Manfred arose mere minutes after the very top of the sun's circumference peeked over the Monteraynian Ring to the east, the same direction he and Nathan would be traveling all day. As the luminary's heat was even slower coming than its light, a chilly bite hung in the air. And appropriately so, as this day was the dawn of the first day of Automoi, Monterayne's autumn month.

After making a brief stop by Nathan's quarters to awaken him, Manfred headed to the stables to tend to their horses. His own speckled white mare Fidelity greeted him with a soft whinny and a poke with her nose. Manfred gave her a slight smile and patted her gently while entering her stall to groom and saddle her up. Once he'd finished that, he led her out to the pasture to graze while he returned to the stable to repeat the process on Nathan's mount.

The older gelding named Endurance offered Manfred only minimal interaction as he cautiously groomed his silky coat of fur, a unique gray that shimmered in sunlight and appeared handsomely muted in lower light. The only time Endurance showed any zest was when Manfred opened the gate to allow him to join Fidelity in the pasture.

Just when Manfred settled himself in a leaning position against the fence, footsteps shuffled through the moist grass heading his way. He glanced up to see a groggy Nathan approaching.

"You weren't kidding about getting an early start." Nathan grumbled, tired eyes glancing over at the rising sun.

Manfred nodded. "I wasn't. The sooner we can get to the bottom of all this, the better."

"I guess you're right. So, just how far into Alconte are we going?"

"I asked Sir Holt about that this morning. There's actually—"

"Wait a minute, he's awake this early too?" Nathan asked with incredulity entrenched in his tone, "What's wrong with you people?"

Manfred smirked slightly. "You can't start the day too early if you're a man of our responsibilities."

"To each his own, I guess. Anyway, so you were saying what about our trip?"

"Yeah, Sir Holt said there's a weapons market pretty close to the border. Normally two and a half days' ride, but he told me about a shortcut through the mountains that will save us half a day."

"That's good." Nathan said, "And no incidents last night?"

"No incidents."

"The crook must know we're onto him!" Nathan jested, immediately letting out a loud chortle. Manfred only smirked and laughed through his nose for a second. Then Nathan's eyes settled on their two horses, and he grinned. "I still can't believe it, Manfred."

Manfred looked up with a furrowed brow. "Believe what?"

"Your horse was quite literally gifted to you by Princess Kate herself, from her own possession, no less, and yet you still deny that there's even a chance she fancies you."

"She's engaged!" Manfred huffed, "I guess...she just likes my friendship."

Nathan rolled his eyes and snorted. "Oh blind man, when will you wake up and see? Clearly she likes you for more than your smokin' friendship, fiancé or not."

"Well...she's already engaged to Captain Troy now. And there's nothing I can do to change that."

"Maybe so. But you could have prevented it in the first place. You've told me yourself; you knew her first. She's had those emerald eyes on you for a long time, but since you refused to do anything about it back then, her father had to come along and make her commit to something. Well, in reality, she already had, but was waiting oh so patiently for reciprocation."

Manfred shrugged. "Maybe you're right. But that's all in the past now...nothing I can do about it."

"Actually, I'd dispute that. You'd have to be careful, of course, and not step over any boundaries, but I think you still have a chance."

"No...how?"

"Were you awake at breakfast yesterday?" Nathan asked, voice rising in pitch, "Were we at the same table? Because what I saw was a brilliant young woman courting a decent enough military officer merely because her father told her to. She'd be more than happy to find a way to call off the engagement if she only knew for certain she'd have somewhere else to go."

"How do you know that? You don't."

"One could criticize me on many things, Manfred, but one thing can't be denied. I read people like one might read a book. The eyes are the language, and her highness' are even more expressive than most.

"Maybe that's true." Manfred said while throwing his hands up, "But I don't know what you're saying I should do about it."

"You fancy her yourself, don't you?"

"Well...I guess I do find her...appealing, yes. And she's a woman of strong character, so..."

"So the answer's yes." Nathan crossed his arms and leaned against the fence. "Just tell her how you feel about her. With that information, she can proceed one way or another with certainty."

Manfred sighed. "I guess you're right."

"I know I am. Chin up, Manfred. We'll track this killer down, apprehend him, and come back with good news for her highness, both professional and otherwise." Nathan winked.

"I sure hope you're right about that."

After letting out one last laugh, Nathan led the way toward the knights' hall so they could retrieve their own foodstuffs for the journey.

****

Deté 41st, 995 A.D.

Andre Feliz's maroon cape flared out behind him and black hair rustled as he laboriously advanced down a snowy mountain pass, pushing against a strong wind. The path was a constant incline, corkscrewing its way up the mountain with a steepening cliff face on the right hand side. One misstep could lead to a fatal fall of thousands of feet and climbing.

Behind Andre trudged a group of four men wearing articulated plate armor of the esteemed Alcontean design. Envied by most all native Innutukian soldiers, who only ever got their hands on the crude, heavy plates of armor produced by their country, these men had been hand-picked to serve in Andre's personal task force—the Scarlet Falcons.

All four of them were men like himself, foreign fighters living in Innutuk for one reason or another who found great difficulty in proving themselves worthy of as much honor and respect as the natives' own warriors. Even though Andre and the Scarlet Falcons had only been working together for just under a year, they had accomplished many impressive feats together, with or without the emperor's approval or knowledge. And now, they trekked to perform a task that was hardly glamorous, but quite necessary.

The two Falcons in the back pulled along a one-seater carriage with no windows or even a peephole. Even the door could only unlocked and opened from the outside. The wooden box rattled along behind them on its three wheels, the fourth having popped off a few minutes prior. If the carriage had slipped on some ice and plummeted over the cliff edge, Andre would have hardly cared. It would only have been the most minor of inconveniences.

By and by, they came to their desired destination, the mouth of a cavern cutting deep into the side of the mountain a few hundred feet down from the summit. Andre nodded at one of the Falcons, who opened up a bag that had been slung over his shoulder. He removed a hefty branch stored there to keep it dry, and without ceremony, Andre set it ablaze. With the flame to light their path, they entered the cave.

The walls of the rocky passageway seemed to close in even more the farther the men went. In the dancing light of Andre's torch, the travelers could have seen uncanny protrusions on the greenish walls resembling claws, jaws, and spiked tails, if they were paying attention. But their focus was only on the path ahead.

After a few minutes through the narrow tunnel, they emerged, stepping into a mid-sized, echoey chamber full of stone spires jutting up from the ground. A shallow hole in the ground served as a perfect place for Andre to put his torch down and free his hands to open the door of the wooden carriage.

He swung it open and snatched the arm of a pudgy man with pale skin and a bushy red beard. The man's name was Deljegne Ellesante, and he had been Andre's swordsmanship teacher for the past year. No longer would that be so.

Andre yanked Deljegne out of the carriage with a clenched jaw and fiery eyes. "On your knees!" he roared before the redhead had even fully caught his balance.

"Alright, alright, I'm down!" Deljegne whined as he complied, "What's this all about, anyway? Where are we?"

"Suffice it to say we're at your retirement home."

"Excuse me? I'm only barely thirty—"

"I don't care how old you are." Andre snapped, "Your tricks have grown old enough."

"I...really wish you would speak plainly with me, Andre. Please, what wrong have I done?"

Andre snorted and turned his back on Deljegne. He strolled toward the opposite wall of the chamber. "What wrong haven't you done? Now that's the real question we should be asking here."

"I know I've had my faults here and there, and—"

"Here and there? You're delusional! We don't even have to think back more than a year to establish your reprehensibility. You brought me to Innutuk on a lie, remember? I burned my bridges over an empty promise from your silk tongue!"

When Andre spun around and shot another blazing gaze his way, Deljegne gulped and shifted on his knees. "Perhaps that was a mistake on my part. But look at the good that's come of it. Your skills—"

"Would have progressed the same even without you. If I'm being generous, then perhaps the first six months were of some use in accelerating my progress, but it only assisted the inevitable. The fact remains you've done more harm than good."

"How?"

Andre stepped over to the torch briefly to warm his hands. "You stand in my way. Purposefully, I can tell. It's profitable for you to be able to ride atop my achievements and gather political favors from the Emperor for yourself, merely because 'I taught him thus'. Even though it is I who am his champion swordsman, it's you who truly has his esteem."

"I assure you, I have never intended to detract anything from—"

"I refuse to eat your lies! You're doing the same thing you've always done. You're not truly useful for anything; you merely manipulate situations to your own advantage so you can survive off others' success and effort!"

"I think you misunderstand me." Deljegne asserted.

"I think you misunderstand yourself. I repeat, you did speed up my progress. But you no longer teach me anything of use, and neither are you valuable as a sparring partner. Any further skills I have to learn, battle will be my teacher."

"So you'll kill me out here? Out in the middle of nowhere so nobody will ever know about it?"

Andre slightly smirked. "I considered that at first. But I think I might be able to milk some last use out of you. See, you never delivered on what you promised the Emperor. You only trained me. But I will spread the art of Monteraynian swordsmanship far and wide across the Empire. I'll be revered as both a great warrior and a masterful teacher. But that said, if anything were to happen to me, they'll have someone to come to to finish their training."

"What if I refuse?"

"Refusal would be utterly foolish on your part. After all, there's only one path off this mountain, and I'll maintain a guard over it. You're never leaving. Anything beyond your miserable routine up here will be a blessing from all the gods, so for your sake, you'd better hope I die an untimely death."

Deljegne narrowed his icy blue eyes. "You've learned more than swordsmanship from me, Feliz."

"No, I learned from the best. My father."

Andre maintained a cold stare on Deljegne for several seconds before whirling on his heel and heading for the mouth of the cave. After tossing down a bundle of dry sticks and foodstuffs for the pudgy redhead to sustain himself while he adapted to the new environment, the Scarlet Falcons followed their leader. The five of them had much to prepare for in the coming days.

**** 

A/N: That last scene always gives me chills, and not even just because it's on a frigid mountaintop. And if it hits me that way, I hope you also felt the same way. 

Well, I don't have too much to say this morning, just please do vote and comment if you enjoyed, and stay tune for Friday's two updates! God bless!