"Why does Mary insist on bringing cream? She knows neither one of us takes it in our tea."

Ahamo looked up from the papers he was holding. "A bit edgy, aren't we?"

"It's a waste." Orianah huffed before she finished pouring the tea and crossed the room to hand it to him.

"You're a genius." Ahamo said as he took the cup.

She smiled for him, knowing that was what he was looking for. "I thought you were already aware of that, dear."

He flipped through the papers in his hands. "One hundred and fifty men in two days. Very impressive."

Her plan was simple. Under the guise of still deploying troops and supplies and trying to keep it quiet, Orianah had baited the spy she now knew to be somewhere in Finaqua or along her chain of command. She had let slip three different missions: one to the Southern Forest, another to the Eastern Territories, and the last to the villages of the west. The traps to the south and east had been sprung. In each instance, bands of Long Coats had arrived to ambush the Royal Army's troops. What they found were alert soldiers, outfitted for battle.

"I just wonder," she walked the length of the study, "why the western mission was spared."

"Perhaps we didn't make enough noise about it." Ahamo offered. "Or there were no Long Coat divisions close enough to take advantage of the supply train."

"Even before this whole mess started, the west was thick with Long Coats. It was the one I was most expecting to be hit."

Ahamo nodded. "If you're right, perhaps our treacherous friend is a soldier of fortune. He's just passing along what information he can come by."

"Then that excludes the chain of command." Orianah reasoned. "Every order, every deployment passes down that line."

"So it is someone in Finaqua." Ahamo finished for her.

"Both a relief and a disturbing thought all at the same time." She crossed her arms. "I can trust the generals, but I can't trust my own cook-staff or the soldier that guards my door."

"You have Tutor." Ahamo came closer and hugged her. "And you have me."

She smiled into his shoulder. "And that will get us through this."

He arrived quietly on the streets of Rigmar, dressed as one of the common people who roamed it. In the early morning, the city was dead. It was at night that this haven for degenerates came to life.

They needed to end this. The princess needed to be captured. And soon. A conference with Lilith that morning revealed that Orianah had upped the ante and begun laying traps for his Long Coats. He had told her to relay to her spy that he still wanted whatever information they could get, but he would no longer send men to attack Orianah directly.

Besides, it was pointless if they were as close to the objective as he thought they were.

Unhurriedly, he walked beside Rawson, who was dressed in similar fashion to Zero. "Your man is sure?"

"He seemed to be." Rawson replied as he turned. "The man that came to him was quite adamant."

They abandoned further conversation as they slipped into the shadows of a dirty alley and, splashing through the filthy water that pooled at its center. Rawson led the way to a slimy wooden door and pushed it open. Zero walked through first, taking in the room.

It was lit by a single bare light bulb that illuminated the cracked walls. Beneath this orb stood a large man with oily, dark hair smoking a cigarette. On his forehead was a bloodied bandage. Another man stood in the dimness, just beyond the light's reach.

Zero moved forward with measured steps. He knew this type of man. He had dealt with his kind before. This would be entertaining. "You have information for me?"

"Word is," the man said in an arrogant tone, as he pulled a flyer from his pocket, "you're lookin' for this broad."

Broad. What a way to speak of royalty. He took the paper and unfolded to reveal the Princess Azkadellia's face. "I am. You've seen her?"

The man gingerly touched the bandage. "We've met."

"Where is she?"

"Now, now." The man stepped forward and tapped the flyer, pointing to the line that said 'Reward'. "You owe me something."

Zero looked past the man to the Long Coat that stood in the shadows. A knife appeared in his hand and it was pressed swiftly to the man's throat.

Zero's smile turned feral as the arrogance vanished in a flash. The man sputtered as the Long Coat pressed the blade's edge deeper against his flesh. He repeated. "Where is she?"

"She was at the Phanfasm last night." The man was spilling his lousy guts. "When the fight started, she and the guys she was with ran out the back with one of the bouncers. Dark-haired chick."

Zero nodded to the man again and the grease ball jumped away as the knife left his throat. He rubbed at his neck and straightened his stained jacket.

"I thank you for your help." Zero said.

"Keep your thanks, give me the money." The overconfidence was back as quickly as it had fled

"You'll get what's coming to you." Zero turned, nodding to Rawson to follow. "Find this club, find this woman. I want the princess's location tonight, before she moves again."

"Yes sir."

Zero closed the door behind him as a scream of pain was cut short.

"Hey, check it out." DG called happily as Jeb reentered the camp. "I have made fire."

He gave her a half-amused smirk as he leaned the rifle up against a tree and bringing a pair of rabbits he had shot closer to the fire. "Congratulations."

Jeb had led them off the Brick Road about a kilometer to camp for the night. After he had them settled in a nice little cove near a crystal stream, he had given DG permission to start a small fire as long as she found dry tinder so there would be very little smoke. Meanwhile, he had doubled back to make sure no one was following.

"Where's Raw?"

"He went off to find his own dinner. You said something about hunting and he took off." DG poked at her campfire with a stick, still feeling pretty proud of herself despite Jeb's lackluster response. "He seemed kind of queasy."

"Viewers are vegetarians. They're ability to 'See' makes it hard for them to inflict pain on any living creature, so they stick to stuff that doesn't scream when you eat it."

"What about the skins that Raw wears, though? An animal had to die to make those."

"That's true," Jeb settled himself beside the fire and drew out his hunting knife to skin and dress the rabbits, "but they don't have a lot of choices when it comes to clothes. Most of them live in remote villages and they don't have the means to weave fabric. They have to rely on animals for that, but unless they are truly hard-pressed, Viewers will only take sickly and dying animals. Even then, it's hard for them. That's why most Viewers only have one or two sets of clothes and they take very good care of them."

DG looked up from the fire. "How do you know all of this?"

He gave her an odd look. It was furtive as though he had said too much. "Just stuff you pick up here and there."

She kind of doubted that, but let it pass. She watched Jeb work and then rig up a spit over the fire. "How do you like your 'peasant pheasant' done, m'lady?"

She had to laugh at him a bit. "Well done, thank you."

They were quiet for a few minutes, listening to the sounds of the night as it closed in around them. It didn't take long for the aroma of the cooking meat to permeate the hollow, making DG's stomach rumble. She had never had rabbit, but after riding all day with very little to eat, she was more than ready to try it. "Do you think your Dad and the others are on their way back to Finaqua yet?"

Just like his father, Jeb stiffened at the mention of the other Cain. "I would think so."

"He's going to be worried."

"I'm sure." Jeb said in an off-hand manner that made it clear he wasn't happy with the current topic. "He'll get over. Or maybe he won't. Who knows with him?"

DG was working up the nerve to ask Jeb about what was going on between him and his father again when Jeb cocked his head as if listening. "Here, watch dinner a second."

DG took over the spit as Jeb got to his feet and hurried towards the stream. He knelt down and she could hear him splashing in the water. After a minute, he stood, gently cradling something in his hands.

"What do you have?" DG asked as he came back.

Jeb gave her an embarrassed look as he pulled some dry, soft leaves together into a pile near the fire. Gently, he laid the little mouse he was holding down on them.

The poor creature was soaking wet after its inadvertent swim. Its soft gray fur was plastered to its body and it was shaking uncontrollably. The fine little whiskers drooped and the tiny creature's small black eyes were closed. DG had serious doubts that it was going to live through the shock.

DG gazed at the pitiful thing before looking to Jeb. "You saved a mouse?"

He still looked chagrin as he took the spit back from her. "Is that so odd?"

DG scooted over to make room for him. "Kind of. For a guy that just shot two rabbits."

"That's different. We need to eat." He gazed into the flames. "But sometimes, there's just no need for death. Some people see enough of it and they get immune. Numb to the sufferings of others. I promised I wouldn't end up being one of those people."

"Promised who?" DG asked quietly. She had a feeling she knew the answer.

"My mother." Jeb replied. "It never mattered how small or insignificant a creature was, man or beast, she'd help it if she could."

Cain never talked about his wife. Not to any of them. DG had often wondered if it was healthy, but she never confronted him with it. DG had never lost anyone close to her and she wasn't about to question how someone else mourned.

She didn't know how Jeb would take it, but she felt the need to express her condolences. "I'm sorry she's gone."

"Thank you." He surprised her with his quiet graciousness. It was a few more seconds before he spoke again. "You two would have probably gotten along well. Mom was a magnet for trouble, too."

DG smiled as he chuckled and removed the meat from the fire. She looked over to the small mouse again. It had stopped shivering and had curled up contentedly on the bed Jeb had made for it. Maybe it would survive after all.

A/N: I've been enjoying adding little 'Easter eggs' (as Invder Lava likes to call them) out there for you guys to spot, but be forewarned: I'm not following anything strictly. Just sorta-kinda. I have pulled stuff from the book, and the movie, and the miniseries. If things are a little out of order along DG's road, well, you're all just going to have to trust me.

You do trust me, right? You should see my wicked grin right now.