A/N: Well, I've finally finished my final exams! The last one was English – throwing together an essay on Frankenstein, which isn't as fun as it sounds. Many thanks to ab sab, Amaya, Pied Flycatcher, kirdane, and noaith ahsmi for their great reviews, which is even more impressive during exam time.

We've seen Farelle, we've seen Sitri… but what has the Prince of the Kingdom been up to? Another long chapter for you.

The Scarlet Company

Snow carpeted the forest floor, heaped in great drifts against the trunks of evergreens. Icicles twinkled cheerfully from bare grey branches. The faint calls of birds and the odd chatter of a squirrel broke the peaceful silence of a winter morning. Prince Andromis smiled, and breathed in the sharp cold air. It was moments like these that one lived for.

"Sir?"

The Prince sighed, and turned to see one of his soldiers. "What is it, Sholto?"

The large man knuckled his forehead respectfully. "Sir, the Cap'n says you ought ter send a message to the Regiment, seein' as we're leavin' soon an' all."

Andromis nodded. "Yes, I will. Thank you Sholto."

The man gave a gap-toothed grin and shuffled back to the group of men and horses, and the Prince stepped out further into the woods. He looked about to make sure that he was completely alone and would not be disturbed, before giving a piercing whistle. Seconds later a red-tailed hawk plummeted out of the sky, and alighted on his arm. With some difficulty, Andromis pulled a grubby piece of paper from his pocket and opened it one-handed. He placed his temple against the hawk's feathery head. "Message to Colonel Anselm, Twenty-Sixth Regiment. Scarlet Company nearly at village. Will investigate claims of attacks by thieves. Expect immediate resolution, and return by snowmelt." He sent the hawk on her way, and watched her fly out of sight before trudging back to the camp.

The Captain and the three other Lieutenants were sitting around a fire, enjoying their breakfast. Similar cooking fires were set up all through the clearing, and Andromis exchanged a few words with his men whenever he passed them. "Andromis!" one of the Lieutenants called. "Come over here and have a bite of this porridge."

The Prince perched on a rock and accepted the proffered bowl, grimacing at the lumpy mess. "Marrick been cooking again?"

Fourth Lieutenant Marrick shoved him good-humouredly. "Say what you want about my cooking. The Captain wouldn't let me bring my wife along to do the job."

"Andromis here, he doesn't need a wife," chortled First Lieutenant Braham. "He's in love with that daft hawk."

"Ruby is not a daft hawk," the Prince replied with affrontery that was only half pretence. He was very fond of Ruby. "She is a lady, and one of the first hawks that the Head Charter Mage spelled from the egg to deliver messages."

"We all know about Girvase's experiments on broods of hawks and pigeons," said the Captain, chafing his hands together for warmth. "But your Ruby is the first to reach maturity. Are you certain that she will carry the message to the Colonel?"

"I have no doubt of it," insisted Andromis.

Marrick sniggered. "Love is blind, as they say." He couldn't duck quite fast enough to avoid a snowball in the face.

"Love would have to be blind for Lynet to marry you," the Prince retorted.

His friend shook snow from his hair and pretended to clutch his heart. "You wound me!"

Lieutenant Braham snorted. "Don't you worry, Marrick. Andromis will soon know the burden of marriage. He's got a girl at court, and a right beauty, too."

It was true. Andromis and Lady Charsia were the subject of much gossip at Belisaere. The Prince could barely stand his mother's rapturous plans concerning their future, or his sister's knowing smiles, or his father's teasing. Nothing official had been settled yet, but he was so attached to Charsia that it alarmed him sometimes. She was a lovely young woman, so accomplished and so admired, and the fact that she was extremely beautiful was an added benefit. Andromis absently stirred his breakfast, lost in pleasant thoughts about his intended.

The Captain got to his feet, having somehow finished his bowl of porridge. "Pack up soon – we move out within the hour."

The Scarlet Company of the Twenty-Sixth Regiment was made up of approximately sixty men, and Third Lieutenant Andromis commanded fourteen of them. He enjoyed being with his Company; the soldiers wore their red armbands with pride, and Hiram was a fair and experienced Captain. Fourth Lieutenant Marrick happened to be Andromis' best friend. The Prince's seniority was due to the fact that he had been accepted into the Regiment two months before Marrick, as an earlier birthday allowed him to take the Lieutenant's exam first.

The Twenty-Sixth Regiment was stationed near Estwael, and patrolled the far north and west territories of the Kingdom. Andromis knew that other Regiments were not so lucky. Some had stationed their Companies along the Wall to prevent the Wallmakers from being harassed by protesters. Although Tralusan had stopped his Anti-Wall speeches, the border was still a bad place to be. Andromis much preferred riding about on missions in the wilds of the Kingdom.

They were on such a mission right now. The mayor of a village in the far west had sent a message to the Regimental Outpost, reporting attacks by thieves. Many villagers had been hurt, despite their magic wards, which made the mayor suspect that the thieves were sorcerers or Charter Mages. And so it happened that the Scarlet Company had been deployed to deal with the situation.

It was snowing when they reached the village in the evening, yet Andromis could still see a large Manor house up on the hill which overlooked the village. Captain Hiram sent Lieutenant Marrick to the Manor House, but the youngest Lieutenant returned with the information that it was utterly deserted. Andromis had not been nervous before, but he was now.

The officers and soldiers dismounted, and led their horses through the cobblestone streets. All of the houses looked abandoned, open doorways waving eerily in the wind with creaking hinges, snow drifting in through broken windows. "Where is everybody?" Marrick whispered to Andromis, and the Prince could only shake his head.

"There!" called Lieutenant Braham, pointing down the street. Andromis squinted, and through the fat snowflakes could make out the yellow of a lighted window. When they drew closer, he could see that it was the village inn.

The Captain tried the door, but it was locked. He balled up a gloved hand and pounded on the unyielding wood. "This is Captain Hiram of the Scarlet Company! Open the door!"

There was a pause, then the sound of many bolts being undone before the door creaked open. "Good evenin', sir," said the man at the door. "The soldiers of the King are most welcome. I'm afraid there's not much room inside – the whole village is gathered in 'ere."

The Captain turned back to his men. "Lieutenant Braham, you stay here with Lieutenant Kien. Post the soldiers in a perimeter outside. Andromis, Marrick – you're with me."

The Prince stepped across the threshold, stomping snow from his boots and rubbing at his cold red nose. The innkeeper led them past tables crammed full of frightened-looking villagers, and over to a roaring fire. Serving maids put steaming mugs in their hands, and Andromis did not envy Braham and Kien's being outside one bit. Marrick poured something from a flask into his cup, and offered it to him: "Brandy?" The Prince shook his head. "You sure?" his friend pressed. "It's very good brandy." But Andromis was much too nervous to even think about touching drink.

Surveying the common room of the inn, Andromis noticed that most of the windows had been boarded up, and that all of the villagers held weapons of some sort, brandishing everything from proper swords to gardening tools. There were no children – he assumed that they were upstairs. From the look of it, the entire village had banded together at the inn to hold out against the thieves. Andromis thought them rather paranoid.

"Where is your Mayor?" Captain Hiram was asking the innkeeper.

"The Mayor?" the man repeated. "Oh, 'e's dead. A new mayor 'asn't been elected yet, what with the attacks an' all."

Hiram stroked his unshaven chin. "Very well. Where is your Lord, then? The one who lives in the Manor house up on the hill."

"Oh, 'im. Well, 'e's dead too."

Andromis could see that they were clearly not getting anywhere. Luckily for everyone present, the Captain was a patient man. "What about the village Charter Mage?" he asked. "Surely he hasn't died as well?"

"She hasn't."

Andromis glanced up to see a woman with a bold nose and a mane of curly red hair coming down the stairs. "I am the Charter Mage," she told them firmly. "My name is Zavebe. You've come to answer our call for help?"

"Yes we have," said Captain Hiram, putting down his mug. "What can you tell us about the attacks, Mistress Zavebe?"

In answer, the woman threw on a cloak and headed towards the door. The Captain raised his eyebrows, and Andromis reluctantly put down his drink to follow them out into the blowing snow.

"The thieves attack us every night," the woman told them, peering down the road. "They come from that direction. They have good weapons, and some of them must be able to do magic because every night they manage to breach the wards that I set up around the village." She gave them an evaluating stare. "I hope you're all good fighters."

Andromis and Marrick exchanged grins. She obviously had not heard of the Scarlet Company. They were a tight-knit group, and proud of their reputation, and of their colour – the colour of blood. Even when off-duty the officers tended to wear red. Members of the Scarlet Company were renowned warriors.

"There they come!" cried Mistress Zavebe, pointing through the snow. Andromis heard nothing, as the snow muffled all sound, but he managed to see a couple of dark shapes in the distance.

Captain Hiram wasted no time. "Lieutenants! Have your men set up a protective front. Mistress," he turned to the Charter Mage. "You had best get inside." Zavebe looked as if she was about to argue, but one look at the Captain's face convinced her otherwise.

Andromis directed his men to crouch in formation, shields overlapping. Behind them, Marrick's men were stringing their bows. The thieves obviously had not expected to encounter a full Company of well-trained soldiers, and pulled up short of the inn at the village square. A warning volley of arrows was sent over their heads, which succeeded in causing mass confusion, as some of the riders retreated while others pressed forward to attack.

The Prince saw his Captain drawing steel, and copied the gesture. His sword had been made for him by the palace Wallmaker herself, Master Eilune. "Use the flat of your blade," the Captain ordered, and Andromis relayed the message to his men. They faced the oncoming riders, weapons brandished and not moving an inch.

The fighting was chaotic and over quickly. Although the soldiers had been travelling through the wild for days, they had numbers and experience on their side. Andromis did not even have to use his sword, and soon the thieves were retreating in a disorganized mass of riders, men on foot, and riderless horses.

The soldiers broke out into cheers, and Andromis caught Marrick's eye and grinned. They had driven off the attackers almost effortlessly, nobody had been killed or even seriously wounded, and their job was done. The Prince could return to the Outpost and write a long-overdue letter to Lady Charsia. He watched the retreat with a satisfied smile.

But as the last thief was riding away, he turned and shot a final spell over his shoulder. The ground exploded under Andromis' feet, and he was thrown back into the wall of the inn.

"Sir!"

"Lieutenant!"

"Are you all right?"

Andromis opened his eyes to see the concerned faces of his men as they crowded around, and allowed them to help him to his feet. "I'm fine," he insisted, repeating the affirmation to Captain Hiram, who had hurried over.

"Very well," said the Captain, not bothering to hide his relief. Andromis could only imagine what his father would do to Hiram if anything happened to him. "Take three of your men around back, Lieutenant. See what you can find."

"Yes sir." Andromis looked quickly over his men, all of whom had hopeful expressions on their faces. "Sholto, Tancred, and Dagmar will come with me." Leading his chosen three soldiers, Andromis crept around to the back of the inn, keeping one hand on his sword and the other ready to sketch a Charter mark. He was bruised and dazed, but he forced his mind back to the situation at hand.

The back of the inn was deserted, and Andromis crouched down to examine the tracks left there by the thieves. From what he could see, they had not broken a single window or attempted to force the barricaded back door, which was very strange behaviour for thieves. He pointed this out to his men, who scratched their heads.

"Now why would dey do dat?" wondered stringy Dagmar, blowing his nose on his sleeve.

"Strange, if ye ask me," Tancred agreed. He passed a wrinkled hand over his face, trying to work out the problem. "Thieves don't attack wif horses an' magic – they sneak in the night. They're usually lone raggedy beggars, not bands of men wif swords."

"An' they didn' take nothin'," said Sholto, whistling through the gap in his teeth. "What d'you reckon, sir?" Three pairs of round eyes turned to the Prince.

"I don't know," Andromis admitted.

They made their way back around to the front of the inn, and Andromis informed the other officers of their findings. Captain Hiram frowned. "There is something suspicious about those thieves," he mused.

"Perhaps they're not really thieves," suggested First Lieutenant Braham. "The mayor could have been lying about that in his message to the Regiment."

"Well, he's dead now," Marrick pointed out, "so we can't very well ask him, can we?"

"Ask the Charter Mage," suggested Braham.

Captain Hiram nodded. "I think we will. Let's find out what those attackers really want. Andromis, come with me. The rest of you keep an eye out." Andromis followed the Captain into the inn, trying not to look too smug that he wasn't staying outside in the freezing cold with the other officers.

They found her playing Druque at a table with another villager. "Mistress Zavebe," said Hiram with tremendous civility, "my Lieutenant and I would like to ask you a few questions – privately."

The Mage gave them a curious look before nodding in compliance. She led them into a room that appeared to have been used for private dining parties, but was now full of old bits of furniture. Mistress Zavebe glanced at them before taking a seat on the windowsill. "What is it, gentlemen?"

Andromis closed the door as Captain Hiram sat at the dusty table. "Those men weren't thieves." The Prince tried not to smile. His Captain could be very direct sometimes. He leaned against the wall to watch the inevitable confrontation.

"And how did you come to that conclusion?" asked Mistress Zavebe, playing with a curl of red hair as she avoided eye contact.

"They were well-armed," Hiram ticked off on his fingers. "They were well-horsed. They did not appear to be in want. And they stole nothing. They could have pillaged the abandoned houses, but they didn't touch them. Obviously you are having a disagreement with this group, and we would like to know what is really going on."

"I believe that does not concern you," said the Mage coldly.

The Captain crossed his arms. "You called us here because you said you were the victims of thieves. The King's soldiers will not be used to achieve someone's personal ends! If you would have us defend you from an enemy, then tell us what truly warrants their attack."

Zavebe tossed her head, rather like a stubborn chestnut mare. "And if I choose not to?"

Andromis chose that moment to speak. "We could have you arrested, Mistress."

The woman looked furious, and Andromis knew that she would have dearly loved to cast a spell and burn him to a crisp then and there. "You wouldn't dare!"

Captain Hiram smiled mirthlessly. "My Lieutenant was merely stating the facts. The mayor is not here to answer for his actions, and neither is the Lord. As the village Charter Mage, you are obligated to explain the situation in their stead."

The woman frowned, but apparently came to a decision. "Very well," she sniffed, looking down her beaky nose. "You are correct. Those men are not thieves. They were sent by Lord Deachan of the neighbouring territory. Ever since our Lord of the Manor on the hill died, Deachan has been sending men to try to take over the land."

"Did your Lord have no sons?" asked the Captain.

Mistress Zavebe shook her head. "Nobody took up the Lordship after he died. And the villagers do not want to swear fealty to Lord Deachan."

"Why?" asked Andromis. "If not this Deachan, who will give the village protection?"

The Charter Mage did not speak.

"Answer the question," said Captain Hiram, using a tone of voice that would have produced instant results among his soldiers. But of course, he should have remembered that the Mage was not a soldier.

The woman's eyes flashed, and she drew herself up to her full – and rather imposing – height. "How dare the two of you treat me like this!" she shouted, slamming her hands down on the table. Andromis jumped. "I am Lady Zavebe, daughter of the late Lord Jarod, and I own the manor house up the hill, and this is my village." She pulled a ruby ring from her finger and thrust it at Captain Hiram, who took it automatically. "There's the proof. That's my father's signet ring, with our family's coat-of-arms. The symbol is the same one on the shield that hangs over the inn fireplace."

She threw open the door of the room and literally pushed them out into the common room. Andromis put up little resistance to being shoved around like this, as he was still in a state of shock. His eyes flicked up to the shield over the fire, and noted the oak tree emblem. Zavebe paused for breath, and Andromis hoped that she was finished. How wrong he was.

"Lord Deachan wants me to marry him," she spat, swiping at a mug of beer and knocking it off the table. "I have no male relatives, and he wants to take over my land. Ever since I refused him, he has been trying to take my property by force!"

By now everybody in the common room of the inn was staring at them, watching the confrontation with open mouths.

"Even if I wasn't a Lady, you two had no right to behave the way you did! I have never seen men treat a woman so rudely in my life! I thought that officers had to be noblemen.

And you!" Here she turned to Andromis, who tried not to cringe. "You're worse than your boor of a Captain! You cannot have been an officer long, and therefore you have no excuse for forgetting basic courtly manners."

Throughout the tirade, Captain Hiram's expression had gone from surprised to annoyed to amused. When Zavebe was finally done, he turned to Andromis. "Well? Should we tell her?"

"Yes," said Andromis. "I think we should." He nearly grinned at the puzzled expression on the Mage's face. Vengeance was going to be sweet. "We have put up with your scolding well enough, milady, so now it is your turn to listen. Although I am a Lieutenant of the Scarlet Company, I am also Prince Andromis." He drew his sword. "This is my weapon, a Charter blade which bears the golden tower of the Royal family, as you can see. But even if I was not a Prince, you should treat all soldiers of the Kingdom with respect. We have difficult jobs, so understand that the hardships we endure have made us rather less refined than we were before."

The woman was shaking her head. "I'll tell you what I think of the Royal family," she sneered. "They are selfish to have all of the Wallmakers working on the Wall. Villagers and nobles alike need those talents to be used for good, to fix and craft things. Rumour has it that the Wall will kill all of the Wallmakers, and nothing is worth the loss of such talented people." She drew closer and poked Andromis in the chest. "Also, the King your father is a power-hungry tyrant for being a Charter Bloodline and forcing the Bright Shiners to leave! Chief Minister Tralusan is right; something that powerful in a mortal bloodline is dangerous."

Andromis was not surprised by her behaviour, for people were reacting in extreme and violent ways concerning the Wall. The King's army was stretched to the limit to keep the peace, something that weakened them and wouldn't bode well in the event of a war. The Bright Shiners had not been seen by anyone, and there were rumours that they were being kept imprisoned in the palace, or bound by the Abhorsen, or locked away in the Clayr's glacier. People were angry with the King, and Andromis could almost respect that. But he couldn't stand for people making judgments when they were misinformed.

"You are entitled to your opinion," said Andromis through gritted teeth, "but you know nothing of what you speak. The Bright Shiners were the ones who chose to leave, and the Bright Shiners were the ones who wanted to put their powers into the Bloodlines. My ancestors had no choice. And do you really think that mere mortals can tell the Shiners what to do?" Zavebe looked abashed, but Andromis was not finished yet. "Your darling Tralusan is a fool who doesn't have all the facts. Ever since my father met him two years ago, we've been convinced of his unfounded discrimination and his blindness towards reason. In any case, the affair is to be settled next autumn by single combat – which I am a possible candidate for, so I am decidedly not looking forward to the occasion, and pray every day that my father will come to his senses and choose someone better-qualified! So don't you dare tell me that I have no excuse for forgetting courtly manners!"

At this point, Captain Hiram grabbed him by the shoulder and steered him out of the inn. The cold air brought Andromis to his senses and he realized that he had just been yelling at a Lady in the middle of a crowded room. He needed a vacation.

"So, how'd it go?" asked Lieutenant Braham.

As the Captain enlightened the other officers as to the true identity of the "thieves", Andromis fidgeted with his gloves and glared at his boots. He couldn't wait to leave this place. Everyone was utterly mad.

"So the Charter Mage is actually a Lady?" asked Marrick, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. "And she's lonely?" Braham stifled a snort of laughter.

"Lady!" Andromis snorted, finally joining the conversation. "She is the most insolent woman I have ever met, and nothing at all like my Charsia, who is a true Lady. Her nose is too beaky, for one! My Charsia has the prettiest nose of all the women at court."

"We can debate the merits of your lady's nose later," said Marrick, "but I'm wondering about this Mage. Perhaps our Captain here could marry her and defend her from the evil Lord Deachan! She does have the reddest hair I've ever seen. Is it a sign? Scarlet hair for the Scarlet Company?"

"It is a sign that you are reading far too much into this," said the Captain, rolling his eyes. "Pay attention. I want this matter cleared up as soon as possible. We shall lead a delegation to Lord Deachan, and negotiate a truce between the two properties. Lieutenants Andromis and Marrick will stay here. Choose ten soldiers to stay with you." With that, Captain Hiram strode off to fetch his horse. Andromis followed his Captain, meaning to protest about being left behind, but Hiram beat him to it. "I'm sorry about leaving you within shouting distance of Lady Zavebe," he said as he prepared his horse. "But I think your presence here will keep her in line. She's quite a formidable girl."

Andromis grimaced and took a quick look back over his shoulder at the inn. Zavebe was standing in the open doorway, looking at him through the snow, but when he caught her glance she scowled and averted her eyes.

In that very instant the Prince got a sudden flash of premonition. He absently said farewell to his Captain, and barely noticed the rest of the Company galloping off.

His friend Marrick strolled over. "What's wrong with you? You keep staring at the inn like that and your eyes are going to fall out."

"I just had a flash of the Sight," said the Prince, still staring.

Marrick looked suspicious. "What do you mean?"

"The Sight isn't strong in me at all, but I do get the rare vision," Andromis explained. "I must get it from my mother."

"Well?" encouraged Marrick. "What did you See?"

"Lady Zavebe," sighed the Prince. He hung his head in despair. "I'm going to marry her."

Marrick started to laugh, but the miserable expression on Andromis' face stopped him. "Well, it's not all that bad," he said bracingly. "She is rather pretty, in a – a – a bold sort of way. Except that nose, but you can't have everything, can you? And her personality is a refreshing change to all the ladies at court. None of them quite have her – um – spirit."

"You've got that right," Andromis muttered. "She's a complete lunatic." He suddenly groaned and buried his face in his hands – what was he going to tell Lady Charsia? Somehow, he doesn't think the "I had a vision" excuse would cut it. And everyone had been so sure that they would be getting married, including him. Overcome with frustration, he swore and kicked a rock. It didn't go far, and Andromis blasted it to pieces with magic.

"Marrick?" said the Prince, scuffing the remains of the rock into the snow. "I think now would be a good time to get out that brandy."

A/N: The ruby ring, the beaky nose, the scarlet hair… and Andromis in love with his messenger hawk Ruby. He really should have seen it coming.

Okay, let's talk about the army – which I basically made up. The General of the Army (now Paleon) is the head honcho. Then there are a bunch of Regimental Outposts (like forts or camps) scattered throughout the Kingdom and commanded by Colonels, who report to the General; each Regiment has a number (ex. the Twenty-Sixth). Regiments are made up of Companies, which are named for colours (ex. Scarlet) and commanded by Captains. Each Captain has Lieutenants serving under him or her, and the Lieutenants command the soldiers. Officers are members of nobility, and the soldiers are commoners.

Andromis took an academic and physical exam to serve at a Regimental Outpost as a petty officer. After two years serving the Twenty-Sixth Regiment, he was allowed to apply for Lieutenantship – but you can only write the Lieutenant's exam once a year. When he passed his exam, he was assigned to the Scarlet Company. A Lieutenant's rank depends on how long they've been a Lieutenant, not necessarily on skill; it is assumed that if you made it this far you have all the skills required, and experience is valued in the field more than anything (hence Andromis being Third). Hope these explanations make sense!