"Sir, we can't find him anywhere," the caravan hand reported.

Barnet gave him an irritated look.

"No one has seen him since the general dropped him off," the man continued, "that was six hours ago sir. We should alert the Leafmen that he's missing and get help looking for him."

"That won't be necessary," Barnet said curtly.

The caravan was scheduled to leave in an hour and a half. He wasn't going to risk being late, or worse being stuck in Moonhaven an extra night, because of a whiny child.

"I'm sure he's hiding in the loading bay somewhere," Barnet told him, "if you haven't found him by the time we leave, you can stay behind. He'll come out as soon as we're gone, and you can grab him and catch up."

The man hesitated, then nodded, "yes sir."

The queen had sent a message to Ronin, asking him to come to her meeting chamber. Ronin was suspicious, but he couldn't ignore a summons from the queen.

"General," Tara greeted him as he came in, "how are you doing?"

For a moment Ronin was looking at one of his oldest friends, the woman he had grown up with and almost been engaged to, and he nearly answered her honestly, that he was terrible, and he wanted nothing more than to go snatch Nod back from the idiot he had had to leave him with, but he couldn't, because he didn't have anything substantial to back up his feeling of dread about the whole situation.

"I'm well your majesty," Ronin bowed, tucking his helmet under his arm.

Tara huffed quietly in irritation, "how was Nod? How did he take being left with his uncle?"

"Not well," Ronin forced his voice to stay even, "he was up all night crying, and he started screaming when I left him."

"I thought he was spending last night with Barnet," Tara cocked her head to the side.

"I… thought it best if he stayed with me one more night," Ronin tightened his grip on his helmet.

"Hmm," Tara folded her arms, "what is your honest opinion of Lord Barnet, general?"

"He…" Ronin hesitated, "I have no evidence that he won't be a competent caregiver."

"That not what I asked Ronin," the queen said.

"I… don't like him," Ronin admitted, "he wasn't very gentle with Nod yesterday or this morning when I dropped him off."

"You don't feel like this is the right thing to do," Tara concluded.

"It doesn't matter what I feel," Ronin shook his head, "I don't have any evidence that this isn't right."

"If you were on patrol, and you felt like there was something wrong, would you check, even if the area had already been swept?" Tara asked.

"Of course," Ronin said without hesitation.

"Then why don't you trust your instincts now?" she demanded.

"I…" Ronin hesitated again, "I'm not exactly objective about this. Nod is so unhappy, and I hate seeing him that way."

"Of course you do," Tara gave him an exasperated look, "that doesn't mean you're wrong. You still have time to check on Nod before they leave, don't you?"

"Did Finn talk to you?" Ronin demanded.

"I haven't spoken to Captain Finn since the day before yesterday," Tara didn't quite manage to not look amused, "but you do have time, don't you?"

"Yes your majesty," Ronin took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "I'll go see him off."

"Very good general," Tara nodded, "I trust your judgment in this."

Ronin wished he had as much faith in his judgment as the queen did, but he wasn't sure he could trust himself to do what was best for Nod in the long run and not just what was easier for both of them in the moment.

Barnet's workers were just loading the last wagon when Ronin reached the merchant's bay. Ronin didn't hear Nod screaming or crying, and he was relieved for the entire half second it took him to spot Barnet standing beside his last wagon with a clip board, checking items off as they were loaded. Nod wasn't with him. Ronin did a quick scan of the caravan, but he didn't spot Nod anywhere near it.

His stomach twisted, and he hurried down into the bay.

"Barnet," Ronin growled.

The man jumped, nearly dropping his clip board, "General Ronin. I didn't expect to see you again."

"Where's Nod?" the general demanded.

"He's in the loading bay," Barnet fingered his clip board nervously.

"Where?" Ronin repeated sharply.

"I… we… aren't entirely sure," Barnet admitted reluctantly, "I have people looking for him."

"He's missing?" Ronin's hands clenched into fists, "how long?"

"He…" Barnet swallowed, taking a step back, "he failed to stay where I told him to this morning."

"He… this…" Ronin gapped at him.

Ronin rarely lost his temper anymore, although he had been somewhat infamous for doing so in his youth. A long military career had managed to help him get a solid grip on his emotions, but sometimes…

"What sort of idiot are you!" Ronin yelled, "he's seven and he's terrified. Of course, he didn't stay put. How could you not report him missing? It's been almost seven hours since I dropped him off! What the hell is wrong with you?"

The entire merchants' bay stopped to stare, but Barnet was much more concerned with his physical well being at the moment than his reputation.

"No need to worry general," Barnet tried to calm him, "I'm sure he's here somewhere. Young children do like to play games of hide and seek after all."

"Playing!" Ronin towered over the man, "are you out of your mind? Of course he's not playing, and he's sure as hell not here. It's crowded and it's noise and it's everything he hates."

"Well, how could I possibly know…" Barnet protested.

"Did you pay attention to anything I said to you at all?" Ronin barked, "and you're still loading your wagons like nothing is wrong. Were you planning on leaving without him?"

"Well, I have people who…" Barnet tried to explain.

"People?" Ronin advanced on him, fists clenched, "you have people…"

Suddenly Finn was at his side, so close their shoulders were touching, "what's the problem general?"

"He lost Nod," Ronin spat, shifting back ever so slightly.

"What?" Finn looked at him in alarm.

"He's been missing since this morning, and he didn't report it," Ronin glowered at the merchant.

"What is wrong with you?" Finn demanded of Barnet.

"Now see here," Barnet managed to find his tongue, "I have a schedule to keep, and I can't be expected to…"

"A schedule!" Ronin took a quick, threatening step forward and Barnet cowered back.

Finn shifted his weight, subtly brushing his fingers against Ronin's wrist without quite grabbing. Ronin stopped and forced himself to take a breath.

"General, if you start getting the search parties organized, I can take care of things here," Finn suggested.

"I'm sure he'll turn up shortly," Barnet offered nervously.

"Shut up," Finn snapped.

Barnet swallowed.

"Get out," Ronin growled at him, "I want you out of Moonhaven by the time I get back. You're not taking Nod with you. Not now, not ever. You're not fit to shovel beetle dung, never mind take care of a child."

Ronin stormed out of the merchants' bay, barking orders to the Leafmen who had trickled in to see what their general was yelling about.

"I'll just…" Barnet tried to back away.

"Unpack Nod's things," Finn ordered evenly.

"What?" Barnet gave him a blank look, "they were the first thing we loaded. Surely you don't mean to have me unload an entire…"

"I would do it quickly if I were you," Finn advised coolly, "you don't want to still be here when the general gets back."

Barnet swallowed, then started shouting shrill orders to his men to unpack the front wagon.