A/N: Extra LONG chapter for you! Don't forget to review!

Aubrey: haha...Scout was a toddler and now she's a teenager :) They grow up so fast.

Saberin: Luckily they're able to wait until Scout was apprenticeship age anyway.

Gold: That darn growing up thing :P If you haven't grown up already, don't. It's a trap!

Raider: haha I think I remember someone (probably you) saying the same thing last time :P

AER: If you are referring to what I think you are referring, it does not happen in this one. The next one though...

Disclaimer: I'm not John Flanagan. And still not Australian.

Scout put her borrowed horse in the stable before going to their apartment in Castle Araluen. She liked the Redmont cabin much more. It was peaceful there. She saw her mother seal an envelope as she came in and quickly tuck a folded piece of paper into her belt. Scout shrugged. Her mother handled sensitive information all the time. It wasn't an unusual sight to see her quickly cover a document. "How was your lesson?" Lina asked.

Scout poured some milk and set it to boiling. "Alright," she answered. The endless lessons didn't cease because they came to Castle Araluen. The tutors just changed. Scout had been drilling with the battle school apprentices all morning and sweat still dripped from her skin. She went to her room and quickly changed into a fresh dress before rejoining her mother in the main room.

"I'll get a drink for you. Sit there and take a break. Rosalina's going to go over Toscana meal customs with you and your sister this afternoon."

"Can I see your tessens, Mama?"

Lina seemed to ponder it for a few moments before nodding to the belt holding her weapons on a bench. "Go ahead. Were tessens in your drills today?"

Scout went and picked up one of the war fans made from extremely sharp sheets of metal. "Sort of. We covered Nihon-Ja fighting styles. The focus was more on katanas but tessens were mentioned. Will you teach me how to use these?"

Lina smiled. "Of course, when you are fifteen as promised."

Scout frowned. "Alright."

Her mother set a mug of hot cocoa in front of her and sat at the table again. "Maybe we'll start earlier. We'll see when you get back from your lesson."

Scout grinned at the glimmer of hope. She took a sip of the cocoa before closing the fan and opening it the opposite way. "Where was it you got these?"

"You've heard that answer several times."

"I know." Scout sipped the cocoa again as she looked over the rim of her cup with pleading eyes.

"I spent three years in Nihon-Ja under Emperor Shigeru. He arranged for me to learn the ways of their upper Senshi class."

"I'd like to go to Nihon-Ja one day."

"Perhaps you will."

Scout opened and closed the tessen again. In perfect Nihon-Ja tongue she said, "Would you take me?"

"Probably not," her mother answered in the same language. "If you go it will be of your own accord. I no longer have business there and there is much climbing around the winter palace. I'm limited to the places one can reach by ship or horse."

"What about the summer palace? Or the castle King Horace and Queen Cassandra have?"

"No. There is no reason for me to return to Nihon-Ja. My place is here."

"Do you not want to?"

"I want to but if I go it will not be until I have retired from my duties with the Charmed Battalion. You may think I am old but I am not that old."

"You are not old, Mama-san. Daideo is old."

"It is a good thing you are speaking in this language because your grandfather is behind you."

Scout literally jumped and turned. She sloshed some of her cocoa onto the table as she did so. Nobody stood there. She turned back to her mother with narrowed eyes. Lina just laughed. Scout smiled and sipped more of her cocoa. Lina reached forward and quickly wiped up the puddle with a towel. The crutch that had been leaning against her chair slammed to the floor with the shift of motion. Scout stared at it for a few moments. "Do you miss being able to use both feet?" she asked.

"Sometimes but it isn't good to dwell on what you can't fix."

"How'd you injure it to begin with?"

"I was scaling a wall and fell."

Scout set down her empty cup gently. "You always give me half-answers and they are always the same. Do you not think you can trust me with the whole answers?"

Lina gave her a pained look. "Scout…you know that the answers to your questions aren't answers that will be easy to hear. There are things you will come to learn about simply because you are our daughter but others go their whole lives without experiencing even a fraction of the pain we endured."

"It is harder to know there are secrets you keep from me."

"I know," Lina replied gently. "I understand that more than you think I do. On your next birthday I will give you the option to hear the story but you in return will have to promise that you won't stop listening. It is something you must either fully hear or fully reject. After that you will have a major choice to make."

"What choice will that be?"

Scout watched as her mother's fingers brushed against her belt. "You may either become what you want or who you were born to be."

Scout made a face. "You're trying to be cryptic but I see through it. The choice will be either a huntress, like I want, or a Lady of the Charmed Battalion, like you."

"I wasn't born to be in the Charmed Battalion."

"Whatever the equivalent is in Hibernia then."

Lina shook her head. "Not even that. I chose the Battalion."

"Then what were you born to be?"

"You're going to be late for your lesson."

Scout knew that meant their conversation was over. She rinsed out her cup with a bucket of water on the counter and went to meet Rosalina. She felt slightly frustrated with her mother for only giving half-answers but at the same time the truth frightened her. She'd never seen Lina withhold information without good cause and her insisting on withholding the details of Scout's answers meant there was a very good reason for the secrecy.

8 months later

Scout woke up in her family's Redmont cabin. She stretched and put on her boots. Caitlyn still slept in the opposite bed. Scout tiptoed out quietly so she wouldn't wake her. Her father sat at the table doing Ranger paperwork while her mother prepared cinnamon biscuits for breakfast. They both looked up from their tasks.

"Only one day a year we allow you to sleep in and every time you wake early," Liam laughed. "Happy birthday, Scout."

"Happy birthday," Lina echoed. "I believe there's a gift for you on the porch. It arrived late last night."

Scout smiled and dashed to the front door. A basket covered with pink cloth sat in front of her. She brought it inside. The pink cloth proved to be a fine scarf. Closer inspection revealed a rose wearing a crown embroidered on a corner…Princess Rosalina's insignia. Rosalina loved needlepoint. It was such a…well, princess activity.

"Very pretty," her father teased. "Matches your eyes."

Scout threw it at him. A folded sheet of paper lay on top of the rest. She unwrinkled it, noticing the Oakleaf watermark that meant it was from a Ranger. She read it aloud.

Scout,

Sorry none of us were unable to come in person this year. I had to check in at Castle Araluen and I was asked to make this delivery on my way through. Happy fifteenth birthday! Wish I could have at least waited around for you to wake up but by the time you read this I'll probably be on a ship heading for Skandia. A knight's daughter was kidnapped. Rangers get to clean up the mess as usual. I hope you have a wonderful day and maybe on my way back through we can go hunting together.

In case you can't figure it out, the pink scarf is from Rosalina. I find the scarves she gives me each year make great bandages. Daideo and Grandmother send to you the saxe knife. Daideo says it is time you got one and Grandmother had the blade put into a Courier hilt. She said it makes it look more ladylike or something along those lines. Gilan, Jenny, David, and Dalby send to you the skillet. They say they know it isn't large but now that you are fifteen they expect you to be making more solo trips and thought you should have something decent to fix your meals in. I personally still carry the one they gave me when I became your age. It is a lot better than the ones Rangers are issued.

William and Ace send you the necklace. Each wears a similar pendant beneath their shirts. Yours, of course, is more girly. The center stone that is polished glass is hollow and can hold one dose of antidote (or in William's case one shot of whisky). I'm sure you can figure out how to open it up. Uncle Horace and Aunt Cassandra send enough gold to see you through a trip to their home however you can use it on whatever you like (personally I recommend it go towards a new horse that can carry you for multiple trips to Castle Araluen and everywhere else). Kane and I pitched in together and got you the set of arrowheads. They are usually reserved for only Royal Scouts. They are better than Ranger arrowheads, but that's because us Rangers are better shots. I recommend saving these for a special occasion (such as next time Caitlyn tries to scare you).

Wish you the best, Scout. Have a good birthday!

Daniel Treaty

Scout excitedly put the skillet, money, scarf, and necklace aside. She studied the arrowheads and saxe with fascination. Her father set small wrapped parcel in front of her. She stared at it, not quite ready to set down the weapons yet.

"That is from your mother, sister, and me," he told her. "Something every young lady needs."

Scout unwrapped it. Inside was a box made from hardwood with designs of leaves and lilies, Scout's favorite flower, etched into its sides. On the top, the center of all the leaves and lilies, was a deeper carving of intertwined branches forming the Nihon-Ja characters that made up her name. Only someone well versed in the written form of Nihon-Ja would recognize it. She undid the tiny gold latch. The deep blue velvet lining reminded her of a starless night sky. A tiny rose figure sat straight up from near the top half. Scout's fingers found a knob on the bottom. She looked up at her parents.

"A music box?" she asked. Music boxes were expensive. She'd only ever seen two in her life outside a vender's shelf or shop window. One was in Queen Cassandra's personal quarters and one in Princess Rosalina's bedroom.

"Turn it," Lina instructed. Scout obeyed. After a few twists the rose began turning, revealing its tiny thorns. A lullaby her mother sang when she was little and still today when she was sick hummed from the box. Scout set the box down and hugged both her parents tightly.

"Thank you," she said. "But…how did you afford this?"

"That is an answer you will learn later," Lina told her. Scout remembered a promise her mother had told her about several months ago. She'd already decided she'd want to hear the story. No matter how bad it was she couldn't stand not knowing any longer.

"Take your gifts to your room and wake your sister," Liam said to Scout. "Breakfast is about ready."

Scout did as told. Caitlyn, still rubbing her eyes and wearing her shift, came to the table. The cinnamon biscuits were a treat reserved only for birthdays and the Harvest holiday. Jenny had taught Lina how to make them shortly after Caitlyn was born and they became a family tradition. After breakfast Liam cleaned up while Scout sat still and let her mother braid pale green ribbons into her hair. Once Caitlyn was dressed she did the same. Ribbons were another luxury reserved for special occasions. Scout didn't really like the way they looked but loved feeling her mother's fingers weave and braid until all her hair was on top of her head without the help of painful metal pins.

"Off to lessons we go," Liam announced to Caitlyn. Caitlyn nodded and gathered her things. Scout stood with her mother on the porch and waved as the two rode off on her father's tall shaggy horse. The ride was a treat for the sister who didn't have a birthday that day. Usually Scout and Caitlyn walked three-fourths of a mile to the village each day. A birthday meant the day would be spent with Lina. It was rare for Lina to be on assignment on one of her daughters' special days and if she was it was made up the moment she got back. Scout turned to her mother the moment they were out of sight.

"Will you tell me the story now?" Scout asked. Lina chuckled lightly.

"I see you've made up your mind. Any chance that you'll reconsider? We can go pick berries and fix a pie instead."

Scout shook her head. "I want to hear the story."

Lina sighed. "Alright. Let's pack a lunch then. We'll ride out so nobody can disturb us."

Scout quickly made two sandwiches and filled a canteen with water from their well. She put several apples in the sack and fetched her cloak. She went outside where her mother tightened the last strap on her horse, Prince. "I'm ready Mama," she said.

"Did you get your music box?"

Scout shook her head. "Do I need it?"

"You might. Go fetch it."

Scout did as told. She tossed the bag over her head so it rested across her torso and sat on her hip. Lina mounted the strange saddle that had been adapted specially or her. It took Scout a moment to get up. There were no stirrups to help. Once seated behind her mother Lina signaled Prince to go and urged him to a steady gait he could keep for hours. Scout sat straight up with her hands resting on her mother's waist more out of habit than need. Horsemanship was something that had come natural to her.

They made it to a very secluded clearing reserved for the most private of conversations. The two dismounted. Lina loosened Prince's straps and gave him one of the apples before sending him away. Scout spread out a blanket and the two sat down. Her mother smiled sadly at her. Scout sat with her back straight as she waited.

"Are you sure you want to hear it?" Lina asked in one last attempt. Scout nodded.

"I do."

"You promise that you will keep listening no matter what?"

Scout nodded again. "I will, Mama. Just tell me."

"It's a long story."

"That's alright. We have all day."

"That we do. Alright. The Sunrise Warrior Academy was a place built to restore order to Hibernia during their long civil war. The Academy had strict codes and protocols each and every member had to adhere to. Only high officers were allowed to marry, have children, and take private apartments. Every else lived in dorms with roommates. The Academy was made up of leaders, high officers, teachers, student officers, students, littles, and servants. When your father and I left we were both student officers. Littles were what we called children. See, the children high officers had were turned over to the Academy once they were five and it was always seeking promising orphans to fall into its ranks.

"The Academy focused on academics, athletics, weaponry, charm, and focus. From five years on we were trained rigorously. There was only one holiday; Samhain. If you were at the Academy during this time you were given most of the day off. If not, you remained on duty until the next year. People were trained early and every aspect of their lives were dictated by the rules.

"Your father was an orphan they took in. His mother had been a slave and the identity of his father was anyone's guess. One of the Academy's rules was that each person needed a unique name that would be remembered should they accomplish something great. Your father believes his true name was Liam because that was the name on a token his mother left for him but the Academy dubbed him Yudai. He was lucky…see, orphans greatly outnumbered those who knew who their parents were but were at the bottom of rank. Yudai proved he had enough skill to climb his way up. With students, we were tiered first on our birthright and then on our skill. Orphans were the lowest, then children who knew who their parents were, and then by birth-given titles."

"You and Papa fell into the lowest rank?" Scout interrupted. Lina shook her head.

"No, sweetheart, just your papa fell into that rank. I was in the upper one…see Scout, that's a whole other part of this story. I was born in the castle at Dun Kilty in Clonmel…to the king and queen."

Scout gasped. "You're a princess!"

"And so are you and Caitlyn…now would you like to hear the rest or would you prefer to dwell on that awhile more?"

Scout shook her head. "Go on."

"My father was King Ferris, who stole the throne from his identical older twin brother, Halt…your Daideo. That's Halt's story though. Ferris's wife and my mother was a woman named Finley. She was the daughter of a knight and had been friends with the twins and their sister for a long time growing up. She'd loved Halt but Ferris forced him away. She settled for a different marriage, something I can't tell you enough the dangers of. They had just one child, me. She realized she would never love Ferris after seeing he didn't love me. He wanted sons.

"After a while she could no longer take it. She took me and ran to the Academy where Ferris was on the hit list. He wasn't a good leader much less a good king. He'd never been trained for it. My mother, as custom, turned me over to the Academy and allowed them to raise me while she made several unsuccessful attempts to pull herself together. She was made a leader and I was treated special as a princess. They used me as a figure to unite under and push towards success. One plan in play for me to carry out meant I'd kill my own father. I came close too. I had my bow drawn and ready but someone beat me to it, thank grace.

"At age eight I began going on missions. This is also the age I killed another human being for the first time. Two more followed him before I was sent to Nihon-Ja with a guard to kill the emperor. They wanted me to have something prestigious on my record and the guard was supposed to make it easy. However, the Senshi captured us and Emperor Shigeru took me in as his daughter. I tried to carry out the mission a handful of times but each attempt I was caught and disciplined not as a captive but as a child. He taught me things I never thought I'd learn and showed me what a good parent looked like.

"Yudai was on the team that rescued me for the first time after that. I was there three years, ages ten to thirteen. Later I talked about forming a rebellion. Everyone thought Finley was dead and Ferris had already been killed so I was an orphan with next to nothing to lose. When your father rejected me I faked my death and came here to Araluen. Their next grand attack was on the Rangers and I had learned about Halt just before my mother disappeared. The Academy became corrupt. The head Leader lost his mind. A few Rangers died but not near as many as anticipated. Crowley was leading things back then. Gilan himself was attacked but we were able to put up a fight.

"After several weeks I learned Liam had gone ahead and organized a rebellion after he thought I'd died. He and a woman called Kineta, with whom he'd served with several times, led a small group of students and fewer masters against the Academy. It was conquered shortly after we became engaged…and shortly after the twins William and Rosalina were born." Scout shivered as her mother lightly traced a pink scar around her collarbone. "I met Cassandra by pure chance the night people from the Academy made an attempt on her life. She was quite far along with them so I helped her escape. It was messy. All the witnesses, including Crowley, swore it seemed like I was forcing her to go with me. I was at first but I didn't have time to sit and explain it all.

"We went to Healer's Clearing to hide. Eventually we were caught and taken captive. They followed the protocols I'd been trained in as well…they were about to start beating her into confessing things. I couldn't let that happen to someone with child so I used every tactic I'd learned to turn their attention to me. Once their commanding officer realized who I was and what I'd done he whipped me daily. It was hard but it was the only way to spare Cassandra and her baby…or babies we later learned. The Rangers and rebels found and liberated us. Cassandra was taken back with haste but I'd been far too weak and they wanted to give Horace and Cassandra time to calm Duncan. All that time he'd believed I'd roughly kidnapped his pregnant daughter. By the time we arrived I'd regained enough strength to stand but not for long. I collapsed in front of the king, actually…two kings. My cousin, the son of my father's little sister, had become king and came to pardon me of all Hibernian charges as well.

"After that we went to Hibernia and did away with the Sunrise Warrior Academy. Your father and I returned here, got married, and rebuilt our lives. It took a long time to get you. We were both called away so often you came as quite a surprise. Your father…I found myself expecting just after he'd left for Persia. I kept you a secret the best I could until he returned. Your grandmother Pauline lived in Redmont at the time and Halt had gone away with Liam. She let me move in with her temporarily so I didn't have to be alone in the cabin while expecting my first child. You were three months old when they finally came back…and too soon after I was called away to Hibernia. The civil war was at a deciding point and nobody knew Sean's opponent better than I. It was technically a man about a decade younger than me, in his early twenties…he was my half-brother. I'd never met him.

"Had Finley participated in my rescue from Nihon-Ja I would have been there only a few months but she made me stay to hide the fact that she'd conceived a son with another Hibernian king, this time of the kingdom of Fir Bolg. I was tasked with killing him and discovered my mother's place in all of it…and found her upon arrival. She was imprisoned. I scaled a wall during the attack to take out my half-brother but the Rangers had to finish the job. The wall shook as our friends rammed the gates and stones shifted. I fell and was buried under rubble. My foot was sliced and twisted around a steel frame and…well…that's how I became hobbled. I was stuck in recovery for several months and didn't get to return to Araluen until you were a toddler.

"But then Finley somehow escaped and came back to Araluen. She'd held up in a sister-Academy in Picta, moved from Fir Bolg. Talia, a very close friend from my Hibernian life…to you she's Kane's birthmother. Talia organized a similar rebellion and sent an apprentice to find us. Finley tracked the apprentice and put her, your father, and me in chains. She tried to take you to do who-knows-what with but Will intercepted. Liam was taken to a separate cell but she kept the apprentice and me together chained to beds on opposite sides of a stone room. Talia discovered we were there and came to offer assistance. She…she's the one that discovered the reason for the uneasiness I'd experienced for a few months leading up to that and recent weight gain."

"Caitlyn," Scout said simply. She quickly did the math and decided her little sister fit the time frame.

Lina nodded. "Yes, Caitlyn. I'd been scared when I learned about you. Going through such a rough time was hard without Liam but this was much worse. I was at the mercy of a woman who hated me and desperately wanted one of my children to replace the one I took from her. We couldn't let her know so I risked several lives...I knew Halt and Will had tracked us. Horace and Kane were with them I later learned. I had to not only risk my life but theirs, Talia's, the apprentice's, and Caitlyn's. It was among the hardest decisions I've ever made but it had to be done to save your sister. I had Talia take my wedding ring and she made contact with the Araluens. They got us and your father out. Finley was also killed in the process. You know how I always told you I did things I hoped you'd never have to do?"

Scout swallowed hard and nodded.

"I killed Finley, Scout. She was my mother and I killed her. She was a broken person that couldn't be mended. You'll learn later everything she'd done. Any judge would have ended her life but…I took part in killing my half-brother and I killed my mother."

Scout felt tears swell. Her mother valued family. She couldn't bring herself to believe she'd harmed her own blood. "No," she choked. "You couldn't."

"Do you think I am capable of taking another's life?"

That was a stupid question. "Yes…but only for good cause. You always have a reason. Those people would have gladly killed you…"

"Exactly." Lina cupped Scout's face and wiped the tears away with her thumbs. "Ronan, my half-brother, was power-hungry and corrupt and twisted. He would have gladly killed me. Finley stepped aside and allowed me to be sent to my death numerous times before I was even your age. I know I've allowed you to be in some less-than-safe situations but they were reasonable. I made sure you were equipped to handle them before I sent you off. She didn't. It is a miracle I kept sane during that time."

"What kept you sane, Mama?"

She saw light tears creep into the corners of her mother's eyes. "As a child? Nothing. It was just how life was. Emperor Shigeru brought me back and gave me hope to cling to. I wish very much to take you and Caitlyn to Nihon-Ja so you could meet him. I wish that so very much, Scout. He gave me away at my wedding and gave Liam and me that storybook you and your sister love so much." She turned her gaze to her twisted foot. "I've got duties that can't be ignored and ever since I fell from that wall the journey would take much longer than usual. I do hope you meet him one day before he passes on. He's a good man and can teach you things I never could."

Scout hugged herself. "I don't want to hear anymore."

Lina shook her head. "You have to. You promised. Now, once we returned to Araluen I had to stay at the capitol until Caitlyn was born. She kept trying to come early and I spent a lot of time in bed but I had you and your father around so it wasn't too bad. Since then I'm sure you know the rest…I've headed the Charmed Battalion and your father's been a Ranger. We try to tend you girls the best we can but as you now know we didn't really have many examples growing up and didn't have many friends to turn to. Halt and Pauline adopted Kane late in life and Will and Alyss are both orphans who were brought up in the Redmont Ward. I think we've been adequate though. You are fifteen and have never killed a person so it's progress."

"You seem like you've got more to say," Scout said warily.

"I do." Her mother pulled out a folded piece of paper. "Halt formally renounced his claim to the Hibernian throne long ago. I didn't simply because that, in the midst of a civil war, it was good to have a mysterious rightful heir on hand. Do you remember your cousins Sean and Kineta?"

Scout shook her head.

"I didn't think you would. Well…I'm the rightful crown princess. That entitles you to the throne. I'd never planned to make you aware of your birthright. I didn't raise a princess and I never expected you to truly become one. After all, you aspire to be a huntress. Things have changed, though. Either you or Caitlyn must travel to Hibernia with me and…whichever goes will not return home to Araluen."

"What?" Scout gasped. She snatched the letter and read as her mother went on.

"Sean and Kineta need an heir to keep Hibernia united. They have miscarried at least eight times. I can't imagine losing a child…besides, they can no longer endure the risk. Another attempt could claim Kineta's life. Kineta, if you remember, was the woman who helped your father organize the rebels. She's like a sister to him and married my cousin when you were very small. I had Caitlyn shortly after their wedding. That's the last time you or your sister were in Hibernia."

"So which of us is going to Hibernia?" Scout asked.

"That depends on you," a new voice said behind her. Scout jumped and spun around. A tall woman with fiery red hair stood there wearing a blue traveling dress and white cloak. A braided leather headband rested against her brow with a single jewel at its helm.

"Scout this is Her Grace Queen Kineta O'Carrick of Hibernia," Lina said. "She is here to find out who will become the new crown princess."

"If you give up the throne then it forfeits us as heirs," Scout said quickly. She hoped she remembered the lesson correctly. She must have because Kineta nodded with approval.

"We've come up with a remedy to that," she said.

"When we go to Hibernia I will sign away custody of whichever daughter is with me," Lina told her. "And Sean and Kineta will formally adopt that daughter. Then that daughter will become crown princess and one day queen."

"Only on paper will we be her parents. Scout, before you decide," Kineta said as she sat with them. "Know exactly what you are deciding. Not just for you and your sister but for Hibernia as a country."

"You are a natural leader Scout," Lina told her. "You lack charm but you're a damn good leader. It's why your older cousins, who are all of age, allow their kid cousin to accompany them on hunts. You are focused, determined, and patient. You know how to use words and weapons both. You'd be a good strong queen. Caitlyn, however, is just like the woman she's named after. She's quiet and gentle. If you became queen you'd have to eventually produce a sweet child as a figure to unite under but there would be no hurry for that. If Caitlyn goes, she'll have no choice but to marry a strong leader to make up for her lack of skill. A country can unite under a pretty girl who dances and smiles but cannot be run under one. That small detail has the potential of dictating whom she marries."

"She's twelve!" Scout exclaimed.

"And you are fifteen, much too young to think about children but still you must consider," Lina told her. She touched her daughter's face. "This is the first decision I have given you that I am not certain you are equipped to make. Still this is your decision and yours alone. I am not going to encourage you one way or the other."

"But…"

"I'm leaving you with Kineta for now. She can answer whatever questions you have. She does not know you and your sister well enough to have much input and understands the pros and cons to each option. I'll be at home when you decide." Lina kissed Scout's forehead. "I never wanted you to have to make decisions like this, Scout. I wish it were different but it is how things have come to be."

"Is this why Papa left so early today?"

Lina nodded. "I love you, Scout. I'm leaving the food with you and your cousin. You two have a lot to discuss I'm sure."

It took just a few moments for Lina to call Prince to her side and ride away. Scout turned to Kineta.

"Well?" the queen asked. "What are your questions?"