never actually spent any of the gold he earned so it wasn't like he was very privileged either.

Gold wasn't something that the laguz seemed to care about, aside from Darius who gathered gold to live with those who did care for it. Ema and Chifee seemed to live off the land – with Ema being an incredible hunter and Chifee tagged along often. He wasn't sure about Nasir, who never shared much about his life at all. He would have to ask Joel about him. He was sure that Joel would find out something.

"I hope we aren't going too far today. It's rather hard to see today, isn't it?" Aletta mumbled, putting her hands on her hips.

"I guess you guys wouldn't know the fog," Kaetar muttered.

"Not really. It feels kind of damp now and the desert is far from it. It's just hot. It's not too bad when you get out of the sun and into a building. You kind of get used to it," Aletta explained. "Those caves were a sort of different kind of hot."

"Huh," Mike stated simply. "Different types of hot, eh?"

"I thought the desert would have been just as hot as the caves," the prince said.

"No... I was surprised I managed to go through without fainting. Actually, I'm surprised most did. Nicholas and Peter seemed kind of frail but you were the only to faint." She shrugged.

"And here I thought the snow in Daein was bad!" Mike chuckled.

"I miss the snow in Daein."

Aletta seemed a little confused. It wasn't like Kaetar expected her to have seen snow before but he felt as though she might have heard of it. Perhaps it was only Stefan that saw the snow and he didn't share the wonders and the horrors of snow. It was always nice to see at first and it was a lot of fun to play in it. Sometimes, Loiya would throw snow at the prince and the prince would throw snow back at him.

It was childish but fun, and the two of them would track snow and water into the castle. On the other hand, snow had the effect of wearing resources thin and slowing down travel and trading. Jut as everyone carved out a path in the snow with their feet, horses and carriages, the snow piled right back up again. It was disappointing but hardly a surprise.

"So you guys just have hot then... not-as-hot?" Mike guessed.

"Exactly."

"That is not to say that it isn't harsh," Stefan said suddenly, appearing from behind Makken. Stefan still had the bad habit of appearing out of no where. It just made him all the more mysterious. How does anyone even do that?

"Hah, it never did sound like a pleasant place to live, ain't that right, Makken?" Mike patted his wyvern's side again. Makken turned his head towards Mike but Aletta was the one who stroked his head.

"So this the beast that Aletta has taken a liking to. He's a magnificent wyvern," Stefan mumbled with a smile, running a hand across his scales.

"Thanks," Mike said happily.

"Everyone, I need your attention," Syrin muttered, lifting his good arm. Everyone was awake and now quietly waiting for Syrin. "We are packing up now and leaving. Our goal is return to Toha – I'll explain everything once we actually get there. Speaking of it now is difficult since we are being chased by both Crimeans and Daeins. Fight to the best of your abilities."

Rylar yawned. "I feel like all of this travelling is aimless and now we're actually going somewhere and you won't tell us why. Fantastic."

"You're not the kind that cares about the tactics behind any sort of uprising. You just like to shoot anything that moves and cling on your father," Arum mumbled, glaring at Rylar.

"Shut up!"

"Rylar, please don't start anything," Duma sighed, shaking his head.

"Don't tell me you don't mind following orders from a guy who can't do what he asks us to do!"

Syrin's face didn't change. It was almost like he expected someone to bring it up and the fact that someone did didn't seem to bother him. Stefan chuckled and patted Rylar on the shoulder.

"You don't know much power he still holds."

"I don't care about that Stefan! I don't care if you know! I want proof that he's someone worth following!" Rylar shouted, stepping away from his father and Stefan. Kaetar found it hard to keep his heart still – if Syrin took this challenge, then Kaetar would see him cast magic from a tome for the first and probably the last time.

"I don't need to prove myself," Syrin said simply, making Kaetar's heart sink.

"Ah, it will shut him up though, wouldn't it, Duma?" Joel asked with a chuckle. He was leaning on his brown coloured horse, running a finger through its mane. Kaetar didn't know if it was male or female.

"Just don't kill him," Duma mumbled.

"He won't die so long as I'm around to prevent it," Peter answered calmly.

"Fine. Nicholas, give me your elthunder tome. I'm not wasting my tomes on a loudmouth," Syrin growled, removing his arm from his sling. If that hurt, and it most likely did, he didn't show it as Nicholas passed him a yellow tome. Rylar stepped forward, bow and arrow in hand and Syrin threw the tome open.

They glared for a moment.

"You challenged me," Syrin said slowly.

Rylar smirked as he fired his arrow. Syrin sidestepped, dodging easily. Before Rylar could load another arrow, Syrin chanted and sent a bolt of thunder down on the archer. It seemed to be made up of several smaller bolts, with one large bolt hitting him head on. He cried out in pain and hit the ground. Nicholas took his tome back as Peter rushed forward, healing the Rylar before helping him to his feet.

Syrin sighed deeply, placing his right hand around his scar.

"I'll take him," Duma muttered quickly, lifting his son into his arms.

"That was a single attack from the one of the weaker thunder spells," Joel mumbled, his eyes studying Syrin. "He held back too. He looks fast enough to have gotten another hit in if he wanted to... just to think if he had a stronger tome, he might have killed him in one shot. He probably has the tomes on him too. I wonder just who he is..."

"What do you know of magic?" Loiya scowled.

"More than you," Joel huffed.

It was too early for them to be fighting already. Why didn't they just give each other a chance instead of going straight to the bickering?

"Unless anyone has any more problems, then we shall be going. There will be no breakfast – we've already wasted enough time," Syrin muttered slowly.

It felt like hours before they finally found a village. Village was the wrong word for it, however. It seemed to be a big town, not quite as big as Sienne, Melior or Nevassa but still large enough leave behind the village title. It was still foggy out, which helped and impeded their progress. For one, it was hard to tell where they were going, forcing the birds the walk if they didn't want to get lost. It was like they needed a lot of light in order for their vision to be of any use. However, it was also worked in their favour since it would be difficult for the Crimeans and Daeins to move around as well.

Ema and Rykuu were both in the lead, with Soren tagging along beside him much like how Rylar and Duma stuck together. It seemed that out of anyone, it was the two cat laguz who could see the best, or at least admitted so. Zeke didn't seem to struggle at all – maybe it was because thieves needed the keen eyesight to do what they did or maybe it was from his mixed blood too. Having a mixed army, where laguz, beorc and those in between fought together, had its benefits. They got the best of everything. It made Kaetar curious as to why armies still seemed traditional, either fully beorc in appearance or fully laguz.

"Zeke, how well can you see in the fog?" Syrin asked as he glanced at the entrance.

"Better than most here. Am I going for a scouting mission?" Zeke asked, stepping towards the village. He made sure his hood was up on his cloak before stepping into the village. Like a true thief, he made himself disappear quickly by darting out of main road and up onto a roof by the looks of it. He was a lot faster than he looked and a lot stronger too to pull himself up so fast.

"You don't trust this village either?" Kaetar asked.

"I can't trust anyone. If Crimeans are prowling around, then we need a different approach into the village," Syrin answered plainly as the group backed up, as not to be in view of the soldiers if they existed in the village.

"I did not see anyone in the village when we were at the gates," Rykuu mumbled slowly.

"You mean the streets were empty," Darius mumbled. Soren nodded in response, easing himself into a sitting position.

"I suppose the citizens want to stay inside due to the fog," Peter said, taking his chance to reposition Syrin's arm into the sling. Since Syrin's little spat with Rylar, he hadn't bothered to replace the sling that Peter had him wear. It must have helped if Syrin was cooperating with Peter to get the sling back in.

Soren shook his head from his place with Rykuu.

"Fog is bad for flying but not something that everyone just suddenly stops life for," Mike shrugged. He and Makken walked today, as the fog made it difficult for Mike to know where the rebels were, so they were land bound in order to stay with everyone. It wouldn't help if you flew too far on accident. Neither seemed happy with the arrangement but Syrin didn't want them to be separated.

Zeke came back, jumping down onto the main path from a nearby tree.

"Crimeans are crawling all over the place on patrol."

Syrin seemed to consider it for just a moment, then motioned for everyone to come closer.

Kaetar didn't like the idea of being alone. Syrin said this time it was better to separate themselves and then take out the Crimeans one by one while using the environment to keep themselves hidden. They could also regroup within the village later as they found each other but the key was to be alone at first. Most people in the group had one person that they couldn't bare to be separated with, so it was difficult to be alone for a lot of them. Rylar had his father, Kaetar had Loiya, Soren only felt comfortable around Rykuu, there was Arum and Elli who grew up with nobody else but each other and Chifee was clingy when it came to Darius.

Then there were people who shouldn't be alone; Aletta, Nicholas, Syrin and Peter. They were all just more fragile than the others. One good hit could leave them in a dangerous situation that they may not be able to get out of if they were alone.

Kaetar was hiding behind what seemed to be a merchant stall, surrounded by many empty boxes. With the cover of the fog, it was a great hiding place for him. His heart jumped into his throat when he heard footsteps go by. He didn't know if it was an ally or a Crimean but he was not going to check. Even the thought of being alone seemed to stopped his breath. When the footsteps seemed well behind him, he did check by slowly peering over the stall.

A Crimean.

Kaetar could hit him. He could kill him. The thought made him feel terrible but at the same time, he felt that he needed to stop letting other people dirty their own hands for him. Loiya had no problems killing anyone if Daein told him too. He didn't feel so bad when Loiya killed someone, yet if he did it himself, it was somehow wrong.

He didn't have to like it, but his hands should be red too. Kaetar slowly drew the bowstring back and sent the arrow flying into the soldier's back. The soldier, whoever he was, collapsed and Kaetar wasn't sure if he had actually killed him. He didn't want to check. What if he wasn't dead and sprang up to kill him? All the prince had was his hiding spot! If someone charged him, he wouldn't ever be able to defend himself.

He was one of those people who shouldn't have been left alone.

He didn't exactly blame Syrin for his plans. It was better for the town and it as better for the rebels to fight on their own for the most part. They were harder to detect and as long as the target was killed, they still had the element of surprise, which they might lose in a larger crowd. The ones who couldn't fight could always stay quiet and the ones who could kill would kill. He stayed crouched in his hiding spot until he heard a familiar voice.

"Is he dead?"

"No, he'll live. I doubt he'll bother us though. I'll move him."

When Kaetar peeked over the stall, he saw Misha, Zeke and Rylar. Zeke noticed him immediately and Kaetar crawled out of his hiding place. Zeke was dragging the soldier out of the way while Rylar huffed. Misha didn't seem pleased with him but smiled when Kaetar stood up from his spot.

"You guys are travelling together?"

"We ran into each other and decided that we're better off sticking together than being alone at this point," Zeke said. "I think the battle will end soon enough anyway. We're seeing less and less Crimeans around, so I think they're fleeing this place."

"Or they're all dying or dead," Rylar mumbled. Zeke didn't seem to hear him. He was suddenly way more interested in their surroundings. He spun and stared.

"What is it, Zeke?" Misha asked.

"I thought I heard something," Zeke muttered in response.

Kaetar saw a green flash jump from the roof of one of the buildings – or he presumed at least – and Zeke was on the ground, clutching his right leg. There was blood under his hand and when he tried to get up, he nearly collapsed as soon as there was weight on his injured leg. How deep was that cut? Zeke took a deep breath and pulled out another dagger.

"That's cute. Really cute. It's almost like you think you have a chance!" he laughed, spinning a knife of his own in his hands. Zeke jumped, landing on his left leg and using his right leg to kick. He landed a blow into the attacker's chest, making him stumble backwards. Zeke pulled a second dagger from his boot, keeping most of the weight on his left leg while he threw the second dagger. The green blur dodged and ripped the dagger from the ground behind him.

Though Zeke was fast, his leg really slowed him down. He tried to kick again as soon as the thief charged him, but his leg was caught and he was flipped to his side. The thief grinned and pounced him, stabbing into his injured leg multiple times.

"What an asshole!" Rylar shouted, firing an arrow. The thief skirted out of the way, leaving Zeke alone. Kaetar saw him pull something out, most likely something to help stem the bleeding.

Rylar only drew attention to himself but in the process, he saved Zeke.

"You're just in the way," he growled as he jumped from side to side, dodging all of Rylar's arrows. He jumped and threw his foot out, colliding into Rylar. The feline branded hit the ground with a loud thud and struggled as the attacker ripped the bow from his hands. He cut the string and then used the bow to strike Rylar over the head. Considering it was a steel bow, Kaetar had to guess it hurt considerably.

He paused, standing up to catch his breath. He glared at Kaetar, their eyes meeting for a single moment. His eyes were a deep blue and filled with glee. He was hurting people and he enjoyed it. Kaetar gulped. It was the same person who attacked Loiya in the forest. Kaetar took a step back as the figure seized him up.

Misha took her chance to strike him from behind, using her lance almost like a sword. The thief ducked, making her lance merely swing over his head. He swung his leg out but Misha side stepped and blocked an incoming attack with her lance. Kaetar fired and arrow or two when his arms weren't shaking. Both attacks missed but the thief didn't seem to notice that Kaetar was firing at him at all. Being such a fast target, he was in a new place as soon as Kaetar let the arrow fly. It was lucky that Misha was dodging the kicks and the dagger strikes as well as she was.

He still got her though. Just as she was about to try and attack again, the figure flipped in the airand landed behind her, kicking her in the back. When she turned herself onto her back, he stomped on her stomach, making her cough up a bit of blood and wheezed. A broken rib, perhaps? Seemingly satisfied, he used his foot to turn her to her side and skipped away from her.

Kaetar back away again and pulled an arrow from his quiver. The thief pounced, tackling Kaetar to the ground. He ripped the arrow out of his hands and tossed it to the side.

"You don't listen to anyone, do you? I would have spared you had you stayed in Begnion!" he growled. Slowly, his lips curled up into a rather disturbing smile.

"What?"

"I'm just thinking... you're wanted alive but I have different plans for you," he mumbled, punching Kaetar in the face. Kaetar could feel blood running down the front of his face but he barely had time to register that before he was punched again, again, and again. The other man aimed for his face and his shoulders, though sometimes he missed and he bloodied his knuckles on the ground. Though it felt like an eternity, the beating probaby didn't last more than a minutes before Kaetar felt hands wrap around his throat and squeeze.

Black dots filled his vision. He was desperately trying to pry the hands off before he passed out without much luck. The thief had what seemed to be an iron grip.

Kaetar heard a scream. He didn't know from who but suddenly he was able to breathe again.

"YOU BASTARD!"

Joel? He wasn't sure – he was still dizzy from all the blows to his head and even though he could breathe and he dared to sit up, he was reminded of the time he fell down the stairs, except he was more dazed and disorientated than before. His head hurt way more, resulting in his mind being fuzzy at best.

At least the fog was clearing.

If he concentrated, Kaetar could make Joel, slashing at the figure. He actually hit him with the edge of his sword, making him cry out in pain. Joel seemed angry. Though the thief was already down, Joel jumped down from his horse to stomp on his back, much like how the thief stomped on Misha earlier. He had his sword aimed for a downward thrust but hesitated, as if deciding on a quick or a slow death.

That was his mistake. Joel was suddenly pushed back and the thief was scooped up by another thief it appeared. This one was older, with red scruffy hair and an unkempt beard. It was hard to see his clothes exactly, with the bit of the fog that was there and the angle.

"Sorry, bud, I can't let you kill Liam," the new cloaked figure mumbled.

"I'll just kill you both," Joel growled.

He smirked. "That's a new one," he chuckled, his voice sarcastic. "Keep it up, kid." With the green cloaked thief named Liam thrown over his shoulder, he jumped his way on top of one of the houses and ran off. There was no way Joel could follow him with his horse. He watched the roof tops for a moment, then steered his horse towards Kaetar. He jumped off with a bottle in hand.

"Kaetar, here, drink this. It should help you feel better," the cavalier mumbled quickly, shoving something into his mouth. Kaetar swallowed and he could feel the cloudiness in his mind disappear. Joel's face was crystal clear and he could make out Rylar, Misha and Zeke, all who were still on the ground. Were they alright?

"Joel... are they okay?"

"They're not dead," he scoffed. "I'm worried about you though. He would have killed you had I not interfered. Where the heck is Loiya anyway? If he was at your side like he was supposed to be, none of that would have happened!"

Kaetar didn't say anything. He never saw Joel so upset before and it was mostly because he was hurt. Rylar was the first to get up and approach Kaetar, but not before picking up his bow, sighing at the string. He let the bow drop, then held a hand at his bed. "What the heck does that guy have against you anyway?"

"I... don't know," Kaetar mumbled slowly, trying to think back to the incident in the forest. It felt like it was such a long time ago. That Liam person, whoever he was, had known his name back then when no one else in Crimea did at the time did. There was always the fact that his warning to stay out of the rebellion was ignored – Kaetar was not staying out of the rebellion because one stranger didn't think he should be apart of it.

The attempt on his life today only proved that he needed to get stronger or he needed Loiya by him at all times. If Joel had a problem with that then he could stick around too!

Kaetar didn't notice Misha getting up. Zeke was sitting up. There was a lot of blood on his pant leg and Kaetar had to take a deep breath to stay calm. He was beginning to look pale but for some reason, didn't look at surprised or even really bothered that his leg was in such a state.

"Can you stand?" Misha asked as she wrapped his arm her shoulder and wrapped her arm around his waist. They went up together, but Zeke stumbled. It was an awkward hold in the first place – Zeke happened to be shorter than Misha, so she couldn't even stand to her full height. She had a couple of inches on him. Rylar shook his head and replaced her instead, as he was closer in height than she was.

But even then, Zeke made his situation clear and kneeled down again. He wasn't going to get anywhere by walking. It didn't seem like his leg could carry any weight and that worried Kaetar. They had to find Peter and if he was alone then he could very well have been danger.

"Joel, can you find Peter?"

"That healer?"

"Yeah. Zeke can't go anywhere without his leg being healed and with your horse, you would be the best one to look for him, right?"

Joel nodded. "That is true. I'll be back shortly. Try not to die while I'm gone," he growled as he jumped back onto his horse and rode off. True to his word, Joel did not take very long. He was back within a couple of minutes with Peter gripping his waist tightly. It was kind of funny how Peter's attire made him blend in with the fading fog. His grey hair and monochrome robes blended in quite well when it was at its heaviest. It was his eyes that really told anyone where he was but even those were a dull blue.

"Who is injured?" Peter asked, jumping off before Joel came to a full stop. His staff was by his side.

"Technically everyone," Joel mumbled.

"I'll be fine!" Zeke called back with a grin.

"You're not fine right now. You lost a lot of colour and you can't even stand!" Misha called out. "It's right here, Peter."

"I haven't died yet and I'm still awake. I'd say I'm doing pretty well right now," Zeke answered back. Peter kneeled beside him.

"That's one way to look at it. Now, let's take a look at what you've got there," Peter said slowly, moving the clothing around his leg. Kaetar stood back far enough to see the blood but not the wounds where it all came from. He was getting used to the sight of blood but he doubted he could stand seeing torn flesh up close.

"You know, Kaetar, that priest is stronger than he looks. When I found him, there were two unconscious Crimeans and he was standing between them. He must have knocked them out," Joel whispered.

"But he doesn't look strong. I thought priests were fragile."

"They usually are," Joel answered, shaking his head. "The staves aren't that heavy so they don't really need to be strong. Ideally, your priest will never be in a position where they have to defend themselves. I suppose robes that are heavy enough can hide anything, even enough muscles to knock someone out."

Kaetar didn't notice before but he had no reason to suspect that Peter was stronger than he looked. With Zeke, it was easier to tell since he could actually carry Kaetar despite being about the same height and he could inflict a lot of damage with two small daggers. He could jump higher than any beorc and moved pretty darn fast. Peter on the other hand, never did anything that obvious. Where did he even keep up an exercise regiment?

"There you, go," Peter said. "I suggest you keep to walking for a couple of days. Keep the running and jumping to a minimum. The magic does a good job at keeping a wound closed but it's not advisable to go right back to putting your muscles under strain."

"If you say so," Zeke mumbled, slowly getting up. Peter was inspecting him closely, as if he didn't really trust him to keep his leg safe.

"Are you alright, Kaetar?" Misha asked, pointing to her neck.

"He's fine," Joel answered, glancing at the prince's neck. Was he bruised? Did he have hand shaped bruises on his neck? Did the vulnerary – or perhaps it was something stronger – not cure bruises? How was he going to explain that to Loiya? It would send him into a wreck if he knew that Kaetar almost died because he wasn't around. There was no way that he wouldn't notice and there was no mistaking the marks. Even Peter was giving him the concerned look. Maybe his face was bruised too.

Peter was gone for a split second when things seemed to simmer down, and Kaetar saw hm healing the fallen soldier who had yet to get up.

"It doesn't even hurt anymore... but what do we do now? Are we supposed to stay here until everyone else comes here?" Kaetar asked. They were already together so they might as well stay together, right? At the end of the day, they needed to be together.

"Why not? The less walking I have to do, the better. Why not let everyone else come to us?" Rylar shrugged, sitting down on the stall that Kaetar hid behind.

"How can you be lazy and be in the rebellion at the same time?" Misha asked, raising her eyebrows. "We have to work to make a difference."

"Why do you think I became an archer? It's because I can kill people from a distance. I can sit and kill. It works for a lazy person! Ideally, I wouldn't be fighting at all but everyone in the desert needs to be able to defend the country, so what can you do?"

"So that's why your father carries you around all the time?" Kaetar asked, sitting down beside Rylar.

"Not the entire reason. He always carried me around. I think he's sensitive because he said his first child was taken away from him. Apparently he had someone else before my mom," he shrugged. "I don't care that much about it, it just works out for me in the end."

"That's terrible! Your father suffered from the loss of a child and your mom. You're all he has left and you're ungrateful! Don't you realize that there are many children in Tellius who would love to have their fathers around? Don't treat yours like crap!"

"I don't treat him like crap," Rylar stated.

"Calm down," Joel shouted. "Just let life beat him. You're wasting your time. It will go through one ear and out the other. He won't listen to you."

"Whatever," Rylar mumbled.

"Do you know anything about that child?" Kaetar asked.

"Nope. I don't know if it's still alive or something but like I said, I don't really care about someone I only heard of," he answered quickly. He had his head down but he suddenly perked up in interest. The last time one of the two brandeds with them seemed interested in the environment, there was an attack. At least this time, Joel was with them.

Suddenly, Kaetar heard hooves. Rylar pushed him back, sending him stumbling to the other side of the merchant stall and into safety. He hit the ground with a thump but pushed himself up to better hide himself. That was Rylar's intention. Peter joined him.

Crimeans sped by. While Kaetar heard hooves going away, there was a voice he recognized. It alarmed him.

"It's been a while since I saw more than two of you together. FOur makes the biggest group today," Arkit mumbled.

Joel scoffed. "And who might you be?"

"I am Arkit, one of the commander's here. I don't believe I've seen you though, you must be new. The rebellion had no mounted units last I checked," the paladin answered. Kaetar didn't dare peek over the stall, but he as sure that one of the horses was moving. He couldn't tell if it was Joel's horse or Arkit's.

"What are you up to anyway, Arkit?" Misha asked, her voice daring.

"I'm not here to attack. It's not the job of my squadron to defend and patrol this town, considering the fact that you are also just moving through here. We are needed elsewhere and that's the only reason that you will be spared today."

"That's odd," Joel mumbled. "Are you guys scared or something? Why bother to let us live? If you were smart, you would cut us down right here and now instead of letting us bother you later."

"If given the choice, I'd rather not kill at all. Most of you are just kids, just old enough to be friends of my own children. If orders don't indicate that you need to be gone, then you are no problem of mine. I was just here to pick up some soldiers."

"I don't get it. Why be a soldier if you won't kill us like you should?" That was Joel again. It sounded like he didn't know if he should be angry or not. Perhaps he was glad that he didn't need to fight again but he seemed confused.

"Because it's in my blood. No one saw this law coming, but now that it's here, I can't risk the safety of my family by disobeying orders. I had no orders to kill so declare it a truce for today and take it."

Joel sighed but didn't say anything. He could hear the hooves again and when Rylar glanced down, Kaetar knew Arkit was gone and he was safe. When he was away from the stall, he could see Joel still poised on his horse, his body tense. He didn't seem to like the idea of Arkit leaving him behind without some sort of fight. It was unsettling that Crimeans would just leave without any major fights, nor major punishments for being in the village.

Were they up to something? It was odd that they didn't try to fight. Maybe everyone else had a different story of Crimeans that tried to go after them but at the same time, Arkit just let them go. He didn't try anything. He took some soldiers and left. He didn't get it and obviously Joel didn't seem to get it.

"I wonder if they're planning to ambush us down the road," Misha said out loud.

"Not unlikely. We're essentially trapped in the middle with Crimea in front of us and Daein behind us. Unless we take a long, convoluted route to Toha then we'll never shake them!" Joel scowled.

"Could they attack us both at the same time?" Kaetar asked.

"There's nothing that would stop them. You know Saira – she's a persistent little bit-"

"I know Saira!"

"At any rate, Daein will catch up with us as long as Saira's in charge. For all we know, she might already have her bow trained on us and we won't even know it."

Saira wasn't a rider for nothing. She was known for being a good leader and trainer, but she found herself in that position with a reputation of killing bandits. She grabbed every opportunity that she could and eventually grabbed the attention of Kaetar's father when there was an opening to be a rider – the last one retired. Kaetar could remember why it was such a surprise that Adrien did pick her over others. She was not from a high class family and she was rather young when she first joined. To everyone else, she was a nobody and suddenly, she was a rider and one of the top positions in Daein.

His father didn't seem to regret his decision. She was a good front line commander, even if she tended to be one of the ruder riders. Unless you were one of her soldiers, she just didn't care all that much.

Kaetar sighed. Joel helped him up onto his horse. Joel wouldn't mind if he took a small nap.

I'm tired of looking at this chapter for proofreading, so I'm sorry if there's any mistakes. It's also early two in the morning while uploading and I have a midterm in less than twelve hours. Yay.

Also, just wanted to take some time to thank my reviewers for taking the time to review. There's three of you that take the time to post your thoughts one almost every chapter and I love taking the time to read and reread them. So thanks again!

Finally, there's going to be a perspective change coming up soon. The next chapter stays with Kaetar but the one after, we're going back to Adrien. I got the idea to squeeze another chapter from one of the reviews - I thought it was an interesting idea to address. It also gives me the chance to introduce the last two riders, so stayed turned.