When Axel rose in the morning, he couldn't quite understand what happened overnight. There was a strange atmosphere in the group; when he looked at Ger, he glared at Ronan at any possible moment he could get. One look at Evanna, and he could see her either blushing or avoiding Ronan's eye contact. Making up excuses to move away from him. Lastly, when he looked at Cilv, she smiled, of course, enjoying the weird atmosphere. Before he could ask over breakfast, what the issue was, Cilv spoke up instead.

"Raven and I need to scout the palace. Check out ways to get in, find out any information on the guard's rotations, if there are any easy ways of getting into there," Cilv spoke confidently as she eyed the group before her.

"Nope! Not happening!" Ger immediately dismissed the idea, snapping his head away from giving the evil eye to Ronan.

Cilv rolled her eyes, "Ugh, why not?"

"Raven is not going with you," Ger rejected once again.

Evanna looked between the pair, and then her eyes landed on Ronan; the scene of him kissing her cheek the previous night flashed before her eyes. That, along with the nightmares and whispers she could still hear every few minutes made her happily stand up next to Cilv, "You don't speak for me, Ger."

Ronan whistled, his eyes wide as he looked at Ger and Evanna, who were staring at each other intensely. A mini argument between their eyes was taking place, but only they could tell what the other was saying. Evanna turned her back on him.

"Don't turn your back on me!" Ger roared after her, grabbing her by the wrist. She turned around, stunned at his harsh grip.

"Cilv and I are the stealthiest and quickest out of you guys. So, it's best if you stay hidden while we scout the place out," Evanna said through gritted teeth before yanking her hand away from Ger's grasp. She rubbed it tenderly, knowing it would bruise later. Ger immediately felt terrible; he was taking his anger out on her when it should be on Ronan. He nodded his head, relenting, while he thought of how he was going to kick Ronan's ass.

Evanna glanced at Ronan and turned away abruptly, pulling her mask up to match Cilv's as she followed behind her. Their retreating figures soon vanished from view, leaving the three men on the cliffside. Ronan lay back down on the grass, closing his eyes and basking in the sun that they had not really seen since entering the forest.

He didn't think much of the kiss to the cheek, it came naturally to him, but he was used to women following him to bed after. That, of course, was never going to happen; he knew Evanna would never do that. However, it did make him realise how much the little mind control daydream from the faceless really was that- a daydream.

One of the many reasons he liked Evanna was because of her innocence, and giving her a peck to the cheek made his evening. The look on her face was something he would not forget anytime soon. It was a picture now set in his memory.

"What are you playing at!?" Ger roared from the side. Ronan sighed, and he rolled his eyes. With the girls gone, he was now left with the wrath of Ger.

Worth it!

**

Cilv and Evanna were quick and amble in their pursuit to analyse the palace. They kept their guard up throughout the day, continuously being vigilant as they darted in and out of trees, hiding from the Flori. On a few occasions, they were nearly caught, which led them to climb up further into the trees.

Luckily for both women, they were just as skilled as the other in climbing and running across the tree branches. They kept concealed from the great height they were running and jumping to and from trees. When they made it to one of the little fisherman's elven villages, they quickly decided the best strategy was to stay behind the veil of the forest.

They originally wanted to be so bold as to walk through the village with their hoods up, hiding their features and pretending to be elves. For Evanna, it was pretty easy; she was tall like them and held the same graciousness as she walked. Unfortunately, Cilv was smaller and petite in comparison, which would alert them immediately. The Flori would also be suspicious by any newcomers in the village, for there were never any unknown visitors.

The pair quickly ran and jumped among the trees; they were much more vigilant as the elves were using them as homes. Occasionally, Evanna found herself swinging back and hiding behind a branch or jumping to a lower branch to go past an elf she almost ran into. It was bizarre and intriguing at the same time to see how they lived. The princess couldn't help herself from looking into windows and becoming absorbed in the beautiful craftsmanship that was their home.

Once they made it past the village, they were lucky enough to jump agilely into a travelling cart that was going directly to the palace. Both women landed gracefully and rolled under the material that covered the multiple bottles of wine; the elf sitting at the front glanced behind him after he sensed some movement in his cart but faced forwards again after seeing nothing out of the ordinary. The cart approached some gates to the entrance of the bridge; the doors were so tall and vast that Evanna swore a giant would fit through it.

The pair looked at each other, trying to convey a conversation through their eyes; it didn't quite work as well compared to Evanna and Ger. But they both seemed to be alarmed enough that getting away from the palace was their primary concern. After they, of course, scouted it.

Evanna peeped out through the side of the wooden plank of the cart. She could see that they were now making it across the long white bridge. Her eyes rounded again as she took more of the elves stunning work in; the bridge's rails consisted of thick white branches that twisted in and out along the sides.

Cilv looked out to the side, but she was trying to guess how significant the drop was from the bridge and down the waterfall. But from the view she saw of the palace by their camp, it was quite a drop, and she did not want to put it to the test. Even though the waterfall the princess jumped down was high, the one that the palace was placed on was double the height.

Making the drop too high, and they would end up falling to their deaths. Hmmm, out of the question. There must be some way out of the palace, other than the bridge. But as they neared the stunning beauty that was the palace, Cilv realised that their only escape was the single route that led the palace to land.

Cilv sighed and then instantly hit Evanna. The princess looked at her with her perfectly shaped brows pulled together in question. Cilv made a gesture with her hand to indicate they needed to get out of the cart and mouthed the words 'soon'.

The cart had been slowing down, and Cilv tried to glimpse outside through the rider's seat. They were approaching a pair of statues almost at the same height as the palace, and before them was some more guards that made the cart stop.

The guards began walking down the sides of the cart, making the pair tense at the thought of being caught. As Cilv pulled her knife out ready, Evanna grabbed her wrist and warned her with her eyes not to do anything. The princess then pointed to her ear and waited for Cilv to listen. She could not understand what was being said, but the guards eased off and went back to their stations before the cart continued forwards.

The duo was shocked to see that they were brought through some other doors and into a cellar. The pair immediately rolled out of the cart, landing quietly on the ground and crouching quickly to hide behind some barrels before the elf halted the horses to the cart. Cilv kept her back against the barrel while Evanna kept her hands and face against another barrel she hid behind.

Evanna surveyed the area and felt her heart thump loudly against her chest as anxiety crept in, tightening her muscles to the spot. Cilv nudged her, but Evanna held her hand up to stop her from going forwards.

The elf, who unknowingly let them in, began unpacking the crates' bottles. His back was turned to them, making Cilv begin to tiptoe forwards; Evanna pulled her back again and whispered ever so lightly, "Someone is coming."

Cilv tilted her head and concentrated on listening out for any sign of anybody else approaching. As she did, she slowed down her breathing, lowering her heart rate and heard the light footsteps on the ground, which gradually became louder. Cilv was not sure how Evanna's little trick worked, but she was surprised at what range it went to.

Although they had not been to the palace, Cilv could tell from the noise she picked up from her astute hearing that this person would be in the cellar within the next few minutes. She also found that the elves were very light on their feet, making it almost impossible to pick up their movements.

As soon as the newcomer turned up, the pair held their breath. This elf was part of the Flori group that ambushed them, he was no one of importance such as the leaders, but it was still a shock to see him. His brown hair was pulled back in a half-up hairstyle. Evanna had seen most the elvish men wear it if they grew their hair that long. Which, so far, she noted that most had their hair down to the shoulders or down their backs.

"* Are these the only wines that have been delivered? *" He asked irritably; his tone of voice was the only indication to Cilv that something was amiss. Though, she was not about to interrupt Evanna listening to what was being said. Any information, no matter how small, was better than no information.

"* More will be on the way tomorrow, *" Came the response from the 'cart-elf'.

Evanna was a little taken back; she knew palaces stocked up on wines and only brought the best. But the cart they were in was huge, and the cellar they were in had plenty of wines. From what she could see, the wines in total would last a month if, of course, it was meant for one hundred guests of the palace.

That was a rough estimation, dependent on the guests staying. Cilv watched Evanna intently; the princess seemed to be deep in thought and almost calculative. A small smile stretched on the woman's lips, not that anybody could see; they were both wearing masks to hide half their face.

"* It better. The celebration is in four days, and the King will not be happy if his guests go thirsty. I will not be held accountable if his highness is unhappy, *" The brown-haired elf spoke sharply as his eyebrow raised at the other elf. His insinuation made the cart-elf stiffen and lose the colour in his already pale face. The brown-haired elf smirked and turned abruptly, muttering how talking to the man was beneath him.

Evanna's eyes gleamed after hearing the short conversation between the elves. Cilv caught onto her facial expression but did not ask further about it. They needed to scout as much as possible, and their time in the cellar was coming to a close. Evanna and Cilv kept their feet light as they scurried across the floor; their backs were bent as their eyes kept surveying their surroundings.

Once they were past the barrels, they walked up the ramp the brown-haired elf used previously. Evanna let Cilv take the lead from there; although the princess had done her fair share of sneaking around and escaping her own palace, this was completely different.

If they were caught, they wouldn't get a slap on the wrist. They would be killed on sight.