"Wait a second, back up." Nick said in a stern voice as he glared down at me. "You mean to tell me that you're planning on marching up to the man that killed both of our fathers, and asking him to give you your land back?"

I shrank away from his angry shout, "I… I just thought-"

"Rachel, Matthew wouldn't plan it that way. I'm surprised he didn't realize that that's what you were thinking, he would have told you otherwise. He knows that that is the most dangerous path you could possibly take right now." He walked over to his shelf, moving things around searching for something, then he laid a rolled up paper on his desk.

"We need to keep you hidden from the elder for as long as we can. If he thinks you're dead then it will be easier going when we are trying to take the throne."

"How will we 'take the throne'? It seems that the only other way (other than asking for it) would be by a war." Then it dawned on me, that's exactly what they had been planning all this time.

Nick nodded when he saw the expression on my face, "We'll have to take the small cities first, whether by force or by peace. That means we have to have an army. Most royalty that is back ruling already will give us their troops because they have been burned at one point or another by the Elder. But some countries will be bribed by him, really, its all a matter of picking sides. Lets just pray that our side is bigger."

"So… what do I do now?" I asked.

He studied me, "We won't be able to take the first city until we have all the supplies and people. We should have that in about five to seven weeks. You should be training to fight in that time."

Nick had taken on a side that I had never seen before, there was an unfamiliar glint in his eyes, a different lift in his shoulders, a grim determination radiating from his very being, a set to his jaw that suggested he could kill, yet a pain in his eyes that suggested that he hates the fact that he can kill so easily. This was the war side of Nick, this was the Nick that had been born to be a leader and a fighter.

As I studied him, I absentmindedly mumbled, "I already know how to fight."

His eyes softened as he moved around the desk to me, taking me in his arms, he whispered, "You may know how to fight. But it's different when you are fighting with me than when you are fighting in a real war. People are coming at you from all different sides, and they never show you any mercy, people are dieing all around you. You can't make one wrong move, or you could be beheaded. Its not planned lunges from a friend, its mad, bloodthirsty people, randomly swinging a heavy sword at your neck… On second thought, Matthew was wrong, you shouldn't be out there fighting, you should wait here for us while we fight."

He hugged me tighter. I knew he had been imagining the battle grounds with me standing in the middle of it all, I knew it because of the way fear was swirling in his eyes.

I wrapped my arms around him, as I did he grabbed a fistful of the back of my shirt, pulling me closer to him, definitely never letting me go. I sighed, letting him share the heavy burden that had been dumped on my shoulders, as I leaned against him. I tilted my head up, "Can I have a kiss now?" I said in a tired child's voice.

He chuckled as he leaned his head down, he ran his lips gently across mine, teasing me. I whimpered when I couldn't quite get a full kiss each time he brushed across. "Nick…" I whispered impatiently.

He laughed, then leaned down the slightest inch more, and caught my bottom lip between his teeth. I sucked in a breath, not expecting the sudden warm tingling that went from my stomach, to the tips of my fingers, to my lips.

I shivered involuntarily, he chuckled again before he let go of my lip only to press his own lips where his teeth had just vacated.

He pulled back just enough for us both to get air, he still hadn't let go of my shirt, "I love you so much Rachel, don't ever leave me." He said as if it was an order.

I looked up into his eyes, "Never." I said, trying to put the same solidity into my eyes as he had in his, but I'm sure I failed miserably.

He just chuckled, "So… you ready to train soldier?" He asked playfully.

"Yes sir!" I promptly saluted then spun around on my heal and stalked stiffly to the door.

"You wanna know where you need to go before you start wandering aimlessly through the streets?" He asked, making me freeze, with a wince at my dullness.

"Uh yeah, that information might be useful at one point or another." I said without turning around, so he wouldn't see the blush creeping up my cheeks.

I heard him unroll the paper on his desk, I spun around once I had gained control over my color, "Your first lesson is with…" He skimmed down some kind of list, "Matthew Garrett!" He said in a surprised tone.

One of my eyebrows rose with a question, I strode forward to get a better look at what the paper was, I gasped as I realized the depth of the information on it, It must have taken years to make this. It was a game plan, to put it plainly. It had maps drawn out on it, it had lists of names, it had times and dates, army strategies, it listed which forests had enough food for an army to survive a week on.

It went on and on. But the most perplexing thing I saw, was my face in the bottom right hand corner, the paint was fading, suggesting that it had been done a long time ago, but my face was so up-to-date in this picture, it looked as if it could have been painted that very morning.

Nick caught me staring at it and said, "That was the picture your father painted two days before he went to war. He told my parents about how an army was going to rise up… So many people have added to this since then. People that knew what was coming, and knew that you were going to be the only chance at freedom for the world. This will affect not only your country, but also every other country in the world. Theomore has been ruling for far too long." He smirked, "Theomore, your reign of the world is now over." As he said that it felt like someone had punched me in the stomach.

I backed up from him swiftly, "I-I have to go… um… go find Matthew, you know, for training." I said a I started stumbling backwards, I ran into one of the bookshelves, knocking some books off. Some of them hit my head before they fell onto the ground with a quick series of thuds.

The pain jolted my legs awake, I jerked around to the door, "I'll be back… don't even bother this time." I said as he began to follow me.

"But-" I cut off his protests by slamming the door, hoping he would get the hint.

I jerked out of the way of Mrs. Jackson, she was carrying a trey of steaming cups. She flinched, expecting me to run into her, spilling hot beverage all over both of us. But I didn't, "You've gotten quicker with your reflexes dear!" She exclaimed, but I was already out the door.

As I ran I realized that this is what I always did. I always ran, always shoved people away when things got a little too intense. I always hid from the problem, never facing it. I had always decided to ignore the rest of the world when it wasn't forming to my every wish. I was a true princess, on both the inside and out. I was a selfish idiot. I also realized that all the other times I had ran was for foolish reasons. This was the first time I ran, when it could actually cost peoples lives. All the other time had been about me, this one, I was afraid, afraid of failing. Afraid that if and when I failed, I wouldn't get another chance.

I was almost to the forest, I was only a short sprint to it, when I pulled up short. I forced my feet to turn me around, all of my insides were screaming at me, "STOP! Turn back around! You have NO idea what you are doing! If you choose to go back you will die! You're to scared to die! Stop, right now! You don't have to do this, you can go back to living your own life, you can just be happy. You don't have to kill anyone, you don't have to die for anyone. You're allowed to be selfish!" I determinedly took a few steps, "I'm already dead." I replied, with a grim smile.

I had to force each step that I took, I was scared. More scared than I had ever been in my whole life. I had to face Nick. I had to apologize for all the times I ran away.

But my feet planted themselves in front of his porch. I couldn't move. My inner fight with myself had come to a draw. My fear had ruled out my determination, yet I couldn't run away still.

My fingers were the first to go numb. The fight in me was too much. The numbness stole through me, when it reached my eyes, things faded into black, I wasn't standing in front of Nick's house anymore. I actually couldn't remember if I was standing at all, I couldn't remember if I had gone into the forest or if my conscience had won out. I couldn't remember if this morning had just been a dream, or if it was real. I couldn't remember if I had even gotten off the couch from beside Nick yet.

"Rachel Tremont" A voice echoed through my head, I briefly remembered how Nick had woken me from my faint a time not so long ago by calling my name.

"Nick?" I replied, hoping it would reach my outer body enough for Nick to know that I was okay.

"Rachel… The name sounds familiar. Was she one of my wives?" The voice was definitely not Nick's. It was full of venom, and it had an accent that I hadn't ever heard.

"She was a daughter of one of the traitors, Sire. David Tremont's daughter." A voice squeaked.

"And? Why are you bothering me with this? I have more important business to attend to." Light was filtering through my vision by then, and I could see vague figures across the unfamiliar room.

"She- She's alive, she has an army, a small one, but it has done a lot of damage. And she's leading them here. Other armies are attacking from different directions, Sire. She's taken Burgrint, Fairnnia, Shaolle, Chinas, Torsh, and Port Frounth. That was all taken by her army of seven hundred, she's at the lead. The other armies are progressing at a slower rate than hers is, and they have more men than she does… two thousand each." A short chubby man told a tall elegantly evil man.

I looked around, the room I was in was black, but the candle light bounced off the walls. The ceiling was too high to see, and the strange reflections of the candles made the room have more of a ominous feeling to it.

The tall man laughed, sending chills of fear tingling down my spine. "A princess? That's what you are worried about? Just send an army of three-thousand, really Rupert, you are quite dim aren't you?"

"But your majesty, their numbers haven't dwindled in the least, and we have already sent out at least four armies with four-thousand soldiers strong. They have magic on their side, I'm sure of it. They would not have been as impenetrate-able." There was fear in the short mans eyes.

"Send out ten-thousand then! I don't care, just do what it takes to stop her! She's just like her father… And she can be beat… just like him. Make sure she isn't capable of doing the same amount of damage." I caught a glimmer of something, something that looked an awful lot like fear.

Suddenly everything went black, and I drifted for a moment before the light slowly came back. But this time I was in front of Nick's house. I gasped, then ripped away from the spot, through the front door.

"Nick!" I cried out.

He swung the door to the study open, he had a look of surprise covering his face, "I thought you wouldn't be back for awhile… Are you okay?" He asked, looking truly worried.

I nodded, "I'm better than I've been since father left. I may be living to die, but it's a heck of a lot better than running away from life." I gasped out.

He looked confused, "Yeah, I guess it is. Did something happen on the way to the forest?" I hated the fact that he knew exactly where I had been going.

"No, it happened on the way back!" Then I proceeded to tell him about the blackout/vision/dream.

"If we get as far as the Port, then we pretty much have it under our belts. You said you only had seven hundred men?" He asked as he rubbed the back of his head in thought.

I nodded, "The others had two-thousand." I confirmed.

"We can't exactly send you with that small of an army, you understand right?" He asked carefully, as if he was trying not to spook me.

"Of course, this was just my imagination playing with me… right?" I hadn't considered it to be a real vision yet.

He shrugged, "It would be extremely nice for it to be real." He shrugged again.

"That's not a real answer. You're supposed to know everything." I moaned.

He chuckled, "I'm glad you have faith in me."

"Nick, I'm not scared anymore." I said in a tired voice.

"That's my girl." He said as he planted a kiss on the top of my head.