The next morning, as they were ready to start going again back to Galraen again, Katie remembered something she had forgotten.

"The book that Dorrie gave me..!" She mumbled to herself, frowning, "It's still in Emberlands.."

What if Dorrie got worried and how would she react to Katie losing it? She had to get it back no matter how much she didn't want to go back to Emberlands.

"You left something important in Emberlands too?" Carlos spoke up from behind her and she jumped at his voice. 

"Who knew you would get scared easily." He teased her with a smile and she rolled her eyes.

"It's habit but anyway, your sword is still there, isn't it?" She said to him and he nodded as he sighed.

"I know you said we would get it back but I don't know if we can make a stop at Emberlands in all this trouble." He said and Katie sighed as well. When she first volunteered to go, she didn't think it would involve this much chaos. 

"Maybe we could get them back after this then." She said but then remembered that the empress had said Emberlands was going to get destroyed soon. That meant they didn't have much time if they wanted their stuff back.

Carlos nodded to her statement, his curly hair bouncing around. 

"Don't worry Ms. Gunderson, when the time comes, we'll get our stuff." He said with a little grin and she smiled. 

They all got on their horses and started preparing to go back. Keith's plan was to go back to Emeraldis to get back to Dorian and then back to Galraen. It would take a while to get back but they needed to try before Lotor launched his plan. Keith wished there was a faster way but he couldn't think of any. His head was still confused of all the full blooded galra he saw and Lotor's parents alive. 

He needed to warn all the kingdoms that trouble would be coming very soon. They rode through the forests that they had passed through before, to get back to the path of Emeraldis which was close to Emberlands. That meant they would have to pass the area next to Emberlands for a second. 

Keith hoped there wouldn't be trouble again and tried to find shortcuts the night before but the closest way seemed to be past Emberlands. They had to go through it if they wanted to get back quickly. 

He knew that his men and especially Katie went through some bad things in there but they had to. Keith felt bad for forcing them to again but getting back quickly was more important and he knew they would understand. 

After more hours of riding in the cold air, Keith decided they needed a break so everyone could get rest. He decided to stretch a little and while everyone was busy doing their own thing, he found Theo practicing his swordsmanship with Mark. He leaned back against a tree as he watched the brothers practice.

They matched each other well since they were the same size and did everything together. Their swift movements seemed almost invisible as they striked one another with their wooden swords. It seemed to go on for a while meaning that they were both as equal in swordsmanship.

As the winds started to get colder, Mark got a hit on his younger brother enough to knock him down on the ground and drop his wooden sword. Mark put the tip of his sword to Theo's neck and smiled.

"I won." He said, panting as heavily as Theo. He dropped his sword and walked over to his brother and gave him a hand.  

"Good match." He said and Theo nodded as he wiped his sweat off. Theo took Mark's hand to get back up and looked a little ashamed to lose to him. 

Mark threw his arm around Theo's neck and wrapped him in for a playful noogie.

"It's fine, maybe you'll beat me one day." He said and Theo rolled his eyes as he went through with the brotherly noogie. 

"I will." Theo said as Keith cleared his throat, turning both their attention on him.

"Hey Keith." Mark said as he kept his arm around Theo's neck and Theo nodded slightly, both their gray eyes on him. 

"I was just here to see how you guys were doing." Keith said awkwardly as Theo finally got out of his brother's grip.

"If Theo wants to, why don't you two spar before we head out again?" Mark said, nudging Theo towards Keith.

"Can he still spar me after you?" Keith asked as Theo straightened himself.

"Yeah I can." Theo answered for himself as he picked up the almost worn out sword he dropped in the fight with his brother.

"If you say so." Keith mumbled and caught the wooden sword that Mark threw to him.

While Theo waited on the side, Keith warmed up and stretched his fingers around the sword handle.

"Ready?" Theo asked after a minute and Keith nodded. It had been a while since he sparred with Theo so he was looking forward to how it would end. 

They stood a few feet from each other and Mark counted down for them. As he got to 1, they both dove towards the middle and met blades like normal enemies on the battlefield. 

After a minute, Theo already looked as if he was struggling against Keith's strength but he didn't look like he was going to give in either. He gritted his teeth as he stood his ground against Keith.

Keith thought of going easy for a second but knew that it would hurt Theo's pride.

"What, already feel like losing again?" Keith said as he got a strike on Theo, purposely provoking him and it seemed to work seeing that his gray eyes became brighter in determination. 

They striked each other a few more times until Theo finally reached his limit. He put his sword to the ground and put his weight on it as he panted heavily. Keith dropped his sword and sighed.

"I think we should stop now." He said but Theo shook his head.

"I can still beat you." Theo said and Mark sighed from the side and mouthed "stubborn" to Keith as he rolled his eyes.

"C'mon Ted, let's go take a water break. We have to hit the road again anyways." Mark said as he got back on his feet and put a hand on Theo's back. Theo hesitated to answer for a second but then sighed after a deep breath.

"Alright. I guess we should get going now." He said and dropped his sword as well.

As the twins were going back, Theo turned back to Keith and grinned.

"You haven't won just yet." He said and Keith smirked.

"We'll see in the end." Keith replied and Mark did a little salute before going back to their horses.

Keith sighed as he picked up the damaged swords and smiled. There were little things like this he would remember of his trip before trouble came. 

After he made sure everyone was prepared to go again, he got on his horse and led his group on the path next to Emberlands. It was a little close to the sun setting but if they had to, Keith was going to keep going even in the night. 

It seemed peaceful for an hour of traveling until his beast senses came up all the sudden and his eyes widened as he moved his head quickly to the side. An arrow lit on fire hit the tree that was ahead of where he was going to be in a few steps. 

Keith's eyes widened in horror as he watched the fire spread in the tree and soon enough the whole tree started burning. He turned back to see that his knights were also looking for the attacker. Keith used his far beast vision to look farther but he couldn't see anyone either. He wondered if Lotor had already started his plan.

While they were all looking around with their weapons prepared to attack, another arrow came down from the distance and everyone directed their horses and themselves out of the way. Another wave of fire arrows came to hit them and they had to move their horses under the trees for cover. 

Keith used his beastly vision again and he saw about a dozen galra soldiers in the distance with weapons. He was hesitant to choose if they should stay and fight the galra or run because they were already using enough time hiding. Mark noticed Keith's anxiousness and put a hand on his shoulder.

"If we were to see the archers, I would be able to shoot them down." He said and Keith frowned.

"I can see the archers a few distance away. I don't know if we should go and risk their attack on the other kingdoms or stay and lose time getting news out." Keith said and Katie from behind him took her sword out of her sheath.

"Well then I guess we should split now." She said and Keith turned back to her in surprise.

"Separate the group?" He said as he looked around in worry, "separate us?"

"We're gonna have to, looking at our situation." Theo said from beside Katie as he also got his spear out from the bag he carried it in on his back.

Keith thought of staying together but he also knew that it would also be more risky if they all did stay together. So he had no choice but to agree with Katie. 

"Pidge, Mark, Theo, Carlos, Kenneth, and Drew." Keith said as he looked at all of the knights with the names. "You guys will be your own group from here. I will lead the other half back to Galraen while you guys stay back to take care of the galra." 

They all nodded but Keith looked at Katie in worry. He didn't want to separate from her but he knew that her swordsmanship would also be essential in fending off the attackers. It would be better to use it here instead of her following him around. He knew that she would be able to survive.

He went to all the knights in the separated group and he told everyone of them to stay careful. His eyes got softer as he finally got to Katie.

"Stay safe, alright?" He said, putting a hand on her shoulder and she smiled.

"You know me, careful is my middle name." She responded with bright brown eyes and Keith laughed as he remembered her saying it before as well.

As Keith prepared his other half of the group including all the people that weren't knights to leave, he heard Katie shout behind him.

"You stay safe as well Keith! I'll see you after this is over!" She said and he grinned back at her. He pulled his horse in the direction back on the path as he heard Mark's arrows fly through the air from behind him.

Now he had to make sure to go back to Galraen quickly so he could see her again.

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A/N

I'm alive!!

I am terribly sorry for this long delay and thank you all for being very patient in my updates. 

It seems like Keith and the group are splitting in half now and Katie is not gonna be near Keith anymore. How do you think Katie's group will handle the galra?

Also I'm making sure I update regularly every two weeks on Friday again now so hopefully you guys don't have to wait this long for a chapter again.

Again, thank you all for your patience and I hope you all have a good day!! <3 <3

-Silver