Hey guys I'm back! Well, sort of anyway. I'm sorry for the HUGE Hiatus in the past month, but I've been busy with schoolwork (AP Classes OP) and other activities. Anyway, kind of a short chapter here, but I hope you enjoy it! Big thanks to everyone who has been following this story from the start! You're support is what drives me to write this!

"My prince?"

A voice rang out, barely comprehensible as I slowly woke up from my sleep.

"My prince?"

Ugh, who could it be at this time in the morning? Some people were so inconsiderate.

"I realize you are tired, but you have duties to attend to!"

It was a girl's voice, but it didn't seem to belong to Kuhla, Tia, nor Ulkina. Strange…

"Oh for gods' sake Ruben!"

What was she even talking about? I'm no prince Ruben; I'm Kuda, a Master Assassin for Maxwell's sake! Ah whatever, it's probably another drunkard who wandered into the temple…

"Hey! Didn't you hear me?"

I felt two arms grip my shoulders and pull me up from my resting position. Who does she think she is, grabbing me and-

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" My attacker screamed, shaking me back and forth violently, causing my eyes to jerk open.

I was met not with the vision of my quarters in St. Lamia, but in a dark cave with a pair of golden eyes staring at me inches in front of my face. A smile slowly crept onto her face as she giggled. "That's better. Now, time to get going! You don't want to be late for her."

I said nothing as I rubbed my eyes, who is she? And what is- My thoughts stopped as everything came flooding back to me: the promise, the blizzard, the Sahuagins, the cave, and her. My confusion was quickly replaced by anger as I realized my situation.

"YOU." I growled pushing her away from me. "What the hell are you doing? Just because I saved you doesn't mean you can get all cuddly with me. It's not as if I like you or anything idiot, I just did it because it was convenient for me got it?"

Orna seemed unfazed by my outburst and continued to smile and look me in the eyes. "Teehee…You're so silly Mr. Ruben…" She said lightly. "No wonder Sienna likes you…"

My confusion returned; "What the hell are you talking about?" Who's Sienna? And why do you keep calling me Ruben?"

This incited another giggle from her as she threw herself against me in a hug. "Silly silly silly!" She said in a sing-song voice, rubbing her face up and down my chest as she did so.

"Gah…what…" I stammered, trying to make sense of what was happening. Geez, it's almost like she's drunk or something… And then it hit me: the poison. I casually reached my arm around her back and sure enough, I could feel the hilt of the weapon still wedged in her back. Sahuagin poison occasionally left its victims with hallucinations, leaving them to go insane should the poison remain in their blood. I wrapped my arm around the handle of the trident and gave a sharp pull, extracting it form Orna's back.

Unfortunately, the poison seemed to remain in her blood even though its source was removed as she continued to skip around the cave muttering to herself. I sighed, she somehow managed to get even MORE annoying. Then an idea came to me.

"Hey Orna?"

"Yes, my prince?"

"Uh…I, Prince Ruben, have a job for you." I proclaimed in my most regal-ish voice.

"Anything for you my prince" She said with a bow. How cute

"We are stuck in this cave, you see, and I need to find a way out. However, I cannot accomplish this without your cooperation, do you understand?"

Orna nodded her head.

"Alright, now I cannot accomplish this unless you stay extremely quiet, alright? You don't want us to be stuck here do you?"

Orna shook her head. Gods, it was like talking to a child! Nevertheless, this seemed to work, and she seemed to quiet down. The truth was, I knew EXACTLY how to leave the cave, but having to deal with her "princey" talk for the entire duration of the way out would be unbearable.

"Follow me" I commanded.

"Okie dokie Prince- err I mean mphhh mphhh mphhh." She said, covering her mouth with her hands and smiling to herself.

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever, lets just get out of here."

…

The cave was a lot darker and more winding than I had remembered but we trudged along, with Orna humming the occasional tune only to be silenced by a sharp glance by me. Eventually, I could see a circle of light in the distance. I let out a sigh of relief, finally.

The cave ended and we beheld yet another mass of trees with a dirt path leading through it. Ah, The Nocturnal Forest of Morgan, one-step closer to the passageway to Mistral. Unfortunately, there was still the issue of travelling through yet another forest followed by a cautious trek through the Asekutt Wastelands. All in all this would easily take several days, something I had not taken into account upon planning this entire expedition. What day was it anyway? How long had our journey through the mountains been?

As if on cue, Orna suddenly exclaimed; "Ah finally out of that cave! I can start talking now right? Ooooh what a beautiful Tuesday it is…" Panic struck me as she danced off into a nearby brush. Had it been a week already? How long was I asleep for? How were we- and then I realized something; Why was I rushing in the first place? Oh yeah, because whip-mistress over here wants to go see a festival. That didn't affect my mission at all. Maxwell never put a deadline for my mission, so as long as I completed the mission and recruited Skramya it would be counted as a success right? Plus, Orna was too fuzzy headed at the moment to care about any kind of festival so I could just trick her into thinking she missed the deadline. Yes, nothing could-

"WATCH OUT MY PRINCE!" Orna shouted suddenly, tackling me into a bush. Seconds later, I felt a rush of wind as a red figure swooped past the spot I had previously been standing. The figure did a midair loop and emitted an eerie laugh. It was the cackle of a magic-obsessed psycho; the cackle of a religious fanatic who torched anyone who spoke up against the gods; the cackle of Maxwell's' second in command who stalked anyone with a mission, oh gods it was…it was...

"WAAAAAH It's a witch!"

Yes, yes it was.

Mostly fluff stuff again. Next chapter will be soon (tm) and should be a longer one. Cya guys then!

Yes Reuben and Sierra are OCs, and they will come into play slightly later in the story, so stay tuned!