The rumors had spread like wildfire. People would whisper about it, their backs turned, their lips hidden behind their hands.

"Did you hear?" they would say. "About Raven and Priscilla?"

"It's not true," some would argue. "It's just a crazy rumor."

"Oh, but it is," others would respond vigorously. "Just think about it! They've always been so close! It makes so much sense!"

Some would silence at that reasonable explanation, while others would continue to argue against it.

Raven wasn't sure how it'd all gotten out of hand. Obviously that damned green knight had told somebody about it, and that somebody told somebody else, and on it went until the entire army had heard about it. It was ridiculous, really. The way the girls would glance his way as they whispered into each other's ears reminded him of grade school. So immature. So childish. So damn annoying!

It had been well over a week since that night when Raven and Priscilla had gotten in a fight, and neither had spoken to each other since. Lucius insisted that they apologize and mend their wounds, but Raven ignored him. He didn't believe that he had wronged her in anyway; what he'd said was true and valid. He didn't care if he was the older one, if he was supposed to be the one that had to apologize ("your sister learns a lot from you. Set a good example for her," his father had often said). If they were going to get along again, she was going to apologize to him.

He did know, however, that it was his fault that their relationship was under scrutiny. He saw the way that the girls would try to corner Priscilla. He saw the glances that went her way. She deserved none of it.

Raven sighed quietly, leaning his head back against the tree. He closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath. It was nice to be away from the chatter of the camp. To avoid the searing eyes burn into his back. Raven was alone more often nowadays, keeping to his tent and leaving only when he had to, before retreating back to it. He didn't want to deal with all the whispers.

There were a few that treated him as if nothing had happened. Wil, Rebecca, and Dorcas were among the handful. He was grateful for them, though he would never dare admit it. At least some people were still in their rightful minds.

But one particular person treated him in a way that drove him insane. That damned tactician. She hadn't spoken to him since that night either, and he had absolutely no idea why. She'd blatantly avoided him; whenever he approached her, she would excuse herself and run off before he had a chance to catch her. He wasn't sure what the hell was going on with her. It irritated and worried him.

He was beginning to think that perhaps she didn't...that she hadn't felt comfortable with the idea that he'd been about to kiss her. He hated thinking about it, because he too had to rethink about why he'd been about to in the first place. In all honesty he knew why he'd been about to…but he didn't want to admit it, not even to himself. It was crazy! Him, with the tactician? It was absurd! That good-for-nothing tactician with her snarky comments, her glares, her ignorance. Damn her and her tantalizing smirk, her playful and witty remarks, and her alluring raise of the eyebrow. Gah! Damn it!

Growling to himself, he buried his face in his hands. He needed to get a hold of himself! Going crazy over a girl? Let alone that girl?

Sighing deeply, he raised his head and looked up to the sky, wondering if the answers lay there…

"Lord Raven."

"Lucius."

"You've got to stop this."

"Stop what?"

Lucius gave him a stern look. Sighing, Raven put down his book and sat up to face the blonde.

"It's been long enough, and you know it."

"She needs to apologize to me first."

He sighed in exasperation, shaking his head. "You're acting very immature about this."

Raven rolled his eyes. "I don't care."

"But don't you care what about the rumors that have spread? People are beginning to question your relationship."

Raven was silent for a moment, blankly staring at the open page in his book. "I don't care what they say, but it does worry me that they're going to figure it out." He paused. "Figure it all out." What if Matthew had told everyone that he was actually Lord Raymond of the fallen house of Cornwall? What if he'd taken the Sain's words as the truth, and figured out that Priscilla really was her sister? They'd worked so hard to keep their relationship a secret, but now it was all pouring out.

"You should tell them yourself," Lucius said softly, "before it gets out of hand."

Raven rolled his eyes and snorted. "And what should I say? 'Oh, by the way, I'm actually Raymond, and I wanted to kill Lord Hector, and did I mention that my long-lost sister is actually Priscilla?' Who do you recommend I ought to confess to first?"

"I don't know, my lord," Lucius sighed, "but this secret's been going on long enough. It's time you've come clean." When Raven said nothing, he continued, "Besides, is it really such a bad thing to let them know the truth? You've no intention of hurting Lord Hector anymore; your quest for vengeance is over, is it not? What's so bad about letting them know that you are, indeed, siblings of the House of Cornwall?"

"It makes it seem like we've been living a lie this entire time!" he hissed. "They won't trust us anymore! We'd be thrown out of the army! And what then? What shall my sister do? Where shall she go? With no gold? No family to return to? Pray tell, Lucius, what do you recommend we do when they disown us?"

Lucius fidgeted with his robes. "I…I'm not sure, my lord, but I'm sure that's not what would happen, and even if it did we would find a way—"

"We've been traveling in this army for well over a year; wouldn't you find it strange and suspicious that we hadn't admitted that we're siblings?"

"But if you explain to them why you did that, I'm sure the lords would be understanding."

"Understanding? Pah! Not everyone around these parts are as forgiving and understanding as St. Elimine. They would probably think that we've been plotting to take over Ostia and build another Cornwall—hell, they'll have us thrown in jail for conspiracy!"

"But none of it's true, so that would never happen!"

"Not true, perhaps, but they'll believe so!"

"Oh, you're being ridiculous," Lucius snapped. "You're just scared of admitting the truth, aren't you, Lord Raymond?"

He bristled and stood up. "I'm not scared," he growled, looking him dead in the eye.

"Then why haven't you confronted your sister, Lord Hector, or even Lady Jasmine? Oh, yes, I've noticed," he added at the shocked expression Raven wore. He instantly shut his mouth and narrowed his eyes.

"Because…because…" He found himself more flustered than angry. He sighed. "Because I don't want things to get worse than they are." It was true. Although things were a bit rocky at the moment, they weren't terrible; they were still in the army, they were still alive and well.

Lucius softened. He took a step toward his lord, gently placing a hand on his arm. "Leaving things as it is will only make it worse. Trying to fix them, now, that's a start."

"But what if I'm unable to fix them? What then?"

"You won't know until you try, my lord," he said quietly. Raven was silent for a moment, contemplating.

"I need time to think," he said softly. "I'll be out for a bit." He made as if to brush past Lucius, but paused, turning to him sideways. "Thank you for always being there for me, Lucius."

Lucius smiled. "Of course, my lord."

He at least attempted to smile weakly back at him before exiting the tent. It was pitch black and freezing outside. Raven shivered, folding his arms across his chest. Nobody was awake now, aside from those on guard duty. He walked passed them (they nodded dutifully to him), silently cursing himself for not bringing a cloak, and walked through the brush to a clearing.

He sighed softly, forming a little cloud of breath in the air. He furrowed his eyebrows as he noticed small flakes fall around him. He extended his hand and watched as a snowflake landed on his hand and melted away.

Damn, was it cold.

He heard the noise of boots crunching against frozen grass, and immediately he whirled around, hand going to his hip. He cursed himself as he realized that he'd removed his belt, with all his weapons, and left it in his tent. He was silent for a moment, holding his breath, eyes racing every which way. He saw a flash of movement from behind a bush. He pressed his back against a tree, breathing softly, and turned his head to the side ever so slightly.

He wondered if he ought to return to camp and alert the night guards. Obviously whoever this was wasn't on their side—he would've showed himself by now. But, being weaponless, Raven would either have to surprise and fight the villain with his bare hands or creep away to alert the guards. With only such little time left, he had to make his decision quickly, and act upon it.

Hearing the boots crunch against the ground again, he made his decision in a heartbeat. Pouncing off the tree, he flung himself toward the bush. Jumping over it, he rolled around and twirled to face his enemy, fist raised.

Brown curls flew as the defender turned. Baby blue eyes widened in alarm and fright.

"Oh," Raven said, relaxing instantly. "It's just you."

Jasmine scowled at him. "I wish I could feel as relieved as you do." She visibly relaxed, though, unclenching her fists and relaxing her posture. "You scared me half to death!"

"I thought you were an assassin of the Black Fang, or something of the sort," Raven explained, standing up and brushing the dirt off of himself.

"That's what I thought you were! You should've said something!"

"You would've hidden from me anyway, even if you'd known it was me."

She clamped her mouth shut. He shook his head and let out an amused "huh" underneath his breath. He walked out of the bush and into the clearing. He stood facing the sky, his back faced to her. He was silent, allowing her a chance to speak. She didn't, but instead of continuing, he waited it out. She could be silent for only so long. He knew that it would get on her nerves.

Soon he heard the sound of rustling and crunchy footsteps approach him. He turned to face her expectantly. For a brief second he caught her looking at him longingly, with a hint of an apology in her eyes. But in an instant it vanished and her expression became hard and cold.

"So what if I've been avoiding you?" she asked defensively. "What's your point?"

"What's your point? That's what I'm trying to figure out."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "What does that even mean?"

He rolled his eyes impatiently. "Why have you been ignoring me these past few weeks?"

She looked away. Moments passed in silence. Raven's eyes began to sting from the cold, and the snow fell harder.

"Well?"

Closing her eyes, she took a long, deep breath. When she finally opened her eyes, she averted her gaze from his.

"It's about that night," she said quietly, "I…I feel like you're ashamed and embarrassed of me."

He raised an eyebrow. "I was about to kiss you; what makes you think that that means I'm ashamed of you?"

She bristled a little at the word 'kiss.' "You recoiled away from me when Sain came. It was as if you didn't want to be caught…kissing me."

"I can't believe it. This is why you've been avoiding me all this time?" He almost felt like laughing and rolling his eyes. She'd been worried about absolutely nothing! "I was just surprised! That's it! I wasn't ashamed or embarrassed or anything!"

She didn't look convinced, however, and seemed irritated that he found the matter amusing. "Then why didn't you just…" She struggled to the find the right word. "Continue?"

He couldn't help a smirk. "I didn't know that you wanted to kiss me so badly." She turned scarlet. "But I can continue right now, if you'd like."

He took a step toward her, but she raised her hand. He stopped and frowned.

"If you weren't embarrassed, then you would've just kissed me anyway."

He sighed in exasperation. He didn't understand why she was arguing a useless point. "I was distracted. The last thing on my mind was to recall that I was about to kiss you."

She frowned. "But—"

"Oh, that's enough!" he snapped. He'd run out of patience and was sick of her talking circles around him. "Is this just some excuse because you don't feel about me the way I feel about you? Because if that's the case, I'm pretty damn disappointed that this is the best thing you can come up with."

Her eyebrows jutted up. "No, it's not some excuse!"

"Really? Because that's what it seems like."

"It's not."

"Then what is it?" She simply stood there with her mouth agape, her finger raised as if to make a point. "Yeah. That's what I thought." He turned as if to leave, but she grabbed onto his arm, turning him back to her. He glared at her, and she fiercely stared back at him.

"I need to know why, Raven."

"No, Jasmine, I need to know why!" he snapped, leaning in toward her face. "What the hell's been going on with you?"

"I've been avoiding you because I'm confused, alright?" she shouted, releasing her grip on him and throwing her hands up in the air. "Why'd you do it?"

"Do what?" He raised his voice to match hers.

"Why were you about to kiss me?" she shouted. It suddenly became silent. The snow fell even harder, accumulating on their hair and making the grass white. The wind howled in their ears, whipping against their faces.

"You better be joking right now."

"I'm not."

Raven gritted his teeth. "I thought tacticians were supposed to be smart."

"Oh, just make your damn point," she snapped.

"Dammit, Jasmine, I can't believe how...how..." He clenched his fists in frustration, struggling to find the right word, "how ignorant you can be sometimes!"

She furiously glared at him. "Ignorant?" she hissed indignantly. "How am I ignorant?"

"You're even ignorant about being ignorant!"

She growled in frustration. "Why don't you just make your point?"

"My point is that you don't get my point—"

"Raven!" she shouted in frustration, stomping her foot. Her cloak flew about her as the wind billowed against them.

"Oh, don't you get it?" he bellowed. "I love you!"

She suddenly went silent, her posture fixed and frozen. He stood where he was, his chest heaving, his eyes burning with ferocity.

Her face had gone stark white, whiter than the snow on her cloak, and her expression was completely blank. She stood there rigidly, oblivious to everything around her.

"...Jasmine?" he asked softly, his anger quickly dissipating into worry as he stared at her. He took a few steps toward her. Her eyes flickered back to life, and she took a loud, shaky breath. He slowly extended his hand, gently brushing his fingers across her cheek. Her eyes fluttered shut briefly before opening, and in her eyes were a torrent of emotions: apprehension, yearning, worry, fear. "Are you alright?"

Her eyes appeared to be searching his. Silently, she rested her hand against his, where it lay on her cheek. She took a shuddering breath, closing her eyes again briefly. Growing more concerned, he brushed his fingers through her hair. She opened her eyes and fixed them on him. She seemed conflicted and desperate.

"I have to go," she finally said, releasing his hand and taking a step back. His eyebrows furrowed.

"Go where?"

"Anywhere but here," she whispered, taking more steps back. Her chest began to rise and fall quicker and quicker. "I need to be alone."

With that, she turned on her heels and began to sprint away.

"Wha—Jasmine!" he called after her, hand outstretched.

But she didn't look back, and disappeared from his view.

Hey guys. Three months too long, huh? I've actually had the majority of this chapter done for a week now, and I'd been intending on making it longer, but I actually split it into two so that it flows better. And I could also update it quicker. Heh.

Even though it's a short chapter, some preeeetty important things occurred. All loose ends will be tied up in the next chapter.