FSE

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I'm walking through a forest. My quarry is ahead around the next corner, behind the next tree, ever one step in front, ever beyond reach. All I've seen of my quarry is a brown furred arm here, a tail there.

"Wake up sleepy"

"Wah?"

"We're breaking camp, you gotta get up. I'm collapsing this tent if you're in it or not"

"Ollie?" I ask but he's already gone. I crawl out of his tent and see the others collapsing their tents, saddling the horses, checking the prisoners bonds. I hear the tent collapse behind me catching my tail still in the tent. I turn around.

"Told ya" Ollie says with a glint in his eyes and a smirk on his face. I smirk back and rummage though the folds of the tent to find my sword belt. When I find it I put it on and turn back to Ollie. "Did you enjoy the view?" I ask, smirking "Do you need any help?"

He blushes and looks away "With what?"

"Ollie, stop playing and get your tent packed!" Miu calls from across the field.

"Bris!" Steb calls from our horses

"Talk to you later" I say as I start to walk over to Steb. When I reach him he chuckles.

"What?" I ask him

"Nothing, come on lets get these horses saddled"

Within the hour we're back on the road. Miu and Steb are at the front, Anne and Bill are behind them with the prisoners, I'm riding next to Ollie behind them and Mei and Acanda are bringing up the rear.

"What's Steb talking to Miu about?" Ollie asks me

"I dunno but best guess is he's trying to recruit her and to an extent you"

"What for?"

"Personal retinue? I figure he's trying to recruit the entire group to be bodyguards"

"What's it like?"

"Being a bodyguard?"

"Yeah"

"For the 3rd prince, pretty easy. He isn't exactly a major target"

"How'd you come to be his bodyguard?"

"My father is his fathers bodyguard"

"So why aren't you guarding the crown prince?"

"Me and Steb grew up together, his brothers already had guards" A few minutes pass in silence "How'd you end up with this lot?"

"I er... heh I tried to steal from them"he says, slightly embarrassed

"What happened?"

"I fell on top of Mei"

"What?" I ask slightly amused

"At the time they were staying in a tavern on the second floor. The window happened to be above a back door. After I filched some of their stuff I jumped out the window. At the same time Mei was going in through the back door."

"So what'd she do?"

"Dragged my sorry tail back up to their room and presented me to Miu"

"And what'd she do?"

"Interrogated me, basically asked me what I was good at"

"What'd you say?"

"Stealing and that I wasn't too bad with a dagger" he says with a big grin on his face.

"Heheh so how'd you end up with a bow?"

"Part of my training, Miu trained me with swords, Bill in long weapons, Anne and Acanda in stealth and reconnaissance and Mei with ranged weapons. Turns out I'm better with a bow" The rest of the morning passed like that, trading questions between each other.

We've stopped for lunch and Steb starts to walk over to me.

"We've already delayed too long, we have to leave this group and get to Caen today"

"All right, you go tell Miu, I'll saddle the horses" After I saddle our horses Ollie walks over to me.

"You're leaving?" he asks in a slightly hurt voice

"I have to Steb wants to get to Caen today"

"Oh ok" he flattens his ears and looks off to the side. I pull him into a hug. He hugs back.

"I should see you tomorrow. I'll miss your cooking" He breaks off the hug and stands within arm length and gives a sad smile.

"You've only tasted it once"

"Doesn't matter"

*Ahem* I turn around and Steb is on his horse, waiting.

"Well see ya -" I say as I mount my horse

"Tomorrow, I know" We set off at a canter. The pace of the horses makes it difficult to talk.

We reach Caen late in the afternoon, the sun has already set and what little light is left is fading quickly. When the keep comes into sight we slow the horses. We're stopped at the gate by two guards. The guards, two foxes, are wearing full plate armour, no helmet, and carry a halberd each. We stable our horses out side the walls and approach the gate. They cross the halberds at our approach.

"Why do you stop us?" Steb asks them

"You don't look like traders" the one on the right says

"You don't look like farmers" the one on the left continues

"You don't look like travellers"

"You don't look like mercenaries"

"Well let us pass, I'm Steb the 3rd prince of England" Steb says

"You don't look like a prince" they chant in unison

"Then what do we look like?" I ask them, remembering something.

"You look like beggars"

"Or thieves"

"Then perchance we wish to beg an audience with your commander and steal some of his time" They smile and uncross their weapons. We walk through the gate.

"What was that about?"

"Just a little game the commander has his guards play with early or late arrivals"

"You know him?"

"Aye and so do you"

"I do?" he asks surprised. I nod my head "From where?"

"Here. He was the previous lords second in command."

"What happened to the previous lord?"

"Bad shellfish, he died and Charles got promoted" we arrive at the keep doors and two more heavily armed and armoured guards stop us and present us with the same game. When we answer correctly one of the guards turns and goes into the keep. After a few minutes he comes back out followed by a huge German Shepherd.

"Bris!" he calls our and pulls me into a rib breaking hug "We heard you and the prince were dead"

"It was a close call" I say after he releases me "This is the prince"

"Steb" Steb tells him and extends his hand to shake. Charles grabs his hand and pulls him into another rib crushing hug. "So I assume you'll want the army to lead a counter attack?"

"Aye and all the artillery you can spare"

"We don't have much artillery and most of what we have is just trebuchets"

"We'll take them"

"Not now though you must be tired" he begins and walks back inside the keep "Come on you must be tired" We follow him through the doors "I'll have servants show you to your rooms, tomorrow you have breakfast with me and then we'll talk" he gestures to two passing servants and tells them to show us to some rooms. When we get to our rooms, Stebs is next to mine, I fall asleep almost immediately.