A/N: Hi guys! Thank you so much for all the reviews! They mean a lot to me! Sorry that it took me so long to update. I've been traveling, and it's taken me longer to get adjusted to the new time zone that I had anticipated. Anyways, thank you all for the reviews, and I hope you enjoy the next chapter! It's a lot shorter, so hopefully it'll be easier to read.

Chapter 3: Day Two, Twilight

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"Wake up!"

"…"

"Roy, wake up!" Robin repeated as he lightly shook the sleeping redhead.

"…ngh…five more minutes…"

"WAKE UP!" the raven hair boy hollered, shaking his teammate roughly.

Red Arrow's eyes snapped open as he shot straight out of the bed in surprise. His eyes sleepily darted around the room before he looked up at the teen standing next to his bed in confusion.

"Ah…what? What's going on?" he asked stupidly.

"Dude, you don't hear the racket from outside? We're under attack! Get dressed, we gotta find the girls!"

Before Roy could further question his younger friend, Robin darted out of the room. As Roy scrambled out of the bed, his legs become entangled in the linen sheets causing him to fall onto the cold, brick floor.

"Oh, come on!" he exclaimed angrily as he kicked the sheets off of him. Once successful, he jumped to his feet and grabbed the clothes on the dresser next to his bed. Quickly, the boy dresses himself while listening to the low baritone sound of gongs that he assumed was the warning bells.

Grabbing his bow and arrow, the archer bounded toward the door and darted down the corridor, retracing his steps from a few hours ago. It didn't take him too long to find the others, who were standing together in the throne room.

"Finally!" Robin commented as he watched Roy enter. Red Arrow huffed in irritation.

"Well, excuse me if I am a sound sleepe—"

"That does not matter right now," Aqualad stated firmly, silencing the quarreling boys, "What matters is how the kingdom has fallen under attack so suddenly and how we can safely escort our charges to Holwhey." The light haired teen looked to King Caeros calmly, despite the chaos they heard outside. The king sighed sadly.

"It seems we have a traitor in our midst. These intruders were led here, by one of our own."

"As for our escape? I shall lead us," Aarlod added, shouldering his knapsack. "The castle has secret passageways that will lead us away from the fray. But we must leave now, Uchisa's men will have the entire castle covered soon."

The four girls, who had observed quietly, began to stir. Cassandra was the first to speak.

"You cannot believe we will willingly leave Ebeysa like this? His men greatly outnumber ours, the kingdom will fall by sunrise."

Aerebella laid a hand on her sister's arm. "What help will we be staying here? We are Ebeysa's last hope. If we were to perish, then all hope is lost."

Cassandra glanced at Aerebella before looking down at her feet, accepting the reality of her older sister's words.

"There isn't much time. You eight must leave now." King Caeros said as he approached each of his children, embracing them hurriedly. "Sonya: look after your sisters, especially Keena. Aerie: keep the others from quarreling. Cassandra: keep the morale up; it is a long and arduous journey. Keena: comfort your sisters should they become afraid. Aarlod: above all else, keep them safe. I pray that your mother is looking down upon you and sending her blessings. May the goddess Yundi protect you."

The five royals nodded, promising their father to do as he asked. Aarlod looked over at the three boys, signaling them to follow him.

Without another glance at King Caeros, Aarlod led the troupe out of the throne room, leading them down a corridor Kaldur had not seen before. They didn't walk very far before Aarlod extended his hand out, a familiar green glow emanating from it. The rock wall sunk in, and a passageway appeared. Hastily, the group climbed through the entrance. The passageway was narrow, and from the looks of it, only went in a single direction.

Robin was becoming anxious as they walked; he didn't like feeling trapped. After what felt like an eternity, Aarlod gestured for them to stop walking. From what he could tell, they had reached a dead end. But a glow from Aarlod's hand indicated that the priest was about to create an exit for them.

Robin's assumption was proven correct as the rocks disappeared in front of them, the starry night greeting them as they made their way outside.

"We do not have much time," Aarlod insisted once they were all out of the passageway. "We must head for the Forest of Galar. There are many caverns in which we can hide during the daylight. But for now, we must travel until the sun rises."

Robin followed Aarlod and resumed his trek, but quickly noticed that Keena had not. He turned around and saw her staring up at the castle, listening to the battle cries of her fellow Ebeysans as they combated the trespassers. Robin jogged back to where the girl stood and put a hand on her shoulder. She jumped at the contact, but relaxed when she discovered it was Robin.

"My sisters and I have never left Ebeysa before," she whispered to the boy, her green eyes dark.

"It'll be okay," Robin insured her, "You'll be back here soon enough." Keena tore her eyes from the castle and watched the boy next to her closely.

"Promise?"

The Boy Wonder knew he shouldn't make promises he didn't know he could keep, but there was such earnest in her voice that he couldn't help but promise her. She gave him a small smile before she walked away, following her big brother and sisters.

The cries of her people bothered Cassandra greatly, and she made her upset quite clear to her travel companions. "We are nothing more than cowards for turning our backs on our people!"

"Cassandra, would you just shut up?" Sonya demanded irritably, "We have not been trained to fight, we would have been in the way. What will it take for you to see that?"

"Do you even care that hundreds of people are dying out there right now?" Cassandra retorted angrily, "You always remain so stoic Sonya that sometimes I wonder if you even have a heart."

"It is a stressful time for all of us," Aerie intervened, "Let us not spend it fighting amongst each other. It does no good."

"I would advise no more talking," Aarlod warned, "We are still well within enemy lines."

A tense silence descended upon the group of eight, smothering them. But no one spoke, for fear of alerting the enemy to their whereabouts. The tension lifted some as they reached the Forest of Galar, but they all remained quiet.

Every rustle would cause Roy to tense as he directed his bow in the direction he heard the sound. Aarlod had not mentioned what creatures dwelled in the Forest of Galar, leaving Red Arrow's imagination to conjure images of sword wielding bears or some other terrifying mystical animal that he prayed he wouldn't encounter.

But the forest remained quiet the entire night, and by the time the sun began to rise, the kingdom of Ebeysa was no longer in sight. Thanks to the now rising sun, Kaldur could see Aarlod point to a cave a few yards away from them.

"We will rest in there until the sun sets. In order to assure that we are not caught by surprise by any human or creature, the four of us—" the priest paused to look at the three superheroes "—will take turns watching the area while the others sleep. I shall take first shift."

"I'll take second shift," Kaldur offered.

"Third," Robin volunteered. Everyone faced Roy, eyeing him expectantly. He turned his head to look at the person standing behind him, only to discover that there was no one behind him. The red headed teen looked back at the others, a forced smile on his face.

"C'mon guys…can I volunteer first shift tomorrow? It's been a really long day for me."

"Roy…" Kaldur admonished quietly.

"Oh, fine then!" Roy sneered. "I'll take the last shift, geez."

With Aarlod remaining close to the entrance of the cave, the remaining seven travelers moved toward the back of the cavern before collapsing onto the floor. Although it was uncomfortable, the group weary travelers was soon fast asleep.

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A/N: So yeah, it was definitely a lot shorter and not as detail oriented. Do you guys like that better? Or do you like longer chapters? Let me know so I can improve this story! I welcome any critiques! And I hope you guys liked the extra Roy moments…he's so much fun to write.

Thanks to Sunahu, kenZibenZi, Kokyou Konran, and sweetpea999 for the use of their characters. I will be introducing new characters in the next few chapters!

Thanks again for reading! I'll try to update soon.