A/N: Okay so this chapter is slightly shorter, but still let me know what you guys think and your thoughts on the story so far :)

CHAPTER TWO
So The Journey Begins

Soft sunlight filtered through the mosaic of coloured leaves as Evelyn strolled along the winding paths through the fields of Mistpeak Valley, alongside her faithful Border-collie Samson trotted happily basking in the warmth. She had soon left the peaceful village of Brightwall after receiving a letter from Walter and just like his no-nonsense personality, the letter was brief and straight to the point.

Meet me at Mistpeak Monorail in two days, 10 am sharp. I think I may have a lead – W.

Pocketing the letter once more, Evelyn couldn't help but sigh. She had started to become accustomed to the small village and when not running errands the Princess was often found in the local tavern playing her lute or found in comforting solace of Brightwall Academy, hunched forward in a comfy red velvet arm-chair with her nose stuffed inside a book. Logan would die a thousand deaths if he could see his little sister now, dressed in a mercenary uniform in a guise of a boy named Charlie and conversing with the common wealth, yet that was what made them so different; Logan was born for royalty while Evelyn was not and often yearned for mud and wind upon her face, not trapped in some cage of a corset and paraded like a prized horse. However she would consider it a lie if she didn't admit that she often missed the luxury of sleeping in her comfortable bed and to be served hot food, not the small rations she and Walter had to pack whilst camping outside of town.

Samson's bark penetrated the calm and relaxing sound of the wind gently blowing in the breeze and the birds chirping their sweet melody. Turning to see what had caused her companions sudden erratic behaviour, Evelyn's emerald gave was cast upon the tranquil sight of a lake. Her skin, coated in a thick layer of grim and sweat sang at the sight. How long had it been since water had cleansed her skin? The fateful night where she had to flee the castle came to mind, where not just her but everyone close to her, their lives suddenly went into chaos. The day had been so full of laughter, Jasper with his sarcastic banter, Walter and his playfulness while sparring and Elliot playing with Samson.

Elliot.

The sudden thought of his name caused a fresh wash of pain to bloom across the Princess's chest. The haunting image as she watched as her betrothed begged for her to save the lives of civilians and to sacrifice himself. No matter how hard she tried, the image of his dark eyes filled with determination but the shadow of fear was burnt into her brain; it was the first thing she thought of in the morning and last thing at night. Evelyn had loved Elliot but not in the sort of love one would feel for her husband, he had been one the most important people in her life but she had never truly recuperated the love he had felt for her. But still the thought of sentencing his death in order to prevent a mass execution of petitioners still caused a grief that consumed her; he had been her best friend, her only friend on whom she could talk to about anything with and she had sentenced him to death.

Samson once again let out a bark as he sat besides the bank of the lake, his white and black head lolled to one side with his tongue hanging, as his tail thumped furiously against the earth. The sight caused Evelyn to snap out of her thoughts and let out a small chuckle. Her skin particularly ached with a need to feel the cool crisp water washing over her skin, to let out her long tresses from the confinement of the hat in which they were hidden under and float freely. Casually glancing around her green and lush surroundings, the young Princess began to unfasten the many buttons that partly created her ensemble. She felt exhausted, from the endless travelling that was accompanied by none stop fighting and the heavy baggy clothing didn't help matters either.
On beginning her journey, Walter had insisted that Evelyn, now a rebel Princess, should disguise herself; and what better way than for the Princess to hide her true identity but by simply changing genders? So now instead of the finely embroidered and tailored dresses, Evelyn donned a pair somewhat baggy black trousers that was held up to her trim waist with numerous beige belts that crisscrossed against her stomach. A white linen shirt, which she suspected to Walter's, served as a base layer while a black waist coat served to create padding and isolation with another grey woollen coat that came to her thighs. Her black leather boots which came to her calf, were covered in mud and her hat, which concealed most of her face alongside the crimson neck scarf she wore, had a few tears were she had near encounters with bullets.

One by one Evelyn removed an item of her clothing than placing it within a hollow log near the bank. She stared out into the lake with only her smalls and a linen wrap which bonded her breast in order for her chest to seem flat underneath the baggy clothing. Slowly her nimble fingers rolled the fabric into a ball, before finally she could release a breath that wasn't constricted. After years of having to wear a corset, Evelyn was used to the pressurised feeling however that moment when she was finally released from such bonds gave her the most tremendous feeling of freedom. Quickly stuffing her underclothes alongside her clothing, the Princess took in a deep breath before taking a run across the grassy bank and plunged into the surface of the lake with her hands arched above her head. As the water slid across her skin, a weight felt as if it had been lifted from her shoulders making her body seem light and boneless. Within a minute, the tingly tell tale sensation that spread across her head, told her she had to come up for air. Kicking the bottom of the algae covered floor, the Princess arched her back and inhaled as she once more broke the surface, her lungs immediately filling with oxygen.
The sound of splashing water caught Evelyn's attention, and as she turned to see the cause, a laugh escaped her lips as she saw the dark figure of Samson paddling towards her.

It really was quite peaceful here she thought to herself. The sunshine reflected off the calm azure water, causing it to sparkle as if diamonds were embedded into the lake. Birds glided through the autumn sky as the wind carried their song and Evelyn couldn't remember a time when she felt simply at peace.
The Princess began to scrub the dirt from her skin when suddenly the hair on the back of her neck began to stand on edge, a slight tingling sensation fluttered over her skin. Samson gave a low menacing growl causing Evelyn to stop her administrations and slowly turn her head; the only part of her body that wasn't submerged in water.
As she squinted, the dark silhouettes could be barely seen in the shadows of the forest, yet with Evelyn's Hero abilities she could see the thugs clearly. They were mercenaries, as she could tell by their unkempt appearance and the blood red enigma of a hawk on the breast of their coats. Seeing as she was looking in their direction head on, the mercenaries slowly breached the shadowy border of the forest and approached the unarmed Princess.
"What we ave ere lads? A woman alone in a forest on 'er own," the closet bandit spoke, who was clearly the leader, with a shaven head and a couple of his teeth missing. "And ain't she a beauty." Three pairs of eyes surveyed her naked body, causing Evelyn to resist the urge to gag.
Looking around, Evelyn cursed when she realised her weapons were too far for her disposal meaning the only means of escaping was the use of her Will power, which unfortunately wouldn't cause enough damage as the three men were out of her range. As the bandits approached closer, Evelyn decided the only way to escape was to lure the men closer. Folding her arms across her naked breasts, Evelyn rose from the water, causing the lower half of her body to still be submerged. The bandits faltered momentarily before toothless leers spread across their faces.
"Please, I don't know my way round these parts," she began her voice trembling with fear, while she looked up at the men from underneath her lashes. "My husband left me all on my own and I'm waiting here all lonely for him."
A wave of laughter came from the men, as they believed she was nothing but a mere girl inexperienced with the ways of fighting and vulnerable. The leader stepped forward and smiled to his comrades, already pulling away some of his clothing.
"Don't worry Sweet'eart, we'll take good care of ya," he smirked.
Silently Evelyn rejoiced as the men came closer and closer, only a few more steps as she could release the Will she had built up. Only a few more steps...
"Wait," one of the other bandits suddenly said causing his two partners to pause and the Princess to curse internally. "What if she's a Banshee?" the man whispered as he quivered in fear.
"You muppet! There ain't no friggin Banshees in these parts," chided the other bandit before he turned to the Princess. "You ain't no Banshee are you me lovely?" Evelyn shook her head vigorously in response. "See, now shut up!"
"But..."
"Don't worry love," the leader spoke once more, whilst giving both his men a glare causing them both to fall back in line. "We'll take good care of ya." And with those words, the three bandits approached closer.
Silently and still acting as if to be afraid, Evelyn waited till there soiled boots came near to the edge of the water, before pushing her hands forward with open palms and releasing a chain of built up electricity. Trails of crackling light erupted along the three men's bodies as they screamed in pain and the word 'Banshee' penetrated through the silence of nature, their bodies flinching with spasms reminding Evelyn of somewhat like fish out of water gasping at the unwelcome oxygen, before collapsing to the ground still twitching. Walking along the embankment and past their flinching bodies, Evelyn grasped her weapons and donned back her disguise before kneeling besides the three, would be rapists. She had only applied enough electricity for the men to be unconscious, Evelyn was not a blood thirsty person and only wanted to teach the bandits a lesson on not to judge a person by their appearance and gender. However as the Princess wasn't a person who desired violence it did not stop her as she searched through their pockets and took their valuables as well as tossing their weapons far into the lake, the use of her hero strength enabling her to throw them even further than the most fittest athletic could.
Smiling Evelyn wound her wheat coloured hair up with a leather band before placing her hat on top and lowering it so it concealed her face. Whistling for Samson, the Princess entered the border of the forest and continued in their search for Walter.

[※ ※]

Mourningwood was a dark and disease ridden place, the once lush green fields were now rotten with decay and death. No birds or wildlife inhabited the area and all was heard within the lonely acres was the haunting moans of Avo knew what. Deep in the heart of the infamous woodlands stood the proud yet downtrodden structure of Mourningwood Fort, which had once been an important part of Albion's war service, now was left like so many other time forgotten places, to rot and decay.
Within the structure four men sat hunched over a crate which was used as a make-shift table, their noses buried into the five cards they held in front of them and a pile of valuables piled in the centre of the crate. The group was found on the first floor of the structure as they watched the rest of their platoon running drills and practising with their rifles.

Captain Benjamin Finn of the Swift brigade tired to maintain the smug grin that threatened to destroy his poker-face, he had a perfect row of twenty-one which he was sure this comrades wouldn't beat and in all honesty, they had a lousy hand anyway. His clear azure eyes flickered between the three faces in front of him, each trying to concentrate and waiting for the first to fold; gold wasn't really worth anything when the soldiers were stationed, yet it didn't mean that they weren't saving when they had permission for leave to Bowerstone. All were silent, eyes flickering at each other like predator's waiting for their prey to make the wrong move.

"Where's Dean? He never misses' game night," the soldier named Tom that sat besides Ben on his right, asked and ultimately breaking the silence among the group.

"Up by the mortar, last I seen he was writing a letter to his missus," said Bill, a fiery haired chap that matched his long bushy moustache that sat opposite Tom. "Think he's getting all anxious, his wife's expecting and the due dates soon and the fact that none of us have had any leave is making him a bit daft I think."

"Anyone would go daft after seeing your ugly mug for the last six months!" Tom laughed as he replied to Bill, causing the rest of the group to chuckle alongside him – all except Bill.

"Something isn't right, I mean can't you feel it?" Bill retorted, his large and equally bushy copper brows drawn together. Each soldier met each other's gazes as their silent communication all confirmed that they also felt similarly as the same as their out spoken comrade.

"I hear that the resistance up in Bowerstone's really starting to build up ranks, some saying that nobility is even getting involved these days," Tom whispered in a conspiring way as he lent forward in his chair, and soon everyone had their cards flat on the table – turned down of course- and like old women, murmured all rumours they'd heard from letters and around base, all expect a certain Captain who sat back with an amused grin at some of the wild tales he was hearing.

"What nobility would help us? I mean they're all particularly licking the Kings arse anyway."

No one was surprised at the lack of respect Bill had for his King, everyone that wasn't nobility didn't hold much love for the present monarch. Ever since Queen Sparrow had tragically and suddenly passed away ten years ago, the kingdom of Albion hadn't been the same. The lower class had been had been left to fend for themselves, taxes had been tripled, work hours had increased and people were paid so little that it was bordering on slavery and all the while the higher class had sat on their noble arses and watched as they exploited those they saw beneath them.

"Well last I heard the Princess' has disappeared, the Kings sent a search party looking for her," Bill whispered excitedly. "My sources tell me that she's out on the run and joining the resistance."

"Don't be so bloody daft! Why would a Princess help us, no one's ever seen her for Avo's sake," Tom argued, disbelief etching his features. "And besides what sources? You haven't got any bloody sources!"

Ben merely watched the banter between his men, enjoying the vocal match as he sat back in his old rickety chair. He too had noticed that the well being of the Bowerstone had significantly plummeted, the death rate had increased, health had deteriorated and the homeless were practically piling on top of each other. The King also didn't care much for his subjects which made the situation even worse, even isolated in the middle of nowhere, no one could escape the stories of the mass executions that occurred daily; If someone stole a loaf of bread, two hours later they were positioned with their head on a block and an axe poised at their neck.
One thing was for certain and that was Logan had to be stopped. Like everyone else in the brigade, Ben had always silently supported the work of the Bowerstone resistance however due to his position in the old guard, he didn't want to compromise the risk of civil war or so Major Swift had reasoned. Although judging from the recounts of the horrors that were occurring it was coming quite apparent that action was needed to be taken and soon.

"Cease your movement! Be you men or Hollow men?" came the loud authoritative command from one of the soldiers who were guarding the entrance into the Fort. Ben tuned out listening to his friends conversation and focused on the response from the surprise visitor as it was a rare occurrence for anyone to venture down these parts of Albion, except for the odd bandit or two. However when he heard the distinctive voice along with it disgruntled reply, Ben had an ear reaching grin appear on his face.

"Have you gone daft boy? Open up the doors!" The familiar voice barked in the distance.

"Walter is that you?"

"The very same, now are you going to open those doors or what?"

As soon as the guard ordered instructions for the gate to be opened, Ben immediately hastily excused himself from the game and jumped to his feet to make his way down to the ground floor. The Captain had always been fond of Walter, and found his honest yet brutal attitude amusing however the one thing he took pleasure in was to rile the old war hero up, at first it had frustrated the older male like it did to so many others, yet as time passed Walter learnt to ignore his companions constant jibber and replied his usual response that was now somewhat a trade mark "Shut up Ben" which oddly everyone else had took a liking to also.
Thinking back it had been almost a year since the two friends had last seen each other, and that was when Walter had come by the barracks of the Brigade to discuss important business with Swifty. Ben hadn't been present for the meeting but had passed Walter when the old soldier was taking his leave back up to Bowerstone Castle.

Three figures stood in the centre of the courtyard; Major Swift had left his office with his usual pipe sticking from beneath this large twirled dark moustache and stood proud and straight besides Walter, who by Ben's memory hadn't changed in the slightest, however what really caught the Captain's attention was the small figure that was almost hidden by Walter's side. The state of clothing clearly identified that the person in question was male, wearing a pair of baggy black trousers that were crisscrossed with a range of belts and buckles with a cutlass and pistol hanging freely from his waist. Black knee high boots overlaid the trousers and a white shirt with a black waist coat was donned on the top half, the outfit was then topped off with a simple woolen grey coat that came to the bottom half of his thighs. But the most intriguing part of the mysterious person's attire was that a red scarf covered the bottom half of his face and a black mercenary hat that was tilted upon his head to hide his eyes, making only his nose visible.

"You could have sent us a note that you were visiting Walter, we could have set up a party!" Ben said as he approached the trio and only just noticing that besides the unknown character, sat patiently a border collie who simply just stared at his master. Walter turned into the direction of the voice and his dark eyes lit up when they landed on the approaching form of his old friend.

"Ben Finn! It's good to see you, my you haven't changed a bit!" the war hero replied.

"I would say the same to you too Wally but it seems that you've become rounder around the middle these days," Ben joked as he stopped and stood next to his commanding officer. Walter's reply was the expected "Shut up Ben" which caused Swift to laugh and was that a shake of the newcomer's shoulders?

"I must say it is terribly good to see you again old friend, but what in the blazes are you doing out here?" The Major asked as he inhaled from his pipe, soon followed by the grey smoke that left his nostrils.

"We came here looking for you of course, we have err... a proposition to make," Walter replied but faltered briefly as his gaze glanced over to his companion. Ben also flickered his attention to the small figure every so often; a series of questions ran through his head wondering the identity of the person before him. His eyes scanned for any clues the person might have held through body language and clothing; after all Benjamin Finn was a very good judge of character, or so he liked to think.

"We?" asked Swift as he also glanced between Walter and his companion. Realising that there he had not made an introduction, Walter spluttered and pushed the lad slightly in front of him towards the Major and his Captain.

"Of course excuse my manners, this lad here goes by the name of Charlie and he's a new apprentice of mine," Walter introduced, as the boy simply nodded his head and raised a gloved hand towards the Major and then the Captain. When Ben grasped the offered hand he realised with some surprise how incredibly small it was compared to his larger one; how old was this boy? Judging from his frame and height he was an adolescent of no more than fourteen or fifteen, what on earth was going through Walter's head bringing a boy of that age to a place like this? "Actually Swift, he's part of the reason we're here," Walter continued before leaning in silently and lowering his voice to say "Could we perhaps go somewhere more private?"

Swift placed the end of his pipe back into his mouth and inhaled deeply as he watched his friend closely, probably doing the same as what Ben was doing and trying to figure out what on earth was occurring. Finally after exhaling a cloud of smoke the Major nodded and grasped Walter's shoulder with one hand and taking his pipe in the other.

"Of course, we'll go into my office. Ben could you please go and receive the status reports from the other by the mortars?" Swift asked turning his attention to Ben as the Walter and his companion made their way towards the Major's office. Internally Ben sighed and groaned as he too also wanted to go into that study and listen to what in blazes was happening and discover the huge secret Walter was carrying, however he smiled at his commanding officer and nodded.

"Righto Swifty, just give a shout if you need us," Ben answered and watched as Swift nodded in approval before also disappearing behind his office door.

Swift would explain, Ben thought, he always did yet it was in the Captain's nature to be curious, you had to in this day and age especially when a heavily dressed stranger just walks into a fort full of soldiers. He just had to patient, and then he would find out the identity of the mystery man.