Oh my gosh, thank you guys so much for your reviews! I hope you all enjoy this next chapter :D Oh, and to the excited Guest reviewer who wrote in all-caps, I am really glad that you're getting into the story so much! We'll see what happens in this next chapter. I've been planning this for a while, so I hope you enjoy it!

CHAPTER ELEVEN

As soon as they were out of sight of the palace gates, Leo climbed up behind Mikey on the horse and together they rode into the woods.

"Alright," Mikey said when they came to a crossroads, "Now, which way to the Daimyo do you think Usagi took?"

"Probably the direct route," Leo said, "He's on official business and he wants to get there fast, so I doubt he'll take any of the longer ways."

"Unless he was being followed." Mikey offered.

"Prince, why would he be followed?" Leo asked.

"Well, he told the Steward that he was searching for stuff about the Foot clan, right?" Mikey asked, "So maybe Saki had him followed because of that."

"Maybe," Leo said, "But I still think he took the direct route."

"So that's where we're going!" Mikey said, taking the path on the left.

"Wait! Don't go this way," Leo cautioned, "If the Purple Dragons are smart, they'll already be watching all the main roads."

"Nah," Mikey said, continuing down the road, "They're probably just busy setting up camp or something. Now hang on tight! We're going to gallop. We gotta catch up to Usagi."

"Let's just get through these woods as fast as we can," Leo mumbled.

The horse began to go faster and faster until they were in a gallop, and suddenly-almost too fast for Leo to see what happened-the saddle broke. Mikey slipped off with it sideways, and although Leo managed to hold onto him and slow his fall Mikey's weight ended up pulling both of them to the ground.

The horse, meanwhile, kept on running.

"What-what just happened?" Mikey asked, sitting up.

"Get down!" Leo shouted, pushing Mikey to the ground, "Listen, whatever you do, don't tell anyone who you really are," he whispered.

"What?" Mikey asked.

"Just trust me!" Leo whispered.

"Alright, you snail fodder! Get up."

Leo slowly stood up, and Mikey quickly followed.

The road they were on was now surrounded by at least twenty rough-looking armed men and women.

"What's going on?" Mikey asked.

"We've got you surrounded," the roughest, biggest looking guy said. He was probably the leader. "Say hello to the Purple Dragons, kiddies."

"You cut the saddle, didn't you." Leo said. It wasn't a question.

"Of course we did." The leader said, "We were gonna steal that horse like you two villagers did. Or maybe you didn't steal it, you were just gonna run to the neighbors for help. It doesn't matter. We lost the horse, so you'll have to make up for what we lost with manual labor."

"That doesn't sound fair," Mikey said.

"Oh, it's fair all right." The leader said, "That is, fair to us Dragons. Tie 'em up!"

"Hun, why don't we send them back to the village as a message?" Someone asked as Leo's wrists were being tied behind his back.

"Because you never know when someone might be worth something." The leader responded, "And besides, at least one of them knows how to ride a horse. Put them both in the prison; I'll deal with them later."

Rough hands lifted Mikey and Leo off the ground, and suddenly they were off the path and being carried through the woods.

"You know," Mikey called over to Leo as they went further and further away from the path, "I am really, really sorry I got you into this."


The prison was a structure that sat in the middle of a clearing, where it could be watched on all sides. When Leo and Mikey were brought inside, one of the Purple Dragons grabbed a weapon from a rack on the inside wall and brandished it in from of one of the cell doors.

"Now don't anybody get any ideas," the Dragon said, apparently talking to whoever was inside the cell, "Anyone tries to escape and they'll get it good!"

The cell door was unlocked and opened, and someone shoved Leo and Mikey in.

"Here ya are, slimeballs. Get used to your new home." Someone said, and the door clanged shut behind them.

"We'll leave you ta get ta know each other," the Dragon with the weapon said, "Sleep tight!"

And with various pitches of unfriendly laughter, the three Dragons who had thrown them in the cell walked heavily out the prison door, slamming it behind them.

"Um, hi?" Mikey said, looking at all the people in the cell with them.

There were at least five prisoners, not including the new arrivals, and all of them looked dangerous. There was a giant, who looked like he was strong enough to lift up the back wall of the castle, and there was a creepy guy who kept staring at them from the corner. An old man in a cloak was standing just behind the giant, and the remaining two prisoners looked just as wicked as the Purple Dragons. Those two might have once been bounty hunters.

And all these cellmates were staring at them, sizing them up.

"Alright," the giant said, crossing his arms, "Which city?"

"What?" Leo asked.

"Which city?" The creepy guy in the corner asked, "Don't make us say it again, boy."

"We're not in a city," Mikey said, "We're outside the village."

"Which village then?" The giant asked.

"Children," the man in the cloak said, "Let me explain. This prison travels from place to place, and we have been to many villages and many cities. But we do not always know where we are."

"What? That's terrible!" Mikey said, and to Leo's horror, he raced over to the old man's side and gave him a hug, "We're outside the village by the Palace."

"Mikey!" Leo said, stepping close to the young Prince, "Please excuse my brother. He can be a little enthusiastic sometimes."

"It is alright," The man with the cloak said, just as Mikey let go, "Leatherhead, you may relax. These children offer us no threat."

The giant, who had been hovering close to Mikey, took a step back.

"The Palace." The giant named Leatherhead said, "Then we have traveled a long distance."

"It has been a long time since I have laid eyes on it," the cloaked man said, "I originally came from this area, myself."

"Don't tell them anything about us," the creepy guy in the corner said, "They're only going to spill it to the guards the first chance they get."

"No we won't!" Mikey protested.

"Mikey, let me do the talking, alright?" Leo whispered.

"Okay, but we need to come up with a way out of here." Mikey said, "So don't we all need to talk about that?"

One of the bounty-hunter-looking guys scoffed, and the creepy guy started laughing.

"Escape?" He said, "There is no escape."

"Some of us have been here for a long time," Leatherhead explained, "I myself haven't seen the other side of that cell door in ten years."

"Ten years?" Leo asked, "You don't even get out to move the prison?"

"Nope." The creepy guy smiled, "The Purple Dragons take care of that for us. Keep dreaming, kid." The creepy guy turned away from them, "I'm going to get some shuteye. Anyone wake me and they're dead."

Mikey shivered, and Leo pulled him close protectively.

"Do you miss your home, little one?" The kind man in the cloak asked.

"Well, yeah," Mikey said, "But I don't miss it a whole lot, 'cause I haven't been gone long enough."

"At least your brother is here with you." Leatherhead said, looking at Leo.

"What? Oh, um, yeah," Mikey said, "Yeah, we're totally brothers! Totally, totally brothers!"

Leo smacked him in the stomach with an elbow to get him to shut up.

"I can see the family resemblance," Leatherhead said, surprising Mikey, "Still, if you came in here alone, littlest one, I would have thought you belonged to a higher station in life. Your hands haven't seen the amount of labor that your brother's hands have seen."

"He's the youngest," Leo was quick to explain, "We kind of spoil him. But he does his fair share of the work in the kitchen."

"The kitchen?" The man in the cloak asked.

"He's one of the best cooks you'll ever meet." Leo said with pride.

"Really?" Leatherhead asked.

"Yeah!" Mikey said, looking at Leo as if to ask, 'How did you know that?' "When we get out of here, I'm gonna make you the best meal you've ever tasted!"

"I am glad to hear it." Leatherhead said, "I can see why your family does not give you too much work in the fields, young one. Yours is an exceptional personality."

"What is your name, Child?" The cloaked man asked.

"Mikey." Mikey said.

"And yours?" Leatherhead asked, looking at Leo.

"I'd rather keep that to myself for now," Leo said truthfully.

Leatherhead nodded his understanding.

"Tell me," he began, very carefully, "Since we have not been here for a long time, how are things at the Palace these days?"

"They are as well as can be, considering that the Purple Dragons are about to attack." Leo answered.

"Yeah," Mikey agreed.

"And the Princes? How are they doing?" The cloaked man asked.

"They're good," Mikey said, "High Prince Raphael is-"

"Wait. The High Prince is Leonardo," Leatherhead interrupted, "Is it not?"

"Um, no." Mikey said, "Not anymore."

"What?" The cloaked man asked, "Has Oroku Saki chosen Prince Raphael to lead over his brother?"

"Um," Mikey said, turning to Leo.

Leo took the hint and answered the question for his brother.

"The High Prince Leonardo," He said, speaking his own name for the first time in years, "Was declared dead about ten years ago."

"What?" Leatherhead asked.

The cloaked man bowed his head, and one of the two scary tough guys-who Leo thought hadn't been listening-took off his hat.

The creepy man in the corner started laughing, still facing the wall.

"Serves him right," the creepy guy said, "He was probably a spoiled brat anyway."

"Do not speak ill of the dead," Leatherhead chastised, "Young ones, this is a terrible blow. Tell us, how did he die?"

"In his sleep." Mikey spoke up, "That's what they said, anyway."

"It would seem that Saki did not keep his promise to keep the Royal Children safe," the cloaked man said.

"You know about that?" Leo asked.

"My boy, everyone knows about that." Leatherhead said.

The mood seemed to blacken and the black seemed to stiffen. Leo couldn't bear it for much longer, so he straightened himself up.

"Listen," he said, "Are you sure there's no way out of here?"

"We have tried everything." The kind man in the cloak said.

"The cell doors are stronger than they look," Leatherhead explained, "The Purple Dragons have reinforced the bars."

"Well, we're going to try harder." Leo said, "There's no way I'm going to let these Dragons take us from our home, Mikey."