A/N: Sorry for the long wait for this. School got insanely busy. To make up for it, here's a nice long chapter that I wrote most of today to catch up on my word count for NaNoWriMo. DISCLAIMER: Any thing, one, or place you may recognize belongs solely to Kristen Britain. I own nothing.

Fastion

It had been another fruitless search of the Tombs for the second day in a row. There was just so much ground to cover. Fastion wanted to punch something he was so frustrated. True, they were only in the third ring of the search area, but surely they would have found something by now. He sighed as he entered the Weapons wing, situated in a barely used part of the castle. It was close enough to the royal chambers if they were needed in a hurry, but secluded enough to remain unknown to the majority of the castle's population. Right now the only thing Fastion cared about was that it was the place where his bed was located. He was exhausted.

He had just reached his chambers when he heard the sound of running footsteps coming from behind him. He turned to see Patrick, a new recruit fresh off Breaker Island, running towards him.

"Fastion, Willis sent me to find you," the young man said, his red hair plastered to his forehead.

"What happened?" Fastion felt his heart rate pick up. Willis had watch over Karigan at the moment.

"Rider Sir G'ladheon, she's gone. She escaped from the Mending Wing and now no one can find her."

Fastion groaned. If Karigan had left the Mending Wing on her own it meant she was probably using her ability. If that was the case then it would be near impossible to find her, especially since night had fallen over the city a couple of hours ago.

"Who knows about this?" he asked as he broke into a jog towards the Mending Wing.

"Only the other Weapons and of course Captain Mapstone and Mistress Elayne, given the circumstances we thought it best to keep it contained."

"Good. What kind of search efforts have been made?"

"At the moment, just preliminary. The Weapons were asked to keep an eye out and some of the older Green Riders who are currently in residence. We didn't want to launch a full scale search of the castle and grounds and risk alerting whatever Second Empire presence there may be in the castle to the fat that their most wanted enemy is on her own in the castle and we have no idea where she is."

Fastion slowed to a brisk walk as they neared the main part of the castle. Despite the late hour the corridors were still pretty full of people more than likely returning from dinner and socializing. He was glad to hear that the situation seemed to be under control as far as how it was being handled. The rest of it was just a mess. He was going to rake Willis over the coals for this.

Three minutes later the two Weapons arrived in the Mending Wing. Willis was waiting for them in front of the room Karigan had been in. He was as close as a Weapon could be to looking sheepish. He barely met Fastion's eye as he approached.

"What happened Willis?" he demanded.

"Karigan happened. You know how she gets when she puts her mind to something. She had been demanding to be released earlier, despite the fact that she knows the Second Empire may be in the castle. Ben and I managed to talk her out of it. I think she realized that she didn't have as much energy as she thought and after that she went back to sleep for a couple of hours.

"I was on watch out here when she suddenly screamed. I went in to make sure that everything was okay only there was no one in there, not even Karigan. She probably used her ability to get past me when I came in. I should have seen it coming, especially considering this morning."

Fastion agreed, but decided against pointing it out right now. He knew his fellow Weapon well enough to know that Willis was beating himself up enough.

"Was there anyone else in the room today besides you and Ben?"

Willis shook his head. "No one other than her friend Rider Brennan. She brought a change of clothes for Karigan for when she is released from the Mending Wing. She said she was asked to bring them."

"She was asked to bring them?"

"Yes."

"Okay, you go talk to her and ask her about the message and who delivered it. In the mean time I'll go see if I can't track down Karigan. I think I have an idea of where she may be."

"Good luck."

Mara

Mara was sitting in the Rider common room, immersed in Rider schedules and rotations when she became aware that it was uncharacteristically quiet. She looked up and was surprised to see the Weapon Willis standing in the doorway. All the Riders were gawking at the black shadow, especially the younger ones.

"Rider Brennan, if there somewhere we can talk?" he asked her.

"Sure." Mara set aside her papers and stood, stretching the kinks out of her neck. She had been sitting in the chair for the past two hours and her aching back was reminding her of it. She walked up to Willis and motioned for him to follow her, walking down the corridor to a half-full storage room. At this time of the night there was no one else there. Since Karigan had joined the Riders Mara seemed to dealing with the Weapons more often. In the dim light coming from the hallway Willis's black uniform blended in with the surroundings making him appear to be a disembodied head and hands.

"So what's going on?"

"Karigan's gone missing. You said earlier that someone had told you to bring her a change of clothes?" he said.

Mara knitted her eyebrows together in confusion. Her friend was missing and they were concerned about Karigan's clothes?

"Yes, a Green Foot runner found me and gave me the message. It was from one of the menders asking that I bring Karigan's things to her as she would be discharged from the Mending Wing soon"

"Did the runner say which Mender sent them?"

She thought for a second before shaking her head. "No, sorry, he didn't. I didn't think to ask either. Why? Do you think she's in some kind of trouble?" If she had unwittingly aided in a plot to harm Karigan she would never forgive herself.

"Do you remember the messenger's name?" he asked instead of answering her question, which did nothing to assuage her fears.

"Connor, Connor Dunlevy."

"Thank you Mara," he said making to leave.

"Find her Willis. She's been through enough on her own," she said as he reached the door.

He turned back to her, his normally granite hard face soft, "Don't worry, we'll find her. We're not going to lose her again.

Second Empire

Getting the clothes and the brooch into the G'ladheon woman's room had been so simple. The Green Foot boy hadn't suspected a thing of the average-looking man in the borrowed Mender's smock and clothing. The other Green Rider, the one with the burn scars and red hair, had managed to get them past that oaf of a Black Shield guarding the door. Honestly, one of the king's precious terriers could have done a better job at guarding the door.

He wondered how his colleague in the Tombs was faring with his information gathering. By getting rid of the G'ladheon trouble maker and gaining the key to the D'yer Wall, Mornhavon and the Second Empire would be virtually unstoppable.

The G'ladheon woman had taken the bait just as he had known she would and she was now loose on the castle grounds. He just didn't know where. He had planned on following her to a quiet area of the castle or grounds and efficiently dispatching of her. She shouldn't be much of a problem in her current weakened state. He hadn't planned on her ability working quite so well, He'd lost her in some of the more poorly lit corridors of the castle.

He had wandered through the corridors trying to find a trace of her passage, but failed. The betrayer's descendant seemed to have a better knowledge of the castle's corridors than he did. He wanted to scream in frustration. They had been so close. By now people would be looking for her.

He made his way back towards the Mending Wing after his failed attempt at eliminating the troublesome Rider. Grandmother was not going to be pleased with him.

The sight of two Weapons in the Mending Wing brought him up short. He recognized both of them as normally being assigned to protect the king. One of them had been the one guarding the G'ladheon woman's room earlier. The other was a friend of hers and one of the higher up members of the Black Shields. Perfect.

They seemed to be deep in conference about something. He tried to get closer to hear, but they were talking so quietly it was impossible to hear anything without it being obvious that he was listening. He was debating what to do when they broke off their conversation and headed in different directions. One of them headed in his direction and he quickly ducked around the corner. He watched the Weapon's retreating back for a moment before deciding to follow him.

Willis

Willis was berating himself for letting Karigan disappear on his watch. He was on his way to see if he could find the Green Foot runner Mara had told him about. The people who were still in the corridors moved out of the way as the Weapon moved past. As she walked he got a sense that he was being followed. After taking a few inconspicuous turns that no one but an insider would notice, he was convinced. The feeling hadn't gone away. He decided to wait to do anything about it until after he had talked to Connor. He had a hunch that the person following him was connected to Karigan's disappearance.

He located the office of the man who ran the Green Foot runners, Patrick Valen. Willis knocked on the door. He knew Valen kept late hours in case a runner was needed. Within a few moments Valen opened the door, starting at seeing a Weapon standing there.

"Weapon Willis, what can I do for you?"

"I'm looking for one of your runners, a Connor Dunlevy. Do you know where I can find him?"

"Connor? Has he done something wrong?"

"No, I just need to talk to him about a message that he delivered earlier today."

"Yes, of course. He lives with his family. His parents are both servants to Lord and Lady Hillcrest of L'Petrie province. I assume you know where they are?"

"I do, thank you."

"I hope you find the answers you're looking for. Goodnight."

Willis headed towards where many of the minor noble families kept rooms in the palace. It didn't surprise him that this is where he would find the Green Foot runner. The Green Foot was made up largely of the children of lesser nobles and favored servants. As he walked he had the sensation of being followed again. He continued walking though, wanting to see if his earlier hunch would pay off.

He found the Hillcrest chambers easily enough. They were the only L'Petrie nobles in this corridor. He knocked on the door and waited. In a moment the door was opened by a middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair that fell to his shoulders. He was still dressed for the evening in a simple waistcoat, shirt, and breeches.

"Good evening sir. How can I help you?" he asked seeming unfazed at finding a member of the Black Shields standing on the other side of the door.

"I'm looking for a Mr. and Mrs. Dunlevy," Willis informed him.

"I'm Mr. Dunlevy, what is this about?"

"Mr. Dunlevy, is your son Connor here? I need to talk with him."

The man looked puzzled but nodded. "Just a moment." He left the door open as he left to find his son. While Willis waited, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end the feeling of being watched was so intense. He didn't give in to the temptation to turn around though.

Mr. Dunlevy reappeared with his son in tow. The boy looked to be around twelve with a curly mop of dark brown curls and a smattering of freckles on his face. He looked at Willis with wide eyes.

He crouched down to be at eye level with the boy. "Are you Connor?"

The boy gave him a frantic nod.

"You're not in trouble Connor. I need to know about a message you delivered earlier. Can you help me with that?"

"I'll try."

"Good man. Now, do you remember delivering a message from one of the menders to Rider Mara Brennan?"

Connor thought for a moment before nodding.

"Good, can you describe the mender to me or tell me his name?"

"He didn't give me a name, but he was kind of short and thin with really pale hair and ice eyes."

"Ice eyes? What do you mean?" Willis asked him.

"Yeah, like really pale blue and cold looking. Kind of like the way the ice fields that we learn about in school are described."

"Can you remember anything else?"

"Yeah, he had a funny ink stain on his hand. I saw it when he was handing the message to me."

Willis felt a jolt of recognition go through him. Members of the Second Empire all had tattoos on their hands. "Can you tell me what that mark looked like?"

"It looked kind of like a tree but it was all twisted and stuff and it didn't have any leaves on it."

So it was true that Second Empire had managed to find its way back into the castle. Although, to be honest, they probably never completely left. They had proven themselves to be particularly good at blending in.

"I didn't deliver anything bad did I?" Connor's voice broke through his thoughts. He looked at the boy who was chewing on his bottom lip nervously.

"No Connor, you didn't deliver anything bad. We just need to talk to the Mender about something. You've been a big help." Connor beamed at him as he straighten back up. "If you see him again you come find me or one of the other Weapons okay?"

The boy nodded, pleased with given such a responsibility from a Black Shield.

Willis ruffled his hair. "Good. I have to go report back to the others now. Goodnight to you both." Mr. Dunlevy nodded as he pulled Connor back inside the room and shut the door. Willis paused for a moment and then abruptly turned in the opposite direction of where he had said he was going. As he turned he caught a glimpse of pale hair and a short, reedy frame before the person disappeared around the corner.

"Stop!" Willis called after the person as he gave chase. He turned down the hallway the man had disappeared into to see him already halfway down. Willis sprinted after him.

"You there, halt! In the name of the king I order you to stop!" The man only ran faster before darting down another corridor.

It went on like this for a few minutes until they reached one of the abandoned parts of the castle. Despite being a head and a half shorter than Willis the other man had the advantage of being faster and had been steadily gaining ground. He turned into a dark corridor, fading from sight. Willis gave chase until the darkness and the ever widening distance between him and his quarry finally made him concede defeat. He stumbled to a stop and listened to the other man's running footsteps fade tauntingly into the distance.

Fastion

Fastion was just another shadow moving across the castle grounds that were bathed in the faint silver light coming from the crescent moon hanging low in the sky. He was fairly certain that Karigan had left the Mending Wing of her own volition, meaning that she would then go somewhere she wanted to go. The had already checked the Rider wing, the royal gardens, the castle roof, and all the other places they might be likely to find her, but she hadn't been in any of them. He was headed to the only place they hadn't looked since she didn't have any reason to be there. Fastion knew her well enough to know that that wouldn't matter to Karigan. He had found her there before when needed comfort and solace in times of crisis.

The Rider stables were quiet at this time of night after evening feeding and most of the Riders were done for the day. Only the occasional stomp of a hoof or a snort broke the silence as he walked along the aisle of stalls. When he reached Condor's stall he found it empty. Fastion knew the gelding was on his way back from the wall still, but he had thought that maybe he would find Karigan there.

A horse popped their head over the stall door to his left and gave him a sleepy nicker. Fastion went over and let the bay mare smell his hands before rubbing her ears. The nameplate on the stall read Phoebe. Fastion recognized the name from the reports about Blackveil. She had been Rider Cardell's horse. He wondered who was riding her now.

"You haven't seen Karigan have you girl?" he inquired of the horse. Her only response was to butt him in the chest with her head. "I didn't think so." He gave the mare one last pat and was about to turn away when a small voice caught his attention.

"Fastion?"

He moved Phoebe aside and leaned over the stall door. Buried in the shadowy corner to the right of the door right of the door sat Karigan.

Karigan

After Karigan had broken free of the confines of the Mending Wing she felt like she could breathe a little easier, even with the effects of using her ability weighing down on her. Once she felt that she was far enough away, she paused for a moment to figure out where to go next. She immediately ruled out the Rider Wing and the Castle Gardens. Those would be the first places they would look for her. After deliberating for another few seconds she finally settled on a destination.

When she reached the Rider stables Karigan automatically headed for Condor's stall before she remembered that he wasn't there. She stared at the empty stall, wishing her best friend wasn't still at the D'yer wall. He was always the one she came to whenever she needed to make sense of things. And she definitely needed to make sense of things. She sighed and brushed at the tears forming in her eyes. How was it possible to have your whole world turned upside down in only a few days? Sacor City seemed like a completely foreign place to her. Everything had changed in the time she had been away in Blackveil and Eletia.

Two of her closest friends were together and while she was genuinely happy for them, it still hurt a little. Blackveil had claimed the life of another good friend and the lives of others she had come to care about. Mornhavon was back and who knew what was going to happen. There appeared to have been a complete upheaval in the administration of the castle. The worst part of it all though was the king. The king who was married. The king and his hurtful words the other night. All the possibilities that had been taken away and would never happen now. Not that there was much of a chance of them happening to begin with, what with her being a merchant's daughter and he a king.

A horse snorted to her left, making Karigan glance over. She felt a pang of sadness run through her when she saw that it was Phoebe, Yates's bay mare. She must have been brought back to the castle after news of his death had reached them. She went over and stroked the mare's nose. Phoebe regarded her with gentle brown eyes that reminded Karigan so much of the mare's former Rider. She could have sworn that she saw a hint of sadness in the mare's eyes. Karigan wondered if she had been assigned to another Rider yet.

She picked up the grooming kit sitting next to the stall door and let herself in. She could make out the mare's three white socks and one stocking in the moonlight coming through the open window in the back of the stall. She remembered how Yates used to always meticulously clean the mud and dirt from Phoebe's legs after every ride. He couldn't have his girl being dirty while he was comfortable. The sadness that she had been trying to hold at bay finally engulfed Karigan and her knees buckled as she crumpled into the corner of the stall. She didn't think her heart was able to shatter into any more pieces, but apparently it was.

Phoebe came over and rested her muzzle on Karigan's knees as the sobs took over again. Why did Yates have to die? It should have been her. She was the one Mornhavon wanted. She would never forget Mornhavon looking at her through her friend's eyes or speaking with Yates's voice. It had haunted her nightmares for weeks and still popped up occasionally.

Finally the tears subsided. Karigan felt drained. Maybe she would never be able to shed another tear again. She thought that sounded like a good idea.

Phoebe's warm breath puffed across her face as the mare nudged her knees. Karigan absently reached up and stroked the mare's face. Phoebe was a little like Yates in a way. Karigan always thought Rider horses picked up a little of their Rider's personalities throughout their partnership. Phoebe was pretty simple and undemanding and seemed to sense people's emotions better than most other horses. She also seemed to know how to make feel better when they needed it much like Yates used to. Like now when she calmly stood over Karigan offering silent comfort.

The two sat there for almost an hour like that before Karigan heard someone enter the stables. They were so quiet she didn't realize they were there until Phoebe pricked her ears towards the sound and a few moments later Karigan could hear whispering footsteps in the aisle. They stopped at Condor's stall and for a brief moment Karigan remembered that the Second Empire may be back on the castle grounds. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. Phoebe moved over to the door and stuck her head over, nickering at whoever it was. A moment later she got an answer to who the mystery person was when he asked Phoebe where Karigan was.

"Fastion?"

A moment later the Weapon's familiar face appeared as he leaned over the half door to look into the stall. He looked relieved to see her.

"There you are. I thought I might find you here somewhere," he said when he spotted her sitting in the corner. He let himself in and came over to where she was. She watched as he sat down next to her, so close their shoulders were touching. He didn't say anything for a minute to two. He just sat there, a sturdy bulwark against the night.

Eventually he broke the silence, "You know you gave us all a minor heart attack when you disappeared like that."

Karigan winced, "Sorry."

"Those clothes brought to your room by your friend Mara were likely the work of the Second Empire. They knew you would likely take the opportunity to escape and you played right into their hands. You're lucky I found you before they did," he told her looking straight ahead. Karigan hadn't considered that possibility. She hadn't really considered anything other than she had the chance to get out of the Mending Wing.

"I hadn't thought about that. I didn't really think about any of it honestly."

He nodded, "I know, which is why I'm telling you this. We already thought we had lost you once. We can't handle the possibility that we could lose you again, this time for good."

"I'm sorry. I just had to get out of there. I was suffocating."

He turned his head to look at her. "I know. Just think next time before you act. It'll keep me from going prematurely gray."

The joke startled a laugh out of Karigan, which earned her a rare smile from the Weapon. It was easy to forget that underneath that black uniform and emotionless exterior that the Weapons were still people. Karigan got to see a side of them that few people knew about. They were some of her closest friends. Fastion especially, had become a particularly good friend over the years. She leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed.

"Thank you."

"For what?" he asked her.

"For being here. For being a good friend. For being the one solid thing in my broken life. For just, well, everything," she said trying to keep her eyes open.

"It's my pleasure," he said but she was already asleep. He settled more comfortably against the wall. Phoebe dozed in the opposite corner. Fastion looked down at his sleeping friend.

"You're not broken."

A/N: As always I would love to know what you think. Leave a message after this note. ~Naomi