Ling opened his eyes to the morning sun. He looked at his journey companions. Grandfather was busy packing up camp and Lan Fan slept soundly. Ling smiled and moved closer to Lan Fan. He wrapped an arm around her and held her as she slept. Grandfather quickly glanced then went back to packing. Ling smiled and stroked Lan Fan's hair. A soft smile appeared on her face and she snuggled closer to the prince in her sleep.

"We have to get going, my prince." Grandfather commented once he was done packing.

"Okay, I'll wake her." Ling said. He lightly shook Lan Fan. "Hey Lan Fan, it's time to wake up."

"Mmm..." Lan Fan stirred slightly and opened her eyes a bit. Her heart began pounding and her face flushed red when she realized how close she was to Ling. "M-My Lord!" She pulled away. "I-I'm sorry!" Ling laughed in reply. "Wh-What is it?"

"It's okay, Lan Fan."

"O-Okay." Lan Fan stood up. "We should go now, my lord."

"You're right." Ling stood up as well.

The three of them then continued on their way.

...

"Can we stop to eat nooooow?" Ling whined.

"No, we have to keep going, my lord." Lan Fan replied. Ling whimpered as he trudged along, dragging his feet.

"But I'm hungryyyyyyyy." He whined more.

"My lord, we have said no!" Lan Fan gave him a harsh look.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" A large man stepped in front of the three. He had a few scars on his face and looked down at them, towering above them with his tremendous height. "I heard this pretty lady call you her lord. You must be royalty. Boys, we got ourselves a royal." A tall yet slender man walked up to the first then a seemingly younger and shorter man walked up as well.

"A royal, huh?" The shorter one said as he eyed Ling. Lan Fan glared at the three men.

"And a very pretty lady~" The slender one added as he looked at Lan Fan with lustful eyes. "You think she'd sell for good money?"

"Probably." The original one said. "But I think it would be nice to keep her as out servant."

"We can dress her up however we want!" The shorter one suggested.

Ling stepped up and pushed Lan Fan back, drawing his sword and forgetting his fatigue from hunger. "You're not getting your hands on her!" Lan Fan's grandfather also stepped up.

"My lord! Get back!" Her grandfather commanded. "You're in danger too!"

"I can help. No one is going to take Lan Fan as long as I can do something about it."

Lan Fan drew her swords. "And no one will dare do anything to the prince."

The two tall men puffed their chests and raised their heads, attempting to appear taller to intimidate the three as the shorter one cracked his knuckles and flexed his bulging muscles. Ling and his knights were not swayed by the three muscleheads before them.

"These three must be the ones we were told about, man." The shorter one said. "I didn't think they'd send the prince to save the princess though. And he's such a twig too. I bet he's pretty weak."

Lan Fan moved swiftly and aimed her sword at the throat of the shorter one. His eyes widened as his heart beat quickened, fearful for his life. "Do not talk about my lord like that!" Lan Fan commanded menacingly. "He is more than you three thugs will ever be."

The obvious leader glared. "Let's get em, boys!"

"Yeah!" The other two agreed.

The six lunged at each other and began fighting. The thugs used cheap tricks and dirty punches. However, they were no match for the swords. Ling and the knights aimed not to kill, but to injure. Soon, the three men were on the ground, weak and bleeding but still alive.

"F-FINE!!" The leader yelled. "We concede!"

Lan Fan's grandfather pointed his sword between the leader's eyes. "You said that you were told about us. Who told you and what did they say?"

"It was the Rogue Warrior! The one that killed all those people and continued to kill even when The Great War was over!!" The leader said.

"We saw him and were going to take the princess from him to sell on the black market! But then he told us he'd pay us richly if we waited for whoever the king and queen would send to retrieve the princess!" The slender one added.

"Marrow. The Rogue Warrior." Grandfather said as he sheathed his sword. "That sick bastard."

"But why would he take Mei Chang? It makes no sense. Wouldn't he have just killed her?" Ling asked. "Unless..."

"I think so too." Grandfather agreed.

"Then we have to hurry!" Ling started to run until he toppled over because the fatigue returned to him once more. He whimpered as he laid on the ground in utter defeat. "I'm so hungry..."

Lan Fan sighed. "My lord." She shook her head. "We can stop for lunch!"

"Yay!" Ling sat up happily and began unloading the food.

Grandfather looked at the three thugs. "You can go now. But ever threatened the young lord again and we won't hesitate to kill you." With that said, the thugs nodded in understanding and ran off with their tails between their legs.

Grandfather and Lan Fan joined Ling as they enjoyed their lunch together. A very nice reward after defeating those thugs and getting the information they needed. And now with the new information gathered from the thugs, the three knew exactly what they must do.